December 12, 1891. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
283 
Walter King, gardener to P. Crowley, Esq., Wadden 
House, Croydon, for two huge Citrons. Apples and 
Pears were shown by Mr. I. Voss, Finches, Lindfield, 
Sussex; Apple A. F. Barron was shown by Mr. C. 
Turner, Slough ; an unnamed Apple from Germany 
was shown by Mr. A. Colbourn, Woolhampton, 
Berks ; and Mr. E. S. Wiles, Edgcote, Banbury, 
showed some Onions. 
This being the last meeting of the year, the 
chairman of both Committees received very cordial 
votes of thanks. 
WHAT TO DO IN THE GARDEN, 
Propagation of Stove Plants. —By the aid of a 
small frame placed in a convenient position 
over the hot-water pipes, a large number of stove 
plants may be rooted during the winter months, 
when work in the propagating department is by no 
means active. The ordinary winter temperature of 
the pit will be quite sufficient if a small frame of this 
kind is used and a bed of Cocoa-nut fibre placed in the 
bottom so that pots containing cuttings may be 
plunged and enjoy the advantage of bottom heat. 
Amongst the subjects that may be rooted at this 
season of the year are Dracaena, Pandanus, Garde¬ 
nia, Curculigo, Ananassa sativa variegata and others 
of that class which the grower may possess and 
require stock of. 
Camellias. —If flowers of these are wanted before 
they are likely to come into bloom naturally, some of 
the plants in which the buds are well forward should 
be placed in a temperature of 45 0 to 50° and the 
atmosphere kept sufficiently moist by frequent light 
syringings, especially on fine days. A certain 
amount of moisture is necessary to guard against 
the dropping of the buds, which is likely to ensue 
if the plants are put in a dry warm atmosphere. 
Olivias. —The earlier of these plants are now com¬ 
ing into bloom, and the cultivator who prizes them 
according to their value, will bring them into heat in 
batches so as to prolong the season and at the same 
time not have too great a preponderance of them at 
any time. As they like a little heat in order to pro¬ 
duce flowers of the best size, they should be kept 
where the night temperature is kept about 50° even 
if they are placed in a cooler house after the flowers 
are expanded or a little before. Weak liquid manure 
will prove very beneficial in developing the size of 
the flowers. 
Chrysanthemums. —Where the cuttings are in 
proper condition a batch of each kind it is intended 
;o grow next year should be taken off and propa¬ 
gated. Very little heat is necessary, and indeed no 
nore may be given them than what they can get on the 
shelves of a greenhouse or Peachhouse. Compara- 
:ively little water will be required, but the sandy 
soil in which they are placed must not be allowed to 
;et dry, otherwise the cuttings will flag so much that 
nany of them will die. Old plants should not be 
luddled together merely because they are out of 
lower and waiting to be propagated. Cut down the 
>ld stems and stand the plants near the glass even if 
<hey have to be put in a cold frame. By this 
nethod only can a stock of healthy and robust cut- 
ings capable of growing into robust plants be 
btained. 
Late Vineries. —In those cases where the leaves 
re still hanging on the wood in an unripe condition, 
teady firing for a time will be necessary to bring 
bout the required state of things. Ventilation must 
Iso be given at all times to allow the escape of mois- 
rre ; but the night temperature should at the same 
me be relatively low. Long rampant growths 
rould be shortened at once. 
Peaches. — A little heat may now be given in the 
irliest house during the day, with a little ventilation 
|) prevent the undue excitement of the buds. The 
ate of the borders as to moisture should be ascer- 
uined from time to time, otherwise the old evil of bud 
"opping will soon cause disappointment. When dry 
ve a good watering with water heated to a tem- 
;rature of 8o° to go°. 
Cucumbers. —Plants now in a fruiting condition 
ould be carefully attended to in the matter of heat 
id atmospheric moisture. During mild weather 
mtilation may be given, which will tend materially 
keep the plants in health. Remove all fruits from 
e plants as soon as fit for use, and damp down 
1 parts of the house without wetting the foliage of 
e plants, 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS, 
Orchid Growers’ Calendar. 
