332 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 25 , 1890. 
forests. He did not believe in the Linmean theory of 
distribution. Climate, he thought, had failed to 
explain satisfactorily the phenomena of vegetable 
distribution, for under the same parallels of latitude, 
and at the same elevations above the sea level, and in 
similar soils, totally different genera and different 
species were found. 
V hilc on the subject, Mr. Watt instanced the in¬ 
troduction of many species during the siege of Paris by 
the Germans. Two French botanists had published a 
Florida Obsidionalis, or flora of the sieges, which 
names 192 species of plants hitherto unknown in the 
district. In summing up the various means and 
influences by which the distribution of plants had been 
accomplished, Mr. Watt expressed his belief that 
the earth is to experience another geological “Ice 
Age,” resulting in serious climatic changes and a re¬ 
distribution of genera and species over the surface of 
the globe. On the motion of the chairman, a hearty 
vote of thanks was given to Mr. Watt for his paper, 
which was the most interesting he had ever 
listened to. 
Mr. John Angus, gardener, Rosebay, exhibited two 
fine Orchids in flower—namely, Angraeum sesquipedale 
and \anda Amesiana ; and Mr. James Boss, gardener, 
Reres Mount, also exhibited well-flowered plants of 
Odontoglossum Pescatorei, 0. Alexandra, and 0. 
Rossii majus. 
Wooltox, Liverpool. 
The first annual meeting of this society was held on 
January 16th at the Mechanics’ Institution, Mr. R. 
Todd in the chair. The secretary’s report, as read by 
Mr. J. Roth well, was a most satisfactory one, showing a 
membership of 112, with an average attendance of 
seventy at the regular meetings. The various papers 
read contained much practical and valuable information, 
which must prove a distinct gain to horticulture in the 
neighbourhood. Totes of thanks were accorded to Mr. 
Holbrook Gaskell for a powerful microscope and 
cabinet, and for special views illustrating Mr. Harvey 
Gibson s lectures ; to Mr. F. H. Gossage for a valuable 
donation of books on botany and practical gardening ; 
to the Rev. G. H. Spooner for two prizes for essays ; 
and to Professor Harvey Gibson for a series of lectures 
on Plant Parasitism—special diseases due to fungi, to 
which field crops and horticultural products are liable ; 
and diseases of plants, due to insects and other 
animals—their prevention and cure ; and to the com¬ 
mittee of the institution for the free use of the room for 
the meetings. The financial statement, read bv Mr. 
R. G. Waterman, treasurer, showed receipts amounting 
to £8 7s., which was expended on material required at 
the formation of the society, and for general purposes. 
Roth reports were adopted and ordered to be printed. 
The chairman announced the following special prizes :_ 
Two, value 10s. 6d. each, by the Rev. G. H. Spooner ; 
and two, value 21s. each, by Messrs. R. P. Ker & 
Sons. The selection of the subjects of the essays to be 
left to the committee. A further prize of horticultural 
books was offered by Professor Gibson for the best col¬ 
lection of fungi, mounted for the microscope. These 
offers were unanimously accepted. An addition to the 
rules was made, whereby subscribers of 10s. 6 d. and 
upwards can nominate their apprentices under the age 
of eighteen as members, with all the privileges of the 
society. A vote of thanks to the chairman concluded 
the meeting. 
Shrewsbury. 
A meeting of this recently formed society was held on 
the 14th. inst., Mr. Adams presiding. Mr. A. M. 
Dove, the gardener in charge of the Quarry, read a 
paper on the popularising of flowers among the people, 
both those cultivated in gardens, and the wild flowers 
of our hedgerows. Mr. W. H. Harrison also read a 
paper on bulb forcing. Mr. Lambert, Onslow Hall 
Gardens, intimated that the Shropshire Horticultural 
Society had promised to contribute £10 to their funds, 
and suggested that they should get a good microscope 
for use at their meetings. Air. Lambert also undertook 
to read a paper at the next meeting on Chrysanthemum 
culture. 
Ware and District. 
An ordinary meeting of this society was held on the 
13th inst. The Rev. A. E. W. Lofts, in the chair. 
There was a good muster of members. Some capital 
Primulas, Roman Hyacinths, Ferns, Primula obconica, 
and Lady Downes Grapes were staged, and proved 
very attractive to those present. A paper on Adiantums 
was read by Mr. H. A. Smith, which was illustrated by 
living and dried specimens. A discussion followed, 
and the meeting terminated with a vote of thanks to 
Mr. Smith for his paper, and the chairman. 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
Dendrobium xanthocentrum. 
