April 16, 1892. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
521 
old gardener, visiting the place, told me it was the 
Chinese Yam. It died down in the autumn and was 
stored under the stage along with the Gloxinias. In 
the spring it was taken out and planted in front of a 
wall, where it grew well the following summer, and 
was to be left out all the following winter, but as I 
left at Martimas, 1890, I cannot say whether it is 
alive or not. If it stood the winter it is more than 
likely to be still there.— Gray, West Meath. 
TILLANDSIA ZAHNII. 
The flowers of this beautiful species are produced in 
branching spikes clear above the foliage on an erect 
stem. The closely crowded bracts, the ovary and 
the sepals are of a bright yellow, while the petals are 
pale yellow. • It is true that the basal part of the 
larger bracts is of a deep red, but this colour is not 
sufficiently prominent to effect the general appear¬ 
ance of the plant. The arching leaves are of medium 
width, 12 in. to 18 in. in length, deeply channelled 
and beautifully striped with red or crimson on the 
lower half, but particularly on the under side. The 
plant is therefore sufficiently ornamental to be grown 
for the sake of the foliage alone, and may be grown 
for a number of years before it flowers. It then dies 
as far the central rosette of leaves is concerned, but 
not as a rule till it has developed some young 
suckers at the base to take the place of the old plant. 
A flowering specimen may be seen on the new 
rockery at Chelsea in the nursery of Messrs. J. 
Veitch & Sons. 
AKEBIA QU1NATA. 
The general appearance of this Chusan plant does 
not much recall that of the Barberry family, to which 
it belongs, owing to the climbing habit of the stems 
and the digitate or fingered leaves which consist of 
five oval leaflets. So nearly hardy is it that it may 
be grown against a wall in favoured parts of the 
country without any shelter than that afforded it by 
the wall. The flowers are pretty freely produced in 
clusters all along the shoots of the previous year’s 
formation, and are sweet scented. They are also of 
a dull purple and make their appearance during the 
early part of the year in greenhouses, but out of 
doors not till March even in favourable or mild 
winters. The past winter, but particularly the 
month of March, has delayed the appearance of the 
flowers, so that should we have a continuance of fine 
weather they may be finer than usual. Naturally 
the stems are twining, so that in favourable parts of 
the country it may be allowed to ramble over bushes 
or an old tree stump, where it would appear more 
natural than against a wall where it must be trained 
in rather a formal way. 
THE CHILIAN CROCUS. 
The hardiness of Tecophilaea cyaneo-crocea does not 
seem to have come up to expectation judging by the 
comparative scarcity of it in gardens at the present 
day. The beauty of the flowers is however unques¬ 
tionable, and equals that of the Gentian except the 
base of the segments,where pure white contrasts with 
blue. There is considerable variation, in the amounts 
of blue and white respectively, amongst the different 
individuals of an importation, some having a great 
part of the segments white. There are about three 
channelled and wavy leaves to a bulb. Rich, sandy 
loam is the best soil in which to grow it, and the 
bulbs should be kept dry during the season of rest. 
.It would be a beautiful addition to the hardy plant 
house at this season of the year, when blue flowers 
of any kind are not by any means plentiful. We 
noted it in fine condition the other day in the Hale 
Farm Nursery, and with Messrs. J. Laing & Sons. 
--—- 
Amaryllis at the Birmingham Show.—At the Bir¬ 
mingham show last week, Messrs. R. P. Ker & Sons, 
Liverpool, exhibited a splendid group of upwards of 
one hundred Amaryllis, all remarkable for their sturdy 
growth, and many having two spikes of flowers. 
Eurydice and Flora were awarded First-class Cer¬ 
tificates ; and Eurydice, Aspasia, Hercules, a giant 
flower, Melpomene, and Serapis were the cream of 
the lighter coloured varieties; Crimson Gem and 
Terentina, intense glowing crimson colour ; Master¬ 
piece was another extra large and fine shaped flower ; 
the Warrior, a perfectly formed orange-scarlet, and 
President, a very fine orange-scarlet, were also con¬ 
spicuous. The group well deserved the special cer¬ 
tificate awarded by the judges, Mr. Owen Thomas, 
Frogmore Gardens, and Mr. Bennett, Rangemore. 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS, 
A Fine Cattleya Trianae Schroderae. 
This Cattleya is now getting pretty plentiful in 
collections, but as a rule the pieces are very small. 
