September 21, 1895 . 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
41 
elevation above the level of the grass, as in the case 
of a mowing machine. This, of course, is meant to 
make it sweep clean without injury to the grassy 
surface. When the collecting box is full it can be 
emptied by means of a lever worked by the man in 
charge, and the rubbish is deposited in a heap upon 
the ground. Where the machine has been tried upon 
a large area of ground covered with trees, it brushed 
up a considerable quantity of the moss, and that, in 
itself, must be an advantage. 
-- 
POPULAR FLOWERS AT CHELSEA. 
At whatever season of the year the nurseries of 
Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons are visited, there is always 
something bright and in season, for all classes of 
plants, from the rarest to the most common, are 
represented. We recently paid a visit to the 
establishment during one of the burning hot days 
with which most people have been familiar; but 
once inside the houses we soon forgot all about the 
hot weather in the presence of such varied and 
bright colours, in both the warm and cool houses. 
We really came to inspect the winter-flowering 
Begonias, but soon became interested in other 
departments. 
Lilies. 
The cool conservatory is always gay from the time 
that forced bulbs and various other subjects come 
large section of the gardening fraternity. Those 
with whom cut flowers are always in request would 
do well to set apart a house for the reception of a 
choice collection. Improvements continue to be 
made, but many of the colours will remain good for 
all time coming. The large flowers of Souvenir de 
J. H. Mangles are salmon with a rosy throat, while 
those of Diadem are brilliant scarlet though of 
smaller size. Other charming varieties are Thetis, 
buff yellow with a rosy throat; Ophelia, rosy pink ; 
Princess Beatrice, pink ; Luteum roseum, pink with 
a yellow tint when fading; and President, yellow, 
shaded with salmon. The blooms are in all these 
cases large, and the tints of colour so subtle that 
they would require something more than ordinary 
English terms to describe them with anything 
approaching exactness. Of the same large and 
striking dimensions are the blooms of Primrose, 
of a dark primrose hue, Aphrodite, blush, and 
Amabile, blush with a salmon tint beautifully 
blended. The brilliant scarlet flowers of Conqueror 
are rose in the throat. The multicolor section of 
Rhododendrons are characterised by their smaller 
flowers and leaves, but they have a more bushy 
and branching habit. Ruby is a very dwarf sort 
with fiery crimson-scarlet flowers. The largest 
flowered and the finest belonging to this section is 
Mrs. Heal, the habit of which is unusually dwarf 
and the blooms pure white. On the roof of one of 
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Patent Lawn Sweeper. 
into bloom; and on this particular occasion the 
Lilies were the all-absorbing feature. The varieties 
of Lilium lancifolium were flowering in great 
quantity, including the rosy-red L. 1 . rubrum. Fine 
as this is, it was altogether put into the shade by the 
intensely coloured and beautiful L. 1 . Melpomene, the 
flowers of which might be described as dark crim¬ 
son-red with rosy tips, the heavy spots, of course, 
adding largely to the general effect. The pure white 
flowers of L. 1 . Kratzeri are very choice indeed. 
Being under the impression that L. 1 . album was 
identical with this, we were surprised to find that 
none of the plants labelled L. 1 . album were in 
bloom, although under identical conditions. The 
golden-rayed Lily of Japan (L. auratum) gave ample 
evidence of its presence by the powerful odour 
emanating from the flowers. A few bulbs are quite 
sufficient at one time in a conservatory for the reason 
named. Here again several varieties were notice¬ 
able, including the beautiful L. a. virginale, to which 
the popular name would be more appropriate than 
to the type, for the flowers are white with a yellow 
midrib, and have yellow instead of crimson spots. 
Needless to say, the house presented a bold and 
telling appearance. 
Hybrid Javan Rhododendrons. 
These are a host in themselves, for as far as we 
know there is no day in the 365 in which flowers 
are conspicuous by their absence. Their bright 
and varied colours ought now to be familiar to a 
the Rhododendron houses Lapageria alba is 
flowering profusely. 
Cannas. 
One of the low span-roofed houses here owes its 
attractions to a collection of the new dwarf Cannas 
in pots, and which are every year rising higher in 
popular estimation. We noted only a few of the 
very best in bloom at the time. Paul Bruant has 
large brilliant crimson flowers ; while those of Cap. 
