348 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
February 1, 1890. 
the water be poured into the crown of the plant, or 
rotting will almost certainly ensue. 
French Beans.— Make a sowing of these in boxes, 
and pot them off after they have made the first pair of 
rough leaves, or transfer them to the borders of a house 
constructed for this and similar purposes. 
Rhubarb and Sea Kale. —Introduce fresh batches 
to heat in order to keep up the requisite supply. Sea 
Kale must, of course, be kept in the dark in order to 
make it tender and delicate. With Rhubarb this is a 
matter of taste. If fully exposed to light, the petioles 
will assume a rich dark colour, and, of course, be pro¬ 
portionately stronger in flavour ; but this is sometimes 
more relished than that which is blanched and com¬ 
paratively tasteless. 
-- 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
, ♦ , 
Orchid Growers’ Calendar. 
No time should now be lost in the matter of re-potting 
such plants as require it in each section, for where a 
good number of plants are grown it will require a con¬ 
siderable amount of time to go through them carefully. 
If the Odontoglossums were re-potted as advised in 
September there will be all the more time to devote to 
the other sections, though there are almost certain to 
be a few occupants of the cool house which require a 
shift, and which may as well be done now before com¬ 
mencing the Aerides, Saccolabiums, &c. Sometimes 
plants of Odontoglossum crispum, 0. Pescatorei, and 
others, are allowed to carry heavy flower-spikes for a 
long period, and thereby become greatly enfeebled, 
which results iu a weaker growth and smaller bulb 
the following season ; where this is the case it is 
only fair to give the plant a good chance by taking 
out the flower-spikes as soon as they show, which will 
be found the best policy in the long run. 
If the grower passes all the plants through his hands 
so as to asceitain the state of each plant, he will 
doubtless make himself acquainted with many inter¬ 
esting facts concerning his charges, besides finding 
slugs, &c., either on the plants or in the inverted pots 
upon which they are stood. There will most likely be 
a few plants which, from various causes, may have 
become unhealthy and lost their roots ; such will be 
best shaken out of the pots, the decayed roots cut 
away, as'well as any old bulbs, and then replaced—like 
Dewly-imported plants—in pots only just large enough. 
These should be three parts full of crocks, with 
sufficient good fibry peat and woolly sphagnum to give 
them a good start, when they will quickly get roots 
enough to justify their transfer into pots a size larger 
by the time the bulk of Odontoglossums are re-potted 
in autumn. If left surrounded by dead roots and sour 
material they would probably go from bad to worse. 
— W. P. 
Dendrobium, Luna. 
The seed parent of this hjbrid was D. Ainsworthii, 
tself a hybrid, and the latter was fertilised with the 
pollen of D. Findleyanum. The somewhat compressed 
stems are jointed like D. Findleyanum, and the leaves 
persist till flowers are developed and expand in their 
axils. The flowers are of good size, and borne in 
lateral clusters of three or four. The sepals are lance¬ 
shaped and blush-white, deeper at the tip and on the 
outer face. The ovate petals are creamy white, with a 
small purple tip. The labelluni is roundly heart- 
shaped, pale creamy white in the upper part, with a 
small purple blotch at the tip, while towards the base it 
is pale yellow with a few purple lines. It was exhibited 
at the Drill Hall on January 14th, and like the above, 
was raised by Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P., who 
received a First Class Certificate for it. 
Dendrobium Macfarlanei. 
The pseudo-bulbs of this uncommon species are spindle- 
shaped, and as exhibited by Messrs J. Veiteh & Sons, 
on January 14th, vary from 6 ins. to 10 ins. 
high. They are terminated by from two to three 
lanceolate evergreen leaves. The flowers are pretty, and 
unusually distinct for this genus. The sepals are 
lanceolate and white ; the petals are equally pure, 
rhomboid in outline, and drawn out into a long claw at 
the base, which is very unusual in the genus. The 
lateral lobes of the lip are rounded, folded over the 
short column, white and striped internally near the 
base with rich purple, and externally at the apex with 
a few short lines of the same rich hue ; the terminal lobe 
is obovate or wedge-shaped, tapering into a short stalk at 
the base, and ending at the tip in three teeth. There 
is a remarkably curious bluntly conical spur on the 
disc at the base of the lateral lobes. On the face of the 
column are some purple stripes. A First Class Certifi¬ 
cate was awarded to it. 
