January 8, 1887. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
301 
growth made will be of a flimsy nature if at all hurried. 
If the clusters are opening their flowers a temperature 
of65°by night must be maintained, with a corresponding 
rise by day. Tap the rods very frequently during the 
day, and be careful that no damping is done between 
the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. at this stage. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Sowing Peas and Beans, &c. —We are still frost- 
bound, but to-day signs are visible that the snow will 
quickly disappear. As soon as the ground will permit 
we shall make a good sowing of early Peas and Broad 
Beans, using William I. Pea and Wonderful Long-pod 
Bean, as we find them most suitable. We shall also 
make a good sowing in 10-in. pots of American Wonder, 
for first gatherings. As the weather will permit fill 
up blanks in the Cabbage squares. Look to the stock 
of autumn-sown Cauliflower and Lettuce, and if there 
are signs of failure, make a sowing in boxes, which must 
be placed in a gentle heat. 
Early Potatos. —We have put the soil into two 
more pits ready for Potatos, and as soon as it has become 
well warmed, the “sets” will be planted. We are 
trying Sutton’s. Seedling; quite hoping it will be 
valuable for this purpose. We have obtained a supply 
of the very old Ash-leaf (true), but intend to grow it 
all for seed this season, to obtain a good stock. We 
are making good progress with out-door pruning, so 
that digging may be resumed as early as weather 
permits. — IValter Child, Croome Court , January 4th. 
-- 
ORCHID RO TES AND GLEANINGS. 
Orchids at Heaton House, Cheshunt.— 
The owner of this collection of Orchids, J. C. Partington, 
Esq., ought to be very proud of his Phakenopsis. They 
are really and truly grand ; I have not seen any ap¬ 
proaching them in excellence, and as cultivated 
specimens they are admitted to be unrivalled. They 
are free from root and leaf pest of any kind ; the foliage 
is without spot or blemish, and the last and fully de¬ 
veloped leaves are gigantic, in many instances over 
1 ft. long, from 3 ins. to 5 ins. in width, very firm, and 
of thick texture throughout. A plant of the old Javan 
variety of P. grandiflora is now producing a bloom spike 
with upwards of forty flowers. This is a single¬ 
stemmed plant with thirteen leaves, some of them 1 ft. 
and upwards in length, and 3 ins. in breadth. P. 
Schilleriana, P. amabilis, P. violacea and P. Sanderiana 
are equally vigorous, and it is almost needless to say 
that the flower spikes and panicles of blossoms are 
enormous. 
Mr. Searing, the gardener, attributes much of his 
success to the frequent sponging of the leaves with 
clean water, careful attention to the atmospheric 
condition of the house, and to giving less water at the 
roots than is generally thought to be necessary ; but 
whatever may be the secret of his success, the result is 
apparent in the magnificent, clean and healthy plants, 
and superb spikes. One may often see two or three 
specimens of Phalamopsis well done, but to see a house- 
full of such excellent plants as these is a rare occurrence. 
There is nothing exceptional in the house in which 
they are grown, which is a lean-to with a south aspect, 
the atmosphere of which is rather dry ; temperature 60° 
to 65° in winter, 70° to 75° in summer. 
Mr. Searing’s success as a grower is not confined to the 
Phalsenopsis; Odontoglossums, Masdevallias, Lycastes, 
Anguloas, Cattleyas, &c., are all well grown by him. 
A recent addition to the gardens is a good roomy light 
Cattleya house, in which the plants are making excellent 
progress, the last pseudo-bulbs, in many instances, being 
quite exceptional. The collection includes most of the 
best kinds, and, probably, the largest stock of the best 
form of C. Gaskelliana alba in the country. The 
beautiful genus Ltelia is abundantly represented, and 
many of them are in bloom. The East Indian house 
contains well-grown good specimens of choice Orchids. 
A grand plant of Angnecumsesquipedalehad six spikes 
of bloom ; Aerides Lawrencwe, two spikes ; and Aerides 
cylindricum, a large mass, was showing bloom. I also 
noted a plant of the beautiful Grammatophyllum 
Ellisii, in good condition, in this rather hot house. 
Dendrobium Dearei was making up fine growths ; in 
fact, Dendrobes are specially well done in this collection. 
The Odontoglossum house is full of promise for 
bloom. One plant of 0. crispum had five spikes, and 
many of the new pseudo-bulbs were developing two 
spikes each. On one enormous branching spike I 
counted ninety flower-buds. 0. Pescatorei sometimes 
produces a great number of flowers on a spike, and 
some of Mr. Partington’s plants have spikes with seven 
branches. I have only mentioned a few that were 
showing spikes, being much more interested in the 
exceedingly robust and sturdy development of the 
plants, and the great strides some of them had made 
from small to large bulbs in a short space of time. A 
noticeable feature throughout this collection is the 
thick substantial leaves and firm healthy tissue, and 
the use, not the abuse, of the watering-pot. All the 
plants are evidently handled by a master hand, and to 
Mr. Searing all credit is due for the excellent condition 
of the collection. The owner is a great enthusiast, and 
loves his plants, as a true amateur, for the pleasure they 
bring him.— G. J. 
