684 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 26, 1886. 
front lights right open. A thorough ripening of the 
wood will then be secured, and the foundation for 
success next season be ensured. 
In the late houses admit an abundance of air, syringe 
freely, stop all lateral growths at the first pair of leaves, 
tie-in and keep all as neat as possible. There is equally 
as much pleasure in looking at a -well-furnished Peach- 
house as at a Vinery, where, as a rule, only the clusters 
of fruit are admired. As soon as it can be perceived 
that the Muscats have finished stoning, which can be 
readily done by the berries assuming a semi-transparent 
hue, a little extra heat in the pipes may be allowed, 
and a free circulation of air admitted. This will tend 
to harden the foliage and so keep it clean, as the strain 
upon it has yet to come ; for although by admitting 
extra light you may “colour ” white Grapes, it will not 
last, and towards the autumn the berries so coloured 
will turn brown on exposure to the light. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
In this department extra activity must prevail, for 
with the showery unsettled state of the weather, so es¬ 
pecially promotive of growth, weeds will speedily obtain 
the upper hand, and in many instances choke the crops. 
Let all available strength be given to the frequent 
hoeing and weeding of crops, more particularly the seed¬ 
beds ; this extra labour although, perhaps, it may 
now seem a great bore, will in the end prove of the 
greatest benefit. I have lately been particularly musing 
upon what would be'the state of a great deal of the land 
if there were no weeds ? I am much afraid it would fall 
into a most lamentable state, as the growth of weeds 
causes the soil to be constantly stirred, greatly to the 
well-being of the crop growing ; and were it not for 
weeds, I think there is but little doubt much of the 
labour now employed would be dispensed with, so that 
we must look upon weeds as playing a most important 
part in horticulture. 
The moulding of Potatos is completed, and with that 
operation all seedling weeds destroyed, an occasional 
hand weeding may be necessary later on, but that is all 
until the crop is housed. Take advantage to secure the 
first layers of the Strawberries for pot culture, which are 
now ready, and in strawing the beds have the runners 
at the sides, and ends kept on the top of the straw ; 
this is necessary only where layering has to be done 
from the fruiting squares.— JF. Child, Croome Court. 
--- 
ORCHID DOT ES AND GLEANINGS. 
Watering Orchids in Summer.— From the 
present, onwards until the autumn, is the season in 
which by far the greater part of the Orchids require 
the most water, indeed, there are but few of them that 
require to be kept dry. The iErides, Vandas, Phalien- 
opsis, Calauthes, Dendrobiums, Cattleyas, Lielias, and 
indeed most of the other large sections of Orchids at 
this season require a fair supply of water, and the 
Odontoglossums, Masdevallias, and other cold-house 
plants, which require water at all seasons, now demand 
a more than usually liberal supply. 'With most Orchids 
a stinted allowance of water in the hot weather is one 
of the commonest causes of weak shrivelled and small- 
flowered specimens ; and I have noticed that plants 
kept too dry in hot weather are much more liable to 
be attacked by insects than those freely watered. It 
is, therefore, better to err in giving too much than too 
little; rain-water in all cases being used where possible. 
This recommendation of a liberal supply of water in 
the case of freely growing and rooting plants brings us 
to another point necessary to touch upon in connection 
with it, viz., the necessity of potting all epiphytal 
Orchids, so that the material may give free drainage and 
allow the water to pass off without its remaining too 
long about the plants, or getting the peat or sphagnum 
around them into a sodden condition. If the peat is of 
the proper quality, there is little fear of this if the 
plants are potted so that they drain well in the first place, 
but if by chance, or by reason of the peat being of bad 
quality, the plants should seem likely to become too 
wet, water should be withheld and a watch be kept 
on them to try and ascertain the cause why the mois¬ 
ture does not pass away so freely as it ought to do. 
Should it be found that it is due to bad drainage or qiottiug 
material, a shift into another pot or basket should be 
given at once, unless anything in the condition of the 
growth or flower should forbid it, in which case the 
matter should be seen to at the earliest safe opportunity. 
The Dendrobes and bulbous Calanthes will be now 
growing vigorously, and will require abundance of water 
and heat. All the Dendrobes like a position near the 
glass of the roof either in baskets or pots, and the 
Calanthes, such as C. Veitchii, are not averse to such a 
position, as those who have failed to grow them well on 
the stages, have found on placing them on shelves or 
suspending them near the glass, for a marked improve¬ 
ment of condition invariably follows. Calanthes, when 
rooting strongly and growing freely, like a little weak 
liquid manure, such as cow manure, and some speak 
highly of a sprinkling of Clay’s Fertilizer among the 
potting material. Shading and ventilation, it is hardly 
necessary to say, are two very important matters re¬ 
quiring constant attention. — James O'Brien. 
An Orange Striped Cattleya Gaskelli- 
ana. —That noted by us, at p. 771, August 8th, 
1885, is again in flower for the third time with Messrs. 
