April 30, 1887. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
placed on the ground along the front side of the house. 
These caudles were lighted about 11 p.ra., when the 
temperature soon after rose to 45° Fahr. In the 
morning this had only sunk to 40°, so that the Peach 
and other blooms were perfectly unhurt. 
The Drought and its Effects. —The un¬ 
usually dry weather, three weeks of April without 
rain, lias affected spring-flowering plants very differ¬ 
ently at Oakwood. Of two North American plants one 
has been injured the other benefited by it. The 
“May flower,” Epig«a repens, though flowering freely, 
has smaller flowers and smaller trusses than usual, 
while Blood-root, Sanguinaria canadensis, has been 
especially fine, though in full sun ; in a rockwork bay 
above seventy beautiful flowers were out at once ; all 
the Daffodil family in the damper situations have been 
very fine. We have a tree now in bloom which is, I 
think, not nearly enough grown, the Weeping Cherry, 
Cerasus pendula. I had never heard of it till Mr. 
Bunyard, of Maidstone, advised me to get it, but every¬ 
body admires it. The flowers are single and small, 
but many, and hang most gracefully.— George F. 
Wilson. Heatherbank, W eybridge, April 23rd. 
Poinsettia pulcherrima Planted Out.— 
Your correspondent, “ J. H. H.,” in your last week’s 
number, writes about Poinsettias planted out, and 
sends you cut examples from a plant in his small 
Cucumber house. I am sure that “ J. H. H.” will 
forgive me when I state that under these initials I 
recognise a friend, and that 1 have repeatedly seen 
the large plant in question during the winter, for it 
is somewhat a veteran, nor have I seen it without 
fine bracts since November. At a recent meeting of 
the Gardeners’ Society at Birmingham, the writer, 
Mr. Plorton, gardener to R. Chamberlain, Esq., M. P., 
contributed three very fine heads of bracts, which 
rather astonished some of the members by their size. 
The fact of this plant doing so well planted out, and 
its continuous blooming after the first bracts or in¬ 
florescence is cut away by the formation of secondary 
bracts, is a question well worthy of the consideration 
of our market growers, for a big supply of these during 
Easter, as Mr. Horton has had, would fetch a price in 
our markets.— Edgbaston. 
Susette de Bavay Pear. —Dessert Pears become 
doubly valuable at this season of the year, when home¬ 
grown fruit of any kind is by no means over plentiful. 
The variety under notice ripens in January and 
February ; but even now, at the end of April, it is in 
excellent condition in Mr. Beaton’s fruit room, Style 
Hall, Gunnersbury. The ripening of fruit can be 
greatly retarded by keeping it in cool quarters until 
neat the time when wanted for use, as we have ample 
evidence in the case before us. Fruits imperfectly matured 
or mellowed, after being placed in an ordinary sitting 
room for a fortnight, materially improved in flavour, 
and in the melting, juicy, and sugary condition peculiar 
to the fruit when at its best. The fruit room in which 
he Pear in question was stored is underground, being, 
in fact, formerly used as an ice house, and is accord¬ 
ingly exceptionally cool. Ordinarily, the fruit is 
medium-sized and pale yellow when matured, more or 
less suffused with russet, especially round the eye ; but 
a quantity of small fruits had evidently been collected 
from another probably much less vigorous tree. 
Anemone Fanninise. — Seedlings of this new 
South African species, raised from seeds that were 
received from Natal last year, have just commenced 
to flower in a cool house at Kew, containing bulbs 
and similar things. The leaves are all radical at 
present, orbicular, five to seven - lobed, ample and 
distinct in appearance ; the flowers are moderately large 
and white, but will almost certainly improve in that 
respect when the plants attain size and gain strength. 
The outer five petals are much broader than the inner, 
and more or less distinctly tinted w T ith purple externally, 
while the latter are linear, more numerous and whiter. 
If this species proves amenable to improvement under 
the hands of the hybridist or cultivator we may yet 
obtain something fine, while the distinctness of the 
type adds greatly to its value. It may prove in many 
respects similar to Anemone japonica, but differs in the 
orbicular shallowly-lobed leaves. 
TrougTiton’s Prolific Cucumber. —I had a 
few seeds of this Cucumber sent to me by a friend early 
in January, with a request that I would give it a trial, 
and knowing that my friend had been very successful 
with it during the winter, I was anxious to do so. 
