September 22, 1888. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
57 
It grows strongly and flowers freely. Mr. James 
O’Brien, Harrow-on-the-Hill, brought it under the 
notice of the Floral Committee last week, and it was 
awarded a First Class Certificate. 
The Conservatory at Maida Vale. 
The fine conservatory and winter garden of Messrs. 
Hooper & Co., at Maida Yale—the most extensive and 
well-kept in London—is now specially attractive, the 
fine groups of lofty Palms, graceful Ferns, and other 
foliage plants being delightfully varied with groups of 
Orchids, Lilies, and other plants in flower, the whole 
being most tastefully arranged. The show of Hooper’s 
strain of tuberous Begonias—exquisite in size, form, 
and colour—on the front stages are in themselves 
worthy of a visit; and the massive rockery, clad with 
tropical Ferns, Bamboos, &c., which occupies one side 
of the building, might be studied by rockery artists and 
intending builders with advantage. Lovers of hardy 
and bulbous plants for the open garden will also find a 
grand display in the grounds of Messrs. Hooper & Co.’s 
establishment, to see which would make a comfortable 
walk for dwellers in London having a couple of hours 
to spare, and a desire to pick up a few good plants for 
their gardens. 
-- 
The Gardeners’ Calendar. 
THE PLANT HOUSES. 
Primulas, Cinerarias, Calceolarias. —The batch 
of Primula sinensis which has been grown for early 
flowering should now be removed to the shelves of an 
intermediate house near the light. They will make 
more progress there than in a cold frame after this 
date. The house in which they are housed must, 
however, be freely ventilated so as to keep the leaf¬ 
stalks short and stout. The late hatches of Primulas, 
Cinerarias and Calceolarias intended for spring-flowering 
may all be grown under the same conditions as to 
temperature, shade, and atmospheric moisture. A pit 
or frame in which there are hot-water pipes at com¬ 
mand will form a convenient place for them. Under 
such circumstances they can be kept close to the glass, 
with a temperature sufficiently high to keep them 
growing slowly. Give plenty of ventilation to keep 
them sturdy and dwarf. When potting use good 
fibrous loam, with about a sixth part of leaf-soil, and a 
liberal allowance of silver sand. Manure need not be 
given, or in small quantity, as the best plan is to feed 
the plants with liquid manure after they have filled 
their pots with roots, and are approaching the flowering 
stage. 
Richardia africana (Calla or Richardia 
.ethiopica). —The nights are now getting very cold, 
and the temperature sinks almost to freezing point 
before morning, so preparations should be made for 
getting these under cover before they get damaged by 
frost, as the vigorous young leaves they have recently 
been making are very susceptible of injury. If planted 
in the open air they should be lifted, potted, and 
placed in a pit or house, where they will be encouraged 
to take to their altered conditions. 
Bulbs.— The early batch of Roman Hyacinths should 
by this time have established themselves and begun to 
grow. If this is the case, they should be uncovered 
without delay, and removed from their quarters in the 
open to the shelter of a frame. Should the leaves have 
made any headway, do not suddenly expose them to 
light, and not at all to bright sunshine for some days at 
least, in fact, till they assume their natural green 
colour. During bright days the frames in which they 
are placed should be shaded, till the leaves are able to 
bear full exposure. Lachenalias that were potted up 
in good time will now have started into growth. They 
must be exposed to light in the same way as the 
Hyacinths. In this case, however, the bulbs will have 
to be retained in the heated frame till they commence 
flowering in spring. A cool temperature with plenty 
of light and ventilation is most suitable to their well¬ 
being. Very little water will be required till later on, 
say when in full growth, but when fire-heat is necessary 
they must not be overlooked. 
THE FRUIT HOUSES. 
Strawberries in Pots.— The earliest batches that are 
now well forward and have filled their pots with roots 
must not be neglected in the matter of watering, seeing 
that recently we have been favoured with drier weather 
than we have been accustomed to for some time past. 
The plants should be regularly gone over, re-arranging 
them where hy good growth they have become crowded. 
