398 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
February 22, 1896, 
Double Rose. True, the doubling is as yet in its 
infancy, and the general contour of the flowers some¬ 
what stiff, but this is the inevitable accompaniment 
of the multiplication of petals. Double Red is of 
exactly the same hue as Superb Red, whilst Double 
Rose exhibits the same delicate colouring as Chelsea 
Rose, although in both cases the doubles cannot vie 
with the singles in respect of size. Still, they were 
both fully i| in. in diameter, which, for flowers of 
this class, is distinctly above the average. 
--' 
LIBONIA FLORIBUNDA. 
This is without doubt one of the prettiest winter 
flowering subjects that we have at our disposal for 
the decoration of conservatories. It is a fairly 
easy subject to manage, although now and again we 
hear of comparative failures to get it to do nicely. 
The plants may be grown throughout the summer in 
a cold frame or other cool structure. As autumn 
wears on they should be exposed as much as possible 
to light and air, in order that the wood may be well 
ripened before the winter sets in; for if the wood is 
not properly-matured, flowers will neither be very 
fine nor very plentiful. In order to get the blooms 
to open well during the dull months a warm green¬ 
house temperature is really necessary. 
After the flowering season is over, the knife must 
be set to work, and the plants cut hard back in order 
to give them a symmetrical head. For a few weeks 
after cutting back has been practised they must be 
kept rather closer than usual so as to facilitate 
growth. If this kind of treatment is followed up, the 
plants may be kept in condition for several years, 
but if the pruning is neglected or improperly per¬ 
formed, they very soon become straggling in habit 
and unsightly to behold. A few cuttings inserted 
each spring in sandy soil under the protection of 
bell glasses or a propagating frame will soon root, 
and will furnish young shapely plants to take the 
places of the older ones. For soil, Libonias may be 
grown very successfully in a mixture of equal parts 
of fibrous loam and good leaf soil with a liberal 
addition of silver sand. Plenty of water when the 
plants are in active growth is essential, for if this be 
neglected the result will be seen in an array of almost 
leafless steins, which, although they might be called 
curious can certainly not be termed pretty. A batch 
of neat and symmetrical plants has been very 
conspicuous of late with a profusion of orange- 
scarlet flowers in the temperate house at Kew. 
--- 
CLAIM FOR PLANTING TREES. 
The following case was tried at the Nisi Prius Court, 
at the Castle of Exeter, before Mr. Justice Cave, on 
the 30th ult.:— 
Bray v. Gill.— Mr. Bullen and Mr. Foote (in¬ 
structed by Messrs. Burd, Pearse, and Prickman) 
appeared for plaintiff, a nurseryman, of Okehamp- 
ton, and Mr. Duke (instructed by Mr. T. Wolferstan) 
for defendant, Mr. R. B. Gill, of Bickham, 
Roborough. This was a special jury case. Mr. 
Bullen said plaintiff carried on his business at 
Okehampton. His expeiience of planting large pro¬ 
perties of noblemen and others had been consider¬ 
able, and his work had always appeared to have been 
carried out in a satisfactory manner. Defendant 
had an estate at Bickham. In the month of August, 
1894, Mr. Gill was anxious to have a part of his 
estate re-planted and the wood properly looked after. 
He had heard of plaintiff, and told him that he was 
satisfied with work he had seen. Defendant asked 
plaintiff if he would plant and re-plant the ground 
which he required on his estate. Mr. Bray said he 
would. He went to Bickham, and, in answer to Mr. 
Gill, said he thought the trees would cost between 
£70 and £80. No definite contract was entered into 
as to price, and plaintiff was instructed to proceed 
with the work. He did so. Plaintiff found, after 
doing a portion of the work, that not only had he to 
put in thousands of new trees, but to re-place a con¬ 
siderable quantity which had died. Mr. Gill also 
gave him orders to do more work. The question 
was whether the plaintiff contracted with the defen¬ 
dant to do the work for /80. There was a claim for 
incidental expenses for labour, material, carriage of 
plants, &c., but this, he believed, would be admitted 
by the defendant. Mr. Gill had tendered to plaintiff 
the sum of £129 16s. qd. for the work done, but Mr. 
