114 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
October 24, 1891. 
other hand, when certain things are left to be under¬ 
stood by the general public, there is always a certain 
amount of vagueness about what is really meant, 
and disappointed exhibitors are to be commiserated 
rather than blamed if they express their dissatisfac¬ 
tion openly at such a state of matters. The terms 
“ hardy herbaceous perennials, exclusive of bulbous 
and tuberous plants,” would confine the selection 
within sufficiently narrow limits. Even then the 
subjects included would differ widely in habit, ap¬ 
pearance and value, but that is always a matter to 
be legitimately left to the discretion of the judges, 
and the good sense of the exhibitors, who are always 
keenly alive to the importance of showing the most 
effective and ornamental kinds.— F. 
THE ORCHID NURSERY, 
EAST DULWICH. 
We occasionally hear of large pieces of Cattleyas 
which get imported to this country on the tree stems 
which bore them in their native wilds, but they 
rarely arrive in good condition. A huge piece of 
Cattleya Mossiae has, however, been imported by 
Messrs. Seeger & Tropp, Lordship Lane, East Dul¬ 
wich, in such fine condition as to give one the im¬ 
pression that it had been in this country for some 
months, whereas it had only arrived about fourteen 
days when we saw it last week. The piece consists 
at least of tv’O plants, one having dark, and the other 
white flowers, the latter being probably the variety, 
C. M. Reineckeana, and the former C. M. 
imperalis. The portion of the tree bearing 
it consists of three large forks with twenty-five 
secondary divisions, and all are held together by the 
interlacing roots of the Cattleya, which are still in 
fine condition. The logs and the Cattleya together 
now weigh 1,300 pounds, the wood having dried con¬ 
siderably on the journey home, and the whole 
measures nearly five yards in circumference. There 
is every prospect of the piece succeeding as it did in 
its native wilds or even better. 
On the central staging of the house and surround¬ 
ing the main feature are flowering pieces of other 
Orchids, including some pretty forms of Onci- 
dium crispum and O. prsetextum, the shining brown 
and yellow colours of which are distinct and well 
defined. O. ornithorhynchium, a quaint old species, 
is also in season. Amongst Miltonias we noted M. 
Candida and M. spectabilis Moreliana, and nestling 
amongst them a piece of the rare, curious and beauti¬ 
ful Phalaenopsis Lowii. The marked spotting and 
the pale purple lip of Epidendrum prismatocarpum 
render it highly ornamental, especially when com¬ 
pared with the curious Iris-like E. equitans. Thebrush 
of white hairs on the lip of Dendrobium bigibbum, 
gives the species a characteristic appearance. The 
beautiful soft colours of Cattleya Loddigesii should 
induce growers to cultivate it on a more extensive 
scale than has yet been done. A huge piece of 
Coelogyne Massangeana in bloom would make a fine 
specimen to suspend in some prominent position over 
the pathway of a house. At one end of the same 
building and on a broad shelf near the glass, is a fine 
bank of Vandas grown cool, yet in robust health 
with leaves down to the pots. Some plants of V. 
tricolor were in bloom close by. Amongst Cypripe- 
diums here w r e noted a rich dark form of C. Harrisia- 
num, and another of C. H. vivicans with paler 
flowers. 
In another house close by'are some healthy pieces of 
Oncidium pumilum which a few years ago was con¬ 
sidered rare. It is a pet.plant for growing in small 
pots placed in prominent positions under the eye. 
Near it is a fine importation of Odontoglossum has- 
tilabium, to be sold at Messrs. Seeger & Tropp'ssale 
on the 28th inst. The pseudobulbs measure 5 in. to 
7 in. in length and in. to 3 in. across near the 
base. There are several pieces of the rare Vanda 
Stangeana in the same house, one huge piece con¬ 
sisting of fourteen shoots or branches. Several of 
the numerous hybrid Cypripediums are in flower, 
including C. porphyreum, C. calurum, C. Kerchov- 
eanum and others. The last named is a neat and 
charming hybrid between C, Spicerianum and 
C. Dauthieri, marked with dark purple on the base 
and midrib of the upper sepal on a white ground 
and beautifully spotted petals. Several of the 
choicest species of Anoectochilus may also be seen. 
Angraecum pellucidum has nine racemes 6 in. to 
14 in. long, of uniform pale buff and almost pellucid 
flowers which in the aggregate are certainly pretty. 