The absence of fogs this autumn in the neighbour¬ 
hood of London has enabled Dendrobiums and 
Calanthes to make a good show in the houses. Last 
year it was seriously considered by some large 
growers whether these two genera were worth grow¬ 
ing on account of their being so liable to injury from 
fogs ; but, when we get a season like the present, or 
when the plants are grown in the country, they form 
two of the most useful genera of winter flowering 
Orchids we have. As the Calanthes lose their leaves 
less water will be required and manure water should 
be altogether withheld. Dendrobiums should be in¬ 
troduced into heat in batches to keep up the supply of 
flowers. Lycaste Skinneri is now flowering freely, and 
well repays for liberal treatment. After the plants 
are out of flower they should be turned out of their 
pots and have all materials not occupied by roots re¬ 
moved, and be potted in well drained pots in fresh 
material, consisting of equal parts of peat, sphagnum, 
and leaf soil. The plants should then be placed in 
an intermediate house, well up to the light, freely 
syringed overhead, and liberally supplied with water 
while making their growths. The addition of leaf 
soil to the potting compost will be the means of the 
plants making pseudo-bulbs nearly double the size; 
and, if the plants are kept exposed to light and air 
during the latter part of the summer and autumn to 
thoroughly mature the growths, the plants will flower 
freely. This Orchid is not always seen in such good 
condition as it should be, considering that it is one 
of the easiest-grown, when its wonts are suited, and 
the length of time it lasts in flower makes it a 
favourite with most Orchid growers. 
Another Orchid that does in much the same com¬ 
post as the foregoing is Ccelogyne cristata, which at 
the present time is throwing up its flower spikes. 
Before the flowers are expanded they are liable to 
get damaged if watered overhead, so that from now 
onwards until the plants are in flower care should 
be taken to keep the flower spikes from damp. Laelia 
autumnalis and its varieties are now very pretty, 
and while in flower may be kept rather dry. This 
Orchid, although it may be grown successfully in a 
pot, succeeds best as a basket plant grown in peat 
and sphagnum with the addition of a few pieces of 
charcoal. When making its growth it likes plenty 
of moisture overhead and at the roots, and at no 
time should the plant be allowed to become dry. 
The intermediate or cool house suits it admirably, as 
well as Lselia anceps and its lovely varieties. The 
plants should be overhauled yearly and all old material 
removed and replaced with fresh. At the turn of 
the year, as the plants are starting into growth, is 
the best time to perform the operation. 
The lowest temperatures in the Orchid houses will 
now be reached. The cool house should he kept at 
5°° at night, unless in severe weather it may be 
allowed down to 45° at night. The Cattleya house 
from 55 0 to 6o° at night, and the hot section at 658 
at night, with a rise of 108 or 15^ during the day, 
with sun heat.-— A. IF. 
Laelia autumnalis alba. 
Judging from the accounts of some concerning this 
white variety of L. autumnalis there are evidently 
good and bad forms of it. From what we have seen 
of it, the flowers are as large as those of the type, 
and apparently as durable or nearly so. Some allow¬ 
ance must always be made for albinos, because as a 
rule they are slightly less vigorous, and probably the 
flowers are a little more susceptible of injury in a 
damp and cold atmosphere, which should not 
prevail in houses where flowering Orchids are 
kept at this season of the year. The scapes grow 
2 ft. to 3 ft. long, and bear three or four flowers each. 
The sepals and petals are pure white, and the lip 
likewise, with exception of a small yellow blotch in 
front of the two elevated ridges or plates on the disc, 
and another blotch of similar colour at the base of 
the column. A number of pieces are now flowering 
finely in the nursery of Messrs. B. S. Williams & 
Son, at Upper Holloway, and we saw it the other 
day in the nursery of Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, 
Chelsea, where the flowers are quite up to the 
standard. 
Epidendrum dichromum. 
The flowers of this pretty Epidendrum are borne 
in panicles on scapes 2 ft. to 3 ft. high, and are about 
the size of those of E. nemorale or E. prismatocar- 
pum. The sepals and petals are rose coloured, but 
the three-lobed lip is altogether darker. The side 
lobes are purple, but the terminal one, which is bifid, 
is crimson-purple, varying in intensity, probably in 
different individuals. The species is a native of 
Pernambuco, from whence it was originally intro¬ 
duced in 1865. It is flowering with Messrs. J. Veitch 
& Sons, and requires only a moderately high tem¬ 
perature. 
