May 7, 1887. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
565 
the choicest species and varieties now in flower, and 
the arrangement of the plants, is all that the most 
fastidious could desire, every specimen being so placed 
as to harmoniously contrast with its surroundings, and 
the result is a triumph of the floral decorator’s art. 
Odontoglossums and Cattleyas contribute the greatest 
number of specimens, among the former being some 
notably fine forms of Mendelii, the variable Law- 
renceana, including a pretty rose-coloured form, the 
new Schroderse, also a most variable plant, and the 
showy Skinneri, &c. Odontoglossum crispum alone 
furnishes some 200 spikes of flowers, and singularly 
fine are many of the forms of this most charming plant. 
Other notable examples of this genus are to be found 
in 0. Edwardii, 0. Ruckerianum, 0. Roezlii, 0. 
Pescatorei formosum, 0. amabilis, and 0. decorum, &c. 
Oncidium Marshallianum furnishes large spikes of its 
showy yellow blossoms. 0. papilio, the always at¬ 
tractive Butterfly Orchid, and the diminutive 0. 
nigratum, also lend interest to the display. Cypri- 
pediums, upon which there seems to be quite a run 
just now, are abundantly represented, while the richly- 
coloured Masdevallia's provide tints and shades not to 
be found in any other genus. Those enumerated only 
comprise the bulk of the plants on view, but it must be 
said that the remainder includes a considerable number 
of subjects of an interesting and beautiful character. 
Considering the lateness of the season, and that many 
notable species are not yet in flower, which in other 
seasons have been available at this period, the display 
is in every way a most remarkable one, and promises to 
remain so for the next three months. 
--XEc-- 
GOLDEN PIPPIN APPLE. 
The late Mr. T. A. Knight once stated that no 
variety of the Apple could retain its qualities for more 
than 200 years, and that the Golden Pippin, as a variety, 
would shortly become extinct. This fear has been 
entertained by others, but the Apple yet exists, and if 
anyone will refer to the list of sixty dessert Apples 
selected the greatest number of times from the whole of 
Great Britain, and published in the report of the Apple 
Congress, it will be found that the Golden Pippin stands 
twenty-second on the list. The Golden Pippin must 
be a very old Apple, for it is mentioned by Austin, 
Evelyn, Worledge, Ray, and other early writers. Its 
origin, too, is enveloped in uncertainty ; but Dr. Hogg 
in his Fruit Manual states that “all writers are agreed 
in calling it an English variety, and some state that it 
was raised at Parham Park, near Arundel, in Sussex.” 
I have been much interested in a passage relating to 
Apple culture which appears in Mr. Leo H. Grindon’s 
book on Fruits and Fruit Culture. He remarks, 
“ much depends, as regards success in Apple culture, 
upon the judicious care exercised in the original 
planting of the trees ; remembering at the outset that 
Apples like a deep sub-soil, and that to hope for good 
results from badly-drained land is out of the question. 
Apple trees have no love for the banks of streams, nor 
for any kind of low-lying situation, since it is here that 
fogs and spring frosts are likely to be most harmful. 
A south-west aspect, with a tendency to due south, is 
their delight as to point of the compass. If the situation 
be somewhat exposed, and anything in the nature of an 
orchard be intended, the trees should be planted rather 
near together, say about 18 ft. apart. In sheltered 
positions, and where the soil is kindly, the distance 
should be about 30 ft., the one from the other. In 
either case the lines of trees should be planted in 
such a way that every four trees shall make a square, 
but after the manner called by mathematicians 
‘ quincunx, ’ familiar in all kinds of spotted muslin and 
other web patterns. The individual trees have then 
more room, although the reciprocal distances are no 
greater than when disposed rectangularly. A very good 
plan supplementary to the Apple tree planting is to 
insert a Plum tree between every couple of Apples, the 
Plums beginning to bear sooner, and thus furnishing a 
revenue while the orchard itself, because of its growth, 
is not yet productive. But do not plant too many 
kinds. A nicely graduated succession of sorts is better 
than a multitudinous variety, to say nothing of the 
uncertainty of a great number of different sorts doing 
well in any one specific locality. No collection, even 
of a moderate extent, can be depended upon for a certain 
crop every season in a climate like that of England, 
where so many different perils are identified with the 
period called spring. Plentiful as Apple trees are 
already, there is room in England for an indefinite 
increase of the number. Every small farm ought to 
have its orchard, and its plot of busli fruits as well, 
since, excepting during haytime, the owner generally 
has leisure enough to attend to all that is wanted, and 
the return helps in no slight measure to pay the rent.” 
— R. D. 
-- 
GRIFFINIA HYACINTHINA. 
About seven or eight species of Griffinia are known 
to science, all natives of Brazil. They are near 
relatives of Crinum and Amaryllis, bearing white, 
purple, lilac, or blue flowers, but most commonly two 
of these colours are present in one flower. The decided 
blue of this species is of rare occurrence in the order ; 
and what is even more interesting botanieally, the 
leaves in most of the species have a broad laminae 
suddenly narrowed into a petiole, and furnished with 
a close latticed venation—a very unusual occurrence 
among monocotyledons. The flowers have a very 
short tube, with a widely-spreading limb of six re¬ 
curved pointed segments, which are white in the lower 
half and bright blue in the upper. 