Bray said that this was not sufficient, and that he 
was entitled to £207 13s. rod. Although the defen¬ 
dant now said that the work was not properly done, 
he did not counter-claim. Qualified witnesses would 
prove that the work was done in an efficient manner. 
There were 34,000 trees laid down on the estate by 
the plaintiff at the beginning of last year, but owing 
to the exceptionally severe weather many of them 
were injured, and Mr. Bray had to replace them. 
It was only when the bill was sent to the defendant 
that he made any complaint. 
The plaintiff was called, and substantiated 
the statement made by his advocate. Mr. 
Francis Hendon, now of Swanage, Dorset, but 
formerly head gardener to Mr. Gill, said that at 
the request of the latter he gave instructions 
to Mr. Bray about the work, which in his (witness’s) 
opinion was well done. Mr. R. B. Gill, J.P., the de¬ 
fendant, also gave evidence, stating that after show¬ 
ing plaintiff over his grounds he suggested that £70 
or £80 would be sufficient for the work required, and 
that the plaintiff replied, " I can very well do it for 
that money, and to your satisfaction.” He had 
never ordered Mr. Bray to do extra work. Mr. F. 
W. Meyer, landscape gardener to Messrs. R. Veitch 
& Son, Exeter, considered that the trees were far too 
thickly planted from a forestry point of view. 
Several other witnesses bore him out in this 
respect. 
The judge said that a contract for £80 had been 
made in a reckless manner, without anything in 
writing to show what had to be done. If in the 
absence of a written agreement the plaintiff had 
carried out work by the instructions of defendant 
and his servant, he was entitled to a fair and reason¬ 
able amount for the same. 
The jury found for the plaintiff for the full 
amount claimed, and judgment was given accordingly 
with costs. 
ORCHID NOTEU GLEANINGS. 
By the Editor. 
The following received Certificates from the Royal 
Horticultural Society on the nth inst. : — 
Masdevallia Henrietta, Nov.hyb .—This charm¬ 
ing light-coloured hybrid has been derived from M. 
ignea crossed with M. Shuttleworthii, between which 
it is intermediate. The flower is large, solitary, with 
soft rose lateral sepals marked with three lines of 
small crimson spots. The upper sepal is yellowish, 
with five crimson nerves. The yellow tails are 2 in. 
to 2J in. long. The hybrid is an acquisition to its 
class. Award of Merit. Sir Trevor Lawrence, 
Bart, (grower, Mr. W. H. White), Burford Lodge, 
Dorking. 
Dendrobium Pallens, Nov. hyb .—The parentage 
of this hybrid was not stated, but D. findlayanum 
was doubtless one of them. The sepals'are narrowly 
oblong, rosy upwards, and white at the base. The 
petals are broader and white, with rosy tips. The lip 
is white, with a pale yellow blotch at the base and a 
pale purple tip. One stem bore seven clusters with 
an aggregate of twenty-one flowers. Award of 
Merit. Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart. 
Cypripedium villosum.—When seen in fine 
form this old Cypripedium is a noble and telling 
subject. The greenish-yellow of the upper sepal with 
its mahogany base is very fine, and the waxy, shining 
brown petals are also very attractive. Award of 
Merit. Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart, and R. I. 
Measures, Esq. (gardener, Mr. Hy. Chapman), 
Cambridge Lodge, Camberwell. 
Masdevallia shutlryana Chamberlains' 
var., Nov. hvb .—The seed parent of this was M. 
harryana, and the pollen parent M. Shuttleworthii. 
The upper sepal is ovate and pink, with five purple 
veins on the base. The lateral sepals are rose and 
spotted with crimson at the base. The tails are 
reflexed, yellow, and 2J in. to 3 in. long. It is a 
charming, light-coloured hybrid with large, solitary 
flowers. Award of Merit. The Right Hon. J. 
Chamberlain (gardener, Mr. H. A. Burberry), High¬ 
bury, Birmingham. 
Houlletia tigrina.—The sepals of this species 
are soft brownish-pink and spotted ; but the petals 
are crimson all over and lined transversely with 
yellow. The lip is white with crimson markings, 
especially at the base. Award of Merit. The Hon. 
Walter Rothschild (gardener, Mr. E. Hill), Tring 
Park, Tring. 
