604 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May 22, 1886. 
drobes, and other plants which are making their 
growths, to treat all as cool Orchids, keeping the Odon- 
toglossums, Masdevallias, and other occupants of the 
same house shady and humid, and the Cattlevas, Lfelias, 
&c., in a rather drier atmosphere, and with a thinner 
shading ; the shading should, where possible, be fixed 
to run on supports, which gives a passage of air between 
it and the glass. Yery small growing Orchids are par¬ 
ticularly liable to be destroyed by being kept too warm 
and close in summer. The varieties of Lselia pumila, 
L. pumila prsestans, &c., which thrive well in a light 
situation in the cold house all the year round, are 
generally kept too warm ; they succeed best, perhaps, 
when grown with the L. anceps, L. autumnalis, &c.— 
James O'Brien. 
Orchids at Elmers Lodge, Beckenham. 
—I recently saw a magnificent display of Cattleya 
Skinneri in the garden of J. Goddard, Esq., some of 
the varieties being exceptionally fine. I counted 
ninety spikes, and on some of the spikes were as many 
as thirteen blooms. This species, when seen in such 
numbers and in such good condition, is really a glorious 
sight. Mr. Reed, the gardener in charge, has been 
very successful in Orchid culture, and has annually a 
fine display of bloom, but on no previous occasion have 
I seen his Cattleyas in better condition ; he manages 
them with comparative ease, too, growing them in a 
higher temperature than is generally recommended, 
but with plenty of moisture under and about the stages. 
Among other noteworthy examples of cultural skill I 
noticed a number of Cattleya citrina making larger 
bulbs each succeeding year; C. Mossiee (fine), C. 
Mendelii, with richly coloured lip, and C. intermedia ; 
Dendrobium crepidatum, D. Pierardi latifolia, Odonto- 
glossum Reichenheimii, with many branching spikes ; 
Oncidium leucochilum pulchellum, with the beautiful 
mauve-coloured lip, and a richly coloured form of 0. 
Marshallianum ; Lrclia purpurata and the alba variety ; 
Phalsenopsis Schilleriana, P. grandiflora, with a spike 
of 12 blooms, 34 ins. across ; Tricopilia coccinea, T. 
tortilis, delicately tinted; Epidendrum maeroehilum, E. 
odoratum, Yanda Roxburghi, and V. suavis among other 
things were in bloom. In a span-roofed orchard-house, 
also in a long lean-to, are some fine examples of trained 
Peach and Nectarine trees, carrying enormous crops 
of fruit, the best varieties grown being Prince of 
Wales, Barrington, Royal George, and Noblesse Peaches, 
and Yiolet Hative Nectarine. The other departments 
bear testimony to Mr. Reed’s industry and skill. — G. 
TV. Cummins. 
The Orchid Album for April, just to hand, 
contains beautifully executed plates of Phalsenopsis 
casta, a supposed natural hybrid from the Philippine 
Islands ; a handsome form with white flowers, spotted 
with crimson on the lip; Lycaste plena, an old 
Peruvian evergreen species, of which the form repre¬ 
sented (from Mr. R. H. Measure’s collection) has partly 
green sepals, and a rich crimson lip ; Cattleya Hardy- 
ana, the magnificent variety illustrated by us at p. 825 
of our last volume, and which Mr. Williams considers 
to be a natural hybrid between C. gigas and C. Dowiana 
aurea ; and Cypripedium insigne albo-marginatum, a 
very distinct variety, having a distinct yellowish cast 
in its flowers, and the dorsal sepals broadly margined 
with white, which is quite devoid of the spotting usually 
found in the type. 
Another Yellow Odontoglossum Pes- 
Catorei made its appearance at Protheroe & Morris’s 
Rooms, on the 14th inst., and was sold under the 
hammer for 55 guineas. The plant, which was a small' 
one with only two or three flowers, came out of the 
same importation, we believe, as Mr. Knox’s, and 
differed somewhat from his variety in being whiter in 
the centre. 
Castle’s Treatise on Orchids.— Mr. Lewis 
Castle announces a new edition of his ‘ ‘ Orchids, 
their Structure, History and Culture,” as being nearly 
readj T for publication. It has been considerably 
enlarged, by the addition of chapters on cultivation, and 
other subjects, but there will be no increase in the 
price. That a new edition should be called for so soon 
is sufficient proof of its popularity. 
Warm or Cold Water for Orchids.—I 
am putting up an Orchid-house, and one of my friends 
advises me to run a hot-water pipe through the tank, 
so as to have warm water to water with ; two others 
tell me not to do so on any account. I should be glad 
if any of your correspondents would say whether I had 
better do so or not.— J. T. M. 
TULIPA GRIEG-I. 
In recent years several species of Tulipa have been 
brought into notice from Central Asia and other 
districts, especiallj 7 from Turkestan, the discovery of 
which was either due to Russian botanists like Dr. 
Regal, or the plants have been rescued from obscurity 
by being pourtrayed in botanical works like the Garten- 
flora, the Botanical Magazine, and other publications. 
Some of these plants have been found to possess 
sufficiently distinct characters to recommend them to 
the attention of cultivators, and one of the brightest 
and best is that shown in our engraving, Tulipa 
Griegi. This species was introduced from Turkestan 
in 1873, but it is only within the past two or three 
years that it has attracted much notice, though it has 
been exhibited several times at South Kensington. 
