332 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
January 21, 1888. 
the annual festival, enabled them to disburse the 
largest amount ever distributed in pensions, viz., 
£2,124 10s., and also to give £5 each to the 
pensioners and all the unsuccessful candidates at the 
previous election (£655), without trenching upon the 
reserve fund. During the year fourteen pensioners 
died, five leaving widows, and these having been found 
worthy, and in every way having complied with the 
rules, were placed on the pension list in succession to 
their late husbands. The committee tender their best 
thanks to Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, M. P., for his 
able advocacy of the claims of the institution at the 
last annual festival, and announced with great satisfac¬ 
tion that the Right Hon. J. Chamberlain, M.P., had 
kindly consented to preside at the next anniversary 
gathering, which they have reason to believe will be a 
grand success. The number of pensioners on the list 
was stated to be 114, to be increased that day to 126. 
On the motion of Mr. B. Wynne, seconded by Mr. A. 
F. Barron, the report and statement of accounts was 
unanimously adopted, and the best thanks of the 
meeting were accorded to the committee for their able 
management of the affairs of the institution during the 
year. 
On the motion of Mr. John Lee, seconded by Mr. 
W. Roupell, Mr. Harry Veitcli was re-elected treasurer, 
and the thanks of the subscribers tendered to him for 
the great interest he has taken in the institution during 
the past year. Mr. John Lee moved, Mr. W. Richards 
seconded, and it was agreed unanimously that Mr. FT. 
Sherwood, Houndsditch ; Mr. John Roberts, Gunners- 
bury ; Mr. John Laing, Forest Hill ; Mr. A. F. Barron, 
Chiswick ; Mr. G. Woodgate, Plingston, and Mr. 
Henry Tillman, Covent Garden, be elected to serve on 
the committee in place of Mr. A. Roger, Mr. John 
Fraser, Mr. Francis R. Kinghorn (deceased), Mr. 
George Munro, Mr. J. L. Woodroffe, and Mr. W. J. 
Nutting, who retire by rotation. On the motion of 
Mr. James Webber, seconded by Mr. W. Richards, 
Mr. John Lee, Mr. J. F. Meston, and Mr. Jesse 
Willard were re-elected as auditors, and thanked for 
their past services. Mr. Watkins moved, and Mr. J. 
AVoodbridge seconded, that Mr. E. Tidswell, Mr. J. 
Webber, Mr. E. W. Cathie, Mr. G. Munro, and Mr. W. 
Richards be appointed arbitrators for the ensuing year. 
Carried unanimously. For the forty-third time Mr. 
John Lee moved the re-election of Mr. E. R. Cutler 
as secretary (for the forty-seventh year), and being 
seconded by Mr. Watkins, this resolution was also 
carried nem. con. 
In consequence of four vacancies having occurred in 
the list of pensioners since the voting papers were 
issued, the committee recommended that after the five 
pensioners for whom the election had been called had 
been elected, the four next highest applicants on the 
poll be elected also ; and on the motion of the chairman, 
seconded by Mr. Woodbridge, the recommendation was 
agreed to. The committee also recommended that 
Elizabeth George, of Willesden ; Patrick John Hanafy, 
of Northampton ; and Caroline McElroy, of Kilburn, 
being in distressed circumstances, and having in every 
way complied with the regulations, be placed on the 
pension list without the trouble and expense of an 
election. On the motion of the chairman, seconded by 
Mr. Watkins, this was agreed to. Mr. Barron moved, 
Mr. George Munroe seconded, and it was unanimously 
agreed that the best and grateful thanks of the meeting 
be presented to Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, M.P., 
for his great kindness in presiding at the late annual 
festival; for the able and eloquent manner in which he 
advocated the cause of the institution, and for his 
liberality and that of his friends upon the occasion. 
The chairman, alluding to the death, a fortnight 
previously, of one of the candidates, Mr. Charles 
Osman, said that a great many votes had been sent in 
for him—quite sufficient, he thought, to insure his 
election had he been alive. It was rather hard that 
his widow could derive no benefit from the votes given, 
and under the peculiar circumstances of the case, he 
would move that a donation of £10 be made to Mrs. 
Osman, should she be found deserving of it. The 
motion was seconded and carried unanimously. The 
chairman then moved, and Major Lendy seconded, 
that Mr. A. F. Barron, Mr. H. Williams, and Mr. 
