386 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
February 16, 1889. 
bidium Lowianum are rapidly advancing into flower, 
bearing from twelve to twenty flowers on a spike, 
the latter being frequent ; and one plant carries nine 
spikes. A special stage has been erected for tbe species 
of Phalamopsis over a tank ; and the size of the leaves, 
as well as the flower spikes, gives sure indication that 
they like the treatment. One spike is 3 ft. or 4 ft. 
long, and bears eight long branches. Laelia autumnalis 
was still in flower when we visited the place recently, 
and the rich purple of the sepals, petals and apex of 
the lip showed the variety to be a very fine one. 
Close by was L. albida bella, with a warm rosy lilac 
terminal lobe to the lip. Many plants in cultivation 
purporting to be the variety bella are greatly inferior 
to Mr. Little’s plant. Other members of the genus, in 
a house close by, are simply getting ready to make a 
grand display later on, and the healthy, clean foliage 
and pseudo-bulbs which they exhibit, speak to the 
care taken of them by Mr. A. Howard, who has the 
charge of this department. Amongst these may 
be mentioned grand pieces of L. purpurata, L. p. 
Schroderi, L. elegans, which, curiously enough, threw 
up a spike in the autumn, and L. e. Littleana, with a 
pure white tube and intense purple lip. 
Not less important are the Cattleyas, such as C. 
Mendelii, now bristling with sheaths, and which bore 
some sixteen spikes last year, with an aggregate of 
forty-five flowers. Others are C. M. grandis, C. M. 
Selbornensis, C. M. Mrs. Little, C. Skinneri, C. 
Sanderi, and others, some of which occupy baskets 
about 20 ins. in diameter. C. Mossiae aurea, another 
fine variety, bore twenty-seven flowers last year. The 
varieties of C. Trianse are now flowering. A fine speci¬ 
men of Vanda teres, rooted on a piece of wood and 
grown in a pot, stands 6 ft. or 7 ft. high. It is a 
specially fine variety. Lvcaste Skinneri has been 
flowering for many weeks, and will keep up a display 
for many more. Mr. Little’s collection is already well 
noted for its numerous beautiful varieties. Many pseudo¬ 
bulbs carry from twelve to fifteen flowers, with leaves 
2^ ft. to 3 ft. long, furnishing incontestable evidence of 
treatment. L. S. marmorata has the petals marbled 
with a beautiful rose ; some have a white lip, as in the 
last case, while others are of a deep crimson. A large 
number of them are very delicately tinted, such as L. 
S. Model, with many others of the same type. The 
delicate blending of rose and white is extremely beauti¬ 
ful. The highly fragrant L. aromatica also obtains a 
place amongst its aristocratic congeners. Maxillaria 
grandiflora Lehmannii is a fine variety, noticeable for 
the yellow, brown and blackish purple stripes of the 
lip, contrasting with the rest of the flower, which is 
pure white. 
Many fine pieces of Odontoglossum are grown, in¬ 
cluding a handsome piece of 0. citrosmum grown in a 
basket. A beautiful spotted form of 0. Pescatorei 
and a piece of 0. Andersonianum with branching spikes 
add to the variety in the house. The same might be 
said of 0. Rossii majus, the forms of which are endless. 
A fine form of Masdevallia Chimaera, spotted with 
brown on a creamy yellow ground, and shaggy with 
hairs, hung from the roof. The pure white M. 
tovarensis responds admirably to the treatment given 
it, bears from one to five flowers on a scape, and in 
spite of the crippling effects of fog is still fine. The 
scarlet flowers of Ada aurantiaca constitute a fine 
contrast with the more sober-tinted kinds, although it 
can never vie with the interest created by such as 
Angriecum sesquipedale. Ccelogyne cristata is more 
popular, and is grown by everyone ; it is here repre¬ 
sented by C. c. maxima and C. c. Lemoniana, two of 
the best varieties. 
Over and above those in flower are fine pieces of 
many subjects such as Orchid enthusiasts like Mr. 
Little seldom fail to allude to with pride. Amongst 
these may be mentioned Vanda suavis Veitchii, with 
eight stems ranging from 2 ft. to 4 ft. high ; a huge 
piece of Aerides Leoni grown in an Orchid pan ; Den- 
drobium Griflithianum, with six fresh and large stems; 
D. thyrsiflorum, 2 ft. to 3 ft. long ; and D. chryso- 
toxum, with pseudo-bulbs from 12 to 16 ins. in height, 
and girthing nearly 4| ins. Such specimens as the 
last-mentioned are rare for their kind. 