Remove runners which may make their appearance, and 
weed out all those plants where the crowns offer no 
promise of bloom, either through weakness, injury or 
arrest of growth. Larger blooms may be expected, 
and, of course, fewer but larger fruits where the plants 
are confined to single crowns ; and in the case of plants 
for forcing this is an all-important matter. By re¬ 
moving the smaller and lateral crowns now the leading 
one will be encouraged to develop fine foliage and larger 
flower-buds. 
Late Vines. —The fruit in late houses should now 
be assisted with fire-heat to keep up a circulation of 
air, while at the same time ample ventilation should 
be given to develop the bloom which constitutes the 
proper finish of all well-grown Grapes. Another 
point to be observed is that black Grapes take on this 
bloom much better where partially shaded by foliage, 
so that growers should be careful in the removal of 
laterals when the intention is to admit more light. 
White Grapes take on their best tints when fully 
exposed to light. 
Cucumbers. —The plants intended for winter work 
should be steadily advancing in a genial growing 
atmosphere. Ventilate freely on all favourable oc¬ 
casions, so that growth made will he sturdy and 
healthy. Close the house or pit early in the afternoon, 
say about two or three o’clock, so as to retain as much 
sun heat as possible. Damp down the stages and floor 
of the house so that no harm will result even should 
the temperature get high by sun-heat. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Celery. —The earthing up of the earliest batch should 
be completed without delay, as during the past few 
weeks it has made rapid progress. The main and late 
batches have also made rapid progress, and it will he 
well to give them a good earthing up during dry 
weather, taking the usual precautions to keep soil out 
of the crowns. 
Raspberries. —The breaks or borders of these should 
now be gone over, and all the old canes that have just 
finished fruiting cut away, so as to admit air and light 
freely to the young canes in order to ripen them. All 
useless canes may also be removed, provided they are 
not required for making young plantations ; but in the 
latter case they must be left undisturbed till they drop 
their leaves. 
-->3Eo- 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
Masdevallia Carderi. 
Rarely, if ever, do we see a more striking regularity of 
the three outer segments of the flower in this genus 
than is presented by Masdevallia Carderi, which has 
not inaptly been compared to a Campanula. We 
noted it in the nursery of Messrs. Shuttleworth, 
Carder & Co., Park Road, Clapham, where it has been 
flowering for some time past. The flower stalk is 
pendulous, and the flower solitary, drooping mouth 
downwards, while the tube is obtusely trigonal and cam- 
panulate, terminating in three spreading yellow tails 
about 1 in. in length. Externally the bell-shaped tube is 
creamy white, with a transverse purple band consisting 
of irregular blotches near the base. Internally the 
same ground colour prevails, but it is covered with 
orange-coloured glandular hairs, while the purple band 
gives place to an orange one. The lip is also most 
singular, being bent in the middle, with the lower half 
incurved at the edges, and has two longitudinal ridges 
along the centre ; the upper half is somewhat spoon¬ 
shaped, with incurved edges, and the whole is creamy 
white. The small erect petals terminate in a brown 
spot. The leathery leaves are about 3 ins. or 4 ins. in 
length, and the whole plant is a perfect gem, far 
superior to a great number in cultivation. There are 
not more than half a dozen plants of this pretty species 
in the country. 
Odontoglossum Pescatorei. 
Amongst a large batch of recently-imported pseudo¬ 
bulbs of this species in Messrs. John Laing & Sons’ 
nursery, at Forest Hill, some very fine varieties are 
making their appearance from time to time, as well as 
some interesting and curious characters as to habit and 
behaviour. As yet the pieces are small, but making 
satisfactory progress towards becoming established. 
Some fine varieties are characterised by the size and 
roundness of their flowers, which means that the sepals 
and petals individually are of good breadth and size. 
The petals are broadly ovate, and like the sepals, are 
pure white. The lip, as usual, is blotched with violet 
on the crest and round the base. All overlap each 
other considerably. Some forms are branched from 
the base of the peduncle upwards, and in many cases 
the bracts have attained unusual size, becoming 
foliaceous—that is, resembling small but true leaves. 
In one case the peduncle is continuous with the apex 
of the pseudo-hulb, instead of being produced in the 
axil of a leaf, as in the habitual or ordinary way. 
