44 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
September 20, 1890. 
Our Lselia anceps have been fully exposed to the sun 
for the pa9t three weeks, and the leaves and bulbs are 
stout and satisfactory. Cattleya gigas and Sanderiana 
always stand at the end of a span-roof house, where 
they are but slightly shaded as they stand at the south 
end. Cattleya Trian® and C. Percivaliana, which are 
the first two batches to flower after C. Bowringiana is 
over, are now basking in the sunshine. 
Lycastes finishing up their bulbs may be assisted 
greatly by a weak dose of manure water occasionally, 
such as is used for Coelogyne cristat*. White scale, 
such as infests Camellias, is very partial to the under 
side of the leaves of Lycaste Skinneri, and should be 
kept in check before the plants come into flower. 
Yellow thrips quickly cripple the young flower buds 
of the small-growing Laelias, such as L. Dayana, L. 
prajstans, and L. marginata, and now that they will 
be probably pushing through, it is worth the time to 
look over the plants of these varieties and free them 
from insects. They are pleasing objects when in bloom 
if in a clean healthy condition. 
While the re-potting of the Odontoglossums is in 
progress it is a convenient time to have a good look 
through them, renewing the labels if necessary, and 
putting any choice varieties which have young tender 
flower spikes over pans of water to prevent the ravages 
of slugs. Many growers put a ring of cotton-wool 
round the young flower spikes as soon as they are 
pushed from the base of the bulb. This is a very 
good plan, for slugs do not care about travelling over 
wool, and even if the wool does no good it indicates 
the position of the flower spikes, making it more easy 
for the one whose duty it is to do the slug-hunting at 
night, because he will know where the spikes are. 
There the slugs will be attracted, and at the same time 
the wool discloses the whereabouts of the flower spikes 
it is his duty to protect. 
In the intermediate house Vanda insignis, V. tricolor, 
Y. suavis and its varieties will now be benefited by 
having the old spent moss picked out, and sweet clean 
sphagnum put in its place, with a nice surfacing of the 
best of the sphagnum on the top to make them all 
snug for the present.— W. P. 
Brassavola fragrans. 
Some of the species of Brassavola are very showy, par¬ 
ticularly those which produce their flowers in some 
abundance independently of their size. That here 
noted produces flowers freely in short racemes from the 
top of the slender stems, which hardly deserve the 
name of pseudobulbs, as they range from 8 ins. to 10 
ins. in length, and are no thicker than a goose quill. 
From the top of this, a solitary, slender, terete, and 
deep green leaf is given off, and varies from 12 ins. to 
18 ins. in length, according to vigour. A slender 
groove on one side is all that represents the upper 
surface. The flowers are of medium size for the genus, 
with lanceolate, short, creamy white sepals and petals. 
The lip is much larger, pure white and hooded at the 
base over the column. The flowers are somewhat 
fragrant. A good-sized and -well-flowered piece may 
be seen in the cool Orchid house at Kew, in association 
with Cattleyas. 
MlLTONIA CANDIDA. 
In most cases the lip of a Miltonia is flat; but the 
present species is a remarkable exception. Sometimes 
it is described as undulated ; but that is hardly the 
proper description, for it is folded round the column, 
forming a tube as perfect as occurs in many of the 
Cattleyas or Lielias. The structure of the pollinia 
removes it widely, however, from Cattleya and its 
allies. The lip is white with a large but pale violet 
blotch along the centre ; but there are several varieties 
in cultivation in which the colour is different. The 
sepals are oblong and reddish brown, sometimes 
yellowish and blotched with rich brown, almost covering 
the whole surface. The petals are broader, of a similar 
hue, at times presenting more of the yellow bars across 
them above the middle. The flowers are large, and 
abundantly produced in racemes from the base of the 
pseudo-bulbs. In short, it is a showy and floriferous 
subject, flowering in the autumn, when Orchids are less 
plentiful than at many other seasons. 
Arachnanthe Clarkei. 
A number of beautiful and interesting plants allied to 
Renanthera and Vanda have been shifted about into 
different genera, according to the views of different 
authors as to their affinity. The species under notice, 
together with what were formerly named Vanda Lowii 
and V. Cathcartii, have now been placed under the 
generic name of Arachnanthe. A. Clarkei is also 
known as Esmeralda Clarkei, and is closely allied to 
A. Cathcartii. The sepals are oblong, the lateral ones 
being much deflected and falcate ; and all are of a rich 
brown, barred transversely with ochre-yellow. The 
petals are similarly coloured, and slightly sickle-shaped. 
The lip is three-lobed, and projects outward almost 
horizontally ; the lateral lobes are small, and striped 
internally with brown and yellow ; the middle lobe is 
much larger and again three-lobed, deep brown, and 
marked by nine radiating creamy white ridges. The 
flowers are borne in short racemes from the axils of the 
upper leaves, which are oblong, and in two rows upon 
elevated stems. A flowering specimen may be seen in 
the East Indian house at Kew. 
