November 3, 1888. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
151 
crimson Pinguicula caudata, usually associated with 
Orchids ; and a fine stock of the neat white Mysta- 
cidium filicorne. 
The Warm Houses 
Have a good lot of the favourite Cypripedium, among 
which the noble C. Curtisii is represented by some 
good plants recently imported, and most of the others 
are in stock ; C. Spicerianum and the varieties of C. 
insigne are fine, they and many others being in flower 
as well as Scuticaria Hadwenii ; a grand mass of 
Maxillaria grandiflora over 3 ft. through ; a huge mass 
of Saccolabium giganteum has thirty-two stems ; the 
pretty Ionopsis utricularioides is a little floral gem, 
and Miltonia Candida, and various other things of 
unusual interest are to he found. 
The Cattleya Houses. 
These consist of a whole house devoted to Cattleya 
Mendelii of a very promising stamp, and another 
contains fine specimens of Lfelia purpurata, many of 
them very richly coloured, while on the other hand 
some of the distinct L. p. Russelliana, the perfection of 
light varieties, are or have been in bloom. Lselia 
elegans also gives some noteworthy examples, and the 
various species of large-flowered Cattleyas are well 
sheathed for flower, the noted importation of C. 
Eldorado of the Company, which gave so many fine 
whites, still having some in bloom. In other inter¬ 
mediate houses some exceptionally good varieties of C. 
intermedia are in flower, also some graceful Oncidium 
ornithorliynchum and Epidendrnm variegatum. The 
Dendrobes are cultivated in large quantities so far as 
the showy species are concerned, hence we find some 
hundreds of the true D. Brymerianum in great vigour ; 
an equally large lot of H. thyrsiflorum, D. Bensonice 
and D. luteolum ; a still greater quantity of D. Ward- 
ianum and the richly tinted D. crassinode Barberianum, 
the less beautiful but still good species being in pro¬ 
portionate quantity. Foremost among the 
Recent Importations 
We must mention the pretty and free-flowering Sehom- 
burgkia Thomsoniana, the unique specimen of which 
caused so much attraction when exhibited by Mr. 
W. J. Thomson, of Ghylbank, St. Helen’s, at the 
great Liverpool show of the Royal Horticultural Society. 
It is the neatest and most floriferous of the Schom- 
burgkias, and the Company has been lucky enough to 
get a few over in good order. Next comes a healthy 
lot of the curious white Ornithocephalus grandiflorus ; 
a large lot of the grand Oncidium undulatum, with 
white-brown and violet flowers of the 0. maeranthum 
class. A little lot of the neat Oncidium Limminghii, 
too, are just in; also a large lot of Cattleya labiata 
Warnerii, one piece of which is carrying a triple 
sheath that beats the double one formerly so much 
spoken of. Yanda lamellata Boxallii is also recently 
imported, and now safe, while Lajlia grandis, L. xan- 
thina and L. harpophylla are just over in grand order, 
as well as others equally important, such as grand 
pieces of Oncidium sarcodes. The six and a half acres 
of the Garston Nursery are mostly covered with glass 
structures chiefly filled with Orchids, although some 
are devoted to Ferns, Palms, stove and greenhouse 
plants, as well as the culture of Mareehal Neil and 
other Roses in pots, also Vines in pots, for 'which the 
establishment has gained a very wide reputation. 
--Kgs-- 
THE EUCEARIS MITE. 
In your issue for October 20th (p. 120), Mr. Beckett 
endorses the opinion of Messrs. Dickson, given in a 
previous issue. I should like to be allowed to still 
further endorse the views set forth by the above 
gentlemen. 1 have not the slightest doubt that the 
real cause of the mite making its appearance is in¬ 
judicious treatment. I remember an instance in which 
a number of pots of Eucharis were subjected to a con¬ 
siderably lower temperature than what they had been 
growing in, with the idea of resting them. In a short 
time, however, it was very plain that something was 
wrong with them. A careful examination showed that 
many of the roots were in a decaying state, and com¬ 
pletely covered with little mites visible to the naked 
eye. The bulbs which were most affected were con¬ 
signed to the furnace, and the others washed and re¬ 
potted. A few that did not appear to be so badly 
infested with the mites were not disturbed, but the 
whole lot were replaced in the stove, with the result 
that they completely recovered their lost vigour; and 
although they are still “rested” for a shorfitime’after 
making their growth, the rest is given them in the 
same temperature in which they have been growing, 
and simply consists in not giving them quite so much 
water as they receive whilst active. I recently had an 
opportunity of inspecting those in Mr. Beckett’s charge, 
and a more robust healthy-looking lot of plants it 
would be impossible to find. Growing in a house in 
which Bananas are successfully cultivated, and partly 
shaded by the foliage of the latter, with a fine 
Stephanotis trained along the front of the house, they 
seem to revel in the position and treatment they 
receive .—Thomas Nutting, The Gardens, ChildwicJc- 
hury, St. Albans. 
