364 
THE GARDENING Yv^ORLD 
February 4, 1888. 
having brilliant or any other desired colour. They 
may all be stood together, as there is no danger of the 
strains becoming mixed, on a shelf near the glass in a 
light, airy position. 
THE FORCING HOUSES. 
Tomatos, Cucumbers, Melons. —Where not already 
done, batches of seeds should be sown without delay. 
Good Tomatos are some of the different strains named 
Perfection, Acme, Trophy, Blenheim Orange, Hack- 
wood Park, Dedham Favourite and The Mikado. 
Blenheim Orange is a yellow, while the last two men¬ 
tioned are soft red varieties, and at the same time very 
useful Tomatos. Telegraph, Tender and True, and 
Purley Park Hero are good Cucumbers, while Melons are 
numerous. Whenever they are through the soil, stand 
them as near the light as possible to prevent drawing. 
They should also be potted off into 3-in. pots, or at 
least the Cucumbers and Melons after they have nearly 
completed the growth of the cotyledons or seed leaves. 
Rhubarb, Sea Kale, Asparagus. —The demand 
for these things will increase as the season goes on, and 
in order to keep up the supply, fresh batches must be 
introduced from time to time to the forcing pits. 
They should all be kept in perfect darkness in order to 
blanch, and render them crisp, tender, and succulent. 
The long fleshy roots of the Sea Kale may be cut in 
lengths and preserved till thereus time to make fresh 
plantations. 
Lily of the Valley, Spir.ea, Roses. —For cut- 
flower purposes the first-mentioned may be put in boxes 
or merely laid in frames, and covered with leaf-soil or 
cocoa-nut fibre. The Spiraeas must be potted and 
plunged in fibre in order to start them thus early. 
Roses in pots, if they have previously been prepared, 
should now be started in a gentle heat, and removed 
into houses having a higher temperature as they 
advance. 
THE EITCHEN GARDEN. 
Onions, Leeks. —The success that has attended the 
early sowing of these under glass, gives encouragement 
to further prosecute this method of culture. It is 
chiefly done with a view to exhibition purposes. The 
plan is to sow in good rich soil in pans, and when well 
up and strong, prick off in boxes, and after being 
again established, gradually harden off, and keep under 
glass till a short time before planting out in the open 
ground. 
Digging, Pruning.— Whenever the state of the 
weather and the soil permits, this kind of work should 
be actively prosecuted. Where trenching is to be done, 
and especially where the soil is retentive, no time 
should be lost in having it turned up to the pulverising 
agency of what frost may still be expected. Take 
advantage of frosty mornings for wheeling manure on 
to the ground, as the walks are best kept clean when 
everything is dry and hard. 
-—-— 
ORCHID NOT ES AND GLEANINGS. 
The Orchid Growers’ Calendar. 
Now that the fogs, it is to be hoped, have left us for 
the season, the glass in the roof of every Orchid house 
should he washed on the outside, in order to admit the 
life-giving light which the increasing power of the sun 
gives. Now and then we shall get bright days, with 
really warm weather, and such should he marked by 
more ventilation than on ordinary occasions ; indeed, 
it is of the greatest possible good to the plants at this 
season to open all the doors for half-an-hour or so when 
the sun is bright and the weather warm outside, for by 
so doing the air in every part of the houses gets 
thoroughly renewed. I am sure that if this were done 
to some Orchid houses, where their guardians are 
advocates for warm and close treatment, the plants 
would say “ Thank you!” were they capable of speech. 
Our better cultivation of Orchids in these days may he 
traced mainly to free ventilation, liberal administrations 
of rain-water whenever plants are growing, and a 
careful avoidance of excess in drying off during the 
resting season. The potting of the cool-house Orchids 
should be immediately proceeded with, and in the 
other structures careful watch should be kept for insect 
pests, which multiply quickly at this season. 
The Temperatures for the month of February 
should he:—Warm or East Indian house, 65° to 70° 
by day, 60° at night; Cattleya or intermediate house, 
60° to 65° by day, 55° at night; Odontoglossum or cool 
house, 50° to 55° by day, 45° at night. —James O'Brien. 
Orchids as Investments. 