The stems of this hybrid are from 8 ins. to 12 ins. 
long, compressed and jointed ; and both from this 
circumstance and the shape of the flowers, it can be 
seen that D. Findleyanum was one of the parents. The 
oblong sepals and ovate petals are lightly suffused with 
purple, and tipped with a darker hue. The lip is 
roundly heart-shaped, with a large yellow blotch on 
the disc, as implied by the specific name, and some¬ 
what lower down is a smaller crimson one ; surrounding 
the larger one is a broad white band, and the tip is 
purple. It is very distinct, and for garden purposes 
very ornamental. It was exhibited by Sir Trevor 
Lawrence, Bart, M.P., at the Drill Hall on the 14th 
inst., and received a First Class Certificate. 
Dendrobium Juno. 
The seed parent of this new hybrid was D. Wardianum 
crossed with the pollen of D. moniliforme. The pseudo¬ 
bulbs at present are fusiform and stalked. The leaves 
are oblong and blunt. The flowers are large and borne 
in lateral clusters upon the naked stems. The sepals 
and broad petals are pale at the base, but deep purple 
at the edges and tip. The lip is shaped somewhat 
after the style of D. Wardianum, and is edged with 
purple ; this is succeeded by a broad yellow and white 
band, and at the very base is a large brownish crimson 
blotch. It was exhibited by Sir Trevor Lawrence, 
Bart, M.P., at the Drill Hall on the 14th inst., and 
was awarded a First Class Certificate. 
Phal/enopsis leucorhooa. 
This is a native of the Philippine Islands, and appears 
so exactly intermediate between P. amabilis, of Lindley, 
and P. Schilleriana that there is good reason for 
supposing it to be a natural hybrid. The sepals, 
petals, and lateral lobes of the lip are blush coloured, 
or the petals pale rose. The terminal lobe of the lip is 
shaped and coloured like that of P. Schilleriana ; but 
the antennae, or tails, are much longer, and more com¬ 
parable to that of P. amabilis. The leaves in some 
individuals are deep green above, violet-purple beneath, 
short, and rounded like those of P. amabilis ; but in 
other cases they are more or less marbled, as in P. 
Schilleriana. This handsome kind is now flowering in 
the nursery of Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Clapton. 
Epidendrum ciliare- 
The flowers of this species are neither large enough nor 
sufficiently showy to find favour with those whose 
special delight is in Cattleyas, Odontoglossums, and 
Cypripediums ; yet it has an inseparable beauty of its 
own, and above all, is highly and agreeably fragrant, 
especially at night. The flowers are numerous, and 
arranged in a two-ranked spike, and the large yellowish 
bracts, enclosing and nearly equalling the ovary in 
length, give to the whole a curious aspect. The sepals 
and petals are long, linear and greenish yellow, while 
the lip is white and deeply three-parted. The side 
lobes of the latter are deeply cut into almost hair-like 
fringes, furnishing one of the most characteristic 
features of the species, and suggesting the specific name. 
The middle lobe is much the longest, and very slender. 
Amongst species in cultivation to which it may be com¬ 
pared is E. falcatum ; but the lip of the latter is not 
fringed. 
Cypripedium Lindleyanum. 
This was originally named by Dr. Schomburgk in 1848 
after Lindley, but living specimens did not reach 
Britain till 1881, and no specimen was flowered till 
188o, when it was believed to be new, and was named 
C. Kaieteurum, because it was discovered near the 
Kaieteura Fall, on the Potaro River. It is a strong- 
growing species belonging to the sub-genus Seleni- 
pedium, and produces a number of flowers in succession 
upon its scapes, which vary from 2 ft. to 3 ft. or more 
according to the strength of the plant and cultural 
treatment. The upper sepal is greenish, with longi¬ 
tudinal reddish brown veins ; the petals are narrowly 
oblong, deflexed, and similar in colour to the upper 
sepal, while the short pouch-shaped lip is lined and 
reticulated with the same hue. The cultural treatment 
it requires may be guessed at from the fact that it grows 
in swampy places in which the pitcher-bearing plant 
Heliamphora nutans delights, and at an elevation of 
6,0U0 ft. In this country it flowers in autumn. 
Cattleya parthenia. 