H. J. Cutbush be appointed scrutineers, and at the 
close of the poll at 5 o’clock these gentlemen reported 
the result as being in favour of Thomas M. Wall, 
Matilda Charlton, Charles Papworth, James Ewing, 
William H. Head, Elizabeth Orton, Henry Moxham, 
Francis Fuller, and Mary Nelson. For the late 
C. Osman 1,025 votes were recorded. A hearty vote of 
thanks to the chairman and scrutineers brought the 
business to a close. 
In the evening the annual social friendly dinner took 
place under the presidency of Sir Robert Peel, and a 
most agreeable evening was spent, the attendance being 
much larger than at any previous gathering, the dinner 
all that could be desired, and the musical entertainment 
most enjoyable, while the after dinner speeches were of a 
first-rate order, the speakers being the right hon. chair¬ 
man, Major Bolton, Mr. James Webber, Dr. Hogg, 
Mr. John Lee, Major Gole, Mr. Sherwood, Mr. Yeitch, 
Mr. Tidswell, Mr. W. Richards, Mr. Peacock, the 
honorary solicitor, and Mr. “Midshipman” Cutler. 
We regret that the limits on our space preclude 
us from going more fully into detail, but we 
must not omit to mention one or two facts of a striking 
character that came out during the evening, and which 
tended to show the wonderful growth of the institution 
during the last few years. Sir Robert Peel, in proposing 
continued success and prosperity to the institution, 
compared its financial position in 1867, when he took 
the chair at the annual festival, with the balance sheet 
read that day. In 1867 the reserve fund amounted to 
£7,300, whereas now it was £21,000. Mr. Veitch, in 
returning thanks for the toast of his health as 
treasurer, claimed that the institution was one of the 
most economically worked in the country, and as 
showing how the expenses decreased in proportion as 
the revenue increased, stated that in 1861 when the 
pensions paid only amounted to £739, the working 
expenses amounted to 23'6 per cent. In 1881 the sum 
paid in pensions was £1,200, and the expenses 19'5 per 
cent ; and in 1887 while the pensions and Jubilee 
grant amounted to £2,779 10s., the expenses had fallen 
to 15"8 per cent., statements which, we need scarcely 
add, were received with applause. Another gratifying 
feature of the evening was the unstinted praise bestowed 
by the speakers, one and all, upon the veteran 
secretary, for the most admirable manner in which he 
carries out the duties of his office, and for his un¬ 
wearied exertions in the cause of the charity during 
the many years he has held the office. 
--»3=<-- 
ORCHID NOT ES AND GLEANINGS. 
Top-dressing Orchids. 
Mr. O’Brien opened this subject at a very opportune 
time, when Orchid collections will be undergoing their 
annual overhauling, in order to ascertain the condition 
of each plant; and it is highly important that such 
subjects should be brought forward from time to time 
for the guidance of the ever-increasing number of 
amateurs who are always on the look-out for hints and 
the experience of others. Mr. O’Brien allows excep¬ 
tional cases to be dealt with in the way of top-dressing ; 
but Mr. Brown condemns the practice entirely. My 
experience is that no collection can be kept neat and 
orderly by avoiding top-dressing altogether. By fol¬ 
lowing out the old adage mentioned by Mr. Brown, 
that “ what is worth doing at all is worth doing well, 
the operation can be carried out with great advantage 
to the plants and gratification to the eye. Last year 
we had our entire collection of Vandas re-potted with 
the best material that could be procured, and as it is 
still good with the exception of the surfacing of 
sphagnum moss, which has become disfigured by being 
kept on the dry side since October, I should consider it 
foolishness to re-pot them this year for the purpose of 
getting on a surface of living sphagnum. Instead of 
so doing we shall carefully remove all decayed material 
from amongst the roots, and as carefully replace it with 
sweet living material, which will soon be occupied by 
the fresh roots which are just making their appearance. 
The same may be said of Cypripediums, which from now 
on till March will be receiving attention. Every one 
of them should be examined, and those requiring 
potting should be so dealt with ; but those not needing 
a shift should by all means be pricked up by means of 
a sharp-pointed stick, afterwards giving the pot a shake 
in order to remove the loose material, replacing with 
fresh sphagnum and fibrous peat. Instead of doing 
harm it will encourage the growth of young roots, 
which always enter from the surface. How often do 
the latter lose their tender points by coming in contact 
with sour material, which is often more or less the case 
when subjected to continual watering for twelve 
months ! I also, like Mr. Brown, have had disagreeable 
experience through injudicious top-dressing, and would 
close these few remarks with a caution to those who 
may practice it. If there be the slightest ground for 
suspicion that the bottom compost is not in good 
condition, do not cover it over, but turn it out and 
re-pot.— R. C. Fraser, The Woodlands, Streatham. 