Cattleya Hardyana laversinensis. 
Since its appearance in 1884, C. Hardyana has always 
been considered one of the finest Cattleyas in culti¬ 
vation. The sepals and petals were of a bright rose- 
purple and paler at the base, while the side lobes of 
the lip, as well as the larger and much crisped middle 
one, were rich magenta-purple. Not the least strik¬ 
ing feature of it was the two large golden-yellow 
blotches, one on each side of the throat. The 
Cattleya was considered to be a natural hybrid 
between C. Dowiana aurea and C. Warscewiczii 
(gigas), and was said to have been introduced with 
the latter, for which it was originally sold. The 
variety C. H. laversinensis appeared with M. le 
Baron F. de Rothschild, Chateau de Laversine, 
France, in August last. It differs from the type in 
having the sepals marbled with pink on a lighter 
ground, while the petals are much darker and more 
nearly of a uniform hue. The anterior lobe of the 
lip, judging from a coloured plate in Lindenia, pi. 305, 
is of a dark crimson, while the golden-yellow blotch 
on each side of the throat is very large and well dis¬ 
played. 
_ + p 
Questions ano snsuieRs. 
*** Correspondents are requested, in order to avoid delay, 
to address all communications to] “The Editor” 
or " The Publisher,” and not to any person by 
name, unless the correspondence is of a private 
character. Telegrams may be addreesed " Bambusa 
London .” 
Raspberry Canes.— P. : The difference in produce 
and quality depends upon the variety, and some have 
darker coloured stems than others. 
Names of Plants.— Aberdeen : Salvia Heerii. 
Camellias Diseased.— IF. Mason : The plants 
are sick unto death, and you will have some trouble 
in getting them round. We suspect that although 
you planted them in a fresh bed of peat and loam, 
they have since made but few new roots, and there is 
the seat of the mischief. 
Weeds on Walks.— 5 . IF. : A good old remedy 
is to apply salt to weedy walks, scattering it over 
the surface by hand, and making it sufficiently thick 
to be perceptible. Perhaps the best time to apply 
it is during dry weather in summer, when it gradu¬ 
ally gets pulverised or crumbled down about the 
roots, and the first shower makes it soluble, and the 
roots of the grass and other weeds taking it up get 
destroyed. Some of the preparations for the pur¬ 
pose may be used, such as Smith’s Weed-killer. It 
is of a highly poisonous nature, however, and great 
care must be exercised in not spreading or sprinkling 
it over the grass bordering the walk, nor the box 
or other plant edgings, otherwise they will get de¬ 
stroyed. 
Millipedes on Turnips and Carrots. — T.G.B : 
You can considerably mitigate the nuisance by 
trenching the ground deeply, thereby burying a 
large number of the creatures as well as their eggs. 
If the soil is deep and good the top spit may be put 
in the bottom of the trench, while the fresh soil is 
turned up. The badly injured Turnips and Carrots 
should be destroyed by burying them deeply or 
giving them to pigs. During the summer and 
autumn months, while the marauders are at their 
work, pieces of Turnip and Carrot may be laid 
about the ground by way of baits or traps, and if 
the Millipedes are plentiful large numbers of them 
may be collected and destroyed. 
Communications Received. —G. W.—R. D._T. 
B.—F. W. B.—J. Forbes—C. B.—A. H.—C. B G 
—R. L.—W. F.—A. W.—G. S.—W. B. R. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
James Carter & Co., 237-8, High Holborn, W.C. 
—Select list of new Chrysanthemums. 
Robert Veitch & Son, Exeter.—Descriptive 
Catalogue of Alpines, Perennials, and other hardy 
Plants. 
A. Findlay, Markinch, N.B.—New varieties of 
Potatos. 
Dicksons & Co., 1, Waterloo Place, Edinburgh.— 
Forest and Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, &c. 
_ 
LONDON SEED TRADE. 
December yth, 1891. 
Messrs. Hurst & Son, 152, Houndsditch, and 39, 
Seed Market, Mark Lane, report a brisk trade in 
White Clover, Alsike, and Trefoil at advancing rates 
Red Clover steady. Ryegrasses unchanged. 
