286 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
December 31, 1887. 
rapidly as possible, but when once up, they must be 
kept as near the glass as convenient to prevent 
drawing, and to keep them sturdy and of good texture. 
Potatos. —Be careful to attend to the supply of new 
Potatos, for where required in quantity and early, 
much forethought is necessary, or a break in the supply 
easily occurs. Of course it should be borne iu mind 
that from now onwards they may be expected to grow 
more freely, and so mature earlier ; but should any 
danger arise in this respect from want of room, those 
ready may be lifted and stored in sand, and the pit 
again re-planted, using fresh soil. 
Roses. —The early Peach house will be found 
admirably suited to fill with a good batch of standard 
Tea Roses, the temperature maintained being exactly 
suited to produce a sturdy growth, and a full bloom. 
Many take exception to placing them in these houses 
on account of their liability to green-fly, but we never 
find the least inconvenience in this respect, the free 
use of the syringe always sufficing to keep the Peach 
trees clean. We have followed the advice given in 
regard to the Lady Downe’s vinery. All the Grapes are 
bottled, and the Vines pruned, and should bad weather 
set in, the house will be thoroughly cleansed, the walls 
lime-washed, and all put in order. It will then be 
found a most useful house in which to place and take 
care of all plants which have been used for early 
forcing, notably hardy shrubs, which cannot be turned 
out of doors. _ 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Tiie ground is now sufficiently crusted over by frost 
in the morning to permit of the wheeling out of 
manure on to the vacant squares, but so soon as there 
are signs of thawing the work must be discontinued, or 
it makes a sad mess. Digging may, as a rule, be 
carried on during the afternoon, and the ground so 
turned will be much benefited by the action of the 
frost upon it, particularly if it is of a stiff clayey nature. 
It will be advisable to draw the soil to the stems of the 
early bed of Cabbage, which will act as a protection 
against severe frosts, and also prevent the plants being 
rocked about by the wind. It must also be remembered 
that as green-stuff’s are scarce, these will be found 
extremely useful in the spring. 
Pruning. —We have finished all pruning, with the 
exception of Gooseberries, which are better if left till 
later on, as the birds frequently play sad havoc with 
them. The Currant squares should be heavily 
manured and turned up roughly, so that the soil may 
become thoroughly pulverised by the action of the 
weather, as it generally happens that from such con¬ 
stant treading amongst the bushes it becomes a 
hardened mass, and not at all conducive to the 
production of a crop of fruit. Take care that the 
Radishes sown are constantly covered at night, and as 
soon as they are up another sowing should be made. 
Preparations should also now be made for making the 
first sowing of Carrots ; the best kind being French 
Horn, other kinds being so extremely liable to bolt.— 
Walter Child, Croome Court. 
-- 
ORCHID NOT ES AND GLEANINGS. 
Orchid Growers' Calendar. —The present is 
a good time to overhaul the stock of potting materials 
—peat, sphagnum moss, pots, crocks, baskets, &e., 
and order in any likely to be wanted for use in the 
early part of the new year. The peat should be placed 
under cover, and the sphagnum moss in some cool airy 
place where it will be out of the way of snow should it 
come. There used to be a great business made with 
picking out every leaf and rush which might have 
been gathered •with it, but it is quite unnecessary to be 
so particular. There is nothing injurious about a few 
leaves in the potting material when the plants are 
grown in a good healthy atmosphere, where fungus 
will not be at home. A stock of pots and clean crocks 
should be secured, and all other matters attended to 
likely to come into requisition in the new year’s 
potting. 
Lrelia anceps, varieties, and Cattleya Trianas will 
now be making a show, and should, with other Orchids 
in flower, be placed in a rather cool temperature out of 
the way of drips and other chance wetting, in order to 
preserve their flowers as long as possible. As pointed 
out by the Rev. J. H. Tacy Peck, atp. 270, these plants 
do not want a high temperature, and the fleeting 
character of their flowers in too hot and moist houses 
goes far to enforce his argument. Indeed, if healthy 
imported -plants can be got -altogether untampered 
with, there are few Orchids which cannot be grown in 
a cool or cool, intermediate house.— James O’Brien. 