A Sportive Cvpripedium Sanderianum. 
Amongst the immense importations of this notably dis¬ 
tinct and grand new Slipperwort at Messrs. Hugh Low & 
Co.’s Nurseries, Clapton, is a sport of a kind which, 
although not new to us even in the genus Cypripedium, 
possesses considerable interest owing to the special cha¬ 
racteristics of this Orchid even in its normal or ordinary 
state. The petals adhere by their upper edges to the 
posterior sepal or standard. A case of this kind—a 
sport of C. Lowii—is described in The Gardening 
World, Vol. III., p. 828, and a sport of C. Law- 
renceanum, p. 748. In both these cases the upper 
piece formed by the union of the petals with the dorsal 
sepal was flat, or approximately so ; but in C. San¬ 
derianum the petals become naturally very much 
twisted during the course of their development owing 
to the unequal growth of their two edges longitudinally. 
They are, in the specimen under notice, united to 
within J in. of the apex of the standard, and are flat for 
f in. of their length from the base upwards. Above 
this they form a series of foldings, with a spiral 
appearance, which lie over the front and back of the 
sepal alternately. Above the point of separation from 
the sepal they hang down free, presenting a very curious 
appearance. In the specimen under notice, the excess 
of growth has taken place along the lower and, conse¬ 
quently, free edge, and this is continued throughout 
their entire length, giving rise to the spiral twisting.— 
J. F. 
Catasetum Bungerothii. 
Whether it flowers in summer or winter, this Orchid 
is always acceptable and welcome, and is certainly one 
of the many wonders of this remarkable genus. The 
chief and most conspicuous feature of this species is the 
huge and basin-shaped labellum, the spur or nectary of 
which consists of a shallowly or bluntly conical cavity 
or depression brought out in relief by its deep orange 
colour, which contrasts strongly with the rest of the 
lip, as, indeed, with the sepals and petals. The 
rounded lip is further characterised, as a rule, by a set 
of sharp teeth or serratures around the margin ; but a 
specimen which we noticed the other day in Mr. B. S. 
Williams’ nursery, at Upper Holloway, had the fringe 
of teeth entirely suppressed. This occurrence is not 
new, so that in the numerous plants now in the country 
specimens may frequently crop up exhibiting this 
peculiarity. Besides the size of the flowers and their 
acceptable colour, the delicious odour given off by this 
species is an additional recommendation for including 
it in collections. 
Maxillaria GRACILIS. 
This pretty and exquisitely fragrant species which I 
have just had in flower may be added to the group of 
“ Painted Maxillarias ” mentioned at pp. 286 and 301. 
It is, as seen in my plant, the dwarfest of the section, 
the whole plant not being- more than 4 ins. in height ; 
and the flowers—which are produced a score or so from 
eachleading pseudo-bulb—are almost as tall as the leaves; 
they are creamy yellow sparsely dotted with crimson 
the labellum having some purple stains and blotches. 
In connection with my plant a curious instance of 
correct appreciation of odour after many years is worth 
recording. When it was in flower I was delighted with 
its fragrance, and formed my own conclusion as to 
what its odour resembled. One day I asked an 
Englishman, who had just returned after many years 
spent abroad, to smell the flowers and tell me what 
they smelt like ; he carefully sniffed and immediately 
replied, “ Like Cowslips, and nothing else.” He had 
not smelt a Cowslip since he was a schoolboy, but his 
opinion fully agreed with mine. M. gracilis is figured 
in Loddiges’ Botanical Cabinet, plate 1837.— James 
O'Brien. 
Phal/enopsis Schilleriana in the Cattleya- 
HOUSE. 
Many Orchids are no doubt grown in a much higher 
temperature than is really necessary, and notwith¬ 
standing what collectors are continually telling us, we 
still persist in following our own obstinate ideas. Mr. 
B. S. Williams in housing this Orchid with the 
Cattleyas, finds that it not only makes good foliage but 
flowers well enough, as may be seen at Upper Holloway 
at the present time. The leaves do not present the 
same breadth as those grown in a high temperature 
w-ith other necessary conditions, but they are more 
highly coloured and possess a firmer and more rigid 
texture. The flower spike now being thrown up is 
branched, and shows by its robust character and deep 
colour that it enjoys the treatment. 
Twin-flowered Cypripediums. 
Some weeks ago a correspondence took place in your 
columns concerning certain Cypripediums—of which 
C. venustum was one—as to whether they produced 
twin-flowered spikes. I enclose a spike of that species for 
