358 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
February i, 1888. 
and petals. C. T. Dodgsonii is very fine, and easily 
distinguished by its rich crimson lip and orange-yellow 
throat. C. T. Chestertoni is also very good, reminding 
one of C. Mossioe Hardyana. There is quite a host of 
ordinary forms of C. Trianae in flower and bud, 
promising a fine display for some considerable time. 
Cattleya bogotensis and C. chocoensis are also in 
flower, and contrast very favourably with other 
varieties. Cypripediums are doing well, a great im¬ 
provement being noticeable in the new, strong, and 
vigorous growths. There is a goodly number in flower, 
including C. barbatum, C. b. biflorum, C. villosum, a 
fine plant and variety ; C. "Williamsianum, C. Sedeni, 
C. selligerum majus, C. Hookerse, C. Dayanum, 
C. Swanianum giganteum, C. insigne, C. i. Maulei, 
C. i. punctatum violaceum, C. Schlimii album, and 
C. Boxalli, a fine variety, the white margin to the 
upper sepal being clear and well defined. Cymbidium 
Lowianum atropurpureum is carrying a fine spike just 
ready to expand its blooms. Dendrobiums in flower 
include that beautiful hybrid D. endocharis, which 
may be termed a white form of D. aureum; D. 
superbiens, D. crassinode Barberianum, D. Wardianum 
Lowii, D. W. album, D. heterocarpum (aureum), 
and D. Brymerianum, a fine plant, with pseudo-bulbs 
18 ins. long. The forms of Lielia anceps are numerous, 
including L. a. Dawsoni, L. a. "Williamsiana, L. a. 
Schroderi, with three well-developed flowers on the 
spike, and L. albida in several forms. 
The Odontoglossum house is very gay with Odonto- 
glossum Alexandra}, 0. Pescatorei, 0. gloriosum, 0. 
Sanderianum, 0. (Erstedii, 0. Rossii majus, 0. Cer- 
vantesii, 0. Edwardii, 0. maculatum, and 0. pulchellum 
majus. Oncidium. unguiculatum has a spike 4 ft. 
long, covered with bloom ; there are also many plants 
of Sophronitis grandiflora, whose scarlet flowers make a 
lovely contrast. Ccelogyne cristata and its varieties 
are flowering in quantity, and very forward in bud is 
the original variety, C. c. alba, while C. c. maxima, 
and C. c. Lemoniana (a fine specimen with from 60 to 
70 flower spikes) are in full bloom. Although still early 
in the year, Masdevallias are beginning to flower, those 
varieties already open beng M. Chelsoni, M. Yeitchii, 
M. tovarensis, and M. bella (a fine specimen in a 12-in. 
pan). Oncidium macranthum and 0. rhizophorum 
were each carrying a strong spike, and will be open in 
a few days. A very pretty Orchid in bloom is Helicia 
sanguinolenta ; the sepals and petals are greenish 
yellow, spotted and barred with Indian red, the lip 
being white with violet markings at the base. Lycaste 
Skinneri in quantity, Pilumna nobilis, Maxillaria 
nigrescens, Yanda teres, Phalosnopsis Schilleriana, 
Saccolabium giganteum (many specimens), Calanthe 
veratrifolia, C. Yeitchii and C. Williamsiana complete 
a fine display of bloom at this dull season of the year. 
Mr. Todd (the gardener! and his assistants are deter¬ 
mined to maintain the wide reputation this collection has 
gained.—/.-->;£<-- 
“LETHORION.” 
Since we first introduced to the notice of our readers 
the French method of destroying insects in plant 
houses by means of nicotine vapour instead of by 
fumigating with Tobacco smoke, the process has been 
well tried by plant growers in this country, and on 
account of its thorough efficacy, combined with less 
objectionable consequences to the operator and the 
certainty with which plants in flower may be sub¬ 
mitted to the ordeal without injury, has become well 
established amongst us as sound practice. The latest 
form of vaporiser, if it may be so called, has just been 
introduced by Messrs. Corry, Soper, Fowler & Co., 
Limited, 18, Finsbury Street, E.C., under the name of 
“Lethorion,” though it will doubtless become more 
popularly known as the Carbon Cone. It consists of a 
glass cone-shaped vessel containing a solid wax-like 
substance, and encased in a combustible wrapper, 
which on being set on fire raises the temperature of 
the vessel sufficiently high to vaporise the contents. 