The largest number of species belonging to any one 
genus, and now in flower, are furnished by Cypri- 
pedium. We can hardly doubt that herein lies their 
popularity, for there is no period of the year when 
Cypripediums are entirely out of flower ; and to give 
an instance of this, we may mention C. Sedeni superba, 
which has been flowering in continuous succession for 
the past two years. The variety is characterised by a 
very dark rose-coloured lip. Another grand sort is C. 
insigne punetatum violaceum, of which Mr. Little 
possesses the original plant, which bore thirteen of its 
grandly spotted flowers last year. Its fellow com¬ 
panion, C. i. Maulei, alongside, was still in flower, with 
its rich brown and violet spotting on a soft yellow and 
pure white ground colour. We also noted a wonderful 
fine form of C. Haynaldianum, with deep purple bracts, 
while the flowers themselves exhibit a richly coloured 
spotting. It is superior to jC. Lowii, with which it is 
closely allied. Another with very bold spotting is C. 
Argus, the spots on the petals of which have been com¬ 
pared to the hundred-eyed god, Argus, of Grecian 
mythology. 
Somewhat in the way of C. biflorum with regard to 
colour is C. barbatum O’Brienii, with its leaves marbled 
with deep green on a grey ground. The upper sepal is 
green at the base, purple upwards, and white at the 
apex ; and the petals are rose and purple, with a line 
of black spots on the upper edge. The black spotting 
on the standard of C. Boxallii is very characteristic of 
this species, and altogether distinct from the C. 
villosum type which is now flowering, and from C. 
Harrisianum, one of the earliest hybrids obtained from 
the latter. The variety now in flower is a richly 
coloured one. Although a comparatively recent intro¬ 
duction, C. Lawrencianum is already one of the most 
popular, which is no doubt accounted for by its beau¬ 
tiful foliage and handsome flowers. Others of which 
there are fine pieces, some being in flower, are C. Stonei, 
C. caudatum, C. Dominvanum, C. lievigatum, and C. 
barbatum magnificum, all of which are in fine and 
clean condition, reflecting credit on the grower in 
charge of them. 
-- 
THE UNITED HORTICULTURAL 
BENEFIT AND PROVIDENT SOCIETY. 
The annual general meeting of the members of this 
admirable society was held at the Caledonian Hotel, 
Adelphi, on Monday evening, Mr. R. Dean, one of the 
honorary members, presiding. The minutes of the 
previous annual meeting having been read and con¬ 
firmed, the secretary, Mr. Collins, read the report of 
the committee and statement of accounts for the past 
year, which proclaimed the welcome intelligence that 
the society is progressing and prosperous. There are 
now upon the books of the society, 276 members, 
fifty-three having joined during the past year. The 
amount of sick pay during the year was £35 12 s. 8d., 
a trifle over one half of the sum paid in the previous 
year, and this amount was divided between fifteen 
members. These payments are covered by deductions 
of 3s. 6 %d., and 2s. 4 \d. each from the two 
classes of members. At the present time there is only 
one sick member upon the fund. No death has 
occurred among the members during the past year, nor 
has there been any payment made from the benevolent 
fund during the past year. The balance in favour of 
the benevolent fund a year ago was £1,183 11s. 3 \d., 
it is now £1,299 19s. 1 \d., so that is has increased 
during the past twelve months by £81 17s. 5 d., mainly 
from subscriptions by members, and by £34 10s. 5 d. 
received as interest. 
The balance in favour of the benefit fund at the 
same period was £2,677 7s. 6 d.\ it is now £3,058 3s. Id., 
showing an increase of nearly £400. On the expendi¬ 
ture side interest has been credited to members to the 
amount of £69 3s. 3d., which is more than covered by 
the interest received on the balance at the commence¬ 
ment of 1888, namely, £78 Is. 2d. The management 
fund shows a similarly satisfactory state of things. The 
total receipts for the year amounted to £83 6s. id ., and 
the sum added to the balance in hand in January, 1888, 
namely, £19 7s. 9 d., brought the total up to £102 14s. Id. 
The payments on the other side amount to £82 11s. 9 d , 
leaving a balance of £20 2s. id. to carry forward. The 
receipts at the annual dinner amounted to £42 9s. 6 d., 
and the expenditure to £35 13s. 3:7. 
The treasurer’s account was a record of most gratify¬ 
ing financial progress. It showed that the year’s 
income from all sources amounted to £856 13s. 6 d., 
while the expenditure amounted to £714 19s. llif., 
including the purchase of £528 10s. 8d. worth of stock 
in the 2f per cent. Consols at a cost of £525 6s. 2d., 
and the treasurer is able to carry forward a balance of 
£141 13s. 7 d. During the past year the trustees drew 
out the entire sum of £4,000 invested in the 3 per cent. 
