268 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 25, 1886. 
liberally dealt with, they speedily become infested with 
aphis and mildew. 
Neapolitan Violets. — The pots of Neapolitan 
Violets are throwing up a nice crop of flowers, conse¬ 
quently we have placed a batch of them on the front 
of the greenhouse stages, where their delicious perfume 
is quickly perceptible on entering the house. A good 
show can now be made in 
The Decorative House with Ericas of sorts, 
Primulas, Roman and other Hyacinths, Tulips and 
such-like, together with pot Camellias, Salvias and 
Eupatoriums. Chrysanthemums, with the exception 
of the late flowering-varieties, had now better be 
removed out-of-doors, placing them in some sheltered 
position ; let them be cut back and all the stakes 
removed, and also use caution that the labels are not 
displaced, or endless annoyance will be caused next 
season in the case of more cuttings being required to be 
taken to prepare sufficient stock. 
THE FORCING HOUSES. 
Bottling Grapes. — It will now be advisable to 
bottle off the late Grapes, such as Lady Downes, 
Alicantes and others, as often at this period they keep 
better in the grape-room than on the vines. If care 
has been exercised in the cutting of those with rather 
short wood, those remaining should all be fit for 
bottling. Be careful not to make more than the one 
cutting of the lateral, the one at the base. Should 
leaf-stalks remain on the laterals, let them be removed 
with the hand. A few pieces of charcoal should be 
placed in each bottle to assist in keeping the water 
sweet; and the nose of the bottles should also be 
plugged with dry moss or cotton wadding to prevent 
evaporation. Let the room be kept as dry as possible, 
and, on bright w'arm days, if the Grapes are expected 
to hang long and keep plump, the room must be ven¬ 
tilated. Maintain, if possible, an all-round tempera¬ 
ture of about 50°, but do not exceed this by artificial 
heat, or shrivelling will ensue. 
In the Early Vinery let the disbudding be carried 
on very steadily, being careful not to rob the vine of too 
much of its new growth at any one time ; half an hour 
devoted each morning to this work will keep it well in 
order. As frosty weather prevails, pay particular 
attention to the looping down of the laterals or they 
will quickly be injured. Remove all surplus bunches 
(of course leaving the most promising), and thus with 
ordinary care at setting time, little fear need be enter¬ 
tained. 
The Early Peach House will now be coming into 
flower, that is if the fruit is required in May; as the flowers 
open keep the trees and atmosphere of the house drier, 
remembering at the same time, that the house must be 
ventilated more or less every day. When the pollen is 
perceived on the anthers it will be advisable to go over 
the blooms at mid-day with a camel’s-hair brush, lightly 
touching each flow'er so that a good set may be secured. 
Introduce weekly to the forcing house—as may be 
required for supply—Hyacinths, Tulips, Deutzias and 
other such-like 
Plants for Furnishing a good yield of cut-flowers ; 
a dozen or two of Jules Margottin and Baron Prevost 
pot Roses should also be placed in heat, and if a mild 
bottom heat can be afforded to induce root action, so 
much the better. It will now be time to place a second 
batch of Strawberries on the shelves, and these may be 
relied upon to give a crop of fruit. Due attention must 
always be paid to the thinning down of the crop in good 
time, particularly those early in the season. 
Tarragon and Mint.— It will be advisable to place 
in heat a successional batch of Tarragon and Mint, as 
the first will not last long. We put in a good batch of 
Sea Kale last week, the first lot being exhausted. 
Should this cold weather continue, it will be advisable 
to place mats or other covering material over the roof 
of the Cucumber house, so as to reduce as much as 
possible the necessity for hard firing ; so productive is 
it of red spider with these plants. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
General Work. —In this department “Jack Frost” 
reigns supreme, completely stopping all ground work 
with the exception of wheeling operations, which should 
be carried on with all speed. The burning of garden 
refuse, prunings, &c., can now be attended to so that 
it will be ready for wheeling out on to the square in¬ 
tended for Potatos next season. Should very severe 
frosts prevail, extra litter must be placed over Celery, 
and if a handful of litter or Fern be placed over each 
of the spring Broccoli, it will greatly assist in keeping 
them sound. 