A correspondent writes : —“No doubt the publication 
of a paragraph concerning the purchase of an Orchid at 
the outrageous price of A-300, which went the round of 
the press last week, was a good trade advertisement ; 
but it seems doubtful whether it will tend to raise the 
assumed amateur Orchidist and the wealthy one as 
much as any other in popular estimation. Of course, 
the Orchid fancier has the same right to keep an eye on 
the ultimate product of his purchases and outlay in 
cultivation as the art connoisseur or bric-a-brac fancier 
has. Still, we do not like to realise that outside of the 
bond fide trade pecuniary considerations so largely 
prevail. It may be an illusion, but somehow it does 
seem so much more pleasant to believe that the amateur 
grower of Orchids—and, indeed, of other plants, no 
matter what—grow them, even on costly lines, for love 
and not for money. Should any decadence in the price 
of Orchids set in, or a sort of down-grade in value occur, 
how sad it would be to see one and all of these amateur 
growers anxious to sell out or be off with their bargains ! 
Of course, any such sort of panic would terribly intensify 
the evil, and Orchid culture would soon go to the dogs. 
Where, however, plants are grown by amateurs from 
high and generous motives, no such disaster would 
follow. I would rather make no imputation upon the 
motives of the amateur Orchidist, but the paragraph 
referred to did distinctly hold out a glittering bait to 
such growers to regard their plants rather as good 
investments than as objects, to be loved and prized for 
their beauty only.” 
Cypripedium Saundersianum. 
I am not aware of the source of your information 
respecting Mr. Bull’s purchase from me of Cypripe¬ 
dium Saundersianum for £300. It is, however, well to 
he accurate now that it has been mentioned. I sold 
to Mr. Bull, last spring, a small portion of the plant 
for 100 guineas (£105). He has now bought the 
remainder of the plant for £300.— William Lee, Doiun- 
side, Leatherhead. 
Top-dressing Orchids. 
Mr. Rowe expresses his surprise that Mr. O’Brien and 
myself have so sweepingly condemned this practice. 
For my part, I can only say that my opinion remains 
unaltered. He asks, “ Should an Orchid be repotted 
just because the surface looks a bit shabby?” I say, 
No ! Further on he says “the young surface-roots, if 
unprotected, form a tempting morsel for any of our 
numerous enemies who might pass that way.” By all 
means protect any young roots that may push above 
the old soil ; no one could surely object to that. But 
it was not the class of business I had in my mind at all 
when w r riting.— J. A. Brown. 
-- 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
National Chrysanthemum. — Jan. 31. 
The annual meeting of the members of this popular 
society was held on Tuesday evening last, at Anderton’s 
Hotel, Fleet Street, Mr. R. Ballantine, the vice- 
president, presiding ; but owing, no doubt, to the 
inclement weather, the attendance was not so large as 
usual. The report of the committee was as follows :— 
“ The result of the operations of the society during 
the past year may he well and truthfully recorded as 
an unqualified success. Good and useful work has 
been accomplished in each of its departments, and its 
resources financially have been equal to the heavy 
strain made upon them. The September show was 
again considered both good and interesting, although 
the early section of Chrysanthemums do not, as yet, 
seem to have taken a very firm hold of popular favour. 
Dahlias and Gladioli, however, formed, as before, a 
very attractive feature. Of the November fete too 
much can scarcely be said. It was, in every respect, 
the largest and most attractive exhibition ever yet held 
under the auspices of the society. The number of cut 
blooms especially was greatly in excess of any previous 
year. The groups made an unequalled display, and 
St. Stephen’s Hall was filled with such an exhibition 
of fruits and vegetables as is not often excelled. The 
vast buildings were well filled during each day, while 
in the evening the crowds were simply enormous. No 
less than 10,000 persons, exclusive of staff entrances, 
passed through the turnstiles on the first day. The 
January show was greatly superior to that of any pre¬ 
ceding year, and a veritable surprise to all. Chrysan¬ 
themums were largely staged, although, as yet, the 
object of the original promoter of the mid-winter show 
has not been largely fulfilled by the introduction of 
many naturally late-flowering Chrysanthemums ; still, 
a few have made their appearance, and others will 
doubtless follow. Primulas and Cyclamen formed a 
grand feature. The weather, however, was most 
unpropitious, and must have affected the attendance 
considerably. 
