316 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
January 14, 1888. 
ORCHID NOT ES AND GLEANINGS. 
Cymbidium elegans. 
1 ENCLOSE flowers of this scarce and most beautiful 
Orchid, which you will see lacks the usual red 
spots on the lip of the type, its colour being entirely 
yellow. The spike has four and a half dozen 
flowers open, which have a very pretty effect against 
the dark green of the foliage. We used to grow it in a 
warm house ; but as it did not flower we transferred it 
to cooler quarters, and it has rewarded us greatly for 
the change.— E. C. Fraser, The Woodlands, Streatham. 
Top-dressing Orchids. 
Our friend Mr. O’Brien speaks rather pointedly against 
this practice, and I think he is right, too, for my 
experience leads me to believe there is nothing gained 
by it, and, doubtless, as many know to their cost, 
much harm has resulted where plants have been so 
treated. It was once my lot to have to re-pot some 
top-dressed Orchids, which was quite enough for me. 
As usual, the top-soil had been removed and replaced 
with fresh peat and sphagnum. This was secured with 
copper-wire pegs ; and when I turned the plants out 
of their pots, the only few living roots were, of course, 
in the top-dressing : beneath that was a sour rotten 
mass, and the following season the plants made very 
little progress. “ What is worth doing is worth doing 
well,” and top-dressing Orchids is a bad and slovenly 
business at the best .—James F. Broicn. 
L>elia superbiens. 
The beauty of this grand old Orchid is well displayed 
in one of the Orchid houses in Major Mason’s garden, 
at The Firs, Warwick. On a well-grown plant of it 
there are three stout flower-spikes bearing three dozen 
fine rosy flowers. Grown like L. anceps, in not too warm 
or too moist a house, L. superbiens flowers freely ; but 
if kept too close and warm it grows vigorously but 
seldom flowers. 
Cypripedium Tautzianum. 
Among the ever-increasing host of hybrid Cypripediums 
this new variety is distinct and very worthy. It is a 
cross between C. niveum and C. barbatum, and well 
displays the good features of both parents. The flowers 
are bold and well-formed, white washed, veined and 
striped with dark rose ; the petals also having small 
crimson dots. The appearance of the leaves and shape 
of the flowers call to mind the pretty Cypripedium 
purpuratum. 
Phal/enopsis Schilleriana vestalis. 
This rare variety is now flowering in the nurseries of 
Messrs. Hugh Low k Co., Clapton; but, unfortunately 
for Orchids in general, and more especially for the 
Angrfecums and Phalsenopses, they are not destined to 
last long in presentable condition, owing to the dense, 
impenetrable fog that has overhung London for several 
days together. The foliage of the Orchid under 
notice is a paler green, with less conspicuous transverse 
markings than in the type indicative of its albino 
or white character. Instead of the rosy purple hue of 
the species the flowers are white, which constitutes a 
most valuable addition to the various forms of Phalae- 
nopsis under cultivation. It was flowered last year, 
and is now flowering again in all its pristine beauty, 
quite sustaining its previous reputation. 
-- 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
Royal Horticultural. —January 10 th. 
The commencement of the new year still finds the 
society at South Kensington with the same associations 
and surroundings, and the only feature of change in 
this meeting consisted in the exhibits themselves, 
which merely represented the flowers in season. The 
largest group consisted of a fine collection of single 
and double varieties of Chinese Primulas, staged by 
Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, Kent, for which 
a Silver Gilt Banksian Medal was awarded ; and a 
group of Cyclamen persicum, exhibited by Messrs. H. 
Page & Sons, The Grove Nursery, Teddington, for 
which a similar award was made. Several interesting 
Orchids and other exhibits were also staged. Messrs. 
H. Cannell & Sons exhibited the following double 
sorts, most of which are well-known varieties of 
great merit, and were well-grown examples. A mauve- 
purple of great size and substance, named Miss Eva 
Fish, was certificated ; King of the Purples, a bright 
purple and very double ; Alba plena, so well known ; 
Earl Beaconsfield, a soft rosy purple, was very 
attractive ; Annie Hillier, a soft blush pink ; and 
Marchioness of Exeter, white, suffused and dotted with 
red. The singles were represented by King of the 
Primulas, Improvement, and Swanley Red, all of the 
latter colour or verging on crimson ; White Perfection, 
Cannell’s White, both plain and Fern-leaved, and Miss 
Cannell are wonderfully fine white forms ; Princess of 
Wales, rosy blush; Swanley Giant, intense carmine; 
Princess Beatrice, rose-pink ; and a blush variety, The 
Queen, completed a most attractive group. Messrs. Page 
& Sons had a wonderfully well-grown group of Cycla¬ 
mens, mostly of the C. persicum type, and containing 
also some of the C. p. giganteum strain. The former were 
dwarf, exceedingly floriferous, and showed a wealth 
of flowers, ranging through various shades, from pure 
white to crimson of an intense shade, including rose- 
magenta and other colours. The foliage of all was 
perfect and the substance good. 
