568 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
May 4, 1889. 
forms of G. Colvillei in cultivation, but the pure white 
one, generally known as The Bride, is still the most 
popular. 
Dracontium gigas. 
This curious Aroid is better known under the name of 
Godwinia gigas, but it very seldom flowers under culti¬ 
vation, as the growers of it are but few. The so-called 
flower—or, rather, spathe—is extremely curious, and 
by no means to be considered beautiful, whereas the 
leaf and its petiole are of great ornamental value. The 
latter rises to a height of 8 ft. or 10 ft., bearing a 
broad, much-divided, umbrella-like blade. The foot¬ 
stalk is generally looked upon by the uninitiated as a 
stem, because cylindrical and of great size. It is 
curiously corrugated, straw-yellow or grey, and marbled 
with brown. A flowering specimen might have been 
seen quite recently in the Victoria house at Kew. The 
singular-looking spathe was 21 ins. long, rolled together 
at the sides, and hooded at the top, leaving only a 
small opening at the side for the entrance of insects, 
which we presume do visit the flowers in a state of 
nature, judging from the disagreeably strong and foetid 
odour they give off at a certain stage of their develop¬ 
ment. The flower-stalk, unlike that of the leaf, was 
only 1 ft. in length. The species is a native of 
Nicaragua. 
Should Vines Setting Fruit be Syringed. 
I noticed in one of your contemporaries this question 
answered by Mr. Baines some time since in the affirma¬ 
tive. I am not an authority on the question myself, 
but am interested just now, as my Vines are showing 
incipient or embryo bunches, and I should like to be 
satisfied whether it would be judicious to continue 
syringing, and if so, under what circumstances ? 
Whether the house had better be muffled [?]—lightly or 
heavily! Whether the house, having a naturally moist 
atmosphere, would render syringing less desirable ? 
and if syringing is desirable, what precautions are 
requisite as to doing it during strong sunshine in the 
early morning, or later in the evening when the sun 
has declined ?— W. J. Murpliy, Clonmel. [Syringing 
the Vines while in flower is practised by some successful 
growers, but not by the majority, and we regard it as 
an extreme measure only to be resorted to, perhaps, in 
the case of such shy setters as the Cannon Hall 
Muscat. It is better on the whole not to use the 
syringe, but to assist the distribution of pollen, the 
canes may be tapped with the hand about mid-day, 
when it will be most potent in its action if the atmo¬ 
sphere be dry.— Ed.] 
--»3=<~- 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
Cattleya citrina. 
This beautiful Cattleya merits much more attention 
from Orchidists than it generally receives—in fact, 
even at the present day there are numbers of growers 
who are prejudiced against it; some say it deteriorates, 
others that it is “a bad doer,” and a few declare they 
cannot grow it. I sympathise with the latter class, 
and admire their honesty. No doubt, therefore, there 
were just grounds for the prejudice, as the requirements 
of these pretty Orchids were not fully understood, but 
I am glad to say that a brighter day has dawned in 
this respect. I had an opportunity a little time ago of 
seeing some fine masses over twenty years old, the 
bulbs each year showing larger and finer growths in 
every way than their predecessors, and proving beyond 
doubt that where the plants receive proper treatment 
they neither deteriorate nor are short-lived. Now is 
the time to purchase newlv-imported masses, which are 
the best to commence with, and if they are fastened to 
a raft or block of wood with copper wire (Poplar makes 
an excellent block, so does Teak, Maple or Apple), 
grown cool, and allowed a fair proportion of sunshine, 
I am confident they will give satisfaction. — J. McNab. 
Cattleya Lawrenceana and its Varieties. 
The darker., and more typical forms of this beautiful 
Cattleya appear to be held in most esteem, but those 
who admire Orchids generally cannot fail to recognise 
the beauty of C. L. concolor and C. L. oculata for their 
distinctness and chaste appearance. They have been 
flowering for some time past in the fine collection of 
E. G. Tautz, Esq., Studley House, Hammersmith. 
The sepals, petals, and lip of C. L. concolor are of a 
uniform pale or soft mauve, with the exception of the 
lip, which has a white throat. The sepals and petals 
of C. L. oculata, on the contrary, are pale rosy purple, 
with the tube of the lip of the same hue. The ex¬ 
panded portion of the lamina, however, is of a rich 
or intense purple, bringing out the white throat very 
distinctly, and suggesting the varietal name, which 
means eyed—the white spot on a dark ground resembling 
an eye. 