In reference to Mr. W. J. Murphy’s communication of 
October 6th, I would not go so far as to say that there 
is no such thing as the Eucharis mite ; indeed, I had 
evidence of its existence at one of the monthly meetings 
of the Preston and Fulwood Horticultural Society, not 
a year ago, when bulbs swarming with the mite were 
exhibited by more than one of the members, and the 
plants under my care had been pronounced seriously 
affected. Nevertheless I then ventured to raise the 
question before the members whether the presence of 
the insect was not the effect and not the cause of the 
plants’ unhealthy condition, and whether they were not 
the carrion crowsof vegetation, having nomore todo with 
the death of the plants or the decayed vegetable 
matter, such as dead roots, than the carrion crow had 
to do with the death of the carcases it fed upon. I was 
impressed at that meeting with the preponderance of 
opinion favourable to that view, and if I may judge 
from the silence with which Mr. Murphy’s com¬ 
munication has been received, there are not many who 
believe in the wholesale depredations of the mite. 
I attributed the bad state of our plants to too much 
water from heavy syringing of overhead creepers, ac¬ 
companied with a low temperature, and I have no doubt 
the ill condition of others may be traced to them or to 
one or more of the causes enumerated by Mr. Beckett 
in your issue of October 20th. Our plants were moved 
into the Pine stove, and the soil in the pots containing 
the almost leafless bulbs was allowed to get as dry as 
that of Caladium bulbs when at rest. After a few 
weeks they began to push young leaves, when water 
was applied, and the surface soil moved and replaced 
with fresh sandy loam and a sprinkling of wood-ashes. 
A few were plunged in leaves, giving a bottom heat 
of 80° ; others stood on the kerbstone of the wall of 
the pit alongside the path. Both did well, and in less 
than a year had leaves on them over 18 ins. long. 
During the past season I left, a few plants standing on 
the kerb exposed to the sun without any apparent 
injury, and they only differed from the others in a 
moist shady atmosphere in being not quite so green in 
the older leaves. 
Many people have of late undertaken to grow these 
plants without any previous experience of their culture, 
or, indeed, any other tropical plant, and others have 
attempted their culture in unsuitable structures, such 
as houses with open staging or those with defective 
heating power. Consequently, the plants have gone 
wrong, and the roots have decayed where leaf-exciting 
conditions failed, and other insects, if not the mites 
(which I suppose do not eat the roots), find there a 
convenient feeding ground. Having had to raise my 
stock from a couple of pots given to me, I have not 
been overdone with flowering bulbs, and have often 
wished I had a few of the thousands of fine bulbs which 
have in more than one place been consigned to the 
flames or the rubbish heap when supposed to be affected 
with the mite.— TV. P. It. 
-- 
Hardening §[iscellany. 
Larva of a Moth on Grapes. 
Specimens of the larva of a small moth named Lobesia 
reliquana, together with some of the injured Grapes, 
have been sent us by Mr. William Keen, The Gardens, 
Bowden Hall, near Gloucester. The insect is also 
named Endemis botrana by some German authors, and 
is the Eupcecilia permixtana of Stephen s Illustrations, 
fig. 1137. Mr. Keen says he first detected it 
two years ago doing damage to a few bunches only ; 
but this year nearly every bunch in his late house is 
affected. The grubs commenced their depredations 
about the stoning time of the Grapes, eating the stalks of 
the berries, in many cases causing them to drop. Later 
on they got between the berries, tying them together in 
twos or threes, by weaving a small, white, very tough 
web. On this the grubs take up their standpoint, and 
commence to puncture the berries, sucking the juice. 
