February 14, 1891. 
TI-IE GARDENING WORLD- 
38] 
is produced in drooping panicles from the naked portion 
of the stem uuder the leaves, is also very ornamental. 
Each fruit is olive-shaped, as is implied by its specific 
name, green at first, changing to yellow, and finally 
deep red. A fruiting specimen may be seen in the 
Victoria-house at Kew. 
Hamamelis virginica arborea. 
Coming so soon after the recent severe weather, the 
flowers of this Witch-hazel have a striking effect 
on the naked boughs. The long, crumpled and curled 
yellow petals appear like so much cut paper at a dis¬ 
tance, and constitute the first feature of attraction. On 
closer inspection, however, the shining crimson-purple 
of the inner surface of the petals marks this variety as 
strikingly distinct from the type for horticultural 
purposes. The variety which comes from Japan is 
characterised in its native country by its forming a 
small erect tree from 15 ft. to 20 ft. in height, with 
larger flowers than H. virginica, which hails from 
North America, and simply forms a large spreading 
shrub. The outer surface of the calyx is of a dull 
brown in H. v. japonica, just as it is in the type, so 
that when the flowers expand,- the inner and rich 
purple face is somewhat of a surprise to those who have 
noted the dull brown buds all through the long, cold 
period now only to be viewed in the past. Had the 
winter been a mild one, the flowers would of course 
have expanded some time ago. The name Hamamelis 
is derived from the Greek hama, with, and melon, a 
fiuit, as the fruit may still be found hanging on the 
bush of H. virginica in company with the flowers. 
The Narcissus Fly. 
Our experience of a hag of Narcissus bulbs is perhaps 
worth a note. A lot of 200 of a desirable species appear¬ 
ing in a sale catalogue, I sent to purchase it ; the bag 
remained in our hall through the long frost, till the 
ground was fit for planting. When the bulbs were turned 
out, my gardener noticed something wrong, and we 
counted eighty grubs, most of them full grown, of the 
Narcissus fly, Merodon Clavitres. — George F. Wilson, 
Heatherbank, Weybridge Heath. 
—o-— 
Lathyrus cceruleus. 
Tiie fact that this “charming aunnal” is being sent out 
at Is. per packet, and the statement being made that it 
is sure to become “a popular favourite” and was “ the 
-admiration and delight of every one who saw it last 
summer,” requires that those who vend the seed should 
give fuller particulars concerning it. I have bought it 
uuder the above name and found it to be the Lathyrus 
azureus, or Lord Anson’s Rea, botanically, L. sativus, 
according to the late Mr. Thomas Moore. That it is 
extremely pretty in colour cannot be denied, the hue of 
blue being unusual, but it burns under the sun, and the 
blossoms soon lose their attractiveness. At the time of 
the Abyssinian war, it was brought out as a new species 
from that country. That it deserves to be grown, goes 
without saying; but this is no reason why it should 
have a new name bestowed upon it, and be sent out at 
a price far beyond its value.— Pisum. 
Centropogon Lucyanus. 
This is a splendid plant for the decoration of the stove 
through the winter months. It is grown well at 
Arundel Castle in 4J-in. pots, producing fine spikes of 
bright rosy scarlet flowers through the winter, and lasts 
some considerable time in bloam. — llusticus. 
Reinwardtia Tetragyna. 
This is also a grand winter-flowering plant, indeed, a 
brighter or more cheerful yellow it is impossible to 
conceive. Some plants in flower recently attracted my 
attention at Burford Lodge. They were well grown 
in 5-in. pots, and produced a grand succession of 
flowers, similar to those of Rsinwardtia Trigyna. 
— Eusticus. 
Garden Vermin. 
It it sometimes said that a severe frost is death to 
snails, slugs, &c. I very much question this. A day 
or two ago I was digging a border, and under the 
leaves which had accumulated in heaps, I found snails 
all alive, and ready to emerge as soon as the weather is 
warm enough. Slugs having no shell to protect them, 
get further into the soil ; but all appear to possess 
instinct enough to get away to a depth where frost 
cannot reach them. I found wood-lice all active in the 
coco-nut fibre at the bottom of a cold frame. I think 
that a hot dry summer is much more destructive to 
insects of the above character than a severe winter. 
—R. D. 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
-•*—- 
Cypripedium Creon. 
The seed-bearing parent of this hybrid was C. Hirrisi- 
anum superbum, and this was crossed with C. ceuan- 
thum superbum. What is notable about the plant 
shown at the Drill Hall on Tuesday last by Messrs. 