Double-flowered Orchids. 
The inseparation of two flowers developed in close 
proximity to one another, whereby they appear in a 
more or less monstrous condition, is a peculiar phe¬ 
nomenon, and although tolerably common, seems to be 
most frequent amongst Orchids, even those that have 
not been improved by hybridisation and culture. A 
specimen of Odontoglossum crispum, consisting of two 
flowers grown together, has been sent us by Mr. 
Stanton, The Nook, Wilberforce Prnad, The Hyde, N. W. 
The two ovaries were completely amalgamated, and the 
upper sepals of the respective flowers bifid at the tip 
only. One of the lateral sepals was entirely suppressed, 
while two out of the four petals were also wanting. 
The two lips were perfect, and the two columns 
nearly so, but united to the apex. The whole flower 
had a pretty effect. A similar case occurred at Devon- 
hurst, Chiswick, in the case of Dendrobium Devoni- 
anum. Curiously enough, all the six sepals were 
present, as well as the four petals and two lips. The 
ovaries and columns were completely united, and what 
seemed unaccountable was the presence of three anther 
caps, all seemingly perfect. Two of them were rather 
close to one another, and placed face to face. The 
fringes of the lips and the lively violet-purple tips to 
the sepals and petals gave this double flower a charm¬ 
ing appearance. 
Dendrobiums at Misarden. 
At Misarden Park, Cirencester, the seat of E. A. 
Leatham, Esq., I saw recently a few fine examples—viz., 
Dendrobium fimbriatum oculatum with seventy racemes, 
and having an aggregate of 1,200 flowers of immense 
size ; D. Brymerianum, a very fine variety with several 
splendid blooms ; D. Wardianum, D. thyrsiflorum, D. 
macrophyllum, and several Cattleya citrina, all of which 
are in the best of health. Great credit is due to Mr. 
W. F. Excell, the gardener, for the care and attention 
he so freely bestows on his pets.— J. McNab. 
CCELOGYNE PANDURATA. 
Seldom has it fallen to my lot to see a finer variety of 
this lovely Coelogyne than came under my notice the 
other day in the collection of A. T. Plane, Esq., 
Longford, Minchinhampton. It has a spike fully 18 
ins. long, and many of the flowers have a diameter of 
8 ins. No description affords any conception of its 
real beauty. Coelogyne ocellata finds a happy home 
here too, and the remarkably pretty Dendrobium 
pulchellum brightens up a dark corner with upwards 
of 100 modest flowers. Mr. W. Driver, who is the 
gardener in charge, is an enthusiastic Orchid grower. 
—J. McNab. 
A Fine Odontoglossum triumphans. 
As years go on we find a wonderful amount of variation 
in this species, and although it may never equal O. 
crispum in that respect, yet we may expect wonderful 
improvements upon the original. The chief variation 
consists in differences of the shade of colour, but we 
noted a very fine form the other day at Devonhurst, 
Chiswick, the flowers of which showed great breadth of 
segment, making them on the whole as round and 
regular as some of the best forms of O. crispum. The 
sepals were elliptic, bright yellow, and heavily banded 
transversely with deep chocolate-brown, except at the 
top. The petals were broadly ovate, overlapping the 
sepals, and similarly coloured. The lip was unusually 
short and broad, white on the lower half, with a sub¬ 
marginal line of brown spots on each side, while the 
upper half was deep chocolate. On the whole, then, 
the flowers gave evidence of a marked improvement 
over the greater bulk of the forms in cultivation. 
Cypripedium bellatulum. 
Beautiful as C. Godefroy* is generally considered to 
be, it is surpassed by its more recently-introduced 
relative, C. bellatulum. We noticed a fine batch of 
plants in one of the Orchid houses at Studley House, 
Hammersmith, the residence of F. G. Tautz, Esq., 
under the care of Mr. C. Cowley. The flowers are 
larger in every way than those of C. Godefroyie, with 
rounded and blunt petals of great breadth. The 
ground-colour of the flowers during expansion is of a 
pale creamy yellow, but soon becomes of a pure white, 
heavily blotched with dark or blackish purple. The 
spots on the lip are somewhat smaller than on the rest 
of the flower, but in all cases are more pronounced 
than in its relative already mentioned. Some blooms 
showed rose markings, as if varying towards C. 
bellatulum roseum, also to be seen in this fine collection. 