Shortly after this I read in your columns that fruit of 
it had been exhibited at a meeting of the Fruit Com¬ 
mittee, when it was compared to Itollisson’s Telegraph. 
My plants were but young at the time, and the fruit 
small, though I doubted the correctness of the remark. 
I am, however, now in a position to state that it bears 
no resemblance to that variety except in colour, which 
is common to most Cucumbers. I have the two 
varieties growing in the same house, and they are 
quite distinct. I have never yet seen Rollisson’s Tele¬ 
graph with four and six fruit to a joint, measuring 
3 ins. to 12 ins. in length. This may be frequently 
seen on Troughton’s Prolific. The skin is of a good 
green colour, thinly covered with spines, slightly tipped 
with black. The plant has a vigorous, strong and 
prolific constitution—qualities that must commend it 
as a winter Cucumber. It does not grow quite so quick 
as Rollisson’s Telegraph, but it attains about 24 ins. in 
length, and proportionate girth.— Andronicus. 
Verge Cutters.—At p. 522, “Salopian” asks for 
information respecting verge-cutting machines. I am 
pleased to inform him that we are using one of Messrs. 
Green’s patents, and we are highly satisfied with it. 
It does its work admirably, and is easily pushed at a 
good walking pace ; that is if the edges are ill good 
order. We find it a great saving in labour, as we have 
a considerable amount of this work to do. Previous to 
getting this machine we found the shears most trying. 
It is just possible “ Salopian ” will not meet with a 
better for general purposes than this.— H. Markham, 
Mereworth Castle, Maidstone. 
Chou de Burghley.—Having jread the various 
opinions expressed from time to time, as to the qualities 
of this plant as a vegetable, I was induced to give it a 
trial. It has been a puzzle to many to say to which 
section of Brassicas it belongs, and, I must confess, I 
am somewhat at sea upon the~point. The leaves and 
habit of the plant through the winter resembles a true 
Cabbage ; but in spring the leaves unfold and display 
a small compact flower head about the size of a cricket- 
ball. But here this head seems to lay longer dormant, 
nestling amongst the tender Cabbage-like leaves, whilst 
the Cabbage bolts out upright, its tier after tier of 
leaves carrying its small flower-bud along with it. The 
sluggishness of this small Broccoli-like head to move, 
and with the warm advancing spring weather again 
causes shoots to burst out up the stem. Whether it 
is cooked and served separately as a Cabbage, Broccoli, 
Sprouts, or altogether, the raiser is to be congratulated 
upon his shrewdness in naming it Chou de Burghley. 
Like others, I consider its greatest merit is as a 
Cabbage, and I consider it likely to prove a most 
excellent hardy winter vegetable. Its cooking qualities 
are good, being mild and delicate in flavour.— B. L. 
-- 
ORCHID NO TES AND GLEANINGS. 
The Orchid Growers’ Calendar. — With 
Cattleyas and Lrelias generally, the best time to re-pot. 
them is after they have done flowering and fairly 
settled down to grow. Thus the Thames, which have 
nearly all done flowering and are actively moving, 
should now be re-potted if they require it ; the 
Mendeliis to follow in their turn later on ; and each of 
the sections of large-flowering Cattleyas as they are 
ready, every batch being allowed a time after the 
flowering is done to recover and commence growth. 
Above all things it is necessary to secure a good sample 
of light peat of Fern-root, as free from soil as possible, 
as this simplifies Cattleya and Lselia culture immensely. 
At one time it was next to impossible to obtain such ; 
but at present several of the dealers can supply fine 
samples. 
Many plants of Laelia elegans that have flowered, and 
require re-potting or basketting should be attended to ; 
the varieties of this plant flower at various seasons, and 
are seldom ready for re-potting all at once. Cattleyas 
and Lfelias, when potted in good material, and in pots 
well-drained two-thirds of the way up, by no means 
require re-potting every year; and in many cases may be 
left in the same pots two or three years with advantage 
to these florvers, by carefully removing the old peat at 
potting time, thoroughly driving out accumulated dirt 
from amongst the drainage by forcing 1 water in from the 
syringe. After leaving them uncovered for an hour or 
so, replace on the surface good fibrypeat, and where sweet 
charcoal can be obtained, use a few pieces of it. If 
not a few crocks worked in with the peat is veiy bene¬ 
ficial in ventilating the drainage, and ensuring the free 
passage of water. In good samples of peat stout 
rhizomes of Pteris aquilina will be found ; these some 
remove and throw away, but this should not be done, 
but they should be worked up with the rest of the peat, 
any surplus being placed first on the top of the crocks. — 
James O'Brien. 