The plant has ample foliage, and is suspended so as 
to show off the flowers to the best advantage. 
The Masdevallia house is a multum in parvo in itself, 
the collection of Masdevallias being very ex¬ 
tensive, with various allied genera such as Stelis, 
Pleurothallis and Restrepia. The curious little 
M. ochthodes is never out of bloom, and the 
singular M. gibberosa is hardly less continuous ; 
the flowers of both are resupinate, or turned upside 
down. More attractive to most cultivators are 
M. chimsera Backhouseana, with richly spotted 
flowers densely covered with long, pale yellow hairs, 
and M. Backhouseana bella with smaller flowers, 
shorter hairs and a different lip. The fiery crimson 
flowers flushed with violet of M. amabilis are al¬ 
ways interesting, and contrast strongly with those of 
M. maculata, having long, narrow, yellow sepals, the 
lateral ones being suffused with purple at the base. 
M. erythrochaete is of the same type as M. chimaera, 
but has smaller and more numerous flowers differing 
considerably in detail. Interesting is the pretty 
yellow flowered M. myriostigma marked with 
numerous minute brown spots. The collection 
could not be complete without some of the windowed 
Masdevallias, such as M. Dayana, M. fenestralis 
and others of that type, which botanists now rele¬ 
gate to a different genus, namely, Cryptophoranthus. 
Several of those species may be seen here. There 
are also numerous unflowered pieces which have not 
yet been determined as to what they are, and all 
look healthy and happy. 
The plants and flowers mentioned below were 
exhibited at the Royal Aquarium on the 14th inst., 
on the occasion of the Autumn Fruit Show. The 
Chrysanthemums were shown at a meeting of the 
Floral Committee of the National Chrysanthemum 
Society. A First-class Certificate was awarded in 
each case. 
Begonia Laing’s Picotee. —The flowers of this 
tuberous variety are of large size, perfectly double, 
and the sepals are all arranged round a single centre. 
The ground colour of the broad, flat sepals is white 
suffused with a soft salmony pink, deepening towards 
the edge which is of a warm rose, and the flower as 
a whole is not inaptly compared to a Picotee. The 
edges are slightly crisped. The leaves are of medium 
size and deep green. The variety is a very choice one. 
Begonia Mrs. R. Dean. —The leaves and habit 
of this plant is similar to that of the last named, and 
the flowers are also similar in form and the arrange¬ 
ment of the sepals round a single centre, but the 
latter are more decidedly wavy at the margin and the 
colour altogether different. The sepals are of a deep 
salmon-rose, flushed with scarlet. Double flowers 
having one centre only show a great improvement 
upon the old densely crowded types, often made up 
of several centres. Both were shown by Messrs. J. 
Laing & Sons, Forest Hill. 
Shortia galacifolia, —This North American 
plant is beautiful not only when in bloom in spring, 
but also in autumn when the leathery, heart-shaped, 
crenate leaves assume a deep bronzy red tint. The 
award was evidently made for this reason alone. 
Mr. M. Pritchard, Southbourne, Christchurch, 
Hants, was the exhibitor. 
Chrysanthemum Vouve Cliquot. —The flowers 
of this variety are of a good average size for a Pom¬ 
pon, and of an orange-buff when they first expand, 
but fade ultimately almost to a clear yellow. Flowers 
which change in this way last a long time in perfect 
condition. The florets are slightly recurved. It was 
exhibited by Mr. R. Owen, Maidenhead, and also by 
Mr. Norman Davis, Lilford Nursery, Camberwell. 
Chrysanthemum Souvenir de Louis Ferie.— In 
this we have another Pompon of good average size, 
with compactly arranged orange-amber florets, tipped 
with yellow and fimbriated. It w’as exhibited by Mr. 
Norman Davis. 
Chrysanthemum Bouquet des Dames. —The 
heads of this Japanese variety are of a large size, 
very deep, dense, quite full to the centre and pure 
white. The florets are recurved and flat except at 
the tip which is concave after the style of Criterion 
and others. Some fine heads were shown by Mr. 
Peter Blair, gardener to the Duke of Sutherland, 
Trentham, Stoke-upon-Trent. 
Chrysanthemum Wm. Thicker. —The florets of 
this Japanese sort are recurved, and variously inter¬ 
laced amongst one another, deep purple at the base, 
and lilac towards the tips suffused with white. The 
head as a whole is also large and quite full in the 
centre. Some blooms of it were shown by Mr. E. 