-- 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
-- 
Royal Manchester Horticultural and 
Botanical.— Sept. 12th and 13th. 
Manchester did well at Old Trafford on the above 
date, and Mr. Bruce Findlay succeeded in getting to¬ 
gether a remarkably attractive display of fruit, flowers 
and vegetables, while many things of an extremely 
interesting character came in under the head of 
miscellaneous subjects. The exhibits were arranged 
in the glass-roof annexe, and even this great space 
was so filled to overflowing, that room had to be 
found for the vegetables, which were staged in the 
big plant house. The weather was gloriously fine, and 
a great many people came to see the feast of flowers 
and fruit so lavishly provided. Our good old friend, 
Mr. Samuel Barlow, of Stakehill House, scored heavily, 
Last year he came out as the Bunyard of the northern 
zone, and staged some Apples that were the talk of the 
city for days after. On this occasion he brought from 
his Welsh garden at Shimdda Hir, Llandudno, Apples 
of such surprising quality, as almost to rival, if they 
did not quite do so, the splendid sample Mr. George 
Bunyard, of Maidstone, showed at the Crystal Palace 
on the previous Friday, thus showing that North Wales 
can produce fruit that can compare with the choicest 
productions of Kent, the garden of England. But of 
these more anon. 
More than usual interest attached to this exhibition, 
from the fact that there was a class for eight bunches of 
Grapes, and Messrs. William Thomson & Sons, of the 
Tweed Vineyard, Clovenfords, N.B., offered a first 
piize of fifteen guineas, with the result that eleven 
competitors entered the lists. Thus there were 
eighty-eight bunches of Grapes, such a display 
from some of the best growers in the country as is 
rarely seen. The judges in this class were Mr. W. 
Speed, Penrhyn Castle Gardens ; Mr. P. Blair, Trent- 
ham Gardens ; and Mr. W. Crump, Madresfield Court 
Gardens. That they occupied nearly an hour in making 
their award is sufficiently indicative of the closeness of 
the contest. The first prize eventually went to Mr. 
Alderman Chaffin, of Bath ; the second to Mr. Allan, 
gardener to Lord Suffield, Gunton Park, Norwich ; and 
as representing the north-west, Mr. Goodacre, gardener 
to the Earl of Harrington, Elvaston Castle, Derby ; 
and as representing the north, Mr. McHattie, gardener 
to the Marquis of Lothian, Dalkeith, were placed equal 
third. Mr. Chaffin staged two bunches each of Madres¬ 
field Court, Black Hamburgh, Alnwick Seedling, and 
Muscat of Alexandria. Here there were some of the 
finest varieties of Grapes for dessert purposes, large in 
bunch, superb in berry, and, with the exception 
of the Black Hamburghs which were otherwise 
very fine, well finished. Mr. Allan came second with 
two bunches each of Alnwick Seedling, Alicante, Gros 
Maroc, and Duke of Buccleuch ; the three former 
being superb in bunch and berry, and well coloured, 
the “ Duke ” also very fine in bunch and berry, and 
probably as good in colour as this variety is capable of— 
altogether a collection of Grapes for any cultivator to 
be proud of. Mr. McHattie came next with three 
bunches of Muscat of Alexandria, large, handsome, and 
well coloured ; two of Black Hamburgh, two of Lady 
Downes, and one of Madresfield Court—a very attractive 
lot indeed at the first glance, but declining in one’s 
estimation when closely scanned. They had been 
insufficiently thinned. It was the two bunches of 
Lady Downes which especially discounted Mr. 
McHattie’s chance. Mr. Goodacre had three bunches 
of Muscat of Alexandria, two of Alicante, two of 
Madresfield Court, and one of Muscat Hamburgh. 
The battle of the Grapes at Manchester will supply 
matter for discussion for weeks to come. 
Mr. McHattie had the best three bunches of any 
black Grape, showing Black Hamburgh, admirably 
finished, but under-sized in berry. Mr. Goodacre came 
second with Madresfield Court, and Mr. R. M, C. 
Nevill, Grantham, third, with Alicante. Mr. Chaffin 
had the best three bunches of White Grapes, showing 
excellent Muscat of Alexandria ; Mr. W. B. Davenport, 
Chelford, was second ; and Mr. McHattie third, with 
the same. The best dish of Peaches was very fine 
Barrington, from Mr. Wallis, gardener to the Rev. W. 
Sneyd, Keele Hall, Staffs; Mr. Geo. Meakin, of Stafford, 
coming second with fine Royal George. The best dish 
of Apricots was Humboldt, from Mr. Lambert, gardener 
to Col. Wingfield, Shrewsbury ; Mr. Goodacre was 
second, with Violette Hative; and Mr. W. Brocklehurst, 
Macclesfield, was third with Pine Apple. The best 
Pine Apple was Queen ; the best green-fleshed Melons, 
Hero of Lockinge and Best of All ; the best scarlet- 
fleshed, Read’s and a seedling. The best dish of Plums 
was one of Pond’s Seedling from Mr. Allan ; Mr. 
