60 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
September 25, 1886. 
water ; we do not approve of the use of manure-water 
during this period of their culture. To make sure that 
the turning round to prevent rooting through was 
thoroughly done ; we have had all ours moved, re¬ 
arranged, and more room given, so that the sun and 
air may freely play among them ; so far, they are a 
promising lot. Where Grapes are required early, and 
the Yinery has to be started early in November, it will 
be advisable to prune the Vines now so that the cuts 
may thoroughly heal. The house should be painted if 
necessary, or if this is not done, it must be thoroughly 
washed, after which, the Vines may be dressed with a 
solution according to fancy, or painted with “Gishurst,” 
which is even better. Necessary attention should be 
given to the border by surfacing or otherwise, and the 
house put into order, to be, perhaps, of use for placing a 
few special plants in instead of remaining empty. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
We have gone through the Celery square, giving the 
final touch to the early batch, and making the later 
lot secure by half-earthing. So far we have not ob¬ 
served any trace of insects on our plants : we planted 
out all ours on the level, and, certainly, we have better 
heads than''when we grew it in trenches ; in fact, I am 
so pleased with it that I shall adopt this plan for the 
future, but I do not pretend to say it would be ad¬ 
visable everywhere. 
The Asparagus beds which were sown in drills we 
have gone through again -with the hand-fork, removing 
all superfluous roots, after which, a good scuffling is all 
the attention it will require, for a time at least. . Now 
that we are subject to frosts it will be advisable to 
break the leaves over the heads of Cauliflowers which 
are forming ; this will protect them from harm and 
help to keep the flower pure. Tomatos on the walls 
must be kept cut when they begin colouring, so that 
the plant may be relieved as much as possible, and 
induced to ripen up all the crop ; if the fruit after 
being cut is placed on a good airy shelf, they will 
quickly colour. 
It will be advisable to go over the Cherry trees from 
which the fruit is gathered, and give them a thorough 
syringing with paraffin mixture ; by this means much 
black fly is destroyed at this season, and the trees con¬ 
sequently will be cleaner next spring. Our Peach and 
Nectarine trees both inside and out we serve in the 
same way. Should those inside be infested with scale, 
syringing in this way two or three times after the crop 
is off will be found an effectual remedy. — TV'alter 
Child, Croome Court. 
-- 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
Potting Vanda insignis, V. tricolor, and 
V. suavis Varieties. —These, like many other 
Orchids, do not like being disturbed at the roots unless 
there is actual need for it ; and they go two or three 
years or even more when well established by simply 
having all the material about them which it is possible 
to remove taken out, and fresh sphagnum supplied in 
its place. However, it is at times desirable to give the 
plants a shift, and for doing that, or for top-dressing, 
as before described, no better time can be found than 
the present, when the greater part of them have finished 
flowering, and recovered from the consequent effects. 
This section of Vandas flowers at various times, be¬ 
ginning in early summer, and hence it is desirable to 
get them well established before the flowering time 
commences. Having also a great leaf-surface, and no 
pseudobulbs in which to store vitality, they are very apt 
to shrivel and lose their bottom leaves if they are dis¬ 
turbed just as the bright weather commences in spring ; 
and therefore I consider it better not to leave their 
re-potting until the month of February, when the 
re-potting of the Vandas, Aerides, and Saccolabiums 
from India proper is done, but to see to the large- 
growing Java and Timor varieties at once. These 
plants are much better grown now than formerly, most 
of the growers having found out that they are strictly 
intermediate or Cattleya-house plants, and that even 
in that division they succeed best in the coolest and 
airiest situations. 
Of late there seems to be a yearning among Orchid- 
growers for a new stuff for potting purposes, and German 
moss litter, such as is used in stables, is darkly hinted 
at. Let me take the present opportunity to say that I 
have experimented with many kinds of newly-advanced 
materials, but never found anything good but fibry 
peat of bracken-root and sphagnum moss, and those 
who seek other for cheapness sake are “ penny wise and 
pound foolish ” ; for although Orchids—and especially 
fresh-imported ones—will grow well in almost anything 
for a time, afterwards, when the stuffs, such as moss 
litter, decays—which it quickly does—the plants get 
sickly, and are worse than bad examples of fresh im¬ 
portation. 