J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, was its dwarf habit ; and 
although it rose only a few inches above the foliage, 
the scape bore two flowers. The upper sepal is of a 
rich brownish purple, changing to rosy purple near the 
white margin. In this it comes near C. cenanthum. 
The petals on the contrary were of a pale rosy purple, 
somewhat reticulated, and shaded with brown towards 
the base. The lip is of a shining brownish purple. 
The leaves were oblong, of small size, and marked with 
a dark green marbling. A First Class Certificate was 
awarded it. 
Masdevallia Trochilus. 
Tiie lateral sepals of this species are large,incurved, deep 
brownish purple, and shaded with yellow along the 
principal veins externally. They end in curled yellow 
tails about 3 ins. long. The upper sepal is small ovate, 
yellow tinted with brown internally, and terminating in 
a yellow arching tail about 5 ins. or 6 ins. long. It was 
exhibited at the Drill Hall on Tuesday last by Messrs. 
Pitcher &; Manda, Hextable, S.vanley, Kent, and was 
awarded a Botanical Certificate. 
Cattleya Trian/e plumosa. 
The sepals of this variety are faintly tinted with lilac, 
and the petals more so ; in fact a light purple band runs 
along the centre of the upper half of the former. The 
lip is, however, the most conspicuous organ of the 
flower, owing to the intense magenta-purple hue of the 
terminal lobe. The customary yellow blotch in the 
throat is very pile, anl fades into the white ground 
surrounding it. An Award of Merit was granted the 
variety when shown at the Drill Hill, last Tuesday, 
by Thomas Stattor, Esq, Stand Hill, Whitefield, 
Manchester. 
Odontoglossum triumphans, Whitley’s var. 
The colours of this fine variety are very dark, well 
marked, and the whole flower shining. The sepals are 
of a deep shining yellow, variegated with large 
chocolate-brown blotches. The petals are elliptic, 
toothed at the edges, and irregularly blotched with the 
same colours as the sepal. The lip on the contrarj' is 
of a bright yellow on the lower half, while the apical 
portion is almost covered with a large chocolate-brown 
blotch. It is shallowly toothed at the edge. A finely- 
flowered piece was shown by Mr. ¥m, Whitley, 
Hillingdon Nurseries, Hillingdon, at the Drill Hall 
lastTueslay, when an Award of Merit was accorded it. 
Zygopetalum Mackayi. 
This old-fashionel subject is much mors ornamental 
than the Z. intermedium of Loddiges, and which Reich- 
enbach rightly considered to be a variety of Z. Mackayi. 
The former has greenish sepals and petals, banded with 
brown, while the lip is pale in hue, almost white, 
streaked with violet-purple, and pubescent along the 
nerves with hairs of that same colour. Z. Mackayi on 
the contrary has the ground colour of the sepals and 
petals of a paler green, richly ornamented with bands 
of a deep brownish purple. The lip is white, and 
beautifully reticulated or netted with purplish blue 
lines and markings, and being of great size has a very 
ornamental effect. Of the Orchids that come into 
market, Z. Mackayi and its varieties are probably the 
only ones of their kind that appear in the shops to 
swell the list of the cut-flower trade. They are 
particularly plentiful at present. 
Mr Reginald Young's Collection. 
In the collection of Reginald Young, Esq., at Fringilla, 
Linnet Lane, Liverpool, many most interesting and 
valuable species succeed remarkably well under the 
fostering care of his gardener, Mr. Poyntz. The 
following at the present time make a very imposing 
display in the Cypripedium house :—Leeanum (best 
variety), Sallierii, Crossianura, Amesianum, Williamsi- 
anum, Fitchianum, nitens superbum, Poyntzianum, 
callosum, Godefroyse, tonsum, Sedeni, Mastersianum, 
venustum (just opening), Lathamianum, vernixium, 
Druryi, Volonteanum, bellatulum, and maty others. 
There are also some good Lrelias—viz., white anceps in 
variety, and a fine form of albida, quite distinct.— 
llusticus. 
Masdevallia tovarensis, 
This was a valuable introduc tion to our Orchid houses, 
and deserves a place in every collection of Orchids, for 
a purer white flower I do not know in the innumerable 
Orchid family. At Lythe Hill, Haslemere, I recently 
saw a grand specimen, with 375 spikes of flowers, and 
as many of these had five flowers upon a spike, the 
number of flowers was enormous, far beyond anything 
1 had ever met with among Masdevallia before. It is a 
grand example of high cultivation, and the credit 
of it belongs to Mr. Evans, who has now an interesting 
collection of Orchids under his care.— Rusticus. 