Orchids were shown by A. H. Smee, Esq. (Mr. G. 
W. Cummins, gardener), The Grange, Wallington, 
Surrey. Odontoglossum Rossii Smeeana had almost 
white flowers, with the exception of the faintly spotted 
sepals and a yellow crest. Epidendrum polybulbon is 
certainly a pretty miniature and nearly white species, 
for which a vote of thanks was accorded. The large 
flowers of Lselia anceps Protheroiana was remarkable 
for the size of its flowers. F. G. Tautz, Esq. (Mr. C. 
Cowley, gardener), Studley House, Hammersmith, 
exhibited two of the most distinct hybrid Cypripediums 
that have been seen for a long time. C. Tautzianum was 
certificated, and is described on another page. C. 
Marshallianum derived its origin from C. venustum 
and C. concolor, and had rose standard and petals 
dotted with black, and a laterally compressed labellum 
like C. concolor. C. pluneurum and C. coneinnum 
were also shown. R. Measures, Esq. (gardener, Mr. 
Simkins), Cambridge Lodge, Camberwell, staged a C. 
Sallieri, a hybrid between C. villosum and C. insigne, 
with huge finely spotted flowers. C. insigne Fostermanni 
is a most distinct form of the species, and comes from 
a place where the temperature is often 8° or 10° below 
freezing point. C. regalis and C. apiculatum were less 
distinct, but still very showy. A fine specimen of C. 
insigne bearing fifty-one flowers was awarded a Cultural 
Commendation, and was shown by A. F. Smith, Esq. 
(gardener, Mr. James Quarterman), Silvermere, 
Cobham. Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Clapton, exhibited 
a new and rare Angrsecum named A. calligerum, with 
sweet-scented white flowers, carrying spurs about 5 ins. 
in length, but the exhibit arrived too late for the 
committee. 
A most interesting group of hybrid greenhouse 
Rhododendrons was exhibited by Messrs. J. Yeitch & 
Sons, Chelsea, showing the parentage and the progeny. 
The most interesting pcint was that in all cases the 
colour of the male parent had determined that of the 
progeny. Little Beauty (R. Malayanum x Monarch), 
Seedling (R. jasminiflorum x R. Curtisii), Eclatante 
(R. Curtisii x R. Princess Alexandra), and R. jasmini¬ 
florum carinatum (R. jasminiflorum x R. Javanicum), 
were all dark forms. Primrose was certificated. A box 
of trusses of bloom was also exhibited, together with 
Cypripedium Galatea, of unknown parentage, and 
Phalsenopsis F. L. Ames, which was certificated. A 
box of Chinese Primula blooms was shown by Mr. H. 
James, Woodside, Farnham Royal, Slough. 
Before the Fruit Committee, Mr. J. Roberts, The 
Gardens, Charleville Forest, Tullamore, Ireland, ex¬ 
hibited White Gros Colmar Grape, a white-fruited 
seedling that had been certificated by the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society of Ireland. A seedling Apple was 
shown by Messrs. W. Barron k Sons, The Nurseries, 
Derby. Mr. A. Dean, Bedfont, staged an Apple 
supposed to be Winter Pearmain, and another fine- 
looking sort named Royal Pearmain, yellow, suffused 
with red on the exposed side, and angled at the top. 
A fine Apple named Newton Wonder was exhibited by 
Messrs. J. R. Pearson & Sons, The Nurseries, Chilwell, 
Notts. It was yellow, and suffused with red on the 
exposed side, and of fine form. Samples of the Im¬ 
proved Hearting Kale were exhibited by Messrs. Hurst 
& Son, 152, Houndsditch, E. C. 
National Chrysanthemum.— Jan. 11 and 12. 
On Wednesday last, the occasion of the National Chry¬ 
santhemum Society’s Mid-winter Exhibition, the Royal 
Aquarium was lightened up by a display of Chrysan¬ 
themums, Primulas and Cyclamens of a rich and 
attractive kind, such as we have seldom or never before 
had the opportunity of observing at this dull time of 
the year. The light is by no means of the brightest at 
any time, and was rendered most deplorable by the 
dense and smoky fog which overhung the metropolis 
for some days together, making it almost impossible to 
discern the natural hues of the flowers. The Chrysan¬ 
themums themselves were described as rather thin in 
substance, but were, at the same time, acknowledged 
as being the best and most representative lot ever seen 
at this season, far surpassing those shown at the winter 
exhibitions of the two previous years. 
Mr. Joseph Low, The Nurseries, Uxbridge, was 
awarded first honours for a collection of cut Chrysan¬ 
themum blooms of any variety. His best varieties were 
Thunberg, Princess Teck, Low’s Bronze, Grandiflorum, 
Mr. J. Laing, Sarnia, Belle Paule, Cullingfordi, Meg 
Merrilies, Elaine, Gloriosum, Criterion and Fanny 
Boucharlet. He had in all eight large boxes or stands, 
and the blooms were accompanied by foliage. Mr. G. 
