November 28, 1885. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
197 
We have a tree of the Barrington Peach growing with 
several others in which a Peach-house, their roots 
being outside, has made rampant growth for several 
years, and each year carries fewer fruits. Fourteen 
months ago we dug a trench around it, some 2 ft. or so 
from the stem, cutting all roots that extended beyond 
that, and delving well underneath it. But this summer 
it has grown as rank as ever, making long shoots and 
carrying a poor crop. In September we treated it to 
another severe root-pruning, this time quite freeing it 
from all the soil, so that we are sure every strong root 
underneath was severed ; and if it continues in the 
future to be unfruitful, we shall cut it down and plant 
another variety. The Barrington is a fine large fruit, 
and looks handsome when dished up, but my experi¬ 
ence of large fruits of Peaches, as well as of large Apples 
and Pears, is, that they go to table and come off 
again untouched, only admired ; small and medium¬ 
sized fruits are always more freely used. 
The present month has also been so far a very wet one 
and the garden looks very untidy indeed. What a diffi¬ 
culty it has been to earth up the Celery crop, and if 
we should have an early fall of snow or severe weather, 
as is indicated at the present time, we shall fare rather 
badly. I never knew the Chrysanthemums to be so late 
in coming into bloom, those growing outside are still 
in the bud, and those in pots are also late. — T. TV., 
East Norfolk. 
MESSRS. VEITCH & SONS’ 
NURSERY, CHELSEA. 
A glance through the several complete, accurate, and 
useful catalogues which this great firm sends out at 
different periods of the year, cannot fail to impress 
anyone with the magnitude of their business, and 
admiration for their enterprise in carrying out to such 
perfection what are considered distinct branches of 
horticulture and floriculture, each requiring a specialist 
to work. From a due appreciation of this view springs 
some portion of Messrs. Veitch’s success, no doubt, for 
while at the central establishment at King’s Road each 
class of plants has its set of houses and grower assigned 
to it, the out-door stock has extensive premises devoted 
to it in more favourable districts near London. Thus 
the splendid collection of Japanese plants sent over by 
John Gould Yeitch and Maries, out of which every year 
reveals new beauties, the hardy flowering and orna¬ 
mental shrubs, Conifers, grand stock of Rhododendrons, 
Roses, &c. are grown at the fine nursery at Coombe 
Wood, Kingston Hill, with its princely avenue of 
Wellingtonias, and Araucarias ; the fruit trees, both for 
planting and for the Orchard-house, at the equally 
neat grounds at Southfields Fulham ; and the seeds— 
over which it is so necessary to exercise strict super¬ 
vision, in order to be able to answer for the quality and 
strain—at their Middle Green Farm, Slough. Through 
all these branches the same air of neatness, cleanliness, 
and order is to be observed, everything catalogued— 
except in very rare instances—being in stock, nothing 
worthless being harboured, and nothing really worthy 
of keeping being discarded. 
The Orchid Houses. 
So long as Orchids are known, the name of Yeitch 
and the Royal Exotic Nursery will be connected with 
them, for if we run over in our minds the proved best 
species, we find they took a large share in their intro¬ 
duction, and in later years they have by patient seeding 
by the aid of Mr. Dominy and Mr. Seden, caused quite 
a change in the Cypripediums, Cattleyas, Lrelias, and 
other showy things by the production of hybrids of 
great beauty. For these reasons the Orchids always 
claim first notice, and even at this, the dullest season 
of the year, they prove themselves worthy of it; for 
while there is enough bloom to enliven the appearance 
of most of the houses, in the large span flowering house 
and lean-to at its end there is a very charming show, 
made up of many very fine spikes of Odontoglossum 
Alexandra, 0. Pescatorei, and the different varieties 
of Oncidium prsetextum, 0. Forbesii, and 0. tigrinum, 
of which there are a good show, and with these are 
arranged Odontoglossum tripudians (varieties), 0. An- 
dersonianum, 0. Corradinei, many 0. Rossii majus (one 
with twenty-six fine blooms), 0. Rossii majus pallens (a 
very large and pretty light variety), 0. ramosissimum, 
O. crocidipterum, Oncidium varicosum, three varieties 
of the pretty cool-house 0. O’Brienianum, some elegant 
plants of 0. ornithorynchum, 0. cheirophyllum, 0. 
dasytile, and 0. albo-purpureum (incurvata); a great 
mass of the rare Ansellia africana milotica (which is 
much superior to the type, its flowers being much 
larger, their ground colour whiter, and the spotting of a 
richer hue than in the old form), some good specimens 
of Maxillaria grandiflora, Cymbidium Mastersianum, 
C. affine, Barkeria Lindleyana, Houlletia Brockle- 
hurstiana (true, with a spike nearly 2 ft. in height, 
hearing eleven flowers), Zygopetalum intermedium, 
Epidendrum tovarense, Oncidium cucullatum giganteum, 
(which is really a fine cold-house plant, with very lasting 
flowers with bright pink labellums). The flowers of the 
scarlet Sophronitis and those of the pur e white Masde- 
vallia tovarense are very effective, the rare Lycaste leu- 
cantha, very distinct, and the perfectly shaped purewhite 
flowers of the best form of Lycaste Skinneri alba, 
noble and covetable. In the coolest corner of the house 
a fine batch of Oncidium macranthum have strong 
flower spikes. 
The North Range. 
Running from the large cool house is a long lean-to 
range of north aspect, divided into several compart¬ 
ments, and each filled with those plants which are here 
known to do best in such a situation. In the first 
division are some fine specimens of Ccelogyne Mas- 
sangiana, and the still rarer and very beautiful C. 
Dayana, which flowers in much the same way as Mas- 
sangeana, but has a still longer inflorescence, the 
flowers being quaintly marked on the lip with dark 
brown, as with a graiuers comb. Fine plants of the 
new Angrrecum Leonis too are here ; some good 
varieties of the handsome new Oncidium Jonesianum and 
some well flowered specimens of Cvpripedium, among 
which a plant of C. Spicerianum is conspicuous by its 
having two flower spikes from one centre, and one of 
them with twin flowers. The next is the Phalaenopsis 
house, in which the fine stock lias always been healthy 
for many j'ears, while in many other places they have 
been unmanageable. In flower, are many P. amabilis, 
P. Sanderiana with a charming pink tint, P. Schroderi, 
P. violacea, Microstylis metallica, and M. purpurea, 
both with purple leaves and insect-like flowers. In 
this house the Odontoglossum Roezlii and Cypripedium 
niveum are grown to perfection, the huge plants of the 
former being clean and unspotted, and having bulbs in 
some instances as large as a good-sized 0. vexillarium. 
The following two divisions of this range, are 
devoted to the smaller Cattleyas and Lycaste Skinneri, 
which thrives best in a cool shady house. 
Cypripediums. 
In the Cypripedium house which always seems full of 
flower, and additionally attractive by the varied and 
handsomely marked foliage in bloom, are some of 
Messrs. Veitch’s fine hybrids, C. Artliurianum, a cross 
between C. Fairrieanum and C. insigne ; C. vexillarium, 
Fairreanum x barbatum ; C. marmorophyllum, 
Hookera x barbatum ; C. senanthum superbum (a great 
beauty), Maulei x barbatum; C. calunun, C. longifolium 
Cypripedium Godefroya;. 