- - 
HORTICUL TURAL S OCIETIES. 
Royal Horticultural. 
The annual general meeting of this society was held on 
Tuesday afternoon, the president, Sir Trevor Lawrence, 
Bart., M.P., presiding. The u»ual preliminary 
business, which included the election of fifty-one 
Fellows, and the appointment of Mr. W. Marshall and 
Air. J. Cheal as scrutineers of the ballot, having been 
dispose! of, the president proceeded to move the 
adoption of the report and statement of accounts by 
remarking that the society was in the fortunate position 
of having no convulsions or disturbing elements to block 
the steady march of improvement, and on the whole 
he thought the Fellows would agree with him that the 
conditionof affairs was satisfactory, and the constitution 
of the society sound. There had been a decided gain in 
the number of new Fellows elected during the past year, 
which showed a total increase of 361. About the 
ordinary work of the society it was not necessary for 
him to say much. TI19 fortnightly meetings had 
never been more interesting than daring the year, and 
even during the severe weather they had not been 
without some exhibits. The conferences had also been 
carried out iu a satisfactory way, and the Council had 
to thank the many gentlemen of high position in the 
horticultural world who had real papers at their various 
meetings, and which had all been of a most instructive 
and interesting character. As regarded the Certificates 
awarded by the committees during the year, the 
returns showed that the Orchid Committee had been 
more liberal than daring the previous year, while the 
Floral Committee had been more spiring in their 
awards. The number of First Class Certificates 
awarded by the Orchid Committee was fifty-six, 
and by the Floral Committee forty, while the 
Awards of Merit voted by both bodies were 162. The 
Temple Show had been a great success, thanks in a 
great measure to the visit of H.R. H. the Prince of 
Wales, who appeared to take a genuine interest in all 
he saw. Much useful work had been done at Chiswick 
during the year, and he was glad to say that the 
gardens, in all respects, were in much better order now 
than they had been for some years past. The Council 
had every desire to do as much for Chiswick as possible, 
and they would be glad if their roll of membership was 
such as to warrant them spending more money there. 
The Society’s Journal had been issued with a greater 
degree of regularity than heretofore, and the several 
numbers had also been of a more interesting and valu¬ 
able character. The Journals had proved acceptable 
to their country subscribers, and were of benefit to the 
society in bringing in new members. After thanking 
the exhibitors for past exertions on the society’s behalf, 
and alluding to the return to the old system of giving 
prizes to amateurs, Sir Trevor referred to the losses 
sustained by the deaths of their former treasurer, Air. 
Haughton, Aliss North, Air. B. S. Williams, Air. Shirley 
Hibberd, and others. Their accounts showed a surplus 
balance for the first time for many years ; and he hoped 
the programme they had prepared for the present year 
would be satisfactory to the Fellows. 
Air. Veitch asked a question with reference to the 
retirement in October last of Air. Alorris, and the 
appointment of Air. Philip Crowley as treasurer, which 
was supplemented by one on the same subject from 
Dr. Hogg ; and in reply the secretary, the Rev. W. 
Wilks, stated that Air. Alorris had, on October 14th, 
become incapacitated from serving on the Council by 
reason of his going on a mission to the West Indies, 
which would involve his absence from England for 
over three months ; and the Council, acting strictly in 
accordance with the bye-laws, had selected Air. Crowley 
to take his place. As there were three vacancies on the 
Council to fill up, and Air. Alorris would return early 
next month, they did not think they coull do better 
than nominate him again. 
Dr. Masters reported with reference to the Hibberd 
Alemorial fund, that subscriptions were not coming in 
so fast as he, as treasurer, could desire, but that was 
probably owing to a misapprehension which had arisen 
in reference to the provision made for Air. Hibberd's 
little daughter. They at first understood that she avas 
suitably provided for, but they now knew that such 
was unfortunately not the case, and after defraying the 
moderate cost of a portrait, their duty was clearly to 
put by as much as they possibly could for the child. 
Baron Schroder stated with reference to the scheme 
for erecting a horticultural hall, that the subject was 
still very strongly on his mind. It was not dead, only 
in abeyance, the Council considering it advisable after 
the late financial crisis in the City to keep the scheme 
in the background for the present. The society must 
have a home, worthy of itself and of British horticul¬ 
ture — the finest in the world. They had received 
promises amounting to £22,000 of the £40,000 required, 
but it was dreadful to him to think that of the 2,268 
Fellows on their books, only 255 had responded to his 
appeal. He had an abuudauce of patience, and believed 
in time that he would get the money. 
A few other questions having been asked, of no 
public interest, the president declared the report 