That is usually the case not only with Cattleyas but 
with all popular Orchids until the desire to possess 
it has been pretty well satisfied, after which one may 
expect to see specimens a'lowed to get to some 
appreciable size. A fine plant consisting of 
thirty-six pseudo-bulbs and bearing thirteen flowers, 
is now in bloom with Mr. P. McArthur, 4, Maida 
\ ale, and which is probably the finest piece in 
the country. The flowers are of a pale shade of 
colour with a rich orange blotch in the throat, and 
they are so distinctly fragrant as to be perceptible 
when one enters the house in which the plant is 
grown. 
Trichopilia suavis alba. 
The typical form of this Orchid is notable for the 
numerous rosy purple blotches on the white ground 
colour of the lip. The white variety has no other 
colour except the usual yellow blotch on the disc. 
The flowers are as large as those of the type and 
equally freely produced, that is, a number of flowers 
arise from every pseudo-bulb, so that a small plant is 
very ornamental. The size of the blooms should 
also render this variety very popular with growers. 
Many Orchids having the name alba attached to 
them frequently have a considerable amount of 
colour and .are less worthy of the name than that 
under notice. We noted a piece of it in the nursery 
of Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, where it was 
suspended from the roof of a house in a small 
basket. 
Orchis longicornu. 
Like our early purple Orchis, this North African 
species flowers early in the season, say in May, in 
the open air, but in a cold frame it comes on much 
earlier, and in the Hale Farm Nurseries, Tottenham, 
it commenced flowering about the beginning of this 
month. The leaves form a rosette on the ground, 
while the stems rise to a height of 10 in. or 12 in., 
bearing a raceme of flowers on the top. The sepals 
and petals are pale purple or lilac and heavily stri¬ 
ated with green, especially the former. The middle 
lobe of the lip is bifid, reflexed at the sides and, of a 
dark violet-purple, with a white band along the 
centre, spotted with small purple markings. The 
spur is long, flattened, purple, and dilated at the end, 
and has given rise to the specific name which means 
long horned. A cool, moist half shady position on a 
rockery would suit this as well as many others 
of this interesting class of plants. 
Brassavola grandiflora. 
The flowers of a large number of the Brassavolas 
bear a considerable resemblance to one another in 
being more or less similar in shape and white. The 
leaves also in a great many cases are terete, that is, 
round like a straw, a fact which also increases the 
similarity of many of the species. Those of the 
species under notice, are, however, somewhat out of 
the usual run in being lanceolate and groved above, 
thereby showing a tendency to be more flattened 
than is usually the case. The sepals and petals are 
narrow, linear, and creamy-white, spotted with pink 
externally. The lip is large, heart-shaped, and pure 
white with a few purple spots on the interior of the 
unfolded claw. The Brassavolas are useful for 
basket work, as they can then be hung up near the 
glass. We noted it so grown in the nursery of 
Messrs Hugh Low & Co , Clapton. 
--*■- 
SOCIETIES. 
Royal Horticultural, April 12 th. —The exhibits 
show a tendency to get more numerous and larger, 
but as yet they continue to be made up of indoor 
plants, such as Orchids, greenhouse hard-wooded 
subjects and forced plants. A group of Orchids, 
consisting chiefly of tall Vandas, Dendrobiums, and 
Odontoglossums, was exhibited by Messrs. B. S. 
Williams & Son, Upper Holloway, for which a 
Silver Banksian Medal was awarded. A smaller 
group of Orchids^ consisting of Cattleya Mendeli 
abens and others, also Cypripediums and Vandas, 
was shown by Messrs. H. Low & Co., Clapton. 
Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans, also exhibited 
Orchids, amongst which Dendrobium Phalaenopsis 
Schroderianum, the new Cypripedium Chamber- 
lainianum, and Masdevallias were prominent ; a 
Silver Banksian Medal was awarded. Two very 
pretty varieties of Odontoglossum Pescatorei, 
Cypripedium insigne Imschootianum, etc., were 
exhibited by Messrs. Linden (l'Horticulture Inter¬ 
national), Parc Leopold, Brussels. An interesting 
group of Cypripediums, Masdevallias, and other Or¬ 
chids was shown by Sir Trevor Lawrence,Bart ,M.P. 
(grower, Mr. W. H. White), Burford Lodge, Dorking, 
for which a Silver Banksian Medal was awarded. 
