June 20, 1891. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
669 
cultivators generally to adopt tlie correct name whether 
it is really the oldest or not. When once a plant is 
put into cultivation under, it may be, an erroneous 
name, an insurmountable conservatism prevents the 
adoption of the correct nomenclature even amongst 
those who are perfectly aware of its existence. Phahen- 
opsis Aphrodite may be given as an instance of this. 
Lindley erroneously referred it to the P. amabilis of 
Plume, and this name it is likely to retain for years to 
come, even although corrected by Reichenbach in 1862. 
The present work brings many similar cases of error 
and misapplication of names under the notice of 
cultivators, w T ho it is to be hoped will avail themselves 
of the information. The genus Arachnanthe reads 
* A Manual of Orchidaceous Plants. Part vii. By James 
Veitch & Sons, Royal Exotic Nursery, King's Road, Chelsea, 
S. W. (Published by the authors.) 
something like a gradual evolution of the mind of 
botanists or even experts in this large and important 
order. An Orchid widely distributed over the Malay 
Archipelago was described by Linnams under the name 
of Epidendrum Flos-aeris. Blume, founding a new 
genus for it, called it Arachnanthe moschitera. 
Now, a very remarkable Orchid was described by 
Lindley under the name of Vanda Cathcartii. 
Reichenbach considered that it so far differed in char¬ 
acter from a true Vanda that a new generic name was 
necessary, and called it Esmeralda. This was in 1862. 
Mr. Bentham, when revising the Orchideie for the 
Genera Plantarum, discovered that the characters of 
the so-called Vanda Cathcartii so far agreed with 
the genus Arachnanthe, as 
founded by Blume, that a 
new one was unnecessary. 
The correct name is therefore 
A. Cathcartii ; and under 
the same heading A. Lowii 
(Vanda Lowii) and A.Clarkei 
are now classed. 
The well - known and 
popular Saccolabium Blumei 
must henceforth be known 
as Rhynchostylis retusa, and 
S. guttatum as a variety of 
the latter. The change may 
be not a little confusing at 
first, but the justice of it 
from a botanical or horticul¬ 
tural point of view cannot 
be confuted, for there is a 
wide difference between it 
and Saccolabium bellinum 
for instance. It is no small 
cause for wonder that the 
genus Aerides has not been 
broken up in the same way, 
for it includes two very 
distinct types, represented 
by A. crispum and A. 
Eieldingi on the one hand > 
and A. odoratum and A. 
Lawrencese on the other. 
The first two are char¬ 
acterised by the spreading 
lip having a broad triangular 
or trowel - shaped middle 
lobe ; the latter have all the 
three lobes of the lip in¬ 
folded, so as to cover the 
column, and the middle lobe 
is very small and narrow. 
A. virens is still retained 
as specifically distinct from 
A. odoratum, although only 
reckoned to he a geogra¬ 
phical form of it. We are 
afraid the distinctness of the 
two are not always observed 
in gardens. 
The genus Saccolabium 
further contains within it 
(besides Rhynchostylis retusa 
and the beautiful R. cmlestis) 
elements of a widely diver¬ 
gent character in the lip of 
different species. For in¬ 
stance, the base of the lip of 
S. bellinum and several 
others consists of a large, 
wide-open sac, surmounted 
by a large lamina ; that of 
S. ampullaceum has a long, 
narrow, compressed spur and 
a linear lamina. The whole lip of S. Hendersonianum 
consists of a similar spur, surmounted by three minute 
teeth, representing as many lobes. The spur of S. 
giganteum closely resembles that of Rhyncostylis retusa. 
Supposed natural hybrids and garden hybrids are 
separately classified in this work ; but a very interesting 
point is where experiments have been undertaken to 
prove by artificial hybridisation the truth of what 
botanists bave long suspected. Phakenopsis intermedia 
is an instance of this. Mr. Seden has proved it in the 
nursery of Messrs. Veitch, by fertilising P. Aphrodite 
with P. rosea. It would be most instructive if the 
experiments were carried on more extensively, with the 
view of proving the parentage of man 3 T other introduced 
forms. 