Lsslia ancep3 grandiflora. — From Reginald 
Young, Esq., ofUlletRoad, Liverpool, comes a grand 
three-flowered inflorescence of the largest and brightest 
coloured form of L. anceps we have seen, although we 
have received from two other correspondents round 
Liverpool, flowers nearly approaching it, and in each 
case under the name “grandiflora.” All these fine 
forms are to be traced to the splendid dark-coloured 
L. anceps “Morada,” imported and distributed by the 
Liverpool Horticultural Company, of which Mr. John 
Cowan is manager. Reference to The Gardening 
"World, April 11th, 1885, when we commenced illus¬ 
trations of a series of L. anceps varieties, will show the 
variety Barkeriana, taken from the true plant in Baron 
Schroder’s collection. Mr. Young’s variety is larger 
and broader in all its parts, and more particularly in 
the broadly expanded labellum, which is richly coloured 
with bright purplish crimson. Morada varieties, too, 
have all neat and comparatively short flower stems. 
The Painted Maxillaria. —There is more than 
one species in gardens that does duty sometimes for 
Maxillaria picta. One of these is figured in Loddiges’ 
Botanical Cabinet as M. punctata, and is also known in 
some gardens as M. floribunda on account of its extreme 
floriferousness, as great numbers of flowers are produced 
from each pseudo-bulb. The segments of the flowers 
are narrow and spread out, whereas in the true 
M. picta above mentioned the sepals and petals are 
remarkably incurved, giving the flowers of this sqiecies 
a very characteristic appearance. Both sides of these 
organs are coloured, the ground-colour being of a 
creamy yellow transversely barred with dull purple and 
deep chocolate. The exterior surface is the better 
coloured of the two, and is very well shown off by the 
decidedly incurved habit of the segments. The figure 
given in the Botanical Magazine, t. 3151, shows this 
peculiarity very plainly. The flowers are not produced 
in such abundance as in the case of M. punctata, but 
are still sufficiently numerous to make the species 
worth growing, and they are certainly far more orna¬ 
mental than those of the last-named species, and are 
deliciously scented. It flowered very freely recently at 
Sudbury House, Hammersmith, in the collection of 
J. T. Peacock, Esq. 
Lselia autumnalis atrorubsns.— Any form 
of this fine winter-flowering Orchid is acceptable at 
this season on account of the large, bold flowers, their 
beautiful appearance and delicious fragrance. From a 
batch of recently imported plants a number are now 
flowering at Devonliurst, Chiswick, showing great 
range of variety as to colouring, from the soft rose of 
the typical form to the darkest shades found in the 
variety the subject of this note, which has sepals and 
petals of a rich magenta-purple, or even crimson-purple, 
but ultimately showing the pale tint usually foundat the 
base of the sepals and petals, even in L. a. atrorubens as 
usually accepted. After being fully expanded, another 
characteristic of the species is the conspicuous way in 
which the sepals, petals, and even the lip become 
revolute or rolled backwards. Considering how recently 
the plants-have been established, there is evidence in 
the healthy, freely-flowered condition of the plants that 
Mr. Wright has hit the conditions of success. He grows 
them in an intermediate temperature, such as suits 
most other Mexican Orchids, and in baskets hung up 
near the light. One strong feature of these Mexican 
species of Lcelia that may be noticed, is the short conical 
pseudo-bulbs, such as we find in L. albida, L. citrina, 
L. anceps and L. furfuracea, a close ally of the present 
species. _ = >x< * _ 
FLORICULTURE. 
Pelargoniums for Exhibliion. —As a matter of 
course, anyone desirous of having fine plants of 
exhibition Pelargoniums to show in May, June and 
July next, would need to have some fine young bottoms 
of one or two years old that have been tied out to 
shape ; but these are very difficult to procure, and if 
they could be obtained a good outlay of cash would be 
necessary. On the other hand, anyone wishing to 
form a collection would do well to get some young 
plants struck from cuttings of the present year, and 
grow them on into size. August is the month for 
putting in cuttings of show Pelargoniums, and if 
placed in a frame or in pots, and kept in an ordinary 
greenhouse, they soon root. They are afterwards 
shifted into small 60-size pots, and the main shoot 
removed as soon as they are established, which causes 
them to break into three or four shoots ; then they are 
put into 48-size pots, and are ready for sale in 
November. 
Such plants as these, if properly managed, make 
good specimens by May and June following—that is to 
say, they send up three or four main shoots which 
throw out lateral blooming growths, and a fine and 
showy head of flower results. From the 48-size pot 
they are shifted into 24-size, and allowed to bloom in 
them. Careful attention to cleanliness, to tying out of 
the branches as required, to giviifg air so that they 
shall not become drawn, and to turning them round so 
that the growth shall be equal on all sides are all 
matters of detail in cultivation that need close attention. 