Decorations of all kinds will in most places employ 
some of the hands, and with the hope that all may have 
abundant material wherewith to complete their designs, 
I heartily wish my readers “A Merry Christmas.”— 
Walter Child, Croome Court. 
-~>X<-- 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
Dendrobium Deari*— Without any hesitation 
I affirm that this Orchid is my favourite, and if only 
growing one, and having plenty of heat, if the choice 
were left to myself, this would be the one. Two plants 
of it have alternately been in flower since May last, 
sometimes both together, during which time we have 
had three or four spikes of ten flowers each, besides 
several smaller ones with five to eight flowers ; and 
as the individual spikes last for ten weeks if not too 
damp, it goes far, I think, to justify my estimation of 
it. During the present dull weather it has become 
spotted in much less time : in fact, a spike just opening 
has become so in a bud state, caused by the fogs and 
damp of a fortnight since. To anyone who has not 
seen it I may say that the flowers are of a beautiful 
snowy white, with an emerald green blotch covering 
one-third of the lip, which, however, changes to a 
deep greenish yellow with age, while the white main¬ 
tains its purity to the last. The individual flowers are 
about 3 ins. across, some of them rather more.— E. 
Bumper, Limerick. 
This beautiful Orchid is one of the most lasting of 
flowers. A plant which producec^three fine heads of 
bloom this year has now (Dec. 18th) carried them fresh 
and fair for over five months ; for opening, as they did 
in the second week in July last, it is only within the 
past week that they have shown any signs of fading, 
and it will be at least two weeks more before the last 
of them will have to be removed. The purity of the 
white blooms with delicate green spot on the lip 
makes it a valuable flower, even if its enduring 
qualities were not so great.— J. T. Poe, Riverston. 
Veitch’s Manual of Orchidaceous Plants. 
—Messrs. James Yeitch & Sons announce the publi¬ 
cation, in parts, of a new work bearing the above title, 
and which will be uniform in size and style w T ith their 
admirable Manual of Coniferce, published a few years 
ago. Each part will contain a monograph of the 
cultivated species and varieties of one of the most im¬ 
portant genera, or of a group of genera ; thus Part I. is 
devoted to the genus Odontoglossum, and this will be 
followed in due time by II., Cattleyas and Lielias ; III., 
Dendrobiums ; IV., Cypripediums, &e. 
A Specimen Odontoglossum Rossii 
majus. —There is a plant here of the above growing 
in a 6-in. pan, suspended from the roof of the cool 
house, bearing twenty-five spikes and about three 
dozen fully expanded flowers. The spikes average 2 ft. 
each, and the plant will form a perfect bouquet when 
all the flowers are fully open, being symmetrical in 
shape ; and the blooms, which are equally distributed, 
hang down gracefully all round, so that there is little 
of the pan to be seen. The variety is not the best— 
still, it is not a bad one.— Thomas Simcoc, Cheltenham. 
Dendrobium rhodostoma. —This is one of 
Mr. Seden’s hybrids, and a very beautiful one it is. 
It has just flowered here for the third time this 
year. One very small bulb—I think less than 6 ins. 
long—had a bunch of its purple and white flowers 
upon it; and at the same time two other bulbs, 
younger and much stronger, were in flower. This 
season it has made a growth 3 ft. 6 in. long, which is 
still growing, and from the base of this another new 
growth is coming away. The plant seems determined 
not to rest at present. I have been told that this 
variety would be considered by the Messrs. Veitch 
much finer than any they have at Chelsea.— Thomas 
Simcoe. 