The large growing Vandas do not like much stuff 
about them, and, hence, crocks and good pieces of Oak- 
charcoal (where procurable) should be worked in among 
the roots ; a surfacing of sphagnum moss from 1 in. to 
3 ins. in depth according to the size of the pot being 
afterwards given. After surfacing or repotting, they 
should be placed in a cool and rather shady part of the 
Cattleya house, and carefully and rather sparingly 
watered until signs of growing appears. These large 
Vandas will, in the ordinary course, frequently lose a 
few bottom leaves, but if well grown will send up 
young ones from the bottom, which more than amply 
compensate for the loss by supplying flowers where they 
would not otherwise ; the plants so furnished are lovely 
when in flower. I took one of V. suavis Yeitehii to 
the Royal Horticultural Society a good many years ago 
with a main stem and three young growths, altogether 
bearing fourteen large flower spikes. It is, therefore, 
better not to be too hasty in sinking the plants which 
have lost a few leaves in the pot, as if well grown in a 
moderately cool place the defect will soon be remedied, 
and the beauty of the plants improved.— James O'Brien. 
Potting Cool Orchids.— Mr. O'Brien objects 
to my time of potting these, and recommends January 
as preferable. As he is a grower of long experience 
his remarks are always entitled to respect, but by 
practical experience many Orchid-growers improve 
upon the advice of their former teachers, and amateurs 
who he is in the habit of addressing on this subject, 
like to know the different systems practised in other 
establishments, and to follow that which accords with 
their own experience. A large number of amateurs 
have, at different times, asked me for a rule which they 
could follow with safety in repotting Orchids of any 
kind. To lay down a hard and fast line for this, all 
who know the difficulties of their cultivation will 
acknowledge is a hard matter. The following was my 
invariable reply : When the roots first appear at the 
base of the youug growths, is the best time of all, un¬ 
less the weather be exceptionally trying. 
That Hyacinth and other bulbs force better after the 
turn of the year is no argument in favour of repotting 
cool Orchids at that time, as all who force these things 
know they must be potted in September or October to 
force well ; in the interval their roots are active, and 
spring is their natural time to grow and flower. 
Orchids, on the other hand, come from the other side 
of the world, and have a period of growth quite 
different to European plants generally. This, in the 
majority of cases, is from July to the end of our winter, 
and the best time to give new compost is when these 
young growths show by the roots that an increase of 
food is required; given then they feel the check less, and 
can finish their bulbs and flower without interruption. 
That we often have bright dry days after August is 
quite true, but the sun is more natural to plants than 
fire-heat, and its evil effects more easily minimised by 
shading and damping while the sun is on the house, 
while cool dewy nights are what cool Orchids delight 
in. — TV. Baxter, Shaklcford, Woking. 
Cattleya bicolor Wrigieyana. —I have 
pleasure in forwarding you a spike of seven flowers of 
this very beautiful variety of C. bicolor. It certainly 
is not so showy as the Mossue and Warnerii sections, 
still we consider it much more beautiful than some of 
the long-bulbed section. We have over fifty spikes in 
flower, and among them are one or two distinct forms. 
C. bicolor Measuresiana has appeared among them, 
and is a very good thing. The sepals and petals of most 
have the same tawny yellow of the one sent ; whilst 
in some the lip is just a solid patch of rich rosy purple; 
the column in many is pure white. You will observe 
the rosy purple of the lip, of the spike sent, scarcely 
extends to the bottom, whilst a band or margin of light 
pink runs round the lower part ; also that the 
column is beautifully shaded with pink. Our plants 
have been treated to a large share of light and heat, 
pott3d in peat with a little mess, crocked almost to the 
top of the pots, which are perforated ones, and a good 
deal of charcoal used in the drainage.— TV. Swan, The 
Gardens, Howick House, Preston. [The flowers are 
exactly as described by our correspondent, and a very 
beautiful variety it is.— Ed.] 