The flowers are of a peculiarly brilliant scarlet colour, 
varying a little in different plants, but mostly very 
bright, and when the flower has expanded the large 
black spots at the base of the petals are seen very 
prominently showing up the scarlet tint admirably. It 
is extremely effective either for pots or the open borders, 
and as the stock of bulbs becomes larger, it will find a 
place in many gardens where it is now unknown. 
Other Tulips from the same region are Ostrowskiana, 
red, spotted at the base ; brachystemon, yellow, purple 
Tulipa Geiegi. 
at the back ; Borszczowi, bright yellow ; turkestanica, 
white, yellow at the base ; and Kesselringi, yellow and 
orange-red. Most of these are strangers to British 
cultivators, or are only to be found in a few choice 
botanical collections, but T. Griegi is the most hand¬ 
some of the group. 
-- 
The Gardeners’ Calendar. 
THE PLANT HOUSES. 
The Gardenias will now have done flowering and to 
keep them shapely should be at once pruned back or 
they will become straggling, and if planted out, in 
my opinion, it is advisable they should be annually 
lifted to keep the plants healthy ; if not so treated, as a 
rule, they are very short-lived and unsatisfactory. If 
they are grown in pots and have attained full size, so 
that for various reasons it may not be desirable to give 
them a further shift, they may be kept going another 
season by plunging to the rim in bottom heat and 
liberally feeding with artificial manure, maintaining a 
humid atmosphere during the growing season and 
gradually hardening them when growth is finished to 
ensure a good “set.” Young plants should be kept in 
stock, and by well pruuing in may be kept in a useful 
size for some time, and will frequently furnish some nice 
blooms after the main supply is over, and when kept in 
fair health do without bottom-heat ; should they from 
any cause change colour bottom-heat is absolutely 
necessary to restore them to health. 
Herbaceous Calceolarias will now be coming to their 
best, and if attention has been paid to them in the way 
of keeping them clean, a grand show will be given, as 
the strains now procurable are so very superior to what 
could be obtained a few years ago. Should green 
fly in ever so light a way shew itself, fumigate at once, 
or in the case of the light flowers they will become 
quite spoiled by the stain, and, of course, useless for all 
purposes. Should anything very good be noticed among 
the set, and it is desired to save seed, let the plant be 
removed away from the stock completely or it will 
become fertilized. The fancy Pelargoniums will need 
much the same attention as the foregoing, as they will 
now be fast coming into flower. 
Keep the structures in which the plants are growing 
thoroughly ventilated, and if the sun is very powerful 
a light net shading may be placed on the roof. The 
weather having been so fitful, we have not yet started 
bedding-out, having all our plants where they can be 
protected rather than run the risk of having them 
killed. Be sure that those in pits or frames be kept as 
hardy as possible by the removal of the lights, and as 
we are now fast approaching June, we may expect 
something like settled weather shortly. 
THE FORCING HOUSES. 
Where the early Peaches are approaching ripening, 
less water and more air must be given or flavour will be 
deficient; in fact, front and back air should be left on 
continually at this stage, and to prevent the border 
becoming too dry if left exposed, it should be thickly 
mulched. The grass cut from the rough part of the 
pleasure grounds is good (after being partly “ made ”) 
for the purpose, and of course syringing must be dis¬ 
continued. Many prefer placing netting under the 
trees to catch the fruit, but we consider by far the 
better plan is to go carefully over the trees every 
morning, trying each fruit, and by this means very 
few are lost, and in many varieties, if the fruit is 
allowed to hang until dead ripe, they lose much in 
flavour. Of course, the gathering should be done before 
the sun has much power, or shortly after 6 a.m. 
The Lady Downes Yinery is now in full flower ; we 
consequently give them a little extra attention, a tem¬ 
perature of 70° by night and 80” by day (fire-heat) being 
maintained. Some growers dispense with fire-heat with 
this variety, but, generally speaking, it is a dangerous 
practice. Leave the laterals as free as possible, and 
tap the Yines very frequently during the day, and 
more particularly in the morning, and do not damp- 
down at all during the middle of the day until “set,” 
when a good soaking of liquid manure should at once 
be given. Thinning should be attended to as early as 
possible, and before the clusters become too crowded. 
Figs should now hatfe made sufficient growth to re¬ 
quire a stop all round, and a good second crop is certain 
if watering and so on is carefully attended to ; even in 
case of the first crop failing the second one is frequently 
more serviceable as a relief to the monotony of Grapes, 
Peaches and Melons as dessert, so that extra attention 
may be profitably bestowed. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
We took advantage of the rain on Tuesday last to 
plant out our batch of spring-sown Cauliflower, also 
Brussels Sprouts and Celery ; the rains we have since 
had will be the means of giving all a good settling and 
a start. For this planting of Cauliflower we always 
rely upon Eclipse, and so far it has proved by far the 
best with us, in fact, were I asked to pronounce in 
favour of one Cauliflower it would be this variety. 
Peas will now make rapid growth, and sticking must 
not on any account be deferred, or the haulm will be 
damaged in the process, and then the crop is not at all 
satisfactory ; draw the soil to the rows in good time, 
so as to prevent the winds wrenching the plant. 
Winter Spinach being now nearly past, may be pulled 
up, and dug in as manure, when the ground will suit 
such crops as Endive or Turnips. Spring Spinach must 
be sown at frequent intervals, as it so soon runs to seed. 
The New Zealand should be sown in pots in heat, and 
planted out when hardened off; this will give a good 
summer supply, and at intervals a dish is much 
relished. A good breadth of Turnips may now bo sown 
without fear of bolting, and with the damp weather fly 
may be avoided ; they had our first batch. Another 
good sowing made a fortnight hence will ensure a 
