432 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 7, 1891. 
lobe, which is of a purer white at the edges than in 
the type, while there is a median band of pale yellow 
or apricot. The leaves are linear lanceolate, 
acuminate, channelled, deep green, and from 6 ins. to 
10 ins. in length. One plant was in full bloom, 
another in bud about to expand, and a third is 
supposed to be the same variety, but is not yet 
showing flowers.— J. Fraser. 
A Collection of Anceotochili. 
Hitherto this beautiful class of Orchids has baffled 
the efforts of skilful growers to manage properly, but 
surely the time is not far distant when some simple 
and certain means of growing them satisfactorily will 
be discovered. At present the plan adopted is to grow 
them under bell-glasses, if only a few plants are grown ; 
otherwise a close frame with a moveable sash is used, 
by which they may be ventilated, watered, &c. We 
noted a frame containing a number of species in the 
London Nursery, Maida Yale The shape and markings 
of the leaves were varied and beautiful. A most 
charming species was that having velvety dark green 
leaves, beautifully marked tranversely with bright 
yellow, wavy lines, as if ornamented with threads of 
gold. Others were green with silvery lines ; while a 
number of them had dark, velvety, and metallic-looking 
leaves, relieved with three to five reddish veins. 
Catasetum saccatum. 
This species was first introduced from British Guiana 
and was described by Lindley. Since then (in 1854) 
it had been discovered in Peru and described under the 
name of C. incurvum, probably by an oversight. 
Reichenbach afterwards made it synonymous with C. 
saccatum. The species is rather striking in appearance 
judging from a coloured representation of it in Lindenia, 
plate 269. It has just tnen imported again from Peru, 
at a considerable altitude, by Messrs. Linden, Parc 
Leopold, Brussels. The sepals are over 2\ ins. long, 
marbled and suffused with purplish brown on a greenish 
ground. The petals are very similar but much more 
definitely blotched. The lip is saccate at the base, 
strongly fringed or lacerated all along the sides, and 
altogether a remarkable structure. The sides are green, 
while the disc and the terminal lobe are reddish brown, 
and around the mouth of the sac or spur is a broad, 
almost reniform ivory-white band. Only the male form 
has yet been introduced. 
Odontoglossum tentaculatum. 
The habit of this plant and the general appearance of 
the flowers place it near 0. Lindleyanum, but the 
long and short, bristle-like processes of the column 
led Professor Reichenbach to consider it as of hybrid 
origin, and that 0. Lindleyanum and 0. crispum were 
probably the parents. The sepals are chestnut-brown, 
edged with yellow, and there are a few central yellow 
markings. The petals, on the contrary, are yellow, 
with brown spots. The lower part of the lip is white, 
the upper portion bright yellow, and there is a squarish 
brown blotch in front of the white crest. The plant 
originally described and which came from the collection 
of the late Mr. John Day, of Tottenham, flowered 
recently in the nursery of Mr. P. McArthur, 4, Maida 
Yale.- The piece is yet comparatively a small one, but 
bore six flc jers on a scape. 
Ada aurantiaca. 
I r is doubtless the contracted nature of the flowers of 
this plant that prevents it from attaining greater popu¬ 
larity than it enjoys. The plant is vigorous in growth, 
and is so hardy that it consorts well with Odonto- 
glossums and Masdevallias in the cool house. Sepals, 
petals, and lip are all much of the same shape, and 
owing to their being erect on a drooping scape, they 
present the outer surface only to the eye, and appear 
wholly of an orange-scarlet colour. The petals and 
lip are, however, striped with black internally. It 
comes into bloom during the winter and spring months, 
and lasts a long time in perfection. We noted flowering 
specimens in Messrs. Charlesworth, Shuttleworth & 
Co.’s nursery, Park Road, Clapham. 
Saccolabium bellinum. 
The native country of this species is Burmah, from 
whence it was introduced in 1884. Flowering as it 
does in February and March, it may be considered 
amongst the earliest to come into bloom. At present 
S. illustre may be considered its only competitor, and 
both are widely distinct in their way. The flowers of 
S. bellinum are borne in a compact corymb at the end 
of a short scape, and in this respect it differs from most 
other species, which have a long, drooping, fox-brush- 
like raceme, or a short upright one, as in S. curvifolium 
and S. ampullaceum. The most striking feature of the 
species under notice is the curious beard of white hairs 
on the upper portion of the lip, while the lower forms 
a deep sac or pouch. A number of plants are now 
flowering in the .collection of Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., 
Clapton, and all differ in the markings, especially of 
the sepals and petals. In one case they are almost 
black, and in another individual they are closely 
blotched with blackish purple on a yellow ground. 