1 ‘ The Floral Committee has steadily carried on its 
work during the season, the attendance of its members 
being irreproachable; and its decisions in every 
instance were given after very careful consideration. 
The business meetings of the society will in the future 
be held at Anderton’s Hotel, Fleet Street. The society 
having out-grown the accommodation afforded at 
its old head-quarters, some other place of meeting had 
to be found, and Fleet Street being considered more 
central, and consequently more convenient for the 
members generally, Anderton’s Hotel has been selected. 
The arrangements for the year 1888 have yet to be 
decided ; but so many proposals will he placed before 
the executive committee, that there need be no appre¬ 
hension on the score of novelty of action on the part 
of the society during the coming season. How far 
these proposals may be carried into effect depends 
entirely upon the increased financial support accorded 
to the society. It is on all hands considered desir¬ 
able that a new catalogue should be at once prepared ; 
the matter has already been under discussion, and will 
be proceeded with as speedily as possible. The com¬ 
mittee desire to tender their very hearty thanks to all 
donors of special prizes, and especially to the trustees 
of the Veitch Memorial Fund for the liberal grant of 
medals and money prizes during the past season.” The 
statement of accounts showed the total receipts to he 
£704 12s. 8 d., and the expenditure £704 7s. 6(7., the 
main sources of income being : annual subscriptions, 
£160 19s. 6 d. ; donations, special prizes, &c., £149 Is.; 
Royal Aquarium Company, £218 5s. 5 d. ; entrance fees, 
affiliation fees, and sale of admission tickets, £107 10s.; 
and the largest items of expenditure : prizes, 
£398 13s. 6(7. ; judges’ fees, £11 11s. ; judges’ and 
committees’ luncheons and assistants’ breakfasts, 
£22 16s. 3(7. ; printing, £48 11s. 7(7. ; medals, 
£40 8s. 3(7., &c. 
On the motion of the chairman, seconded by Mr. 
Stevens, the report and statement of accounts were 
unanimously adopted, and a cordial vote of thanks 
was accorded to the auditors. Several new members 
were next elected, and it was announced that Lady 
Lytton had signified her willingness to become a 
patroness of the society. The election of officers was 
then proceeded with, the result being the unanimous 
re-election of E. Sanderson, Esq., as president; R. 
Ballantine, Esq., as vice-president; J. R. Starling, 
Esq., as treasurer ; Mr. W. Holmes, as honorary 
secretary; and Messrs. Cane and Drain, jun., as 
auditors. The following members were elected to serve 
on the general committee, in the place of those who 
retired by rotation, but who, in accordance with the 
rules, were eligible for re-election :—Messrs. W. Blake, 
F. Bingham, L. Castle, AY. Davey. F. J. Long, J. 
Newton, R. Nichols, R. Payne, R. E. Reeve, J. Udale, 
J. Williams, and H. C. Wildman. It was resolved 
that the Floral Committee should be elected at the 
first general committee meeting, and that it shall 
consist of fifteen members, five of whom shall retire 
annually. It was announced that liberal special 
prizes had been offered for competition at the November 
show by Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Reading ; Messrs. 
AYood & Son, AYood Green ; and Messrs. H. Cannell 
& Sons, Swanley, and a proposal which had been 
made, to the effect that the society should hold 
a provincial show in the North of England, next came 
on for discussion. The secretary read some corre¬ 
spondence that had taken place between himself, Mr. 
T. B. Morton, Darlington, and Mr. E. Mawley, hon. 
secretary of the National Rose Society, and the general 
feeling of the meeting seemed to be in favour of the 
project, provided it could be done without the society 
incurring any great financial risk. In the end a small 
suh-comiuittee was appointed to consider the question, 
and report thereon to the general committee. Under 
these circumstances it was not considered advisable 
to fix the dates yet for all the society’s shows, but 
it was decided that the November show should be 
held on the 7th and 8th. A sub-committee was also 
appointed to consider the proposed revision and 
extension of the catalogue, and to prepare a scheme 
for con ^deration by the general committee. It was also 
decided after some discussion that the representatives 
of affiliated societies should only he entitled to one 
vote, whether they represent one or more societies. 