Dendrobium nobile, Burford var. 
Like D. nobile Cooksoni this variety shows an attempt 
at peloria. In the former case, as is well known, the 
petals make an attempt to form structures like the true 
labellum. The petals and lip, of course, belong to the 
inner whorl of segments. D. nobile, Burford var., 
differs, however, in the attempt being made by the 
lateral sepals. The contiguous lateral edges exhibit a 
long purple blotch of the same colour as occurs in the 
lip ; and above the blotch, but in a line with it, the 
colour is creamy white, and the part so affected is 
pubescent, as occurs in the lip of the normal D. nobile, 
The other longitudinal halves of the lateral sepals are 
smooth, and otherwise quite normal. The other parts 
of the flower, especially the lip, are well coloured, and 
the variety is both ornamental and interesting. It was 
shown by Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P., at the 
Drill Hall, January 14th, receiving an Award of Merit. 
L/elia Crawshayana. 
The characters presented by this Leelia are very 
puzzling, inasmuch as there are distinct traces of 
affinity with three other species, and the late Professor 
Reichenbach, when describing it, was of the belief that 
it was a natural hybrid between L. anceps and 
L. autumnalis ; but various other writers on Orchids 
ate of opinion that the parents are L. albida or some 
variety of it, like L. albida Stobartiana and L anceps. 
The size of the flowers, their colour and structure, as 
well as the form of the bracts and scapes, would seem to 
favour the latter view strongly. Each scape bears two 
or more flowers, the sepals and petals of which are rosy 
purple, and narrower than iu L. anceps. The side lobes 
of the lip are similarly coloured but darker at the tips ; 
the terminal lobe is of a deep purple, while the disc is 
yellow, and furnished with three keels or elevated 
lamelis. In this latter respect it is quite different from 
L. anceps ; and the purple lines on the interior of the 
throat are slender and quite distinct from those of L. 
anceps. The original plant was exhibited at the Drill 
Hall, Westminster, on the 14th ult., by De B. 
Crawshay, Esq., Rosefield, Sevenoaks. 
A Leafless Orchid. 
The species of Sarcochilus presents considerable vari¬ 
ability, both iu the characters of the foliage and the 
flowers. The latter are generally pretty, sometimes 
very much so, as in the case of Sarcochilus Hartmani, 
the flowers of which are white, zoned at the base with 
rich brown. Those of S. luniferus are yellow, spotted 
with brown, and are somewhat smaller than those of 
the last named. They are produced in drooping 
racemes from 9 ins. to 12 ins. in length, and constitute 
the most conspicuous part of the whole plant. In its 
native home, leaves about 1 in. in length are said to be 
produced by the plant, but they soon fall away. There 
is a specimen in the Orchid house at Kew, where it has 
been for some years, and although the plant continues 
to live, grow and flower, yet it never develops any 
leaves. The roots are fleshy, greenish, and cling firmly 
to a small piece of wood suspended by a wire from the 
roof of the house, and the green colouring matter 
developed in the roots must perform the same functions 
as the presence of leaves containing chlorophyll. 
Aerides illustre. 
The leaves of this Orchid are broad, stiff, leathery and 
deep green, borne in two ranks on a slow-growing stem. 
The plant therefore retains a dwarf habit for many 
years, and from its flowering regularly in winter, is a 
valuable adjunct to the East Indian hous? on that 
account. The drooping racemes are unbranched, and 
bear a moderately close arrangement of large and showy 
flowers. The sepals and petals are white, lightly 
suffused with blush or lilac, and marked all over with 
purple spots. The broadlipis of a rich amethyst-purple. 
Not the least recommendation the plant possesses is 
the odour given off by the flowers. This is rather 
powerful when too closely approached, but at a short 
distance it is by no means disagreeable. We noted a 
batch of plants in flower recently in the nursery of 
Messrs. H. Low & Co., Clapton. 
Cypripedium T, B, Haywood. 