Lissochilus speciosus.— This terrestrial Orchid 
has a strange habit of sending up suckers at some 
distance from the old plant, and which appear some¬ 
times on the other side of a path some 4 ft. wide or 
more. They appear to be seedlings, but when they first 
show themselves above ground, the leaves are as large 
as those of the mother plant. The query suggests 
itself whether, after all, these new comers are not 
seedlings that have attained considerable development 
underground before appearing above. Miss North 
painted this Orchid from one in my rock-work. The 
second year after planting the Lissochilus on Mr. 
Wilson’s rockery, the same peculiar habit was shown by 
the plant as happened in my garden, when it sent up 
shoots 4 ft. or 5 ft. away from the old stool. A grand 
specimen was figured by Johnstone at Conger Marsh ; 
this was 6 ft. high, and the counterpart of my plant 
magnified.— R. Hollack, Port Elizabeth. 
Prizes for Orchids at York. —We understand 
that owing to the success which attended the special 
exhibition of Orchids at the York Gala in June last, a 
subscription for the purpose of continuing the special 
prizes for Orchids at the next June show has been 
opened, and has been so liberally responded to, that 
it is proposed to offer the sum of 50 guineas, in four 
prizes, specially for Orchids, in addition to the usual 
Orchid prizes offered by the society. Messrs. Backhouse 
& Son have also offered £6 6.s. for four Orchids in 
flower, distinct, to be competed for by amateurs. 
Phaleenopsis amabilis. —In virtue of an over¬ 
sight on the part of the late Dr. Lindley, the 
Orchid that should have borne this name by right of 
priority, was named by him P. grandiflora. This was 
unfortunate, from the fact that when once plant names, 
whether erroneous or not, get disseminated in gardens, 
it is next to impossible to eradicate them. The above 
name was given to the plant by the botanist Blumo 
long before its introduction to this country. It is 
readily distinguishable from the P. amabilis of Lindley 
at all times, whether in flower or not. In the first case 
the comparatively long and narrow labellum will 
separate it from the wrongly-named plant ; and few 
cultivators would have difficulty in distinguishing the 
long spathulate or strap-shaped pale green leaves of 
this species when compared with the broad and short, 
often purple tinged, leaves of Lindley’s plant. The 
flowers of both species often vary in colour in a similar 
manner, so that no reliance can be placed upon these 
characters for distinguishing the two. As an alteration 
of the names may be found in some collections it may 
not be out of place to call attention to the facts of the 
case. 
A Crimson Satyrium.— We paid a visit to the 
locality where the grand crimson Satyrium grows, 
but could detect no signs of it ; foliage, stems, and 
all were gone. We hope a friend of ours got some 
last week, as he told us he went in quest of them. 
They should be collected before the flower-stalks are 
blown away or scattered by the wind, otherwise it is 
impossible to find them. The foliage decays before the 
flowers are expanded on the upper part of the stem, so 
that they can be moved with safety while in full flower. 
The same statement applies to Gladioli. We are not 
certain about the specific name, but Mr. Bolus says it 
is not S. membranaceum, as that name belongs to a 
smaller species with pink flowers. The bracts of this 
latter species are pale brown, membraneous or paper¬ 
like ; but they are a much darker brown in the crimson- 
flowered species, which we have been endeavouring to 
collect and add to our collection.— R. HallacJc, Port 
Elizabeth, Nov. 22nd, 1886. 
FLORICULTURE. 
Late-Flowering Roses. —A correspondent writing 
the other day said—by way of a footnote to his letter—I 
wish you would give in the Gardening World a list 
of Roses that may be denominated autumn-bloomers. 
I need scarcely say that it would be difficult to name 
a number of varieties that would find acceptance with 
all growers ; yet I am able to supply some names of 
Roses that, I think, will meet the wishes of the 
enquirer. The varieties I name are, on the whole, of 
robust constitution, and do well when planted in a 
moderately rich soil ; and as a good time to plant will 
be during the mild open weather that will surely 
follow upon the fall of snow, the list may be regarded 
as a seasonable one. 
Of hybrid perpetuals I can name : A. K. Williams, 
Alfred Colomb, Alphonse Soupert, Avocat Duvivier, 
Baron de Bonstetten, Black Prince, Camille Bernardin, 
Charles Darwin, Charles Lefebvre, Comtessede Serenye, 
Comtesse d’Oxford, Crown Prince, Dr. Andry, Duchess 
de Morny, Duchesse de Vallombrosa, Duke of Edin¬ 
burgh, Duke of Teck, Elie Morel, Etienne Levet, 
Ferdinand de Lesseps, Fisher Holmes, Francois Levet, 
Fra^ois Michelon, Horace Vernet, John Bright, J. S. 
