THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 7, 1895. 
222 
PEOPLE I HAVE MET. 
It is more than probable that in the world’s history 
—particularly in the world which more especially 
relates to the Chrysanthemum and its growth—we 
shall find no more fitting, and no more successful 
graduate in honours than that champion of 
“ Mummers,” Mr. W. H. Lees. In him we have the 
embodiment of patient industry and that quiet 
appreciation of well-merited reward, which in them¬ 
selves denote a mind above the commonplace and 
command our admiration. 
Mr. Lees' early life was spent in the gardens of 
The Wilderness, Reading, from whence, after serving 
Mr. W. H. Lees. 
a few years with his father there, he went to Heck- 
field, and here it was that the special culture of the 
Chrysanthemum first attracted his attention. Under 
the late Mr. Wildsmith he supervised the work of 
the gardens until r884, in the spring of which year be 
went to Trentham in the days of the late Mr. 
Stevens. Always imbued with a praiseworthy 
ambition, Mr. Lees secured an engagement at Park 
Place, Henley-on-Thames, where, until 1888, he con¬ 
tinued the development of that experience which 
later on was to serve him so well. 
Whilst at Sefton Lodge, Newmarket, where in 
1889 he became head gardener, Mr. Lees' name as 
a successful exhibitor of Chrysanthemums first 
came before the public, and if we remember rightly 
it is to Ipswich the honour belongs of first recog¬ 
nising the prowess of the coming cultivator. But this 
was but the flow of the rising tide. From Ipswich 
Mr. Lees sought fresh fields and pastures new; 
success followed success, until to-day, as head 
gardener to F. A. Bevan, Esq., of Trent Park, Bar- 
net, we see him the champion of the year, establish¬ 
ing a record which his opponents are probably 
prepared to admit will require a vast amount of 
beating to overtop it. 
To recapitulate the year's results, Mr. Lees began 
the campaign by sweeping the board—if such a term 
is permissible—at the Crystal Palace Show in both 
the thirty-six and twenty-four classes for cut blooms. 
Following in close order came the show of the 
National Chrysanthemum Society, where the two 
Holmes Memorial Vases, with £20 added, became 
his reward for the premier boards of forty-eight 
Japanese distinct and thirty-six incurved blooms 
respectively. Loyal to his district, Mr. Lees also 
entered the lists in the Affiliated Societies Competi¬ 
tion on behalf of the Southgate Chrysanthemum 
Society, winning the Challenge Shield, offered in 
that section, with forty-eight blooms of rare and 
unique character. 
At Hull, the succeeding week, the chief awards in 
an exceedingly strong competition again fell to Mr. 
Lees’ share, and there now remained the citadel of 
the far north to storm and capture. Within twenty- 
four hours of his successes at Hull we find him 
staging in tremendous form at Edinburgh where the 
verdict of the southern shows was confirmed in the 
premier award of the City of Edinburgh Cup besides 
other honours of similar importance. 
Of such a record as this ,Mr. Lees may well be 
proud, and no one grudge the concession that in 
him we have not only a successful exhibitor, but a 
rare judge of good points, in which sphere of useful¬ 
ness we also tender Mr. Lees our congratulations 
upon entering. On Tuesday Mr. Lees officiated as 
judge at the National Chrysanthemum Society’s 
December show, and that he may long be spared to 
further develope his career, and to enjoy the fruits of 
his labours will be the wish of his many friends, who, 
like the writer, are proud to be associated with the 
profession he so fittingly adorns. 
ORCHID NOTES & GLEANINGS. 
By The Editor. 
The undermentioned awards were made by the 
Royal Horticultural Society on the 26th ult.:— 
Catasetum imperiale. —The bold and striking 
flowers of this grand Catasetum form a wide open 
basin—at least, in the earlier stages of their develop¬ 
ment. It belongs to the C. Bungerothi section, as 
we described on pp. 278 and 454 of the eleventh 
volume of TheGardening World. The sepals and 
petals are white, but the latter are spotted with 
crimson on the lower half. The massive lip is of a 
dark crimson, with a yellow, shallowly-toothed edge. 