The seed parent of this hybrid was C. superbiens, 
fertilised with pollen from the equally decided and 
distinct C. Drurii. The progeny is equally distinct, 
and remarkable for its vigour as well as the size of the 
flowers. The scape rises well above the foliage, bearing 
one or two blooms each. The upper sepal is suffused 
and striped purple on a white ground, and has the 
characteristic dark purple midrib of C. Drurii, and is 
greenish at the base. The broad spathulate petals are 
suffused with pink on a white ground, and variegated 
with purple lines and spots along the veins. The large 
pouched lip is rosy purple, minutely dotted with purple, 
but more especially on the infolded sides. In this, 
then, we have a Cypripedium that strongly recommends 
itself on account of its vigorous constitution and free- 
flowering habit, qualities that are greatly to the ad¬ 
vantage of the general grower. It was raised by 
Messrs. Yeitch & Sons, with whom it has been flowering 
freely. 
Masdevallia pulvinaris- 
To horticulturists generally this species has few attrac¬ 
tions to offer, but to specialists it would doubtless 
prove very interesting, on account of the curious 
cushion on the lateral sepals, which in this case are 
upside down, owing to the flowers being inverted. The 
scape attains a height of 18 ins., bearing a number of 
flowers, the pedicels of which are curiously kneed or 
bent, and appearing as if broken. The sepals are 
brownish purple outwardly, purple internally, and 
yellow at the base. They are remarkable for the 
curious processes which grow inwardly from the edges 
of the two lateral ones, forming a pair of dull yellow 
cushion-like processes, pubescent at the margin. 
ANGR/ECUM fragran 
The different species of thus genus are extremely varied. 
The leaves of this species are linear and obliquily 
bifid at the apex. The flowers are solitary, axillary, 
pure white, fragrant, and from 1^ ins. to H ins. in 
diameter. The sepals are linear, the upper one reflexed, 
and the lateral two spreading. The petals are deflexed 
and then spread widely; the-lanceolate lip is of 
moderate size, and furnished with a long slender spur 
behind. The plant is grown on a raft with a little 
sphagnum, and suspended from the roof of the East 
Indian house at Kew. 
-— >X< »- 
Gardeners 1 Improvement Societies. 
Manchester. 
The seventh meeting of the session of this society 
was held on January 23rd, Mr. Bruce Findlay pre¬ 
siding. There was a large attendance of members, and 
the paper read was on “The History of Orchids,” by 
Mr. Owen Thomas, Chats worth. Mr. Thomas said 
that before the beginning of the present century there 
were practically no Orchids in this country, and the 
credit of being the pioneer plant was claimed for 
Cypripedium spectabile, which was introduced from 
North America in 1731. Among the rare and beautiful 
Cypripediums which we now possessed this old and 
much-neglected plant still held its own for interest and 
beauty, and it was often wondered why it was neglected. 
The Vanilla was the next plant heard of, being im¬ 
ported from South America in 1739. It was but little 
grown now, although some twenty-five or thirty years 
ago every gardener of note made a point of trying his 
hand at its cultivation. Some went so far as to say 
that Vanilla pods could be profitably grown in this 
country. This idea, although there might be some¬ 
thing in it, passed away without its practicability 
being proved. The culture of the plant was com¬ 
paratively easy, the greatest difficulty being its 
fertilisation, which had to be artificially effected. 
Few other species were heard of till 1800, but after 
1810 new ones came frequently ; in the latter year the 
first Cattleya. Our forefathers, we were told, were 
sadly puzzled to know how to grow them, and no 
wonder. They must have been almost as much at a loss 
how to treat the plants as present-day gardeners would 
be were an importation to be received from the moon. 
The people of that time were almost as devoid of 
information respecting the natural conditions in which 
the plants grew in their native homes as we should be 
in the case of a lunar arrival. The only idea on which 
they could found a mode of culture was that the plants 
came from countries where heat was believed to be 
excessive, and the Orchids were treated to a stearaiog 
sort of process in a hot and stifling atmosphere. This 
spoedily ended, it was said, in the death of many of 
the plants. Despite the failure to gtow or even keep 
alive the interesting strangers, fresh importations con¬ 
tinued to arrive, and keener interest began to manifest 
itself in their history and culture. 
A great development in the cultivation and distribu¬ 
tion of Orchids had taken place within the last forty 
or fifty years by the enterprise and perseverance of our 
commercial horticulturists in sending indomitable and 
clever men all over the globe in search of these floral 
gems. Since it had been proved that their successful 
cultivation might be accomplished in a comfortable 