Orchids from Riversdale, Aigburth.— 
From that enthusiastic gentleman, E. Harvey, Esq., 
comes a box containing some of the finest things we 
have seen lately. Foremost maybe placed Lselia anceps 
(Garston variety). Imagine a fine L. autumnalis atro- 
rubens with very broad petals, and you have some 
idea of its segments ; then supply a well-shaped la- 
bellum—crimson, veined a bright yellow in the throat, 
and on the front blade an indescribably lustrous hue of 
dark velvety crimson on violet, something like that of 
L. Perrinii. It is by far the finest L. anceps we have 
seen, and was imported by The Liverpool Horticultural 
Co., from whom also Reginald Young, Esq., got a 
plant of it, of which he, too, sends us a flower. Als o 
from Mr. Harvey comes two very distinct forms, which 
may be called L. anceps Percivaliana vars. Odonto¬ 
glossum Cervantesii (Riversdale var.) is a charming 
thing, quite new in colour. Its flowers, which are of 
the good typical form, are purplish rose, the centres 
being lighter and marked with even concentric lines 
of bright crimson. The little spray of three flowers 
sent is simply lovely ; this also is one of The Liverpool 
Horticultural Co’s, importations. Also in the box we 
find three very fine and distinct forms of 0. Rossi 
majus, that marked 7 being the largest in form, and 
best in colour and substance we have seen ; a spray of 
Lselia albida Marianse ; a fine flower of the best form 
of Lycaste Skinnerii alba ; and the very dark form of 
Dendrobium bigibbum. "Would that some of our other 
correspondents would give us a chance of seeing their 
good things. 
Orchids from Clovenfords. —From Messrs. 
William Thomson & Sons comes a spike of twelve 
flowers of the fragrant Cymbidium giganteum, one of 
the most useful of winter-flowering subjects, and rival¬ 
ling in beauty even C. Lowianum itself. The yellowish 
green purple-striped flowers, with pale yellow lip spotted 
with warm crimson are very effective. Enclosed with 
the above were four flowers of a large form of Odonto¬ 
glossum Pescatorei, well rounded and pure white, with 
the disc bright yellow streaked with crimson, and the 
lip pure white with one to two small crimson spots ; 
a fine variety. 
Oncidium Jonesianum.— In a recent note on 
this beautiful and very distinct little Oncidium, it is 
stated that “cultivators are at great variance as to 
whether the leaves should stand or be suspended.” We 
have yet much to learn about this lately-introduced 
plant. I have grown it successfully on branches in the 
stove with its leaves pointing downwards, and in the 
only instance where I have seen it placed with the 
leaves erect, I observed that the first growth it sub¬ 
sequently made grew downwards naturally—exactly 
opposite to the position of the former growths, showing 
it preferred that position. I have noticed that it is 
now being tried in different houses and temperatures, 
and shall watch for the results which may be made 
public of such varied treatment.— J. T. Poe, Riverston. 
Syringing' Orchids. — Your correspondent, 
“A. C.,” seems to be delighted with his success since 
discontinuing the use of the syringe. I was not aware, 
however, that anyone advocated its general application 
to all Orchidaceous plants, but chiefly to the Dendrobe 
family, and also to some natives of the western hemi¬ 
sphere—Sobralias, for instance. Perhaps “A. C.” 
will kindly furnish your readers with the dimensions 
of the bulbs, or this year's growth of the following 
kinds of Dendrobiums cultivated by him or his friend : — 
D. bigibbum, D. superbiens, D. formosum, D. Fal- 
coneri, D. heterocarpum, D. albo sanguineum and 
D. Devonianum. Of course, the list might be greatly 
lengthened ; but these will be sufficient to show what 
can be done without the use of the syringe.— Thos. 
Simcoc, The Gardens, Lake House, Cheltenham. 
As a constant reader of, and an occasional contributor 
to The Gardening "World, I count myself amongst 
the number to whom your correspondent “A. C.” has 
promised to submit evidence in support of the “ no 
syringing ” policy. I confess I was rather staggered at 
such a sweeping expression, as that Orchids, of any 
kind, should not be syringed ; and I should like to ask 
“ A. C.” how his moisture-loving Bolleas, Batemanias, 
Warscewiczellasand Pescatoreas fared with no syringing 
or overhead watering, seeing that they come from a 
country where rain falls, with few exceptions, every 
day in the year. We tried them without the syringe, 
and did not succeed satisfactorily ; but we are now 
giving them a good bath with the syringe once a day, 
and, as the days lengthen, they will get it morning and 
evening, and they show their gratitude for the change. 
I would suggest here, that those who have failed (as 
many have done with this beautiful class of Orchids), 
should try the overhead watering with either syringe 
or watering-can and rose until such time as “A. C.’s” 
evidence be forthcoming. Another class, which I am 
partial to using the syringe freely on at the proper 
