508 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
April 7, 1888. 
0. crispum being represented by many fine well-grown 
plants bearing heavy spikes of massive flowers, amongst 
them being some good hybrids. 0. Rossii, 0. Pesca- 
torei, 0. eirrhosum, 0. Hallii, 0. hystrix, several 
fine varieties ; also 0. trinmphans. 0. Schilleriana 
has a strong branching spike with twenty-three flowers; 
0. gloriosum and 0. cordatum. 0. coronarium is also 
in flower, the spike having seventeen well-developed 
blooms. This is the second time Mr. Pidsley 
has flowered this shy-blooming species since taking 
charge at Westbrook five years ago. 0. deltoglossnm, 
0. maculatum anceps and 0. maculatum superbum, 
0. polyxanthum, Ladia harpophylla, and Trichopilia 
suavis. The general collection of Orchids, as also the 
stove and greenhouse plants, testify that skill and 
careful management reigns throughout.— W. S. 
Renton’s Monarch Leek. 
A correspondent asks, in your last issue, why this 
Leek has not more quickly come to the front. I think 
I can assure him that it is coming as quickly as 
possible, but, as he supposes, the seed is very scarce of 
the true variety. It stands a long time, and is late 
before it runs to seed, which makes it very valuable as 
an exhibition Leek ; but only in the best of autumns is 
the seed harvested, and many seasons it does not ripen. 
I know the Leek well, and have seen it every season. 
I remember, about six years ago, noting some grand 
specimens at the Coldstream show on the 26th of 
August, and measured one very carefully, with the 
following results : Length of blanched stem, 14 ins. : 
circumference, 7 ins. Last year the show was held on 
the 25th of August, and as a result of the long, dry, hot 
summer, the best example measured only 10 ins. in 
length and 6 ins. in circumference. It grows more 
proportionately than any Leek I am acquainted with, 
and is the leading variety on the borders. — W. Rose. 
Begonia manicata. 
This is one of our best winter-flowering plants, yet it 
does not receive the amount of attention its merits as a 
decorative plant deserve. The beautiful shining green 
leaves and unique pink flowers have a splendid effect 
when mixed with other subjects in the conservatory. 
After the plants have finished flowering, place them in 
a cool house until all appearance of frost has passed 
away, when they may be removed to a cold frame to 
rest all the summer, giving them very little water. 
About the end of August, shake them out and re-pot 
into a compost of two parts loam, one part of leaf-soil, 
with a little sand, some well-rotted cow-dung, and a 
dash of bone-meal. Replace them in the frame until 
the approach of winter, when they should be shifted 
into warmer quarters. A vinery that has finished its 
crop will be a suitable place for a month or six weeks, 
when they may be taken into the conservatory to 
bloom. Give them a watering of weak liquid manure 
once a week while growing.— G. H. 
Beeson's Manure. 
This excellent manure has been before the public for 
many years ; I have used it from the very first, and 
regard it as one of the best of all artificial manures. 
Many manures act as a mere flash in the pan ; they 
stimulate for a little while, then fail. They cause 
things to make a sudden growth, but are little or no 
help in the end, and when the produce is maturing 
they do not render any assistance. But Beeson’s is 
too substantial in its composition to be classed as one 
of these, and while it certainly causes vigorous growth 
immediately after its application, its virtues remain in 
the soil long after the first year. Three years ago I 
applied a quantity of it to a large bed of Roses, and 
the plants display the benefit of it to this day. Last 
autumn we forked a dressing of it into the surface of a 
Vine border some time before the wood was matured, 
and the growths are stronger, and the bunches larger 
at the present time than I have seen them for ten 
years. The finest crop of Tomatos we ever produced 
was grown under its influence. It imparts vigour 
and fruitfulness to every kind of plant with which it 
comes in contact ; and it well deserves a place amongst 
standard and invaluable manures.— An Old Grower. 
A Hybrid Clivia. 