First-class Certificate. Messrs. Linden, Parc Leopold, 
Brussels. 
Cattleya dowiana aurea marantina, Nov. var. 
—The sepals of this beautiful variety are buff, washed 
with purple towards the apex. The petals are very 
wavy, nankin-yellow, and netted with deep purple at 
the edges and apex. The lip is wholly of a deep 
crimson, lined and netted with orange all over its 
surface. Award of Merit. Thos. Statter, Esq. 
(gardener, Mr. R. Johnson), Stand Hall, Manchester. 
Epidendrum Wallisio-ciliare, Nov. hyb .—The 
seed-bearer in this case was E. ciliare, which was 
crossed with E. Wallisii, and the progeny is inter¬ 
mediate in structure. The leaves are oblong and of a 
bright green. The glossy sepals are buff-yellow, 
while the petals are clear yellow and shining. The 
lip is wedge-shaped, three-lobed, finely fringed at the 
edges, and pale yellow, with some purple markings in 
front of the gold crest. Both parents in the flower¬ 
ing stage were shown alongside of the hybrid, show¬ 
ing that the latter is remarkably distinct from either. 
Award of Merit. Messrs. J. Veitcb & Sons, Chelsea. 
Dendrobium subclausum, Nov. sp .—The 
slender, branching, and leafy stems of -this species 
are about 2 ft. high, and bear the flowers in lateral 
clusters near the apex. The flowers are relatively 
small, but have a long spur, which, like the segments, 
is of a bright orange-scarlet. The lip is folded over 
the column, covering or shutting it in, thus justifying 
the specific name. It is a pretty and interesting 
species, forcibly reminding us of Delphinium 
nudicaule. Botanical Certificate. Messrs. J. Veitch 
& Sons. 
Cypripedium platycolor, Nov. hyb.—Few would 
guess at the real meaning of the name platycolor, 
which might be assumed to come from Greek platys, 
broad, and Latin color, colour, but does not. The 
seed parent, C. concolor, was crossed with C. Stonei 
platytaenium, and the name was compounded from 
those of the parents, as may readily be seen. The 
dorsal sepal is suffused with light rose on a white 
ground and tinted with yellow along the centre. 
The petals are spathulate-elliptic, suffused with pale 
rose or pink, and finely dotted with purple in lines 
all over. The large lip is suffused and netted with 
purple, creamy at the base, and slightly elongated, 
indicating some influence of the pollen parent. The 
flower scape is only about 6 in. high, yet there were 
three flowers, arranged in the form of a triangle, and 
two buds upon it, as shown by Sir Trevor Lawrence, 
Bart, (grower, Mr. W. H. White), Burford Lodge, 
Dorking. Award of Merit. 
Arundina Philippi. —This beautiful Orchid 
resembles a grass or a reed, as the name implies, 
and comes from the Himalayas and China. The 
leafy stems are about 18 in. high, slender, and 
furnished with linear bright green leaves. The 
flowers are produced in a short terminal raceme. 
The sepals and oval petals are silvery-pink, but the 
lip is larger and darker in hue, constituting the most 
striking feature of the flower. Botanical Certificate. 
Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart. 
Cypripedium Madeleine, Nov.hyb .—This hybrid 
was raised by G. L. Palmer, Esq., Springfield, Trow¬ 
bridge, between C. bellatulum and C. Argus, the 
latter being the pollen parent. The dorsal sepal is 
broadly oval, spotted and lined with claret on a 
greenish-white ground. The petals are oblong, 
drooping, heavily spotted with claret all over the 
surface on a white ground. The lip is relatively 
small, greenish-white, and dark purple just in front 
of the mouth of the pouch. On the whole it is a 
very pretty Slipperwort. Award of Merit. 
