February 22, 1896. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
403 
Striving with keen endeavour 
Struggling for space and favour. 
Snowdrop, thy fight is o’er then, 
Whate'er the loss or gain ; 
Gone are thy boon companions— 
Frost, snow, March winds and rain ; 
Summer and sunshine warm thee, 
Ay, but they fail to charm thee. 
— Osmunda, January lyth, 1896. 
--*■- 
ORCHIDS AT CLAPTON. 
Those who want to see quantity as well as variety 
amongst Orchids should visit the nurseries of Messrs. 
Hugh Low & Co., Clapton, we might say at almost 
any period of the year. The large importations 
made by the firm from time to time, make a visit 
of inspection well worth a long journey to see, because 
large batches flowering from time to time are almost 
sure to give rise to something very fine and worth 
adding to a select collection. We went principally 
to see the unique and extensive collection of Phalae- 
nopsis, for which this firm has been famous; but 
Cypripediums, Dendrobiums, Cattleyas, and some 
others are also cultivated on an extensive scale. 
Phalaenopsis. 
A whole house is devoted to this genus alone, and 
the numerous species and imported varieties have 
been flowering splendidly for some three weeks past. 
When the house was at its best there were some 900 
flowering spikes all in full bearing at one time. All 
the plants are grown in baskets of various sizes. P. 
schilleriana is most abundant, as might be expected, 
and shows a considerable variety both in the flowers 
and foliage. It is also one of the easiest to manage, 
and gorgeous when well done. Very conspicuous at 
present are some twenty plants of P. leucorrhoda, no 
two of which are exactly alike. The fogs have not 
been very troublesome this winter, so that the plants 
have been allowed to go into flower as they were 
naturally inclined. A branching inflorescence of 
fourteen large flowers has been very fine. It had a 
rosy base to the sepals and petals Some had great 
breadth of petal, some were suffused with rose over 
about half of the flower, and others were beautifully 
mottled with purple on the base of the apical por¬ 
tion of the lip. P. amabilis varied in the same way. 
The apical portion and part of the side lobes of P. a. 
Kinleside’s var. were of a beautiful rosy hue, and 
the petals were flushed all round the margins. 
Another variety had the same portions of a golden- 
brown ; another exhibited rosy and golden tints on 
the same portions ; and in another case the rosy hue 
was intensified on the sepals and petals. Amongst 
the flowering plants of P. stuartiana, one was notable 
for the dark and starry crimson markings on the lip 
and lateral sepals. P. grandiflora is another good 
thing that cannot be overlooked in a collection. 
Smaller but very pretty is P. intermedia Portei, a 
natural hybrid between P. amabilis and P. rosea. 
P. i. brymeriana is just the reverse cross, to all 
appearance, because it has smaller flowers and a 
darker rose lip of a different formation. The spike 
of one plant had been cut back and was pushing up 
to bloom again. It also sometimes produces a young 
plant on the flower stem. P. schilleriana is just now 
behaving in the same way. 
Dendrobiums. 
In passing from house to house it is astonishing to 
find what a quantity of Dendrobiums there are, and 
also the number of kinds. The first we noted was a 
short-stemmed D. jamesianum, very like D. Don- 
nesiae, supposed to be a natural hybrid between D. 
formosum and D. infundibulum or its variety, D. i. 
jamesianum. Charming was a large batch of D. 
findlayanum, bristling with its lively and sweetly- 
coloured flowers. These, as well as the little-known 
D. sanguineum, were suspended in small baskets. 
The whole of the central stage of a large house was 
filled with D. Phalaenopsis schroderianum, intro¬ 
duced last August, and now commencing to flower 
upon the imported stems. The sweetly Violet- 
scented D. fragrans is flowering in another house. 
A great variation may be met with amongst D. 
Hildebrandtii, some of which are really pretty. 
The long-bearded D. brymerianum is always striking 
and interesting. Others flowering near it are D. 
nobile, D. splendidissimum grandiflorum, and D. 
fimbriatum oculatum, with the maroon eye. D. 
nobile nobilius, D. wardianum, and D. devonianum, 
bristling with buds, may also be seen here. In 
another house we came upon a nest of hybrids, in¬ 
cluding D. Waltoni, the fragrant endocharis, D. 
wardiano-japonicum, D. splendidissimum grandi¬ 
florum, D. Aspasia, D. melanodiscus, D. schneideri- 
anum.and the beautiful D. cheltenhamense (luteolum 
x aureum) with pale lemon flowers, and a crimson 
blotch on the lip. Many others are not yet in 
season. 
Cypripediums. 
Imported species of this genus may be reckoned by 
the houseful, all regularly arranged, clean, and full 
of vegetative vigour, showing that they are well 
looked after. Amongst C. villosum and C. Boxali, 
no two are exactly alike. The same may be said of 
the beautifully-spotted C. Argus, like the hundred¬ 
eyed Argus of the ancients. C. Lowii still upholds 
its own; and alongside of it is the recent and 
“ bonnie wee thing,” C. Exul. C. Curtisii, the beauti¬ 
ful C. chamberlainianum, with its petals arranged 
like an endless screw, and C. callosum are full of 
interest. C. Victoria Mariae is a form of C. cham¬ 
berlainianum of extraordinary vigour. Very pretty is 
that named C. sublaeve with its rosy petals passing 
into a dusky green at the base. 