Thomson and Son, Tweed Vineyards, Clovenfords, 
Galashiels, thus proving its constancy as a remarkable 
and handsome novelty. The flowers are those of a good 
C. Gaskelliana, 7 ins. across, the lip being very finely 
coloured with crimson and orange, but the great 
peculiarity is that the same rich tinting of the lip is 
also on the two lower sepals, both of which have fine 
broad bands of orange and bright crimson, giving the 
whole flower a gay and novel appearance. 
’ Gattleya Mendelii varieties are also in flower 
grandly with Messrs. Thomson & Son, one specimen 
surpassing anything in its way that we have seen, and 
would probably stand first in beauty if staged in a 
competition open to all Cattleyas. It seems nearest to 
Messrs. F. Sander & Co.’s C. M. Duke of Marlborough, 
but superior even to it. One spike bears four superbly 
formed flowers, each 8 ins. to 8^ ins. across ; petals and 
sepals broad, white flushed with a delicate pearly blush; 
front of labellum broad, perfectly round, and frilled, 
bright violet-crimson, exquisitely pencilled with a 
lighter tint, which in the tube fades to white, and runs 
into the yellow and crimson of the throat. It is 
altogether beyond description, and is marvellously 
beautiful. 
Cattleya Mossise.—From Farnborough Grange 
Gardens, Mr. John Crook sends blooms of an exquisitely 
delicate and fine form of this favourite Orchid. The 
sepals and petals are blush-white, lip blush on outside, 
pure white in front, delicately marbled with violet and 
stained with yellow in the tube ; the flowers measure 
8 ins. across, and the lip and petals are very prettily 
fringed. The plant, although not a large one, bears 
four spikes of eighteen flowers, which proves that 
Mr. Crook, who grows so many plants to perfection, 
thoroughly understands the management of this fine 
Cattleya. 
Odontoglossum vexillarium. —Seeing the 
notice in the gardening papers, of the Odontoglossum 
vexillarium exhibited so finely by Mr. Douglas at the 
late Regent’s Park show, I thought a note anent a plant 
I saw at Sir Charles Tennant’s, M.P., The Glen, Inner¬ 
leithen, would be interesting to some of your readers. 
Mr. McIntyre, the gardener at The Glen, bought the 
plant from us four years ago, a small bit in a 4-in. pot. 
It now fills a No. 1, and measures about 3 feet 
through, and is fairly smothered with blooms. There 
were 204 flowers fully open the day I saw it, and the 
variety is one of the very finest dark ones. The plant 
would fetch 50 guineas if put up by auction in either 
of the London Orchid sale rooms. — IF. Thompson, Jun. 
[We have a note also from “A. 0.” respecting this 
grand specimen.— Ed.] 
-- 
HORTICUL TURAL S OCIETIES. 
Royal Horticultural. —June 22nd. —Though 
designated a Pelargonium show, Pelargoniums were 
conspicuous only by the smallness of the number 
staged, the really attractive little shown being mainly 
composed of cut flowers of hardy plants, Roses in pots, 
aud a few odd subjects of an attractive character thrown 
in. Mr. T. S. Ware and Messrs. Barr & Sons, who 
have kept up a continuous display of hardy plants for 
some time, were, as usual, well to the fore, the former 
especially showing a large and varied collection of 
fine species and varieties. Messrs. Kelway & Son, 
Langport, staged a magnificent assortment of herbaceous 
Pmonies, double and single Pyrethrums, and other 
hardy plants, which we must refer to at greater length 
later on. Messrs. Paul & Son, the Old Nurseries, 
Clieshunt, were also large exhibitors of alpine and her¬ 
baceous plants, both in pots and as cut flowers, and an 
admirable collection of pot Roses came from the same 
firm. Messrs. Hooper & Co., Twickenham, contributed 
a good stand of herbaceous Pteonies, and a collection of 
very showy spotted Gloxinias, of which they are work¬ 
ing up a good strain. The same firm also had a fine 
pure white variety, named Avalanche. 
Among Orchids, which always come well to the front 
at these meetings, Major Lendy, Sunbury House, Sun- 
bury-on-Thames, exhibited a specimen of Cattleya 
Mossise, which reminded one of the days when “bed¬ 
ding-out” was not winked at. It was a genuine 
specimen nearly 3 ft. over, growing in a basket and 
bearing sixty-two spikes of flowers—a very fine piece, 
which was awarded a Bronze Banksian Medal. B. J. 