In practice the cone, or cones—as many as may be 
required, according to the number of cubic feet the 
house may contain—is, or are, placed on inverted 
flower-pots, and properly lighted all round the top 
before the operator leaves the house. Hearing of the 
successful manner in which the cones had been tried 
by Mr. Head at the Crystal Palace, we tried them our¬ 
selves on some ordinary soft-wooded greenhouse plants, 
with the result that the green-fly—the only pest we 
are troubled with — were completely annihilated. 
Having, however, been favoured with a supply of cones 
Messrs. Corry, Soper, Fowler, & Co., we thought it 
desirable to gain the experience of someone who has 
charge of a more general collection of plants, and 
accordingly sent some to an able practical friend of 
ours, who writes as follows :— 
“ I have tried the carbon cones in our plant stove 
and Orchid house with satisfactory results. Although 
the cones were not the size required for our houses, 
according to the directions given for their use, yet all 
the green-fly were killed. The vapour fumes have not 
that hot, dry, burning effect peculiar to Tobacco- 
smoke, but, on the contrary, are rather soft and cool. 
Amateurs having small houses to fumigate, will find in 
the carbon cones the very thing they have long been 
in w r ant of, as they have only to measure up the number 
of cubic feet, and get a cone of the required size, place 
it on an inverted flower-pot, set alight the touch-paper, 
and without further trouble or fear of damage to their 
plants, thus rid themselves of insect pests.” 
-—- 
STOCKS FOR EXHIBITION. 
Many schedules of prizes at country shows contain 
among the cut-flower classes one for spikes of Stocks, 
and so imperfectly is the term spikes understood that 
some will be content with exhibiting the main spike of 
the plant, while others will produce the whole plant— 
main spike, side branches, and all. The plants are 
lifted from the open ground, the stem severed as near its 
junction with the roots as possible, and placed in a 
vessel containing water. All kinds of vessels are 
employed, and in some cases, while the six spikes 
(supposing the class requires this number) are occasion¬ 
ally placed singly in bottles or glasses, the whole six 
plants or spikes are not infrequently seen in one 
vessel, and it not unusually happens that the Stocks 
are simply laid upon tlie’stage, where they soon shrivel 
up. A more wretched way of exhibiting Stocks can 
scarcely be imagined. 
And yet well-grown Stocks ought to be a pleasing 
feature at flower shows, but it is essentially necessary 
to being so that they be exhibited very differently in 
method to that above described. I am afraid it is too 
much to suggest that they be grown in pots ; but it 
might be required that the plants be grown in the 
usual way in the open air, and then lifted with nice 
balls of soil to the roots a month or so previous to the 
show, so as to admit of their becoming somewhat 
established, and then they could be preserved fresh, 
and stand a chance of being seen to the best advantage. 
If anyone else can suggest a better method of exhibiting 
Stocks, I shall be glad to learn what it is. 
; Even when cut flowers are shown in the properly 
recognised method at country shows, it is remarkable 
how soon they fade. Suitable tents are the exception, 
not the rule; they are small and low, and without 
any means of ventilation. The flower show promoters 
have to be content, in a very large number of instances, 
with what they can get in the immediate locality ; and 
bad is often the best. On a hot day the atmosphere is 
close and stifling, and rarely is it that anyone has 
sufficient thought to open the sides, by unhooking the 
hangings where they are joined to the roof. Is it to 
be wondered at that flowers suffer ? I have too 
frequently known—and especially so in the case of last 
summer—the flowers literally shrivelled up before the 
judges could see them. What a forlorn appearance they 
present to view !—looking more like herbs drying in 
the sun for culinary purposes. 
But so long as prizes are offered for Stocks, so long 
wrill they be grown for exhibition. There are two very 
fine types of imported Stocks that are admirably 
adapted for exhibition purposes: one is the large- 
flowering Dwarf Pyramidal, and the other is the Giant 
Perfection. Two finer types of annual or ten-week 
Stocks are not to be obtained; they are very double, 
of bright and distinct colours, good branching habit, 
and altogether w r ell adapted for the purpose. The 
seeds should be sown according to the time the plants 
are required for exhibition. If early in July, about the 
middle of March ; if early in August, in April. The 
seeds can be reared in a-cold frame or on the open 
border under a hand-glass, and then planted out in 
rich soil. Stocks are far too often starved by being 
planted in poor soil. The finest lot of Stocks I ever 
saw were of the Giant Perfection type, and they had 
been planted out as a kind of carpet to a large bed of 
standard Boses. This bed was well mulched with 
short manure during the autumn, which the rains and 
winds of winter had reduced by early spring to a small 
state, in which form it lay thickly upon the surface. 