-->V<-- 
FLORICULTURE. 
Gold-laced Polyanthuses.— My show plants of 
these have been grown iu pots all the summer, and 
they have done remarkably well—better than during 
the three or four years previously. I attribute this to 
giving the plants a series of gentle shifts, so as to keep 
them moving on, and making strong roots. I have 
tried planting out, but the worms disturb the plants so 
much that I have had to give up the process, and go 
back to summering the plants in pots. The earlier 
they can be potted in summer the better, because they 
make good ropts, and in the spring they start into a 
very strong growth iu consequence, and make good 
blooming heads. If they are potted in the autumn, it 
is difficult to get them to root much until spring, and 
then there is not time for them to develop themselves 
so as to bloom well, and they seem to flower early iu 
consequence—before they are wanted for show purposes. 
My leading varieties this season are of dark 
grounds Cheshire Favourite, Prince Regent, Lord 
Beaeonsfield, a variety that has come to me from North 
Yorkshire with a good reputation ; John Bright, For¬ 
mosa, and Exile. Of red grounds: George IV, Lancer, 
Model, Napoleon, Lord Morpeth, and Sydney Smith ; 
and in addition a few fine selected seedlings. The 
plants are standing on a bed of cocoa-fibre, on a 
northern exposure, and I have just gone over them, 
examined the roots, and given a top-dressing of fresh 
soil. Here they will remain so long as the weather is 
fine, and then they will go into my Auricula house for 
the winter. 
I am growing the plants this season in rather larger 
pots than last year. They make a free-root growth in 
spring, and want room and food also. I found, last 
spring, that my plants soon dried when a fine day 
happened, and I found that it affected the flowers, 
causing them to become small and dull coloured. 
I think this has been a good year for all the Prim¬ 
ulas, in the open ground they have grown generally 
all the season, there are good tufts of foliage on the 
plants, and a marked absence of red spider. It is a 
very different state of things to last year, when, at this 
period, the crowns were almost denuded of leaves. 
That there will be a good deal of autumn bloom I 
have no doubt, but the Polyanthuses and Primroses 
are pretty certain to bloom at this season. So far there 
has been a marked absence of autumn trusses among 
my Auriculas, but there is ample time for them to put 
in an appearance yet. My plants are now housed in a 
north house for the winter, and all I can say of them 
is, that they appear to be doing as well as I can desire. 
— R. D. 
-- 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL. 
The meeting on Tuesday was a comparatively small . 
one—a welcome relief from the high pressure of the 
last few months. Dahlias and hardy fruits, mainly 
Apples, were the leading features, and there were 
enough of both to make an attractive display for the 
thousands of country cousins who passed through the 
conservatory during the day. Mr. T. S. Ware made a 
grand display of all sections of Dahlias, early-flowering 
Chrysanthemums, Lilies, and herbaceous plants gene¬ 
rally ; and next to him for extent, variety, and pleasing 
arrangement came Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt, with 
a remarkably fine bank of Tea Roses, Dahlias, her¬ 
baceous plants, and ornamental-leaved trees and shrubs. 
Messrs. Kelway & Son again sent one of their superb 
displays of Gladioli; and Messrs. Rawlings Bros., 
Romford, who make Dahlias a speciality, had an ad¬ 
mirable show of their favourite flowers. Messrs. W. 
Paul & Son, YJalthani Cross, contributed some eight 
boxes of beautiful cut Roses. Mr. V'. E. Boyce, Vic¬ 
toria Cottages, Archway Road, Highgate, showed an 
exceedingly fine summer-flowering Chrysanthemum, 
named Golden Fleece, a fine-shaped yellow that will 
make a good decorative variety. Mr. R. Dean, Ealing, 
ha l agool form of Diauthus ILddewigii, with dark- 