Some magnificent spikes of very fine forms of Odonto¬ 
glossum triumphans, O. crispum, O. Ruckerianum, 
and O. Leeanum were shown by Mr. Ballantine, 
gardener to Baron Schroder, The Dell. Egham 
Other exhibitors of Orchids were Messrs. Heath & 
Son, Cheltenham ; R. J. Measures, Esq., Cambridge 
Lodge, Camberwell ; M. S. Cooke, Esq' (gardener, 
Mr. D. Cullimore), Kingston Hill; Mr. H. A. Tracey, 
Amyand Road, Twickenham, and Messrs. F Ross 
& Co., Bletchingley, Surrey. A Silver Banksian 
Medal was awarded to G. R. LeDoux, Esq. (gardener, 
Mr B. Bowyer), Langton House, East Molesey, for a 
small group of Odontoglossums and Dendrobiums. 
A similar Award was made to C. J Lucas, Esq 
(gardener, Mr. G. Duncan), Warnham Court, 
Horsham, for a group of Angraecums, Miltonia 
Morelliana illustris, and a Cultural Commendation 
was give for Odontoglossum Cervantesii decorum. 
A large and well-flowered plant of Vanda 
Denisoniana was shown by H. J. Ehves, Esq. 
(gardener, Mr. Hansford), Colesborne Park, 
Gloucestershire, for which a Silver Banksian Medal 
was awarded A small group of Orchids was also 
shown by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, 
including Dendrobium atroviolaceum and Laelio- 
Cattleya Marriottiana. 
A Silver Flora Medal was awarded to Messrs. H. 
Low & Co., for a showy group of hard-wooded green¬ 
house plants, arranged in groups of a kind, such as 
Heaths, Boronias, Epacris, and Pimeleas. A Bronze 
Banksian Medal was awarded to Messrs. Wm. 
Cutbush & Son, Highgate, for a group of Palms, 
Dracaenas, Heaths, Daffodils, &c. Mignonette and 
Lily of the Valley from home-grown crowns were ex¬ 
hibited by Mr. W. C Leach, Albury Park. A basket 
of a white Cineraria named Improved Snowflake, and 
which is considered to be of some value for market 
purposes, was shown by Messrs. J. Carter & Co., 
High Holborn. A basket of double Primroses was 
shown by Messrs. J. Laing & Sons, Forest Hill. Two 
boxes of Tea and Hybrid Perpetual Roses were 
shown by Mr. Wm. Rumsey, Waltham Cross. He 
also had a very beautiful group of Roses in pots, for 
which a Silver-Gilt Flora Medal was awarded. A 
Silver-Gilt Banksian Medal was awarded to Messrs. 
B. S. Williams & Son, for a showy group of 
Amaryllis, Clivias, See. A stand of cut flowers of 
Magnolia conspicua was exhibited by Mr. 
J. Hudson, gardener to the Messrs, de Rothschild, 
Gunnersbury House, Acton. A Silver Banksian 
Medal was awarded to Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart , 
M.P. (gardener Mr. Bain), for a group of cut flowers 
of Anthurium of many varieties, set up with their 
leaves and Asparagus. A Silver Banksian Medal was 
awarded to Messrs. Barr Se Son, Covent Garden, for 
a large collection of Daffodils in many varieties, set 
up with Palms and Ferns. A small group of herba¬ 
ceous plants was shown by Messrs Paul & Son, 
Cheshunt. 
At a meeting of the Fruit Committee a box of fruit 
of Vicomtesse Hericart de Thury Strawberry, and 
another of a very dwarf seedling raised from Keen’s 
Seedling, and some Tomatos were shown by Mr. G. 
Wythes, Syon House, Brentford. 
Some prizes were offered by the society for Daffo¬ 
dils, and the first prize for twelve varieties was 
awarded to H. Berkeley James, Esq. (gardener, Mr. 
James Gibson), The Oaks, Carshalton. The Rev. J 
E. Bourne, Dunston, Lincoln, was second. H. J 
Adams, Esq. (gardener, Mr. C. May), Roseneath, 
London Road, Enfield,had the best six varieties ; and 
the Rev. G. P. Haydon was second. Some prizes 
were offered by Messrs. Barr & Son, Covent Garden, 
for groups of Daffodils. The first prize in this case 
was taken by the Rev. J. E Bourne ; A. Kingsmill, 
Esq., Harrow Weald, was second; Miss Reeves, 
Cork, took the third place ; while the Rev. G. P. 
Haydon was fourth. 
Birmingham Spring Show, held on the 6th and 7th 
inst., was a decided advance upon that of last year, 
in fact one of the best the society has ever held. 
The Orchid section showed a marked improvement 