As in Saccolabium, so in Sarcochilus there is a 
considerable divergence of character, pretty widely 
Arachnanthe Cathcartii. 
GYPS OPHILA 
CERASTIOIDES. 
A sufficient time has now 
elapsed since this was 
brought under the notice 
of cultivators for it to get 
disseminated in gardens ; yet 
the progress it has made is 
by no means commensurate 
with the quiet beauty and 
neat habit of the plant, 
particularly when compared 
with some of the larger- 
growing kinds, such as G. 
paniculata or even G. rupes- 
tris. The flowers are white, 
beautifully veined with pink 
or purple, are comparatively 
of large size and produced at 
the ends of the short pro¬ 
cumbent stems. The leaves 
are relatively short and broad 
like those of some of the 
Alpine species of Cerastium. 
The ledges of rockwork are well suited, not only for 
the accommodation of this plant, but to show it off to 
advantage by bringing it more decidedly under the eye 
of the spectator. There is no difficulty in the matter 
of propagation, for large pieces may be divided in 
spring, or cuttings may be taken during the summer 
when the young shoots are about half ripened. If left 
to spread at will, there is no danger of it over-running 
its neighbours as in the case of the grosser and ranker 
growing species. 
To Free Strawberries from Sand, in a way less 
injurious to their fragrance and delicacy than washing, 
it is recommended to gently shake them in a piece of 
damp muslin. The sand will remain attached to the 
muslin, 
every inducement and encouragement to grow Pansies 
and Pinks has been gradually withdrawn by the Royal 
Horticultural Society, and, indeed, all floricultural 
societies in the south, and the natural consequence is 
that only a few enthusiasts stick to their old favourites. 
I put forth two statements in my previous letter which 
I maintain are incontrovertible—viz., that when 
southern Pansies were shown side by side at South 
Kensington with northern flowers premier honours 
almost invariably went to the former, as records will 
prove. And I also said that northern flowers deteriorate 
when they come south. This has been proved by 
myself and other growers over and over again ; and it 
was the frequently expressed opinion of the late Charles 
Turner and the late Henry 
Hooper, than whom no man 
ever knew or loved a Pansy 
better. 
But Mr. W. Dean’s reply 
to this was that I did not 
know when to plant. 
AVell, I have been growing 
Pansies and Pinks whenever 
I have had a bit of ground 
for over forty years, and if 
I have not yet found out 
when to buy and when to 
plant, I certainly never shall. 
It was very kind of Mr. 
Dean to give me so many 
interesting cultural details, 
though he will forgive my 
saying they raised a smile. 
I have written at such 
length that I must not go 
into the question of foreign 
strains, and why I consider 
them preferable to northern 
for southern growers. I am 
very sorry that I cannot go 
to Birmingham on the 24th, 
and I sincerely hope.they will 
bave a good show. Perhaps 
I may be able attend another 
year, but I never expect to 
live to see an honest com¬ 
petition between north and 
south the last week in June. 
—Ranger Johnson, 90, Ear¬ 
ley ford Road, S.E. 
-- 
VEITCH’S MANUAL OF 
ORCHIDACEOUS PLANTS.* 
This useful publication has now reached the seventh 
part, which is devoted to a review of Phalienopsis, 
Aerides, Vanda, Angnecum, Arachnanthe, Renanthera, 
Rhynchostylis, Saccolabium, Stauropsis, and a few other 
allied genera of the sub-tribe Sarcanthese. The change 
of many of the names will no doubt be puzzling to some 
growers ; but the advance which has been made in the 
science of botany, and particularly in the Orchideae, 
readers this imperative. The remodelling of many of 
the genera is that adopted in the Genera Plantarum, 
and is not therefore entirely new. But the history of 
many years past shows us the difficulty in inducing 