Measures, Esq., Cambridge Lodge, Flodden Road, 
Camberwell, staged a very nice group of Orchids made 
up of Cattleyas, Odontoglots, Oncidiums, Masdevallias, 
Cypripediums, Dendrobes, &c. Dr. Duke, Lewisham, 
exhibited Odontoglossum vexillarium guttatum, a va¬ 
riety with small flowers, and the lip dotted with small 
brown spots set in a ring of white. From Herr Mend- 
land, of Herrenhauseh, came a plant of Marsewiczella 
Mendlandii, with greenish white flowers distinguished 
by an oblong, longitudinal, bluish violet lip ; and from 
Mons. Bleu, Avenue d’ltalie, Paris, came Cypripedium 
javanicum superbiens, a handsome-foliaged variety with 
showy flowers, the dorsal sepal being white with green 
lines, the sepals green tipped with rose-pink, and 
densely spotted, and the lip olive-green with a light 
purple-brown shade. Messrs. F. Sander & Co. showed 
Odontoglossum Cherquensis, the Cherquense form of 
0. coronarium, in which there is rather more yellow 
than in the type ; and the small-flowered Zygopetalum 
obtusation, which has a conspicuous bluish purple 
lip. 
Messrs. M. Paul & Son, had an interesting display 
of boxes of cut shoots of various pictorial trees, mixed 
with Austrian Briar, white perpetual Scotch, and 
Stanwell perpetual Roses, &c. ; and Mr. G. Prince, 
Oxford, showed several boxes of exceedingly fine Tea 
Roses. From the royal gardens, Kew, came flowering 
examples of Streptocarpus Dunnii, a new plant found 
in the Transvaal gold fields, with enormous leaves 
resembling an elephant’s ears, and numerous panicles 
of tubular-shaped dull red flowers, a curiosity only ; 
and Exacum maeranthum, the Ceylon Gentian,' a 
handsome and useful decorative plant, with large 
salver-shaped purple blossoms, with conspicuous yellow 
anthers. The plant appears to be an easy one to grow, 
and it is certainly showy, with the merit of its flowers 
keeping fresh for several weeks ; it deserves to become 
a favourite. Mr. S. Ford, gardener to W. E. Hubbard, 
Esq., Leonardslee, exhibited a very striking South 
African proteaceous plant in flower, under the pro¬ 
visional name of Protea Hubbardii; it bore one large ter¬ 
minal head of flowers, surrounded by red bracts. Mr. R. 
Owen, Maidenhead, staged some fine cut blooms of a 
numberof seedling doubleand single-floweredlvy-leaved 
Pelargoniums ; and Mr. Stacey, Dunmow, again 
showed a couple of stands of fine seedling Verbenas. 
Mr. Turner, Slough, was the only exhibitor of show 
and decorative Pelargoniums, staging a fresh well- 
bloomed lot of wall plants ; Mr. Hill, gardener to Henry 
Little, Esq., Twickenham, had the best nine zonals. 
The new plants certificated, were Begonia Arthur 
Mallett, from M. Godefroy-Leboeuf, of Argenteuil, a 
pretty rosy red leaved variety with dark green veins, 
the result of a cross between B. subpeltata and B. Rex. 
Thunia Veitchiana, from Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, 
a garden hybrid between T. Marshalliana and T. 
Bensoniae, first exhibited as T. Mrigleyana ; the sepals 
and petals are mauve coloured, and the lip mauve and 
white streaked with violet, and the centre lemon- 
coloured ; a very pretty form. Thujopsis borealis 
lutea, from Mr. M. C. Slocock, Moking, a very hand¬ 
some conifer with all the young growths of a bright 
golden colour. Herbaceous Paeony, Princess of Males, 
from Messrs. Kelway & Son, Langport, a very fine 
double satiny white, with large broad petals. Pseony, 
Princess Beatrice, from Messrs. Kelway, a variety with 
broad rose-coloured guard petals, and a close compact 
rose-pink centre ; and P;eony, Queen Victoria, from 
Messrs. Kelway, large full double blush white ; extra 
fine. Cattleya Mossise Arnoldi, from Mr. S. Davenport, 
gardener to C. H. Hill, Esq , Arnold, Nottingham, a 
very fine white variety, with beautifully purple mottled 
lip. To Messrs. Paul ifc Son, Cheshun't, for Doronicum 
Draytonensis, a very showy species with large golden 
yellow blossoms; and to Messrs. Hooper & Co., Twicken¬ 
ham, for Petunia Empress, a new double variety with 
bright rose-pink self-coloured flowers, neat and compact 
in habit, and free blooming. 
At the meeting of the Fruit Committee, several 
Seedling Melons were tested for flavour but all failed 
to pass the Committee standard. Messrs. James Veitch 
& Sons sent a strong fruiting plant of a new Fig 
received from the Continent and named Pingo de Mel. 
The fruits are much like those of the Brown Turkey in 
shape, but were not ripe enough to pass judgment upon. 
It is said to be free bearing and to force well, does not 
drop its fruit, nor do the fruits split; credentials which 
will ensure for it further attention. The South Austra¬ 
lian Commission showed some very large handsome 
fruits of a Chinese Quince, Cydonia sp.; and from 
Chiswick, Mr. Barron brought up samples of Messrs. 
Carter & Co. ’s new Knickerbocker Radish, which had 
been sown there on May 12th ; it was passed on the 
