January 19, 1889. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
829 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
Odontoglossum maculatum. 
Having had this Orchid in flower for the last six weeks 
I dare say it will interest some of your readers to know 
that it has passed through all the late fogs without 
sustaining the least damage. This, I think, makes it 
a desirable Orchid to grow, and especially as it is also 
a very pretty and attractive species. The sepals are 
chestnut-brown within, marked with green transverse 
bars at the base, the petals yellow, thickly spotted on 
the basal half with reddish brown, and the lip cordate 
and of the same colour as the petals. It succeeds 
best in a cool house grown in a pot in peat and moss.— 
G. W. 
Freak of Ccelogyne cristata. 
Some of the Coelogynes appear to have a terminal in¬ 
florescence, as in the case of C. elata ; while in C. 
cristata it may be described as lateral or basal, because 
it arises from the base of the old pseudo-bulb. That 
this inflorescence, however, is produced on the apex 
of a leafy branch there is abundance of evidence 
to show, and in the case of C. cristata this branch 
seldom develops a pseudo-bulb. This actually hap¬ 
pened, however, at Studley House, Hammersmith, last 
year, when flowers were produced in the usual way on 
the lateral scaly shoots. One of the internodes after¬ 
wards became swollen and plump, forming a short 
dumpy pseudo-bulb, with the remains of the inflor¬ 
escence and two leaves at its apex. What happens 
occasional!} 7 in the case of C. cristata does so habitually 
with C. lentiginosa and C. flaceida, and the reason why 
it so often passes unnoticed is that the inflorescence is 
produced first and the pseudo-bulb afterwards. In 
C. elata the reverse happens. A more interesting case 
occurs in C. flaceida, should the flowers be fertilised. 
The flower-stalk does not then fall away, but becomes 
erect and elongates considerably, while the pseudo¬ 
bulb, terminated by a pair of leaves, is being developed 
beneath it. The experiment and observation was made 
by Mr. C. Cowley, the gardener. 
Cypripedium cardinale. 
Amongst hybrid Cypripediums belonging to the section 
Selenipedium, this beautiful form bears the same re¬ 
lation to its allies as the hardy C. spectabile does to 
the group to which it belongs, and presents similar 
but more intensified and contrasting colours. It was 
obtained from C. Sedeni, itself a hybrid, and C. 
Schlimii albiflorum, and exhibits all the vigour of the 
seed parent, as well as equally large flowers. The 
upper sepal is ivory-white, and the petals also white 
suffused with pink, and having a patch of deeper 
coloured hairs at the base. The pouch is of an intense 
rosy carmine, and is notable for its neat and beautiful 
shape as much as for colour. The opening to the 
pouch presents the appearance of a somewhat sunken, 
orbicular, and remarkably narrow cavity, as if it were 
a bag or purse with the mouth drawn together by a 
string. It continues flowering for a long time at 
Studley House. 
L^elia lobata. 
In general appearance this species may be likened to a 
highly coloured L. crispa, and close examination shows 
that it has a considerable affinity with the latter, but 
differs chiefly in the pseudo-hulbs being shorter and 
differently shaped, with a longer column, and 
altogether differently coloured flowers. The sepals are 
revolute at the edges, while the petals are folded from 
the middle, backwards, as seen in L. crispa ; but all 
are of a rosy purple or deep lilac, with darker veins. 
The three-lobed lip is of a rich amethyst purple, much 
undulated and crisped at the margin. The flowers 
are of medium size, say from 4 ins. to 5 ins. in diameter, 
hut are very distinct, and to this must be added their 
delicious fragrance, which may be compared to a 
mixture of almonds and cinnamon, or perhaps haw¬ 
thorn. Lindley first described this species under the 
name of Cattleya lobata. It does not seem to flower 
very freely with the treatment given to the other 
species of Lrelia, but is now in full bloom at Tower 
House, Chiswick, the residence of J. Donaldson, Esq. 
Dendrobium heterocarpum and Epidendrum 
CILIARE. 
Many of our showiest Orchids are entirely devoid of 
scent, while many of the smaller and unassuming ones 
are sweetly scented. Both the above mentioned are 
now flowering with us. The former, although not very 
striking to the eye, is as sweetly scented as Violets, and 
the latter is no great beauty to look at, perhaps, but 
it possesses a redeeming feature, being as sweet as 
Honeysuckle, which is apparent on paying the Orchid 
house a visit in the evening.— Hector. 