This is a hybrid of the second degree, obtained by the 
raiser of Miltonia Bleui. The seed plant was a hybrid 
between Cattleya amethystina and C. Aclandi®, bearing 
much resemblance to the former. This hybrid was 
fertilised with the pollen of C. Mossiee, resulting in the 
production of C. parthenia. A remarkable thing is 
that, according to the Revue de VHorticulture Beige, by 
the pseudo-bulbs, leaves, as well as by the disposition 
and form of the different parts of the flowers, these 
hybrids recall Lselia elegans and L. Schilleriana. The 
sepals and petals, as well as the throat of the lip, are 
white ; while the lamina of the latter is rose striated 
with lilac. The pseudo-bulbs bear one leaf only as 
often as two. 
Vanda Amesiana. 
The habit of this Vanda is very distinct from that of 
all the more common species in cultivation, and there 
are two forms of it. The small one was the first 
to flower, and this was figured. The specimen in question 
happened to be an unusually dark one. There is a 
large quantity of this in the nursery of Messrs. Hugh 
Low & Co., Clapton; but there is a still greater 
quantity of a large form, which might justly be entitled 
to the distinction of V. Amesiana gigantea. It is very 
much larger in all its parts, bearing erect axillary 
racemes, and carrying from six to twelve flowers each. 
The sepals and petals are pure white, the lateral sepals 
being curiously twisted into a horizontal position. The 
lip is strongly reflexed at the sides, toothed and crisped 
at the edges, three-ridged along the centre, and purple 
with white edges. Individuals differ greatly in the 
amount of colour on the lip. The leaves are stiff, 
arranged in two ranks, deeply grooved on the upper 
surface, and deep green. A large number of the plants 
are in bloom, and every one is strongly fragrant with 
an odour comparable to that of a Gardenia. The 
sweet-scented blooms and the winter-flowering habit 
strongly recommend the species—especially the large 
form —to the attention of all Orchid lovers. 
-- 
The Gardeners’ Calendar. 
THE STOVE. 
Clerodexdroxs. —Pot plants of Clerodendron Thom¬ 
son®, if they are required to flower early, must be 
pruned now, and put into heat to start them into 
growth. The side shoots should be cut back within a 
short distance of the base, leaving only a good bud. 
Bloom is produced on the young wood only, so that 
there need be no fear of cutting away the flowering buds. 
If trained on trellis or frame-work, just as much of the 
old wood should be left as to furnish a close and even 
covering when the young shoots are developed. 
Re-potting annually is not necessary, unless the soil is 
very much exhausted, or the plant requires more room. 
After pruning, the plants should be stood in a warm 
house, and the stems kept syringed till growth com¬ 
mences. They break best and most evenly when 
started in the old soil, and if necessary may be potted 
afterwards. 
Allamaxdas. —Much the same treatment may be 
accorded these as is given to the Clerodendrons, that 
is, when speaking of A. Sehottii (Hendersoni), A. 
grandiflora, A. Chelsoni, and A. cathartica. A. nerii- 
folia, however, is an erect shrub, flowering freely in 
the bush form, while still only 18 ins. high. It grows 
slowly, reaching a height of 3 ft. or 4 ft. in pots, and 
flowers continuously for a great length of time, with less 
expanded and more tubular flowers than the rest. 
They are yellow, and copiously marked with brownish 
purple lines in the throat. By applying a little heat 
it can be had in flower early, and by feeding with 
liquid manure it may be kept in flower for a long 
period, either in the stove or during summer in the 
greenhouse. 
Gloxinias and Achimexes. —Batches of them for 
early work may be brought into heat, and lightly 
watered to induce them to start. After one watering 
with a rosed watering-pot they may generally be kept 
sufficiently moist by the syringe, till they are fit for 
re-potting. 
THE GREENHOUSE. 
Fuchsias, —Pyramidally-trained specimens may now 
be pruned back, so as to encourage the development of 
branches from those parts of the shoots where most 
desirable. Any which are intended for bringing on early 
may be put into a slight warmth ; but the main collec¬ 
tion should be kept as cool as possible and dry, so as to 
prevent growth, which is altogether undesirable at this 
eaily period. Some cultivators re-pot their plants 
before growth commences ; but it is a better plan to 
wait till the buds commence to push, and the roots to 
move. Then give two good waterings some time pre¬ 
vious to their being turned out of the pots, to make the 
soil and roots separate readily. 