Bolas, gardener to H. Chandos Pole Gdl, Esq. Hopton 
Hall, Wirksworth, took the second place, having six 
Boxes and the flowers supported by foliage. Tal 
d’Andorre, The Sultan, La Purete, Mons. H. Elliott, 
Le Chinois and Thunberg were some of his best. The 
third prize went to Mr. R. F. Jameson, Hessle, near Hull; 
and no foliage accompanied his flowers. For a collection 
of twenty-four blooms of any variety, the latter took 
the first prize ; Mrs. Heales, Miss Marguerite, Pink, 
White and Golden Christine, John Salter, Lord Alcester, 
Louis Bonamy and Fleur de Marie were all very neat 
and pretty. The second prize went to Mr. Sullivan, 
gardener to D. B. Chapman, Esq., Devonshire House, 
Roehampton; and the third to W. Walters, Esq., 
Sunny Bank, Burton-on-Trent. Mr. J. Kipling, 
gardener to the Earl of Lytton, Knebworth, took the 
first prize for twelve blooms, the best of which were 
Cry Kang, Etoile du Midi, Madame Cabrol, Martha 
Harding and Boule d’Or. Mr. Lister, gardener to Lord 
Brooke, The Gardens, Easton Lodge, Dunmow, Essex, 
was second ; and Miss R. Debenham, St. Peter’s, 
St. Albans, was third. Mr. Sullivan had the best 
twenty-four Japanese blooms, of which Ceres, Glo¬ 
riosum and Duchess of Albany were very fine. 
He was followed by Mr. J. Horsfield, Heytesbury, 
Wilts, with a fine lot. For twelve Japanese blooms 
Mr. J. Kipling had the first prize ; Mr. W. R. Strong, 
Wellington College, Wokingham, Berks, was second ; 
and Mr. J. Walker, Thame, Oxon,was third. Messrs. 
W. & G. Drover, Fareham, had the best six Japanese 
blooms in W. k G. Drover, Gloriosum, Bicolor, and 
William Meucke, all of huge size. The first-named 
variety was deservedly certificated. They were followed 
by Mr. R. Phillips, gardener to Dr. Baker, The 
Deodars, Meopham, and by Mr. W. Kemp, gardener to 
H. Barry, Esq., Bushill house, Winchmore Hill. The 
best bouquet of Chrysanthemums came from Mr. W. 
Brown, St. Mary’s Grove, Richmond ; Mr. Joseph 
Lowe was second, and Messrs. W. & G. Drover came in 
third. W. IValters, Esq., Sunnybank, Burton-on- 
Trent, took the special prize offered by Mr. William 
Colchester, Ipswich, for the best exhibit of cut Chry¬ 
santhemums, which were mostly of the Japanese class. 
For the special prizes offered by Mr. R. Owen, Floral 
Nursery, Maidenhead, for twelve blooms of Golden 
Gem, Mr. F. Weedon, Hillingdon, Uxbridge, took the 
first prize ; and was followed by Mr. A. Ives, gardener 
to E. C. Jukes, Esq., Hope House, Winchmore Hill. 
The best collection of Cyclamens in pots came from 
Mr. J. May, Gordon Nursery, Twickenham. The 
plants were very floriferous and rich in colour. For 
twelve Cyclamens (nurserymen excluded), Mr. A. 
Carter, gardener to Mr. Alderman Evans, Ewell 
Grove, Ewell, took the first prize with fairly well- 
flowered specimens ; Messrs. W. Kemp, and P. Cornish, 
gardener to J. Downing, Esq., The Shrubberies, 
Enfield, followed. Messrs. H. Cannell k Sons, 
Swanley, Kent, had by far the best group of Primulas 
entered for competition, and besides having the first 
prize was awarded a Certificate of Merit for a magnifi¬ 
cent and representative collection. Mr. G. Braid, 
nurseryman, Winchmore Hill, was second with a 
smaller but finely flowered group, while Messrs. H. 
Williams k Sons, Fortis Green, Finchley, N., were 
third. In the class for twelve Primulas (nurserymen 
excluded), Mr. A. Carter was awarded the first place ; 
Mr. A. Newell, gardener to Sir E. Saunders, Fair Lawn, 
Wimbledon Common, came in second ; and Mr. A. 
Ives, was third. Mr. P. Cornish took the first prize 
for twelve and six berried Solanums respectively; 
while Messrs. H. Williams & Sons were first for twelve 
plants ; and Mr. W. Kemp was second for six. Messrs. 
H. Williams & Sons took the prizes both for a collec¬ 
tion of forced and foliage plants, arranged for effect on 
a space of 72 sq. ft., and for a collection of thirty-six 
pots of Tulips. The group included Hyacinths, Tulips, 
Narcissi, Azaleas, Ferns, Chinese Primulas, &c., and 
was very pretty. 