The lip or pouch in some cases was of unusual length, 
and when the plant becomes fully established in this 
country we may expect to see some splendid samples, 
the beauty of which it would be hard to over-estimate. 
Odontoglossum Cervantesii and its Varieties. 
Three very distinct forms may at present be seen at 
Studley House, Hammersmith, in the fine collection of 
F, G. Tautz, Esq. The typical form has the usual 
transverse brown markings on the base of the sepals 
and petals ; but the lip is pure white. The variety 
O. C. decorum, on the contrary, has a larger lip, which 
is more or less dentate or incurved at the margin, and 
blotched nearly all over with brown. The variety 0. 
C. Morada is less common than either of the other two, 
but is very pretty and merits extensive cultivation. 
The ground-colour of the whole flower is a soft rose, 
with darker markings scattered here and there over the 
sepals and petals, while there are the usual transverse 
markings at the base. Being of dwarf, compact habit, 
all the forms of 0. Cervantesii may be accommodated 
in small space ; and they give most satisfaction when 
grown in small pots or pans and hung up near the 
glass, or stood on a shelf equally well exposed to the 
light. They are not in any way difficult to cultivate, 
while their flowers are appreciated at any time. 
What is a Species? 
The rage for something new amongst Orchids is at a 
climax at present; but whether the forms produced by 
hybridisation are always improvements or not is another 
matter. Science is not satisfied with hybrid plants, 
but in the case of the so-called bi-generic productions 
at least, it hybridises the names as well. Zygopetalum 
crinitum x Colax jugosus resulted in a plant now 
named Zygocolax Veitchii ; and as the female and male 
parents are indicated by it, science may be allowed to 
reap the benefit of such a composite name. In like 
manner Sophrocattleya Batemaniana was derived 
from Sophronitis grandiflora x Cattleya intermedia, 
although it is structurally a Laelia, or nearly so, and was 
named such by Reichenbaeh. Phaiocalanthe Sedeniana 
was obtained from Phaius grandiflorus X Calanthe 
vestita. All are intermediate between the parents, and 
are botanically very interesting from the fact of their 
being the inter-blending of two plants considered by 
botanists not only specifically but generically distinct. 
After all, however, it raises the question I have fre¬ 
quently debated — namely, whether there is any 
such thing as a species or a genus in nature ? It may 
entail upon me a renewal of the argument, but I have 
always contended that there are no such distinctions 
made by nature, and that all organised life is com¬ 
parable to a chain—continuous from the commencement, 
but from which one or more links recurrently go 
amissing as time advances.— J. F. 
-•*=&*•- 
The Gardeners’ Calendar. 
THE STOVE. 
Fine Foliaged Plants. —It is often very inconvenient 
in small places to give different subjects the proper 
treatment, owing to the want of several houses, or, at 
least, several compartments. In the matter of shading, 
the best may be made of the circumstances by 
arranging the plants which require shading at one end 
of the house, while those that do not require it may be 
grouped by themselves. It is usual to shade Caladiums, 
but if otherwise properly cared for in the matter of heat 
and moisture, the leaves will be greatly improved by a 
considerable amount of exposure during the greater 
part of the day. By so doing they will be thicker, less 
papery in character, and better able to withstand a dry 
atmosphere when transferred to the exhibition room or 
elsewhere as they may be required. Crotons, Draccenas, 
and many other things will be similarly benefited by 
like treatment, and in addition the leaves will be more 
highly coloured. 
Gesxeras, Achimenes, &c. —Tubers and rhizomes of 
these started now, will come in useful for late autumn 
and winter use. Where the convenience of a hot-bed 
or Melon frame is at command, the tubers may be 
started without the necessity of putting them into pans. 
The best should be sorted out by themselves and laid 
on the bed, covering them with moist leaf-soil till they 
are fairly started into growth, after which they can be 
potted singly or put into their flowering pots, pans, or 
baskets, according to the requirements of the estab¬ 
lishment. Should it be necessary to increase the 
quantity of any particular kind, the tops may be taken 
off after the plants have made a few inches of growth, 
and struck as cuttings. If properly looked after they 
will flower in autumn. 