Mr. Shuttleworth’s Cypripediums.—The 
number and variety of these are truly surprising con¬ 
sidering the limited space at command for their 
accommodation. The specimens are neither large nor 
extensively in flower, but their healthy appearance 
and the choice nature of the kinds make ample amends 
in that respect, Cypripedium Druryi, a comparatively 
recent introduction from India, is at once beautiful 
and interesting amongst Cypripediums, owing to its 
novel, striking and uncommon colour. The whole 
flower is of a rich shining yellow colour, with a deep 
brown or black longitudinal band along the middle of 
the sepals and petals. The twin-flowered scape of C. 
Warneri biflorum bears blooms having highly attractive 
colours, that centre in the petals, but more especially 
the upper sepal or standard. The deep purple spots 
on the petals of C. Argus are very characteristic of that 
species, u'hich well merits the distinction of being 
named after that goblin-eyed being, Argus. The rare 
hybrid C. supereiliare is conspicuous by the enormous 
size of its lip, which is purple, and the strong fringe of 
hairs with which the upper edge of the petal is 
furnished. Another striking hybrid, flowering at 
present, is C. vernixium, having for its parents C. 
Argus and C. villosum ; and the flowers of which are 
very large with brownish purple petals, while the 
foliage is very robust and faintly tesselated with two 
shades of green. The flowers have, moreover, both 
size and a striking appearance to recommend them. 
The same may be said of C. Dautheri, the upper sepal 
or standard of which is the most attractive feature of 
the flower. This is large brown and purple flushed 
with green, and having a broad white margin flamed 
with a claret colour. C. callosum is a striking and 
handsome hybrid, rapidly getting disseminated in 
gardens, and likely to become popular. The standard 
is striped with green, and flushed claret on a white 
ground, and the petals are characterised by having dark 
purple spots near the upper edge. We must not 
omit the beautiful-foliaged C. Lawrencianum, whose 
handsomely tesselated leaves will always render it 
conspicuous in a group independent of the flowers, 
which, however, are not to be despised at any season. 
There are many other rare and beautiful species or 
hybrids in Mr. Shuttleworth’s collection, which we 
must notice on a future occasion. 
Odontoglossum Rossii.—A small plant of an 
almost white variety of 0. Rossii made its appearance 
at Protheroe & Morris’s Rooms on Friday last. Seven 
and a-half guineas were bid for it, but the plant did 
not change hands. 
Orchids in Scotland.—We are pleased to hear 
that Mayfield, Falkirk, so long the home of the late 
Provost Russell, has passed into the hands of a gentle¬ 
man who promises to maintain its orchidic reputation. 
The present proprietor, Mr. Robert Wilson, has rebuilt 
the houses, and is filling them up with a choice 
collection of Orchids, which are being cultivated by 
Mr. Sorley, the old gardener, who had charge of Provost 
Russell’s collection. Mr. James Wilson, father of the 
proprietor of Mayfield, has bought the neighbouring 
estate of Bantaskie, and is also forming there a large 
and choice collection. The new Cattleya Schroderje 
flowered for the first time in Scotland in this collection ; 
and recent additions to the collection are a plant of 
Coelogyne Massaugeana, nearly 3 ft. over ; a grand 
specimen of Laelia elegans Turneri; and Odontoglossum 
Pescatorei Wilsoni, a beautifully spotted variety. 
Cattleya Lawrenciana.—In the paragraph 
referring to Cattleya Lawrenciana, in your issue of 
to-day, you mention eight as the greatest number of 
flowers yet produced upon a spike. I have now a 
plant with three spikes, on one of which is nine 
flowers, and the others have six each. The flowering 
bulbs are all home grovm.— S. Courtauld, Booking 
Place, Braintree, April 23rd. 
Dendrobium albo-sanguineum.—There are 
numerous plants of this very distinct Dendrobe now 
flowering in Mr. Shuttlewortli’s collection at Clapham. 
The flowers are very large, and produced on lateral but 