Cypripedium James Hollington, Nov. hyb .— 
Judging from the general structure and the colour 
of this species, the parents were C. bellatulum 
and C. lawrenceanum, the latter probably being the 
pollen bearer. The upper sepal is orbicular, white, 
suffused and lined with purple. The declining 
petals are very broad, soft pink, spotted and lined all 
over with crimson. The lip is dark purple. The 
foliage and the upper sepals are like those of C. 
lawrenceanum. Award of Merit. A. J. Hollington, 
Esq. (gardener, Mr. Ayling), Forty Hill, Enfield. 
Dendrobium fragrans, Nov. sp .—The flowers 
of this species are moderate in size and borne singly 
or in pairs from the side of the slender stems, but 
they are deliciously fragrant, reminding one of a 
mixture of Violets and something else that is very 
sweet. In the warmth of an East Indian house, the 
scent is very strong. The flowers are white, with a 
yellow throat. Botanical Certificate. Messrs. Hugh 
Low & Co., Clapton. 
Dendrobium speciosum—A bunch of several 
racemes, 6 in. to 8 in. long, was exhibited by Walter 
C. Walker, Esq. (gardener, Mr. Geo. Cragg), Piercy 
Lodge, Winchmore Hill. The very numerous, prim- 
rose-yellow flowers are very attractive and pretty. 
Botanical Certificate. 
Odontoglossum Rossii majus rubescens.— 
The ordinary form of this is distinct and pretty, 
inasmuch as the sepals, petals and lip are of a 
beautiful rosy hue, but a very fine form was ex¬ 
hibited by Frau Ida Brandt, Villa Brandt, Riesbach, 
Zurich, Switzerland. Award of Merit. 
Maxillaria porphyrostele.—The flowers of 
this species are moderate in size, whitish-yellow, with 
purple streaks at the base of the petals, and purplish 
veins on the lip. Botanical Certificate. F. W. 
Moore, Esq., Royal Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin. 
PLANTS RECENTLY CERTIFICATED. 
The undermentioned plants were certificated by 
the Royal Horticultural Society on the nth inst. 
Leucojum carpaticum.— For some years past this 
has been exhibited at intervals, but at last it has 
received the recognition which it has deserved in 
being honoured with a First-class Certificate. It 
may be described as a vigorous form of L. vernum, 
bearing two instead of a solitary flower on each 
scape, and both flowers are equally as large if not 
larger than the solitary one of the type, so that it is 
really a gem of the first water for the hardy flower 
border. The snowy flowers with a green tip to each 
segment have a charm about them only seen in the 
Snowdrop on a smaller scale. Mr. T. S. Ware, Hale 
Farm Nurseries, Tottenham. 
Cyrtanthus parviflorus. —The variety of 
colouring to be found in the genus Cyrtanthus is 
remarkable. Some species have white flowers ( 
others yellow, red, orange-red or scarlet. That 
under notice has umbels of drooping, tubular, scarlet 
flowers, narrowed at the base and very pretty. A 
well-flowered plant was exhibited by E. H. Woodall, 
Esq. (gardener, Mr. W. Hughes), St. Nicholas House, 
Scarborough. Award of Merit. 
Cyclamen Vivid.— The flowers of a variety shown 
by Mr. John May, St. Margarets, Twickenham, were 
rich dark crimson and as large as those of the Gigan- 
teum strain, so that the type is an acquisition to this 
class in the way of colour, and something good ought 
to be obtained by crossing other large-flowered 
varieties with it. An Award of Merit was accorded 
the strain. 
TIE PLANT NOISES. 
The Stove. 
Another fluctuation of the weather has brought to 
us bitterly cold winds, and, in the vicinities of our 
large towns at least, dull and gloomy days. This 
change, although decidedly unwelcome, is not entirely 
unexpected, for it was scarcely to be supposed that 
we should pass entirely through the winter months 
without a practical manifestation that the time of 
"singing of birds” has not yet come. Additional 
care will be required in dealing with the warmer 
houses as cold draughts of any kind must be avoided 
at all costs. Ventilation, therefore, will need to be 
very carefully looked after. More fire-heat will of 
course be necessary, to keep the temperature up to 
the required height, and hence dampings down must 
be pretty frequently given to conteract the aridity of 
atmosphere that would otherwise ensue. 