The improvements that have been effected in the genus 
Clivia are chiefly confined to C. miniata. Although 
the flowers of C. nobilis and C. Gardeni have much to 
recommend them, even in the natural and unaltered 
form, the florist has never taken to them so kindly as 
in the case of C. miniata, so that the numerous fine 
forms in gardens are mostly selected seedlings or cross¬ 
bred varieties of the latter, having larger and more 
expanded flowers to commence with, and which are 
brighter as a rule. A form obtained between C. 
miniata and C. nobilis is grown under the name of 
Clivia (or Himantophyllum) cyrtanthiflorum, which 
has nodding, curved, tubular flowers. At Tower House, 
Chiswick, Mr. Bones, the gardener, grows a hybrid 
form which resembles the above in its curved, tubular 
and pendent flowers, but the latter are larger, more 
expanded and showier. They are also of a pleasing 
soft shade of orange-scarlet, somewhat paler internally 
and tinted with green at the tips. 
New Peas—British Lion, Dignity and 
Victoria. 
If these three new Peas do not belie their names they 
are undoubtedly good ones. "Would “J. L. P.,” who 
speaks so highly of them, kindly give details—whether 
green or white wrinkled marrows, what length of pods, 
and how many peas on an average the pods contain, and 
also what resemblance they may have to any old ones 
(if any) already in existence. Inquiries were made of 
the above Peas last year as to their origin, but without 
avail.— L. H. 
-- 
Advantage should now be taken of the first fine day 
to thoroughly examine all stocks to see in what con¬ 
dition they are. Should there be plenty of food in the 
hive, uncap some of the comb so as to encourage the 
bees to active work, so that we may have good strong 
colonies early in the season ready to take advantage of 
the early flow of honey. In some districts this is the 
most important and most plentiful of the season. In 
the London district, amongst the market gardens, I 
find this to be the case. If it were possible to estimate 
the profit that bees are to the market gardeners, in 
fertilizing the flowers of the different kinds of fruits, the 
total, I fancy, w T ould astonish some of our market 
growers. Yet the belief is still common that they are 
of no advantage, but, on the contrary, are a nuisance. 
I know of one case where a man had his bees destroyed 
by some of his neighbours for the supposed mischief 
they did in the neighbouring gardens. 
If on examining the hive we find the supply of food 
getting short, recourse should be had at once to feeding. 
The following is a good recipe for spring feeding 
10 lbs. of white lump-sugar, 6 pints of water, 1 oz. of 
salt, 1 oz. of vinegar, 1 oz. of salicylic acid solution ; 
boil the whole together for about ten minutes. In 
feeding, supply the food from the top of the hive by 
inverted bottles, having one of the different kinds of 
stage-feeders, or simply with a piece of calico tied over 
the mouth. If that does not allow the bees to feed freely 
enough, make some holes in it with a large darning 
needle. At this time of the year, if pollen is scarce in 
the neighbourhood, it may be advisable to supply the 
bees with artificial pollen. This is done by using flour 
of some sort to dust the flowers on which the bees are 
feeding. Pea-flour is found to be the nearest approach 
to the natural pollen ; and the Crocus flowers, on which 
the bees are now feeding, will be found a good medium 
on which to supply it to them. After they get used to 
it they will frequent any place where it is laid down 
for them, and will take it readily so long as other 
pollen is not easily obtained. 
Attention should be given to the hives. See that all 
floor boards are cleaned; have them thoroughly scraped, 
and scrubbed with hot water and painted over with 
salicylic acid solution. This is found to be one of the best 
preventatives of foul brood in the hive, and in killing 
all insect pests that may find shelter in the hive. It is 
easily prepared, and will keep a considerable time. The 
solution is made from 1 oz. salicylic acid, 1 oz. soda 
borax and 4 pints of water ; boil for a few minutes so 
that the whole is well dissolved and mixed. Now is 
also a good time to paint the outside of all wood hives. 
Where hives have to be stood close together, for want 
of room, it is a good plan to paint each hive of a 
different colour; or, it may be, two or three different 
colours on one hive, but each hive should be of a 
different colour from the other. This is a great help to 
the bees in finding their own hive ; as has often been 
pointed out, they are very sensitive to colour. I have 
adopted the plan of painting the body white, and the 
bands, inside porch, and sliding door of a different 
colour ; this helps to make the apiary ornamental and 
attractive. Cleanliness in the apiary is one of the best 
preventatives of all diseases, and prevention is better 
than cure at all times.— A. Wright. 