Masdevallia Chimaera aurea, Nov. vai .—The 
variable character of M. Chimaera is well known, 
and that under notice differs from the type in being 
golden-yellow, and thickly spotted with crimson. 
Award of Merit. Royal Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin. 
Calanthe, Nov. sp .—No name has yet been given 
to a species of Calanthe sent over from the Royal 
Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, by the curator, 
F. W. Moore, Esq. The flowers are borne in 
racemes, and the outer face of the sepals and petals 
is deep purple, while the inner face is rosy-pink. 
The lip is bifid with small lateral lobes at the base, 
and having three ridges of teeth along the centre ; it 
is rose coloured. Botanical Certificate. 
Cattleya bowringiana.—Few Cattleyas grow 
and flower with greater freedom than the lovely and 
useful Cattleya bowringiana. Visiting South Lodge, 
Horsham (the residence of F. D. Godman, Esq.), 
recently I noticed a fine plant in a 10-in. pot carrying 
two huge spikes of bloom ; on one spike there were 
thirty-one individual flowers, and on the other there 
were twenty-eight. Hitherto I have not seen a 
greater number of flowers on a spike.— J. McNab. 
-.4.- 
PLANTS RECENTLY CERTIFICATED. 
The undermentioned awards were made by the 
Royal Horticultural Society on the 26th ult. 
Floral Committee. 
Begonia Froebeli incomparabilis. —The typical 
form was imported from Ecuador in 1872, and 
the hybrid under notice was sent out by Froebel, 
of Zurich, in 1880. It was obtained by crossing 
B. Froebeli with B. polypetala from the Andes 
of Peru. Both are winter flowering species, and the 
progeny blooms during autumn and winter as 
might be expected. It is certainly a magnifi¬ 
cent thing. J. T. Bennett-Poe, Esq., Holmwood, 
Cheshunt, exhibited a splendidly-grown plant with 
flower stems over 2 ft. high, and obliquely heart- 
shaped, bright green leaves 12 in. to iS in. long and 
10 in. to 13 in. wide. The flowers are freely pro¬ 
duced in cymes terminating the scapes, and are of a 
bright scarlet. The tubers are kept in a resting 
condition during the summer and potted up in 
August when they commence to grow naturally. 
The owner is to be congratulated on his successful 
method of culture. An Award of Merit was 
accorded the plant, but we think it merited a First- 
class Certificate. 
Rose Enchantress.— This new Tea variety is 
suitable for winter flowering and bedding purposes. 
The buds are creamy-white tinted with flesh colour 
in the centre. The fully expanded flowers are of a 
clear, pale yellow in the centre. They are moderately 
fragrant at this season. Award of Merit. Messrs. 
Wm. Paul & Son, Waltham Cross, Herts. 
Chrysanthemum Bonnie Dundee. — For descrip¬ 
tion see p. 207. Award of Merit. Mr. Robert Owen, 
Castle Hill, Maidenhead. 
Chrysanthemum Country of Gold —In this 
we have a charming decorative variety of moderate 
size, clear yello n, and most useful for the purpose of 
cut flowers. The florets are narrow, twisted, curled 
and interlaced with one another in the most charm¬ 
ing manner. Award of Merit. Mr. Robert Owen. 
Chrysanthemum Mrs. Ellen Newbald.— The 
florets of this decorative variety are broad, neatly 
recurved and clear yellow. The heads or blooms 
are of a useful size and very abundantly produced. 
Award of Merit. Mr. Robert Owen. 
Chrysanthemum Olive Oclee. —This variety 
belongs to the incurved Japanese section, and not¬ 
withstanding that the florets are closely incurved, the 
blooms measure 5 in. to 6 in. in diameter. They are 
yellow, but, at this season, at least, are almost 
wholly overlaid with a soft pink tint. The florets are 
broad and more or less hooked or interlaced at the 