They never seem to penetrate any distance ; hut the 
berries are spoiled notwithstanding. The specimens 
sent us were very much damaged and rotting, while 
mould also grows upon the berries where the skin has 
been punctured or broken. The juice internally also 
becomes discoloured. Capturing the grubs when they 
make their appearance seems to be the only remedy. 
When disturbed the grub drops down by a fine web ; 
therefore we should advise two persons to set to work, 
one holding a box or tray while the other dislodges the 
grubs with a feather, so as to avoid injury to the 
Grapes. Be careful that none of the grubs escape, as 
they are very lively, and soon crawl away. The person 
holding the tray should keep killing the grubs as fast 
as they fall down. If permitted to escape they will 
soon find a hiding-place, and become transformed into 
the pupa or chrysalis state, in which they will rest till 
next summer, when they will re-commence operations. 
This is at least the fourth instance coming under our 
notice of Grapes being affected in this way, and the 
moth is evidently making considerable headway. The 
four cases we mention, including that under notice, 
are from widely distant localities in England. Grape 
growers would therefore do well to exterminate the 
insect when it makes its appearance in vineries. 
Hippeastrum, Autumn Beauty. 
This is better known under the old name of Amaryllis, 
and many gardeners will no doubt recognise one of 
the parents when we mention Hippeastrum reticulatum, 
with the pearly white stripe down the centre of the leaf. 
The other parent of Autumn Beauty was a scarlet 
seedling of the H. Leopoldii type. The variety under 
notice always flowers during autumn and winter. The 
flowers have a moderately long tube, with a widely 
spreading limb, and are of a charming rosy colour, 
reticulated in the wide throat and base of the segments 
with rosy scarlet on a white ground. The scape reaches 
a height of 12 ins. or 15 ins., bearing four flowers, 
which although very much smaller than the spring¬ 
flowering giants are nevertheless capable of improve¬ 
ment, and are both exceedingly pretty and most ac¬ 
ceptable at this season of the year. Not the least of 
its recommendations is the dwarf character of the flower 
stalk. "We noticed it flowering freely in the nursery 
of Messrs. J. Yeitch & Sons, Chelsea. 
Bignonia venusta. 
Although sometimes grown in a high temperature 
there can be little doubt that an intermediate house is 
more suitable to the well-being of this plant than a 
stove, although a native of Brazil. A large plant in 
one of the sections of the wing of the large conservatory 
at Syon House runs along the whole length of the 
house under the ridge of the roof, and gives off masses 
of shoots that pass along under each rafter. The main 
stems pass down one end of the house and beneath 
the staging, where a brick-built case encloses a good 
body of soil in which the Bignonia is planted. Six 
months ago the plant was in bad condition, and quite 
leafless. Mr. "Wythes, the gardener, resolved to do 
something for it, and after cutting back the top con¬ 
siderably, root-pruned it, and gave it some fresh 
material. After this it grew away vigorously, until 
now it covers the space above-mentioned, and every 
part of it is loaded with flower buds, which at no 
distant date will make a fine display. The flowers are 
orange-crimson, long, tubular, and very effective 
during the late autumn and winter months. 
Rhodochiton volubile. 
For the rafters of a greenhouse or conservatory this 
Mexican climber is most admirably adapted. If trained 
to wires under the rafters, the main shoots give off long, 
slender, pendent growths that in due time become laden 
with a profusion of showy flowers. The corolla itself 
is small, tubular or club-shaped, and dark purple, 
almost black, while the bell-shaped or widely-expanded 
calyx is rosy red, and constitutes by far the most 
ornamental part of the flower. It also gives rise to the 
generic name, which signifies “red cloak.” The plant 
commences to develop its flowers early in the summer, 
and as the shoots extend fresh blooms continue to be 
given off at their axils. Even now a large plant in a 
cool division of the conservatory at Syon House, 
Middlesex, seems in full bloom. After the corolla 
withers up the showy calyx remains in a fresh condition 
for many weeks. When they become shabby the plan 
may be pruned back and considerably reduced in size. 
It will give most satisfaction if planted out. 
Scabiosa caucasica. 
This is a first-class perennial for the herbaceous 
border, and should have a place in every garden where 
cut flowers are in demand, the large pale blue flowers 
being extremely useful, and lasting well in water. This 
autumn the plants have flowered well, notwithstanding 
the severe frosts at the commencement of October, and 
now, the last week in the month, they are still 