ORCHID NOT ES AND GLEANINGS. 
The Orchid Grower’s Calendar. 
A busy time it is just now in the Orchid houses. The 
Dendrobes which have done flowering, or which are 
about to grow, should be placed in their warm growing 
quarters, and kept well supplied with rain-water. Any 
of them which require a shift of pot or basket should 
be attended to, but unnecessary disturbing loses many a 
good plant, so that any which can go until next season 
had better be left as they are. With Dendrobes, all 
East Indian things especially, and, indeed, Orchids 
generally, the great secret is to grow them in their 
growing season, and not simply to let them live. With 
this object in view, all warm and intermediate house 
plants should be kept in a well-heated and reasonably 
humid atmosphere until their active growth is termi¬ 
nated. 
Calanthes not yet potted-up should be attended to, 
and those who want full information cannot do better 
than turn to the exhaustive article on the subject by 
that clever grower, Mr. Blandford, at p. 470, of The 
Gardening World, 1887. The varieties of Phaius 
and other terrestrials not in bloom may also now be 
re-potted in a good compost of turfy yellow loam and 
fibrous peat, and with these, as with the Cypripediums 
noted by Mr. Cowley at p. 476, I have found 
great advantage from a layer of |-in. or 1-in. bones 
on the crocks. For Cypripediums it works wonders 
as he states, and those who have Cypripediums to 
re-pot should try it. Soon after flowering is the best 
time to pot these and many other Orchids. 
Fire-heat should be kept well in check, and shading, 
ventilating, and damping down attended to carefully. 
The Temperatures for the month of April 
should be:—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, 55° to 60° by day, 50° at night. Degrees 
Fahrenheit. All the houses should be allowed to range 
5° or 10° more by sun-heat on bright days, when the 
shading is down on the sunny side .—James O'Brien. 
A fine Odontoglossum crispum. 
We have received through Messrs. F. Sander & Co., 
St. Albans, from Mr. Beddoes, gardener to E. Wrigley, 
Esq., Howick House, Preston, a finely coloured and 
conspicuously blotched variety of the popular 0. cris¬ 
pum. . The ground colour of the sepals is heavily 
shaded with rose on both surfaces, although they may 
be slightly darker externally, and each has a large and 
conspicuous purplish brown blotch on the middle, which 
adds considerably to the general appearance of the 
flower. The petals are somewhat paler and occasionally 
furnished with a blotch,-whilst the labellum is white 
and marked with numerous blotches in front of the 
bright yellow disk. 
Curious Behaviour of Dendrobium nobile. 
The liability of this species to sport under cultivation 
has been very strikingly manifested during the last 
few years, but especially so this winter. The sporting 
consists of an attempt on the part of the petals to 
assume the form of the lip, or, in other words, the 
flower has made an effort to become regular, the three 
inner segments assuming the peloria form. Another 
instance of this we noticed the other day at Stile Hall, 
Chiswick, where one half of one petal only presents 
the same phenomenon as that seen in D. n. Cooksoni, 
while the other longitudinal half of the same petal is 
perfectly normal. The lip-like half is purple at the 
base, creamy white upwards, and pubescent all over as 
in the normal form of the flower. 
Epidendrum atropurpureum roseum. 
By far the best form of E. atropurpureum is the variety 
under notice. The species is, perhaps, best known 
in gardens under the name of E. macrochilum. The 
type, with regard to colour, holds an intermediate 
position, and gives rise to the dark form under notice ; 
while, on the other hand, we have an Albino, or white 
variety, which, however, does not seem particularly 
common. It is deliciously scented when fully ex¬ 
panded, especially if the temperature of the house be 
moderately high. The variety roseum comes from 
Guatemala, and is figured in Bateman’s Orchids of 
Mexico and Guatemala, t. 17. At present it is flowering 
with Mr. "Wright at Devonhurst, Chiswick, and is 
strikingly attractive as well as curious from the way in 
which the dark brownish purple sepals and petals 
become incurved at the tips. The large three-lobed 
labellum is of a warm rose colour, marked or striped 
with much darker veins, making the flower conspicuous 
and attractive. 
