I December 26.1 THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 193 ! 
I inarched on the stronger growing—especially alha, be- 
1 cause it was a free grower, and required little trouble in 
striking it. 
Grafting is more generally practised, because in¬ 
volving much less trouble. August and April are about 
the best periods, though almost any period will do. A 
very slight hotbed is provided—not near so strong as for 
the orange, as mentioned the other week ; free growth in 
the stock is thus encouraged a short time before the 
grafting takes place. Side grafting is generally resorted 
to, or a sort between grafting and budding; the chief re¬ 
quisites being the preserving a close moist atmosphere 
until the union is fairly effected, then stopping repeatedly 
the growth of the stock above the scion, but not cutting 
back to the graft until it is fairly making headway, which 
generally will not be the case until the following season. 
The after treatment of plants raised from cuttings and 
from grafting are similar, only that those from cuttings 
will require more peat and open matter in their com¬ 
post. For large plants, equal parts of fibry loam and 
peat, with another third consisting of silver sand, broken 
charcoal, but no dust, pieces of brick, and sand-stone 
will answer well, with good drainage. For those grafted 
on alba, more loam may be given. After flowering, they 
should be kept in the greenhouse, or, better still, in a 
closish pit, to encourage fresh growth; when this is ac¬ 
complished, they may stand in a somewhat shady place 
out of doors, where they will have plenty of air, and be 
sheltered from drenching rains. If exposed to much 
sun, the pots should either be plunged with drainage 
below, or banked round by some non-conducting material, 
such as moss, &c. 
The insects to which they are chiefly exposed, are the 
red spider and a white scale. Similar remedies must be 
applied as were mentioned last week for the orange. In 
vigorous growth insects seldom appear. The syringe 
may be used freely in spring and summer. R. Fish. 
HOTHOUSE DEPARTMENT. 
EXOTIC ORCHID ACE Ah 
plants that thrive best in pots ( Continued 
from page 167). 
Cattleya. —For this week’s paper we have the pleasant 
task of describing one of the most gorgeous families of 
the whole tribe of orchids. The flowers are large, finely 
formed, and of the most beautiful colours. The bloom 
lasts also a considerable time, especially if they are 
removed into a cooler house whilst the flowers are open. 
Cattleya bicoloe (Two-coloured C.); Brazil.—Sepals 
i and petals pale green, changing, as the flower fades, to 
I a rich brown ; the lip is of the richest purple imaginable. 
| 31s. 6d. 
At Pine Apple Place there is a variety with the lip 
I broadly margined with pure white, which is a great 
improvement. It is also of a much dwarfer growth than 
the original species, which has pseudo-bulbs from 18 
inches to 2 feet long, whilst the variety has not yet 
exceeded 1 foot in height. G3s. 
C. Candida (White C.); Brazil.—Sepals and petals of 
a delicate white, slightly shaded with pink; the lip at 
the base is of the same colour, with a shade of yellow in 
the centre and at the end. 42s. 
C. crispa (Curled-petalled C.); Rio Janeiro.—Sepals 
i and petals pure white; the latter are much ciu-led at the 
j edges; the lip is of the same colour, excepting a large 
blotch of deep rich purple; it is also much curled at the 
j margin. 21s. 
There is a variety with the sepals, petals, and labellum 
' much broader and more expanded; the blotch on the 
lip is also broader, and of a deeper, richer colour. 
Messrs. Rollison, of Tooting, exhibited a plant of this 
variety at the Chiswick Exhibition last year; and we j 
saw a plant of the same variety very finely bloomed in j 
the Trinity College Gardens, near Dublin, in August j 
last. The original species is, however, a veiy splendid I 
plant; the pseudo-bulbs are about a foot long, small at I 
the base, and much swollen upwards. The leaves stand ] 
singly upon the bulbs; they are six or seven inches long, \ 
thick and broad; the flower scape rises from the top of i 
the pseudo-bulb in the hollow of the leaf, in a sheath, 
through which it soon bursts, producing four, or if very j 
strong six, large spreading flowers. The variety has not J 
yet produced so many flowers on a stem. 
C. granulosa (Rough-lipped C.); Guatimala.—Sepals 
and petals yellowish green, with rich brown spot; the 
lip is whitish, beautifully spotted with brown and crim¬ 
son. The flowers are produced on tall, rather slender 
pseudo-bulbs, between two moderate-sized leaves. Each 
scape, when strong, has four or five flowers. A free 
grower in a cool house, which it prefers; will do well in 
a common stove. A desirable species, though not so 
splendid in colour as some other species. 21s. 
C. guttata (Spotted C.); Brazil.—Sepals and petals 
pale yellowish green, spotted thickly with dark red spots; 
lip white, stained with purple. A desirable, free-growing 
species. 21s. 
C. guttata, var. Russellianum (Lord Edward Rus¬ 
sell’s Variety) ; Organ Mountain.—A much stronger 
vaiiety than the species, the flowers are larger, and not 
so much spotted ; the lip is shorter, with rose-coloured 
tip at the end. Veiy scarce. 84s. 
C. harrisonii (Mrs. Harrison’s); Brazil.—The whole 
flower is of beautiful rose colour; the lip has a slight 
tinge of yellow. The stems are long and slender, bear¬ 
ing two leaves at the top, between which the flower- 
scape arises, producing frequently, when well grown, 
four or five beautiful flowers. We had once under our 
care a plant of this kind that measured 3 feet through, 
and produced upwards of twenty spikes of its 1 beautiful 
flowers. 21s. 
C. harrisonii, var. violacea (Violet-coloimed Variety). 
This is a still more beautiful variety, with flowers of 
a deep violet rose colour. 31s. 6d. 
C. intermedia (Intermediate-sized C.) ; Brazil. — 
Sepals and petals delicate rose; lip nearly white. A 
very pretty species. 21s. 
C. intermedia purpurea.— Exactly like the preceding 
species, excepting the lip has a large rich purple blotch 
towards the end, which greatly adds to its beauty. 42s. 
C. labtata (Ruby-lipped C.); Brazil.—This superb 
species was imported and flowered first by the late Mr. 
Cattley, of Barnet, a zealous cultivator in his day of 
many fine plants. The genus is named after him; and 
never was a name more appropriately and deservedly 
honoured. The sepals and petals are of a delicate rose 
colour, and a little curled at the edges; the lip is the 
same colour on the outside; the inside is striped and 
blotched with deep carmine, and numerous stripes of ! 
deep yellow and brown; the edges are tinged with purple, ! 
and finely fringed. The flowers are veiy large, frequently 
5 inches across; and often four in number, rarely five, 
on a stem. Such is a brief description of the splendid j 
flowers of this truly magnificent plant. Dr. Lindley j 
remarks, “ It is not merely the large size of the flowers, j 
and the deep crimson of one petal contrasted with the i 
delicate lilac rose of the others, that constitute the love¬ 
liness of this plant; it owes its beauty, in almost an 
equal degree, to the transparency of its texture, and the 
exquisite clearness of its colours, and the graceful manner 
in which its broad flag-like flowers wave and intermingle 
w r hen they are stirred by the air, or hang half drooping, 
half erect, when at rest and motionless.” In addition to 
the above w r e have only to add, that the splendid flowers 