Government Consols, and re-invested it in the Stock of 
the Corporation of Nottingham, at 3 per cent., instead 
of in “ Goschens ” at 2j per cent., and this action of 
the committee, whereby ^ per cent, is gained, is highly 
approved by the committee. Four new honorary 
members were added to the list during the year, and 
one Life Subscriber of 10 guineas. 
The report concluded with a special record of thanks 
to Dr. Hogg (chairman) and Mr. H. J. Yeitch (vice- 
chairman) at the annual dinner for their kind sympathy 
and able advocacy of the claims of the society, specially 
to Dr. Hogg and to Mr. ’William Paul for their liberal 
donations to the management fund ; to Mr. Sherwood 
for becoming a life member ; to ail who contributed 
flowers and fruit to the dinner; to the trustees, the 
treasurer, the secretary, and the auditors for their con¬ 
tinued valuable services during the year. 
The adoption of the report and statement of accounts 
was moved by the chairman, seconded by Mr. N. Cole, 
and carried unanimously. The election of five mem¬ 
bers to serve on the committee was then proceeded 
with, and the choice of the meeting fell upon Mr. Pi. 
Scott, Mr. G. W. Cummins, Mr. W. Woods, Mr. E. G. 
Wheeler, and Mr. T. Coates ; after which Mr. Collins 
was again unanimously re-elected as secretary, and 
voted £20 for his services during the past year. Yotes 
of thanks were also accorded to the trustees, the trea¬ 
surer, the auditors, and the chairman, and the reply 
from Mr. Dean brought the proceedings to a close. 
-->X<~- 
AN ELECTION OF VEGETABLES. 
The executive of the Birmingham and Midland 
Counties Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement Association 
have recently introduced a novelty at one of their 
fortnightly meetings in the form of an election of 
vegetables, the voters being confined to the members of 
the association. The plan adopted was to name twenty 
kinds of vegetables, and to stipulate a certain number 
of each, which the members were called upon to name 
as the best according to their own individual practical 
experience. The election came off on the 29th ult., 
and the result of the ballot was as follows : — 
Peas, eight varieties.—American Wonder, William 
the First, Prince of Wales, Stratagem, Duke of Alban}-, 
Telephone, Yeitch’s Perfection, Ne Plus Ultra. 
Beans, Runners, two varieties.—Ne Plus Ultra, 
Girtford Giant. 
Beans, French, two varieties.—Canadian Wonder, 
Ne Plus Ultra. 
Beans, Broad, two varieties.—Seville Long Pod, 
Johnson’s Wonderful. 
Potatos, seven varieties.—Myatt’s Ashleaf, Snow¬ 
drop, Schoolmaster, Beauty of Hebron, Sutton’s 
Seedling, Sutton’s Satisfaction, Magnum Bonutn. 
Cauliflower, three varieties.—Early London, 
Walcheren, Yeitch’s Autumn Giant. 
Broccoli, four varieties.—Yeitch’s Self-Protecting 
Autumn, Snow’s Winter White, Leamington, Sutton’s 
Late Queen. 
Cabbage, three varieties.—Enfield Market, Ellam’s 
Early Dwarf, Nonpareil. 
Brussels Sprouts, two varieties.—Sutton’s Ex¬ 
hibition, Aigburth. 
Kale or Borecole, four varieties.—Dwarf Green 
Curled, Cottager’s Kile, Asparagus Kale, Tall Scotch. 
Savoys, two varieties.—Dwarf Green Curled, 
Drumhead. 
Carrots, two varieties.—Early Nantes, James’s 
•Scarlet Intermediate. 
Parsnip, one variety.—Student. 
Lettuce, three varieties.—All the Year Round, 
Black-Seeded Bath Cos, Giant White Cos. 
Celery, two varieties.—Major Clarke’s Red, Sulham 
Prize Pink. 
Turnips, two varieties.—Early Snowball, White 
Stone. 
Onions, four varieties.—James’ Long Keeping, 
Bedfordshire Champion, Rousham Park Hero, Red 
Italian Tripoli. 
Tosiatos, two varieties.—Sutton’s Perfection, 
Hackwood Park Prolific. 
Vegetable Marrows, two varieties.—Long White, 
Moore’s Cream. 
Beet, two varieties.—Nutting’s Dwarf Red, 
Henderson’s Pins Apple. 
There were about eighty members present, and a 
lively discussion followed the declaration of the poll. 
An excellent authority upon vegetables, to whom we 
handed the foregoing list for perusal, writes in reply:— 
“Whilst it is evident that certain vegetables may be, 
and probably are more popular in some localities than 
in others, yet the list presents a very fair selection, 
without particular bias in favour of seedsmen. It 
would have been interesting to have learned how 
many votes were given in each case, as presumably the 
list given is the product of many diverse selections, 
and may not be exactly that of any one individual. 
Then it would also be interesting to learn how many 