Cynoches chlorochilum. 
Another curiosity also flowering at the present time is 
the Swan Orchid, received with Cattleya Mossioe, with 
which it has been grown. A bulb 9 ins. long has 
thrown a spike bearing four of its curious yellow 
flowers. — Hector. 
L/elia anceps varieties. 
At the R. H. S. meeting on Tuesday, some grand spikes 
of L. anceps varieties were exhibited by Mr. Ballantine, 
gardener to Baron Schroder, The Dell, Egham, among 
them being a good spike of the type with warm rosy 
purple flowers. The others were well-grown specimens of 
named varieties, including L. a. Percivaliaua, in which 
the sepals and petals were blush-coloured, with purple 
tips to the segments of the lip. L. a. Stella had white 
sepals and petals, with a small purple blotch near the 
apex of the lip. A grand variety is L. a. Dawsoni with 
broad ovate petals, and they as well as the sepals were 
white. The lip is also broadly expanded and tipped 
with purple, and in this respect, as well as in the ovate 
petals, it differs from L. a. Sanderiana, another splendid 
variety, chiefly distinguishable from the former by its 
oval and narrower petals, and in the more pointed lip. 
Orchid Seeds. 
The introduction of Orchid seeds for the first time 
into the trade catalogues as a regular article of 
commerce is an event which deserves a passing 
word. The credit of the introduction is due to a 
rising young firm in the west of England—Messrs. 
Jarman & Co., of Chard—who in their seed catalogue 
just issued offer “Orchid seeds, mixed varieties,” in 
2s. 6c?. and 5s. packets ! The very sound of the well- 
known trade phraseology, as applied to Orchid seeds, 
almost takes one’s breath away. Yet the fact remains 
that the Messrs. Jarman have imported seeds of 
Cattleyas, Lrelias, Cypripediums, Dendrobiums, Mas- 
devallias, Odontoglossoms, &c., from the native 
countries of the respective plants, but it is unfortunate 
that they should be mixed, and still more unfortunate 
that their germinating power cannot be guaranteed. 
In any case, those who would like to try their hand at 
raising Orchids from seed can now do so without 
incurring a ruinous outlay, and we promise them that 
if the experiment does nothing else it will teach them 
the virtue of patience. 
-— >3X -- 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
Royal Horticultural. — January 15th. 
The amount of interest created by the rumours which 
had been spread about that the Council intended to 
introduce certain reforms in the constitution of the 
committees and in their methods of procedure as regards 
the awarding of certificates, was well illustrated by the 
large number of members who assembled in the Drill 
Hall on Tuesday morning—cold, dull and cheerless as 
the place was, and so little as there was to see. Before com¬ 
mencing business, the members of the Council present, 
Mr. Veitch, Mr. G. Paul, Mr. James Douglas, and the 
Rev. W. Wilks, called the committeemen together 
to hear a statement from the last-named gentleman, as 
to the nature of the innovations which the Council 
had thought it desirable to introduce. In the first place, 
said Mr. Wilks, the Council had determined that all 
members of its permanent committees must be Fellows 
of the society, as was the case with every other society 
of a similar character in this country or abroad. 
Secondly, with a view of enhancing the value of the 
First Class Certificates, the Council had instituted a 
second award, to be called an “Award of Merit,” so as 
to enable the committees to give the First Class Certifi¬ 
cates only to subjects of really first-class importance, 
and with the “ Award of Merit ” to recognise such 
things as had some point of merit or special feature to 
recommend them, yet were not quite of first-class rank. 
And thirdly, with reference to the voting of either 
forms of certificate, the Council had resolved that in 
future, in the case of subjects certificated, the number 
of votes given, for or against the award, shall be 
recorded and published in the society’s proceedings. 
What Mr. Wilks did not say, and the matter is alluded 
to here as an item of news only, was that the Council 
had also decided to discontinue the modest luncheons 
which have always hitherto been provided for the 
members. 
Floral Committee. 
When this committee assembled for business Mr. 