Mill, La France, La Rosiere, Louis Dore, Louis Van 
Houtte, Madame Charles Wood, Madame Eugene Yerdier, 
Madame Gabriel Luizet, Madame Hippolyte Jamain, 
Madame Lacharme, Madame Laurent, Madame 
Nachury, Madame Rothschild, Madame Victor Verdier, 
Mdlle. Emilie Fontaine, Mdlle. Eugenie Verdier, Marie 
Rady, Mdlle. Marie Verdier, Magna Charta, Marguerite 
de St. Amand, Marie Baumann, Marquise de Castel- 
lane, Merveille de Lyon, Mons. E. Y. Teas, Mons. 
Norman, Nardy Freres, Pierre Notting, Queen of 
Queens, Reynolds Hole, Royal Standard, Senateur 
Vaisse, Star of Waltham, Violette Bouyer and Xavier 
Olibo. I also name the following Tea-scented varieties : 
Catherine Mermet, Innocente Pirola, Madame Sertot, 
Madame Willermoz, Marie Van Houtte, Niphetos, 
Gloire de Dijon, Souvenir d’Elise and Souvenir d’un 
Ami. Hybrid Tea : Lady Mary Fitzwilliam. Bourbon: 
Baronne Gonella and Souvenir de la Malmaison. 
It will, perhaps, be said that this is a long list, but 
it includes all that were flowering well in the month of 
September in a large collection. This is my justifi¬ 
cation for classing them as autumnal-flowering Roses. 
Now a hint or two as to planting Roses. I am persuaded 
that a great many fail through planting being imper¬ 
fectly done ; and so when a bed is to be made, the soil 
should be thoroughly trenched 2 ft. deep, or as the 
nature of the sub-soil will admit of this being done, 
working into it at the same time some rich turfy loam 
from an old pasture, and some well-decomposed animal 
manure. If this be well done at the outset, the beds 
will last some years, provided a good surface dressing of 
manure be put on annually. 
And do not prune at the time of planting. The 
Hybrid Perpetuals may be pruned about the beginning 
of March, but the Tea-scented not until the last week 
in April ; in both instances, much, of course, must 
depend upon the state of the weather. The most 
vigorous-growing varieties should have some shoots 
taken out entirely, the others being from 6 ins. to 
18 ins. long, according to their vigour. The moderate 
growing sorts should be cut back closer, say from 3 ins. 
to 6 ins.— R. D. 
-- 
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS. 
Table Plants. —Will some correspondent please name the 
best two Table Plants, one for stove and the other for green¬ 
house culture?— G. S. 
Phal.enopsis. —Can any correspondent say which was the first 
Phalienopsis introduced to this country, and to whom we must 
give the credit of first cultivating any of the beautiful and 
popular genus now so much admired in our hot-houses? — 
F. R. M. 
Ficus elastica. —A fine plant of this was given me in autumn, 
but for some reason or other it has lost the greater part of its 
foliage, and the upper part of the stem has completely rotted 
away. It was growing beautifully when I had it; when it was 
placed in a room where a fire is seldom lighted. What is the 
cause of its failure, and is it possible to grow it in a dwelling- 
house? — IT. B. K. 
Evergreen, Shrubs and Conifers. —What is the reason that 
so many of these evergreen ornamental subjects have been 
prostrated by the recent snow storm, when ordinary trees, 
shrubs and similar things — both in the shrubbery or woods— 
although, in many cases, severely broken, have been left 
standing? Is their root system deficient in staying power to 
resist the storms of wind and snow, with which our country 
is occasionally visited?—./. UcD. 
Vines not Ripening. — George Ridelle: The difficulty of ripen¬ 
ing the wood would have been more easily tackled in autumn, 
while the rods were still furnished with foliage. The next best 
remedy in this particular case, is to leave the vines unpruned for 
a few weeks, and apply a little fire heat, leaving ample ventila¬ 
tion at the top of the house, according to the state of the weather. 
A dry atmosphere should be maintained during the operation, 
and every precaution taken to prevent the vines starting into 
growth owing to the lateness of the season. A week or ten days 
of this treatment should suffice, after which, the rods may be 
pruned, and allowed to rest till all danger of bleeding is over, 
when they start into growth in spring. 
Names of Plants. —./. Dawson: Neplirolepis exaltata. 
.7. IV. B.: 1, Taxus 1 accata fastigiata ; 2, Cupressus Nutkaensis ; 
3, Libocedrus decurrens ; 4, Juniperus chinensis. 