The irregularity of the flower, and the comparative 
narrowness of its segments, are, doubtless, a great 
drawback in the eyes of the florist, but could probably 
be improved by intercrossing with allied species having 
broader segments. Five of the latter are directed 
upwards or horizontally, leaving the sixth in an 
isolated position, to uphold the beauty of that part of 
the flower as best it may. The aim of the florist in 
the improvement of the genus Hippeastrum—popularly 
known as Amaryllis—is to enlarge the lower segment 
of the inner three, and to make the flower as round in 
outline and as regular as possible. In this case the 
task most probably would be a difficult one, owing to 
an unusual amount of irregularity. 
Independently of this, however, the flowers as they 
exist naturally are very attractive, and worthy the 
attention of cultivators, especially of lovers of bulbous 
plants. Spring is the natural flowering season of all, 
including this species, unless they have been unduly 
forced ; and that under notice may be seen flowering 
at the present time in one of the propagating pits in 
the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, 
Chiswick. The curiously-netted foliage accompanies 
the flowers, so that the plant does not possess the 
objectionable feature of flowering from leafless bulbs—- 
a fault attributable to many whose handsome and 
conspicuous flowers would otherwise command the 
respect of many cultivators. 
The treatment suitable to this bulb is similar to that 
of allied genera. A good fibrous loam, coarsely broken 
up by the hand and not sifted, should be mixed with 
a fair quantity of well-rotted cow-manure, and the 
whole made porous but not too light by an admixture 
of sharp river sand. The base of the bulb only should 
be inserted in this, and if it is furnished with roots, as 
it ought to be, the bulb may rest on the surface of the 
soil. Although a native of Brazil, cool stove treat¬ 
ment will meet its requirements ; and when the season’s 
growth has been completed, water must be gradually 
withheld for a time to induce ripening, or, in other words, 
the storage of reserve material in the bulbs to furnish 
the flower-scapes of next year with necessary support. 
We have heard of no instance of this plant being 
attacked by the dreaded Eucharis mite, but believe it 
liable to that danger just as much as a great many, if 
not most, of the members of this family. Cultivators 
should, therefore, be on the alert against it coming in 
contact with any other bulbs already affected. 
The figure accompanying this, illustrates Griffinia 
Blumenavia, a rather smaller species with white flowers, 
beautifully flushed or flamed with pale rose. These 
are produced, six or eight in an umbel, on scapes that 
seldom or never exceed 8 ins. in height, but may be 
shorter. The oblong leaves are much narrower than in 
G. hyacinthina and tapered to a slender petiole. It 
generally flowers late in winter and is very desirable. 
-- 
LACHENALIA TRICOLOR. 
Nowhere may this be seen grown in better form 
than the large group of plants exhibited in the green¬ 
house at Kew. Notwithstanding what some con¬ 
noisseurs say to the contrary, the grouping of masses 
of this fine bulbous plant is productive of a fine effect. 
This applies not only to L. tricolor, but such as L. 
Nelsoni, L. pendula, L. aurea, and others which may 
be included in the same group, either by themselves or 
mixed with one another. The plants forming the 
group in question are grown in 48-sized pots, wdiich are 
closely filled with bulbs, most or all of which have 
flowered strongly. A novel effect is produced by a 
number of hanging baskets in the same house filled 
with Lachenalia tricolor. Not only is the top occupied 
with bulbs, but the sides also, and on the sides the 
leaves hang down at considerable length, as if they 
were naturally pendulous. The flower scapes, on the 
other hand, project a short way at right angles to the 
basket, and then rise upwards. 
Although the idea of growing the plants in this 
fashion is not original, the practice is not so exten¬ 
sively carried out as its suitability for such a purpose 
would warrant. The freedom with which this bulbous 
subject responds to treatment as a basket plant—so 
unlike its natural mode of growing—is rather remark¬ 
able ; and those who have never tried the experiment, 
or seen it done, would naturally discredit the idea of 
cultivating it in that fashion. Ripening of the bulbs 
in this, as in all other deciduous subjects, is a matter of 
the greatest importance, and one most conducive to 
the successful flowering of the plant the following 
season. When they have done flowering they must 
not be thrown uuder the stages or any other out-of-the- 
way corner, to exist as best they may till potting time 
again comes round. This practice is all very well for 
Hyacinths, Tulips, and similar Dutch bulbs, which one 
can always buy cheap, and then discard or plant out in 
the borders when a convenient time can be found for 
so doing. Instead of this treatment, the pots or 
baskets containing the bulbs should be placed in a cool 
frame, and watered regularly while they continue to 
show signs of not having completed their growth. 
When they arrive at this stage, withhold water 
gradually till at last the leaves are perfectly withered 
down, and may remain quiet till potted up in autumn. 
There can be little doubt that cool treatment while 
making their growth in winter is most essential to 
their well-being, and most conducive to success. I 
have seen several species kept in a warm pit with very 
little ventilation, and year after year the whole of them 
were more or less pronounced failures, without any 
apparent reason. Other bulbs grown in a house close 
by, because belonging to a different species, and which 
grew one might almost say luxuriantly, were considered 
to be of a more robust and vigorous habit, and conse¬ 
quently more easily cultivated. 
The real secret of success in this particular instance 
was placing the plants near the glass in a light, airy, 
well-ventilated house, and allowing them to come on 
gradually without forcing. Attend to them regularly 
in the matter of watering while making their growth, 
and see that the drainage is faultless, as they dislike 
stagnant moisture, like all other Cape bulbs. Under 
the cool airy system of ventilation, the leaves grow 
away slowdy but vigorously, with that glossy green 
appearance and sub-fleshy character common to 
members of the genus when well grown. Shallow 