P. de Suzzoni are yellow, mottled with orange. 
Other very handsome sorts are Amiral Courbet, 
yellow, spotted with scarlet; Jules Chretien, brilliant 
scarlet ; Koenigin Charlotte, crimson, with a golden 
edge ; President Chandon, golden-yellow, spotted 
with orange ; Pioneer, brilliant red, with a yellow 
border to the segments ; Florence Vaughan, golden- 
yellow, richly spotted with scarlet and handsome ; 
and Sophie Buchner, orange-scarlet an notably 
dwatf. Near by is another house filled with 
Fuchsias in great variety, and including some of the 
choicest and most distinct varieties in cultivation 
The tuberous Begonias and Bouvardias well uphold 
their own in another house, the roof of which is 
draped with Fuchsias. In another house we noted 
the fine foliaged Begonia Novelty raised from B. 
lineata crossed with the dwarf B. Davisii. The 
obliquely heart-shaped, dark olive green leaves are 
marbled with silvery gray. The plants are only 
3 in. to 5 in. high, and the rosy flowers are veiny, 
but much darker while still in bud. 
Orchids. 
Any notice of popular flowers in this establishment 
would be incomplete without mention of the Orchids 
some of which are always in season. In one of the 
cool houses we noted a fine batch of Odontoglossum 
harryanum with flowers of firm texture, and showing 
a considerable amount of variation in colour. The 
Cypripediums are always a special feature here, and 
to mention a tithe of those in bloom would occupy 
a considerable amount of space. C. Curtisii was 
notable for the fineness of its flowers. The rich and 
beautifnl colours of C. Ashburtoniae expansum 
places it in the front rank of choice hybrids. C. 
Charlesworthii still remains very unique amongst 
imported kinds, the rosy and variable dorsal sepal 
being very beautiful. Vandas in bloom included the 
noble V. Sanderiana, V. tricolor, V. suavis, and their 
forms. The slender stems of Dendrobium glomera- 
tum remind us of D. devonianum, but the dense 
clusters of rosy flowers with a scarlet lip are certainly 
remarkably distinct and pretty. D. McCarthiae 
will always remain a beautiful and choice species 
with its large and drooping flowers. The Eucharis 
Dendrobe (D. Dearei) owes its name "to the bright 
green blotch at the base of the lip of the pure white 
flowers. A large batch of plants only 12 in. to 
16 in. high was freely flowered. Close by was a 
batch of the pretty terrestrial Habenaria rhodocheila 
with its four-lobed, cinnabar lip. 
On the Orchid rockery was a finely flowered piece 
of Dendrobium glomeratum in a large Orchid pan. 
In the Cattleya house were some grand pieces of 
Cattleya Dowiana aurea, the lip of which was 
equally lined with orange and purple over the 
greater portion. C. Eldorado alba was notable for 
the size of its flowers, the rich orange blotch, and 
the fimbriated margin of the lip. A bold and hand¬ 
some bigeneric hybrid is Laeliocattleya Nysa, with 
its large deep crimson lip and nearly white side 
lobes. In last week’s issue we noted the pretty new 
Coelogyne Veitchi, with its pendulous racemes of 
white flowers. The dark rosy flowers of Miltonia 
vexillaria superba are characterised by the rayed 
and dark crimson blotch on the lip. The above 
constitute only a small proportion of the Orchids in 
flower at the beginning of this month. 
ORCHID NOTES & GLEANINGS. 
By The Editor. 
Vanda Lowii. —In this grand Orchid we have one 
of the aristocracy of the family, and one which is 
seen only on rare occasions in the Orchid houses of 
this country. It has been flowering splendidly for some 
time past in one of the warm houses in the nursery 
of Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, at Chelsea. The flower 
scape is over 6 ft, in length, and would be pendulous 
but for the fact that it is supported from the roof, 
and at some distance from the glass, as it traverses 
the house from the uppermost staging where the pot 
containing the healthy and vigorous plant is located. 
The flowers are dimorphic, a strange fact in con¬ 
nection with the species which has been shifted 
about from one genus to another by the botanists 
who have been puzzled with it. Two of the lowest 
flowers on the scape are larger than the rest, and 
bright, tawny yellow with a few crimson-brown 
spots scattered over them. The rest of the flowers 
are scattered at intervals of a few inches along the 
scape, and are heavily blotched ajQ over with 
brownish-crimson. The small and somewhat 
slipper-shaped lip is yellow, spotted with purple 
and having the centre wholly of that colour. The 
species was originally discovered by Sir Hugh Low in 
Sarawak, Borneo, about 1845or thereabout. When 
once established, the plant thrives and flowers satis¬ 
factorily under the same conditions as that accorded 
such species as V. suavis, and its allies. Old plants 
become branched, and bear several of their long 
racemes at the same time. The species is placed 
amongst the Arachnanthes by some of the leading 
botanists. 
Vanda Batemannii.—It is gratifying to meet 
with this rare Orchid occasionally, but especially in 
such grand form as that which has been flowering 
at Gracemount, Liberton, near Edinburgh, for some 
months past. The gardener, Mr. David Rymer, 
sends us the whole spike, showing that it bore thirty- 
six buds and flowers, of which thirty-three had 
expanded before we received it. After so long a 
time there were still eight of its great fleshy flowers 