Rowbottom, gardener to H. R. Williams, Esq., The 
Priory, Hornsey. 
Chrysanthemum Mrs. E. Beckett.— The florets 
in this case are recurved, more or less twisted, pure 
white and often lobed at the apex. The heads are 
also of large size and suitable for exhibition purposes. 
Chrysanthemum Edwin Beckett. —Like the last 
this is a Japanese variety, with deep golden-yellow 
flower heads similar to those of Sunflower, but of 
greater depth. The variety is also said to have the 
habit of Avalanche. The centre is quite full and the 
florets are sometimes a little interlaced. Both this 
and the last named were seedlings raised by Mr. 
Norman Davis, and exhibited by Mr. Beckett, Els- 
tree, Herts, who had them on trial. 
Chrysanthemum Mons. R. Bahuant. —For some 
time past this new incurved sort has been looked upon 
as a variety of some promise, and now that it has 
been flowered in good form, it seems to justify all 
expectations. The heads are of large size with very 
broad florets of a deep carmine on the upper surface, 
and cerise on the reverse ; of course only the latter 
surface is seen when in proper form. A little more 
dressing would have improved it greatly from a 
florist’s point of view. Some blooms were exhibited 
by Mr. H. Shoesmith, Shirley, Croydon. 
CHRYSANTHEMUM 
NOTES. 
In the early part of this season the Chrysanthemums 
at Devonhurst, Chiswick, bade fair to be dwarfer 
than usual, but with the accession of longer nights 
and mild damp weather the stems ran up to their 
accustomed height. The flower heads are even larger 
than on several previous occasions, but what they 
may ultimately be remains to be seen, for as might 
be expected only the earlier flowering of the Japanese 
kinds are yet in bloom. Etoile de Lyon maintains 
its reputation for size, and already the heads measure 
10 ins. across ; some are light, and others dark, even 
on the same plant. Similar to this, but paler and 
scarcely so fine, is Condor. Amongst the new-er 
kinds W. H. Lincoln, a bright yellow Japanese sort, 
bids fair to be a healthy and vigorous grower, 
although dwarf. The stature of a new kind named 
C. B. Green, and said to be an incurved form of 
Cullingfordi, is notably low, and less than that of 
the parent. Mrs. Alpheus Hardy gives promise of 
returning vigour after the severe propagation to 
which it had been subjected when first introduced. 
The bronzy-yellow of Mrs. F. Jamieson is bright and 
attractive but always totally distinct from Mr. Garnar, 
which is of a bright golden yellow at first, changing 
to a bronzy-buff as it gets old. 
The heads of Volunteer are only about half 
expanded, but give promise of being fine presently. 
The quilled florets are pale pinkish-purple shaded 
with white. Mons. Bernard is a purplish-red as in 
Stanstead Surprise, but neither of them are so 
attractive in our opinion as Stanstead White, also 
doing well here. Avalanche maintains its superi¬ 
ority, while other white varieties are represented by 
Lady Lawrence, the charming Florence Piercy, and 
the old favourite Mademoiselle Lacroix. A soft 
bronzy-yellow flower is Criterion, to which the 
newer Madame Rosaine may be compared as to 
shape. The latter has very deep and full heads 
of a clear soft yellow, and darker in the centre. 
Grand Turk is a beautiful rose-coloured variety, with 
a silvery reverse. A large and free flowering sort is 
Paul du Tour, with soft, pink flower heads. Some¬ 
thing in the way of William Holmes is William 
Stevens, w’hich is of dwrnrf habit, with medium sized 
heads, and crimson florets tipped with gold. 
Maiden’s Blush and Amy Furze are still popular 
amongst the reflexed Japanese varieties. 
It is yet premature to say much of the incurved 
kinds, as the bulk of them were still in bud when we 
saw them, with exception of a few of the smaller 
flowered kinds, such as Wm. Bunn and H. Shoe- 
smith, a dark bronze spot from Golden Beverley. 
John Doughty, a deep pink sport from Bronze Queen, 
is swelling into form, and promises to be fine. Lady 
Dorothy and Charles Gibson have also been added 
to the collection, notwithstanding the fact that they 
are closely allied sports from Hero of Stoke 
Newington. 