The bed was then gently forked over and the Stocks 
planted out in it. The result was the plants grew 
into large branching examples, and the flowers they 
produced commanded the admiration of all who saw 
them.— R. D. 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
Wardian Cases. —Those who are fond of Ferns and 
Mosses and have no means of cultivating or enjoying 
them in hothouses, can, nevertheless, grow a large and 
interesting collection of the miniature and tufted 
species, both British and exotic, with the aid of a 
Wardian Case or two in windows enjoying a fair 
amount of light. I have no doubt many, like myself, 
have looked with envy on the healthy little bits of 
Ferns generally so plentiful in the markets at most 
seasons, but especially in summer, knowing that in 
most cases they would have but a short-lived existence 
in the dry atmosphere of a dwelling room. This applies 
more especially to the Maidenhair Ferns and Selagi- 
nellas popularly termed Mosses. 
Many of them really require very little heat, and in 
.rooms where a fire is kept od, or at least during the 
evenings, very little effort will be required to keep out 
frost even should the weather be severe. Some of them 
may even be frozen without suffering injury. Owing to 
the close nature of the Wardian Case the effects of the 
dry atmosphere of a room is entirely obviated ; and 
for the same reason very little water will be required at 
any season, especially in winter, after the Ferns have 
become established. 
British Ferns for a Case. —A large number of 
the British species would conform to this kind of treat¬ 
ment were it not for their size, which renders them 
inconvenient to accommodate, unless in the form of 
small seedlings. The Aspleniums are all beautiful, and, 
with the exception of the ordinary wild types of A. 
Filix-fcemina, on account of their size, and A. Ruta- 
muraria, may all be grown to perfection. The latter 
Fern naturally lives in the crevices of bridges, walls, 
and dry rocks, and has peculiar likings, which amateurs 
generally fail to master. A. fontanum, A. laneeolatum, 
A. ceterach, and A. Adiantum nigrum, A. trichomanes, 
and A. viride are all extremely graceful or pretty. Of 
the last character is A. germanicum and A. septentrio- 
nale, with slender-tufted fronds about 3 ins. or 4 ins. 
high. A. marinum grows admirably in AYardian cases, 
and its leathery evergreen fronds are neither without 
beauty nor interest. 
Many of the innumerable forms of Scolopendrium 
vulgare are also admirable, especially the dwarfer¬ 
growing kinds, crested, multifid, or otherwise, such as 
S. v. Wardii, S. v. Kelwayi, and S. v. crispum spirale. 
Some of the depauperated, very-much-branehed and 
crested forms of the Lady Fern (Asplenium Filix- 
fcemina), such as A. F.-f. grandiceps and A. F.-f. 
acrocladon, are not only admissible but resemble 
beautiful tufts of crisped Parsley. The mountain 
Parsley (Allosorus crispus) forms dense tufts of finely- 
cut fronds, but does not like confinement under glass. 
The Holly Fern is a slow-growing plant of great 
interest, and might find a place amongst the occupants 
of a case, together with the fragile and deciduous 
Bladder Ferns, the species of Cystopteris, most of 
which are finely divided and extremely pretty, but die 
down early in autumn. The British Maidenhair 
(Adiantum Capillus-Yeneris), from the interest as well as 
beauty attaching to it, should not be overlooked.— Filiy. 
-- 
FROM AN APPRENTICE TO 
MASTER. 
(Concluded fromp. 342/ 
The Journeyman. 
In his first year a journeyman is little better than an 
appfentice, except being permitted to handle more freely 
subjects which he may have been only allowed to look 
at in his apprenticeship. He now begins to find out 
his deficiency ; his master generally supposes he ought 
to know more than he really does. As a rule, he is 
told to perform a certain piece of work ; he gets no 
instructions how to do it, and, of course, would not 
dare to ask in case the master should think him 
incapable of the work. He adopts his own method, 
and when the master comes round, of course all is 
wrong ; and, as generally happens, the young man has 
to suffer his master’s displeasure. 
A journeyman is often slighted when any particular 
fruit or flowers have to be picked or cut. The foreman 
or master, as a rule, performs that piece of fancy work; 
but why not allow the journeyman or the apprentice 
to perform part? If he does not know he ought to 
be initiated into the secret; and by so doing, when 
either of his superiors is absent, and anything is 
wanted, he could with .safety be trusted to get what 