Amidst the wealth of imported species the hybrids 
are not forgotten, but have been largely augmented 
of late, and include the beautiful C. cardinale and 
the soft-coloured C. leucorrhodum. Here also are 
C. harrisianum, the beautiful C. Calypso, C. Bellona, 
C. Pluto, and the beautifully-spotted C. Sallieri. 
The blotches are greatly magnified in C. nitens, 
which should be in every collection ; but what shall 
we say ot C. Wm. Wallace Lunt, which has the 
greater portion of its dorsal sepal heavily blotched 
with blackish-brown on a green ground, and the 
apical white portion richly blotched with violet, re¬ 
calling C. insigne Maulei. The richly-marbled 
purple upper sepal of C. Smithii is also very hand¬ 
some. 
Miscellaneous Orchids. 
The true Angraecum Ellisii is about to flower very 
strongly for the first time, after waiting for eight 
years to do so. Another Madagascar Orchid, 
namely, the terrestrial Cynorchis Lowii, with its rich 
rosy flowers is now in bloom. The same may be 
said of the chaste white Coelogyne cristata alba. In 
the same house with it is a handsome and charming 
variety of Saccolabium bellinum. Vanda amesiana, 
flowering freely, is suspended in baskets, and is very 
effective. The scarce Dendrochilum latifolium is 
doing well, and the fragrant D. glumaceum is also in 
bloom. Elsewhere, the pale lemon flowers of 
Angraecum citratum are graceful and pretty. One 
of the finest Cymbidiums in cultivation is C. ebur- 
neum, with its fragrant white flowers and golden 
blotch upon the lip. Mormodes tigrina, otherwise 
known as M. Landsbergii, is evidently easy to grow, 
judging from the plump and short pseudo-bulbs bear¬ 
ing two flower spikes. 
Cattleyas are also a feature at the Clapton Nurseries 
and extensively grown, but few of them are yet in 
season. The early oner are, however, represented by 
C. percivaliana, C. Trianaei (with dark flowers and 
an enormous lip) and by C. T. backhouseana (with 
the purple feather to its rosy petals). The latter is 
always a choice thing. Strange to say C. gaskelliana 
in one case is flowering entirely out of season, 
Very conspicuous at the present time is Oncidium 
splendidum, with tall, erect flower stems and blooms 
of enormous size. It recalls O. tigrinum, but its 
huge yellow lip is characterised by two eye-like red 
blotches at the base. A splendid variety of O. 
tigrinum deserves special mention on account of its 
rich chocolate sepals and petals, with yellow streaks 
upon them. A fine batch of O. lanceanum, in 
healthy, vigorous condition, is throwing up its flower 
spikes. Cymbidium winnianum is a very fine thing. 
In the cool house some flowers of Odontoglossum 
crispum and O. Pescatoreihave begun blooming, but 
the spikes coming on are very numerous. Others 
are O. gloriosum, O. Rossi majus, O. maculata, and 
O. triumphans, from each of which we already 
have a foretaste of what is to be. Oncidium dasy- 
tile is always interesting, owing to the black pro¬ 
tuberance on the lip, resembling an insect, from 
which circumstance it is often named the bee 
Orchid. 
In a warmer house a large quantity of Odonto¬ 
glossum vexillarium has finished fine growths, and 
has now begun to throw up its flower spikes. The 
deliciously-fragrant O. Roezlii is already flowering, 
and O. R. alba will soon follow the same example. 
Though not an Orchid Carludovica elegans reminds 
us how suitable an associate it is for this class of 
plants with its stately palmate and Palm-like 
leaves. 
-- 5 *- 
WEBBS’ BLUE KING MYOSOTIS. 
There are few gardens in which one or other of the 
species of Myosotis are not grown for some particular 
purpose. Some of them are decidedly perennial, 
others so short lived that for garden purposes they 
might be described as biennial, while the truly annual 
species are seldom cultivated. That under notice is 
a perennial, but gives most satisfaction when raised 
annually from seeds in July or August and planted 
out in late autumn or early spring for bedding 
purposes. It is a variety of M. alpestris with 
unusually large flowers, consisting of five to eight 
segments, and appearing as if made up of two flowers 
amalgamated together. Seedlings got to a nice size 
in autumn form compact tuftg 3 in. or 4 in. high 
when in bloom, and are very choice for spring 
bedding. They get completely covered with bright 
dark blue flowers that are charmingly attractive. For 
rockwork it is a gem. Large patches of it may be 
used to excellent purpose on the ground level at the 
base of rockwork where the soil is cool and moist 
Only those who have used it for this purpose, or seen 
it so grown can have any idea of the charming effect 
it produces. The accompanying illustration kindly 
lent us by Messrs. Webb & Sons, Wordsley, Stour¬ 
bridge, gives a good idea of the habit of the plant 
and its profusely-flowering nature. 
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miles nearer than California to Chicago and New York. Four 
to seven weeks earlier fruiting season. Ideal climate for weak 
lungs. Splendid shooting. For free illustrated pamphlet and 
full particulars, address—Mesilla Valley Irrigation Colony, 34 , 
Victoria Street, London, S.W. 
Webbs’ Blue King Myosotis. 