William Marshall, on taking the chair, remarked that 
it was seventeen years ago since he was first appointed 
chairman of the committee, and he was pleased to see 
so many of the old faces then present—a circumstance 
which he thought spoke well for the hold which the 
society had upon the horticultural community. A long 
discussion then ensued as to what was to be considered 
the exact value of the “Award of Merit,” some of the 
members stating their objection to the new award on 
the ground that for advertising purposes it would 
probably by some be misrepresented as being equal in 
importance to the First Class Certificate. It was also 
pointed out that the old National Floricultural Society, 
from the ashes of which the Floral Committee sprang, 
had a secondary award, which was called a “ Com¬ 
mendation,” to the use of which there was and could 
be no objection. Eventually, however, it was made 
clear that the “Award of Merit” was only another 
name for the old and invidious Second Class Certificate, 
and must always be understood to be inferior in value 
to the First Class award. The first plant that came 
up for judgment was a Chinese Primula named Miss 
Inez, a semi-double flower, of large size and pure white, 
with very vigorous bright green and much divided 
leaves. It was shown by Mr. John Knight, The Oaks, 
Epsom, and an Award of Merit was carried for it by 
twenty-three votes against one, twenty-nine members 
being present. Primula Princess Mary, one of the 
Messrs. Cannell’s fine seedlings, received a similar 
award by eleven votes to eight. The flowers are of a 
light lilac-pink, and notable for their fine size, being 
21 in. in diameter, while the whole plant is strong 
and vigorous, with very robust foliage. Primula 
Swanley Mauve, by eleven votes to eight, gained a 
First Class Certificate on account of the decided advance 
which it marks upon what has hitherto by courtesy 
been called the Blue Primula. The leaves are of the 
ordinary type, with rather long red petioles ; and the 
large, much-imbricated, and lobed flowers, though 
described as mauve, are really the nearest approach to 
blue yet obtained. The only other award made was a 
First Class Certificate (by sixteen votes to three) to 
Vanda Aniesiana, shown by Mr. Hill, gardener to Lord 
Rothschild, Tring Park. At some little distance one 
might take this for a large-flowered Phalsenopsis rosea. 
It is neat and dwarf in habit, with narrow, grooved or 
channelled, rather rigid and fleshy deep green leaves, 
arranged in two ranks. The flower scapes are ascending 
or sub-erect, bearing a raceme of medium-sized flowers, 
the sepals and petals of which are white, while the 
terminal lobe of the lip is rosy purple, and folded 
backwards upon itself. 
Fruit Committee. 
At the meeting of this committee, of which Mr. R. D. 
Blackmore, of Teddington, is the new chairman, a 
Cultural Commendation was awarded to Mr. W. Allan, 
gardener to Lord Suffield, Gunton Park, Norwich, for 
some bunches of the round white Grape, Mrs. Pearson, 
shown in an excellent state of preservation. Mr. J. 
Davis, gardener to the Rev. H. Arkwright, Bodenham, 
Leominster, exhibited a good-looking seedling Apple, 
named Bodenham. It was splashed and flushed with 
red on the exposed side, the rest being yellow. A 
basket of Doyenne d’Alengon Pears, from a tree in a 
10-in. pot., was shown by the Rev. W. Wilks, Shirley, 
Croydon. 
Manchester Horticultural Improvement. 
At the usual monthly meeting, held on the 18th inst., 
Mr. E. Griffiths Hughes presided. Mr. R. Tait, jun., 
read a paper on Liliums and Cyclamens. He said : — 
The Lily, with which we naturally connect ideas of 
stateliness and beauty, forms one of the most orna¬ 
mental and most useful classes of plants we possess, 
and the variety of form and habits are so very 
numerous that many choice kinds will always be found 
to suit every person who wishes to grow them. They 
are suitable alike for outdoor, greenhouse, and conser¬ 
vatory decoration, and there are few things which 
make better window plants than some of the species. 
As a class they are not nearly so much grown as they 
should be, which is no doubt due in a great measure 
to the variable climate of this country, and especially 
of the northern counties. However, within the last 
few years their cultivation has been extended very 
much, and there are now hardly any gardens of any 
moment which do not contain several varieties. The 
great secret of success in Lily growing is to give them 
as nearly as possible the same conditions as the plant 
receives in its native home. These are in most cases 
a certain amount of summer heat, and a good deal of 
moisture during the growing season, for drought is one 
of the worst enemies of the genus, and in its native 