The lip also is more or less blotched. The species is 
one of the gems of the Orchid house, and doubly 
valuable, because it flowers in winter and early spring. 
CCELOGYNE CRISTATA LEMONIANA. 
The distinguishing characteristic of this variety is 
that the lamellae or fringes of the lip are of a pale 
lemon, instead of being deep yellow, as in the type, 
and there is also an absence of the orange blotches or 
eye-like spots at the very base of the lip. The varietal 
name, lemoniana, is often spelt with a capital letter, as 
if it were a commemorative name given in honour 
of somebody, whereas it merely refers to the colour 
of the fringes. The name C. cristata citrina is also 
used by some for this same variety, and if generally 
used would be more suggestive of the real meaning. 
The variety has been flowering for some time past in 
the London Nursery, 4, Maida Vale. The sepals and 
petals are flatter than in the type, and apparently of 
greater substance. 
Lycaste Skinneri grandis. 
The sepals of this variety are blush coloured and of 
great breadth, as the flowers are on the whole of great 
size and substance. The petals are of a deep purple, 
varying slightly towards the apex. The lip also is of 
good substance and of a deep purple. We noted it in 
the London Nursery, 4, Maida Vale. 
Dendrobium Dominianum. 
Ore of the early hybrids raised by the late Mr. Dominy, 
at Exeter, was D. Dominianum. Its seed parent was 
D. nobile, and the pollen parent D. Linawianum, also 
known as D. moniliforme. The habit is very similar 
to that of D. nobile, but the nodose stems are 
considerably flattened, or broader the one way than the 
other, owing to the influence of the male parent. The 
flowers are, however, more decidedly that of D. nobile. 
The sepals and petals are rosy purple, together with 
the tip of the labellum. The disc of the latter organ is 
maroon-purple, while surrounding this is a broad band 
of white. The flowers as a whole are about the size of 
medium specimens of D. nobile. It was in cultivation 
long before it was described in 1878, and it is interesting 
to find it still in cultivation. We noted it recently in 
the nursery of Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., of Clapton, 
and several plants were then in full bloom. 
Cypripedium villosum. 
The variability of this species in a state of nature is 
considerable. One of the extreme forms is C. v. Boxalli 
usually regarded as a distinct species on account of the 
narrower base of its segments, but more readily 
recognised by horticulturists generally by means of the 
rich dark or black spotting on the upper sepal. An im¬ 
portation of C. villosum has recently been made by Messrs. 
Hugh Low & Co., Clapton, and individual specimens 
show considerable variation of colour. One form, with 
a narrow upper sepal, has a narrow white margin, and 
is further characteiised by a broad black band running 
down the centre. A second form is even finer, as all 
parts of the flower are broader, and a broad black band 
runs through the upper sepal. The upper longitudinal 
half of the petal is also very dark, as we see in C. v. 
Boxalli atratum. Other varieties approach C. v. 
aureum, particularly one named C. v. canariense, 
which is characterised by the yellow tint pervading it. 
The flowers of most of the above were of great size and 
substance, and notable for the shining and glossy 
appearance that pervaded every part of the flower. 
Odontoglossum Rossii aspersum. 
The sepals of this beautiful Odontoglot, as we noted it 
the other day in the nursery of Messrs. Charlesworth 
Shuttleworth, & Co., Park Road, Clapham, are closely 
blotched all over with a tawny brown. The petals, on 
the contrary, are of a pale or primrose-yellow, blotched 
with brown at the base. The lip is white, with a pale 
yellow crest. The plant was suspended from the roof 
of the house, and bore five flowers on two scapes. The 
late Professor Reichenbach supposed it to be a hybrid 
between 0. Rossii and 0. maculatum, but evidently 
considered it closely allied to 0. maculatum, for he 
maintained the best way to name it was to call it 0. 
maculatum Rossii. On the other hand, the variety 0. 
Rossii Humeanum he considered a hybrid between 0. 
cordatum and O. Rossii. These opinions are not now 
held, and both are simply and rightly considered a 
varieties of 0. Rossii, a highly variable species in at 
state of nature, and of which numberless forms are now 
in cultivation, either named or nameless. 
SOCIETIES. 