Eulophia Guineensis. 
This, one of the prettiest and most satisfactory ter¬ 
restrial Orchids we ever saw, has been in flower for the 
last six weeks in the collection of R. H. Measures, 
Esq., at Streatham. The flower-spike is about 3 ft., 
the upper half bearing some three dozen flowers, each 
about ins. across. The upturned sepals and petals 
are reddish brown and not conspicuous, but the large 
flat expanded lip, which is of that bright rose seen in 
Odontoglossum vexillarium, is very showy. Some day 
when the Eulophias and Lissochili get more attention 
they will greatly add to the attraction of our collections. 
Eulophia Dregeana has large flowers, with white 
labellums, the blooms having somewhat the form of a 
dove, E. ensata has very handsome primrose-yellow 
flowers. Of the allied Lissochili few nobler plants 
exist than the L. giganteus, with its large rose 
Cattleya-like flowers, introduced by M. Linden, of the 
Parc Leopold, Brussels, and flowered so grandly by 
Sir Trevor Lawrence, at Burford Lodge, although the 
fine yellow L. speciosus, the yellow and purple L. 
Krebsii, and, indeed, all the others, are very beautiful 
when properly grown. 
Oncidium incurvum. 
At the present time, when Orchid blooms are at their 
lowest ebb, the subject of this note is especially worthy 
of notice. Its long branching spikes make up for any 
deficiency in the size of its individual flowers, and con¬ 
sidering the ease with which it may be cultivated, it 
might be more extensively grown than at present. I 
recently saw a plant of it in a 6-in. pot, carrying three 
large spikes, and another about to open, the largest 
spike having about 100 flowers on it, grown in a corner 
of a greenhouse at Glenstal Castle, the seat of Sir 
Croker Barrington, Bart. The house is devoted 
to Pelargoniums, Fuchsias, tuberous Begonias, &c.— 
E. Dumper. 
Odontoglossum Harryanum. 
Amongst some specimens of this grand Odontoglot at 
Park Road, Clapham, Messrs. Shuttleworth, Carder & 
Co. have unusually strong and vigorous specimens now 
in flower. There are four blooms of large size on each 
spike, and the colours are brought out with unusual 
clearness. The sepals and petals are of a deep shining 
chocolate-brown, with a few irregular zigzag yellow 
markings ; and the petals, as well as the lower part of 
the lip, exhibit distinct violet-blue tints, so that in 
spite of the bad varieties we sometimes meet with, 
we have evidence of blue in this species, which is a 
very unusual occurrence in an Odontoglossum—that is, 
if we are still to include it under that genus. The 
boat-shaped and broad-based lip, together with the 
incurved character of the sepals and petals, not only 
serve to render it very distinct from other species, but 
points to a distant affinity with any of them. Be that 
as it may, it is one of the finest in the genus, and will 
soon become plentiful in every collection. The incurved 
character of the sepals and petals is inherent, and will 
never be spreading after the style of the more typical 
forms of Odontoglossum, as some seem to expect. 
The Howick House Collection. 
Some weeks ago I sent you a note on Mr. 'Vrigley’s 
magnificent display of Cattleya Mossias—one of the 
finest displays of superb varieties I have ever seen. 
Just now a grand lot of Cattleya Eldorado is making a 
grand show. There are many dozens of fine flowers 
expanded, and a great number of distinct and beautiful 
forms among them, varying from the purest white to 
the deep variety known as C. Eldorado splendens. 
Amongst the whites, for they vary considerably, are 
many fine types of the one generally called Virginalis. 
Some of the latter are very distinct, the yellow in the 
labellum being of various shades, and the margins in 
some instances much broader than in others ; but all 
have fine broad sepals and petals and flowers of great 
substance. There are likewise some splendid varieties 
of 0. Harrisoni®. The true C. H. violacea is a grand 
and valuable acquisition, the flowers being of a deep 
intense violet colour. Many fine forms of C. specio- 
sissima, varying considerably, swell the show. This is 
a grand autumn-flowering Cattleya, as also are C. 
bicolor and C. velutina. Of the former there are many 
beautifully-flowered plants, several with eight blooms 