The Pelargonium soon deteriorates when neglected, 
and when good luxuriant foliage is seen in combination 
with a striking head of bloom of approved quality, the 
triumph of the cultivator is complete. 
“But what shall I buy?” the inquiring amateur 
might ask. Here there is a list of a dozen large- 
flowering show varieties, that can be confidently recom¬ 
mended :—-Amethyst (Brehaut), Claribel (Hoyle), Con¬ 
fessor (Foster), Illuminator (Foster), Maid of Honour 
(Foster), Martial (Brehaut), Pericles (Hoyle), Prince 
Leopold (Foster), Ritualist (Foster), Sister of Mercy 
(Foster), The Czar (Foster), and The Baron (Foster). 
I have not given any description, but the varieties just 
named can be depended upon as both good and distinct. 
Twenty years ago judges of show Pelargoniums required 
quality in the bloom. The flowers had to be well- 
formed, smooth, and brightly coloured—not necessarily 
deep-coloured, but I use the term brightly in the sense 
of pleasing in hue and decided in tone. In recent years 
well-grown plants with good heads of flower find 
favour, and this has led to the introduction of many of 
the free-flowering decorative class among the show 
Pelargoniums, so that it is necessary I should give the 
names of a dozen of these in good and varied sorts, and 
they are Blushing Bride, Comtesse de Choiseuil, 
Decorator, Duchess of Bedford, Duchesse de Moray, 
Edward Perkins, Formosa (Hayes), Gold Aline (Hayes), 
Kingston Beauty, Lady Isabel (Hayes), Mons. Des- 
moulin, and Triomphe de St. Mande. 
Now if a group of Pelargoniums were required solely 
for greenhouse decoration, I could not do better than 
name the foregoing, because they are all good growers 
and free bloomers. I think that many gardeners, 
amateur and professional, fail to comprehend the value 
of the large-flowering and decorative Pelargonium for 
cutting purposes, as well as for making the show house 
look gay. What a quantity of cut bloom a plant will 
yield ! I do know that objection is often taken to 
Pelargoniums, as well as to Cinerarias and Calceo¬ 
larias, ■ that they are greatly subject to fly, and that 
they become foul, and everything else growing with them 
is infested. But a great d eal of this is due to negligence, 
as it is not a difficult matter to keep green-fly under. 
And then there is the group of pretty free-blooming 
fancy varieties. They are of a more delicate con¬ 
stitution than the show varieties, and require to be 
kept warmer at all seasons of the year, and especially 
during winter and spring. In giving the names of. a 
dozen varieties I have to name Bridesmaid (Turner), 
Delicatum (Ambrose), very old, but wonderfully free; 
East Lynne (Turner), Ellen Beck (Turner), Fanny 
Gair (Turner), Mrs. Langtry (Turner), Airs. Pottle 
(Turner), Pilgrimage (Turner), Princess Teck (Turner), 
Roi des Fantasies, also old but very free ; The Shah 
(Turner), and Vivandiere (Turner).— B. D. 
Carnations and Picotees. —I have just found this 
passage in an old florieultural work:—“Do not let the 
open weather tempt you to use the watering pot ; the 
air is quite full enough of moisture to maintain them 
in a healthy state until we get drying winds and sun.” 
That is good advice, for wet on the foliage at this season 
of the year—and especially at a time when fog and frost 
are found in combination—will cause spot. I can only 
repeat what I have said before under the head of 
cultural directions, that the plants cannot be looked 
over too often, and cleaned of their dead foliage. 
Stirring the soil occasionally is beneficial, as it prevents 
the surface becoming green and sour, and let plenty of 
air be given on all favourable occasions. The more 
hardy the plants are grown, the better ; the great thing 
is to keep the foliage from becoming wet during what 
may be termed the dead season of the year.— 11. £>. 
-■»$<-- 
The death of Airs. AIartha Riley occurred at Bath, 
on the 21st inst. She was the relict of the late Air. 
John Riley, formerly of Birkby, Huddersfield, a noted 
florist in his day, and one who did a great deal to 
improve the Antirrhinum some thirty years ago. 
Mr. Edward Spart, of Brighton, died suddenly, 
on the 27tli inst., while eating his dinner. For many 
years Air. Spary had the Queen’s Graperies at Brighton, 
and was well known in the horticultural world ; but 
misfortune seems to have fallen upon him in his old 
age, and two years ago he was put upon the pension 
list of the Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Institution. 