National Amateur Gardeners’ Association.—The 
second monthly meeting of this newly constituted 
society was held on Tuesday evening at the Guildhall 
Tavern, E. C. There was a good attendance of members, 
and Mr. T. NY. Sanders presided. The principal 
business was the reading of a paper on Rose Culture by 
Mr. Bateman, a well-known amateur grower and 
successful exhibitor, and a model paper it proved to be 
commendably brief, and brimful of sound practical 
information, conveyed in terse yet well-expressed 
term3. Mr. Bateman discussed his subject under six 
heads, viz.:—soils, situation, planting, manuring, 
pruning, and selecting varieties to grow, concluding 
his remarks on the latter point by naming the following 
dozen, which he strongly recommended for town or 
suburban gardens on account of their vigorous growth 
and floriferousness, and the high quality of their 
blooms : Gloire de Dijon, Ulrich Brunner, La France, 
Charles Lefebvre, Gloire de Margottin, Prince Camille 
de Rohan, Mrs. George Dickson, Madame Yictor 
Yerdier, Jules Margottin, Baroness Rothschild, Beauty 
of Waltham, and Souvenir de la Malmaison. A 
number of questions were asked and replied to, and 
Mr. Bateman was accorded a hearty vote of thanks. 
Thirty new members were elected, and the subject of 
the paper to be read at the next meeting was announced 
to be “Greenhouse Plants : What to Grow, and How 
to Grow Them,” by Mr. Lander, a member of the 
cimmittee. 
Royal Horticultural of Aberdeen.—The prize 
schedule for this year has just been issued. In connec¬ 
tion with the North of Scotland Horticultural Associa¬ 
tion, the society has arranged to hold a spring show in 
the Music Hall Buildings, Aberdeen, on 10 th and 11th 
April, in addition to the usual autumn floral lete. 
There are ninety-one classes and 273 prizes. In con¬ 
sideration of the success attending the lectures given 
by Dr. James W. H. Trail, Professor of Botany in 
Aberdeen University, last year, that gentleman has 
kindly agreed to address the public attending the 
exhibition on “ Spring Flowers and the Cultivation of 
Plants.” The schedule for the floral fete, which is to 
be held in the Duthie Public Park, Aberdeen, on 20cb, 
21st and 22nd August, contains 232 classes with 
698 prizes. 
-- 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 
Books. — It. C. S. : Sutherland's Hardy Herbaceous and 
Alpine Plants (Blackwood & Sons). 
Early-flowering Rhododendrons. — Grower: The varieties 
you mention owe their early-flowering character to the influence 
of R. arboreum, a Himalayan and early-flowering species which 
has been largely utilised in the production of hybrids between 
it and the common species, R. ponticum. They are not so hardy 
as the last named, owing to the tenderness of R. arboreum and 
its early-flowering habit. Where the American R. Catawbiense 
has been used as one of the parents, there you find that the 
plants are later in flowering, hardier, and the flowers more 
profusely spotted. 
“ Flowering Plants of Great Britain."— C. B. G. : The 
work was published at 42s. We should not buy it, unless we 
could get it much cheaper. 
Names of Plants. — F. Goschelbauer, Graz: 1 , Cymbidium 
Hookerianum; 2, may he Coelogyne flaccida, but has been 
arrested in growth, and not in true character. II. J. S. : 1, 
Crataegus punctata; 2, Selaginella Martensi formosa ; 3, S. 
Braunii. 
Old Garden.—/. B .: The soil has no doubt become exhausted 
by too much cropping of one or a few kinds of crops through a 
long series of years. The amount of manure, and the kind added 
to it annually also tends to lighten it, forming a mass of inert, 
black humus. Trenching and a good application of lime would 
no doubt exercise a greatly beneficial influence in stirring up the 
latent properties of the soil. It would also greatly improve its 
staple if you were to add fresh material from time to time as 
convenience may permit. During winter, collect the semirings 
of ditches, and loam from various sources of a rather heavy and 
holding character, even if inclined to clay. Spread this on the 
ground in winter, and mix with the top spit in digging. 
Todea superba. — H. Wilson: This fine Fern does not require 
so much heat as you suppose, but is so nearly hardy that it may 
be grown in a cold frame in the southern counties, in a cool, 
shady place. In your maritime locality there is no reason why 
yon should not attempt it under the same conditions ; or if you 
prefer it you may grow medium or small-sized specimens under 
a bell-glass or glass-case in the rooms of your house. The size 
of the plants you could mauage in such places would, of course, 
depend upon the space at command. If the windows are of 
large size, so may the glass-case be made to fit them. Keep the 
case close during the day, particularly if dry and warm, so as to 
preserve the moisture about the fronds ; but a little ventilation 
during the cool and early part of the day would prove beneficial. 
If exposed to the south or to bright sunshine for any length of 
time, shading on the exposed side should be resorted to. 
Communications Received.— W. D.— B. S. W.— J. S.— G. W. C. 
—R. H. V.—G. P.—W. E. G.—M. C.—West of Scotland—J. K. 
—B. R. D.—J. L.—C. B. G.—C. F. T.—Nil Desperandum— 
T. P. H.—S. & S, 