Hunter, gardener to the Earl of Durham, Lambton 
Castle, coming second with Magnum Bonum ; Mr. 
Wallis was third with Kirke’s. 
There were four collections of eight dishes of fruit, 
and Mr. Goodacre was first with Muscat of Alexandria and 
Gros Maroc Grapes, Barrington Peaches, Victoria 
Nectarine, Queen Pine, Powell’s Early Apricot, &c. ; 
Mr. Wallis was second with the same varieties of 
Grapes, Sea Eagle Peaches, Pitmaston Orange Nec¬ 
tarines, Moor Park Apricots, &e. ; Mr. Dawes, gardener 
to the Hon. Mrs. Maynell Ingram, was third. 
The best three dishes of Pears grown under glass 
came from Mr. Hunter, who had very fine Beurre Diel, 
Pitmaston Duchess, and Souvenir du Congres ; Mr. 
Upjohn, gardener to the Earl of Ellesmere, Worsley Hall, 
was second ; Mr. Samuel Barlow was third. In the 
class for three dishes grown in the open, Mr. R. H. C. 
Nevill was first with Bon Chretien, Beurre de 
1’Assomption, and Brockworth Park; Mr. Allan was 
second, and Mr. S. Barlow came in third. With 
twelve dishes of culinary Apples Mr. Barlow was far 
away first, staging Gloria Mundi, very fine ; Frogmore 
Prolific, fine in colour ; Peasgood’s Nonsuch, very large 
and handsome ; Stirling Castle, Pott’s Seedling, New 
Hawthornden, Gravenstein, finely coloured; Golden 
Noble, Cox’s Pomona, Blenheim Orange, Catshead, 
and The Queen, finely coloured—a superb lot that 
probably attracted more attention than any other 
exhibit in the show. Mr. T. W. Baker, Gorddinog, 
Llanfairfechan, was second, and C. L. Campbell, 
Esq., came in third. Mr. Barlow also had the best 
eight dishes of dessert Apples, having some very flue 
samples of Margil, Wormsley Pippin, Ribston Pippin, 
extra fine ; Worcester Pearmain, Fearn’s Pippin, 
Herefordshire Beaufin, Washington, and Duchess of 
Oldenburgli; Mr. C. L. Campbell was second. 
Some excellent vegetables were shown in the class 
for twelve dishes. Mr. Lambert was first, and Col. 
Cornwallis West, M.P., Ruthen, was second. Tomatos 
were represented by fine fruit of the Perfection type, 
and Cucumbers by Lockie’s Perfection. Cut flowers 
included Dahlias in twenty-four varieties, and Mr. 
N. Walker, Newca9tle-on-Tyne, was first, with Mr. 
Thos. Painter, Stoke-on-Trent, second. Collections 
of cut Roses shown by trade growers brought a fine lot 
from Messrs. Harkness & Sons, Bedale, including a box 
of twenty-four blooms of Mrs. John Laing, and several 
fine H. P.’s and Tea-scented varieties; Messrs. Dickson, 
Chester, were second with some good flowers also. In 
the amateurs’ class, Dr. S. P. Budd, of Bath, was first 
with a very fine lot ; Mr. A. Whitton, Bedale, was 
second. Collections of bunches of hardy flowers were 
a fine feature, and Messrs. Harkness & Sons were again 
first with a superb lot, Scabiosa caucasica and several 
varieties of Tigridias being especially noticeable. 
Messrs. Dicksons were second with an excellent collec¬ 
tion also. The best collection of forty-eight spikes of 
Gladioli came from Mr. Smith, Prestwich, Ayr, all 
unnamed ; and Mr. Samuel Barlow was a good second. 
Mr. A. Whitton had the best twenty-four spikes shown 
by amateurs, and again Mr. Barlow was second. 
Collections of early-flowering Chrysanthemums brought 
ten lots of about fifty bunches each, none being named. 
Mr. A. Whitton was first, and Mr. Barlow second. 
Some very good show and fancy Pansies were shown 
for the season. Collections of cut stove and greenhouse 
flowers made a fine display, and included Allamandas, 
Ixoras, Dipladenias, Stephanotis, Vallota purpurea, 
Tuberose, Eucharis, Bougainvillea, &c. Mr. F. H. 
Gossage, Woolton, Liverpool, was first; and Mr. T. 
Barnes, Chirk Castle, was second. The best collection 
of Orchids, which included Cattleyas, Lnslias, Lady’s 
Slippers, Odontoglossums, &c., came from Mr. P. 
Blair, Trentham Gardens, a very fine lot indeed ; Mr. 
Thomas Statter, Manchester, was second. But all the 
collections in th? two foregoing classes were unnamed. 
