40 G 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Marcli 1, 1890. 
four bundles of six blooms each of not less than 
eighteen varieties, was finally decided upon. So the 
stands of twenty-four bunches of Cactus, and the same 
number of single and Pompon, will make a fine display. 
Under the head of open classes, prizes are offered for 
six blooms of any dark Dahlia ; the same of light, 
not yellow ; the same of yellow, also of tipped and 
striped ; and some contention arose as to whether these 
should be of one or two varieties. Eventually it was 
decided that the six blooms of a dark and also of a 
light Dahlia should be one variety ; but in the other, 
three blooms each of two varieties may he staged.— R. D. 
-- 
VICTORIA AND PARADISE 
NURSERIES. 
Amongst flowering plants the Orchids are most 
prominent at the present time. The most numerous 
in species or varieties are the Cypripediums, Den- 
drobiums, Odontoglossums, and Calanthes. The latter 
comprise C. nivalis, with pure white flowers ; C. 
Regnieri, C. R. Fausta, C. Williamsii, the beautiful 
pink large-flowered C. Bella, and the distinct C. Masuca, 
with its violet sepals and petals, and intense violet lip 
fading to salmon as it decays. 
The popular and useful Dendrobium IVardianum, 
D. crassinode, D. Ainsworthii, and D. nobile furnish 
considerable variety. D. nobile nobilius is conspicuous 
for the rich colouring of the sepals and petals, and the 
intensely-coloured large blotch in the throat. The 
beautiful D. Findleyanum, with its brightly-coloured 
flowers, is also notable for its curiously-jointed yellow 
stems. We noted a specimen of the singular-looking 
D. macrophyllum Veitcliianum, with its hairy flowers, 
which were more brightly coloured than we occasionally 
see them. In another house close by was D. Jamesi- 
anum, the scarlet throat of which formed a fine 
contrast to the pure white of the other parts of the 
flower. 
The Cypripediums, with their numerous varieties and 
hybrids, enliven the shelves of more than one house, 
although the heat-loving kinds are congregated in a low 
span-roofed structure kept at a high temperature. 
Near the door of one house was C. insigne, and its 
beautiful varieties, C. i. Maulei and C. i. albo-margi- 
natum. The latter has the upper portion and margins 
of the standard white, with the lower two-thirds 
greenish^ yellow, with a few pale brown blotches, 
largest at the base. Close by in another span-roofed 
house were C. concolor, C. Argus, C. Harrisianum, C. 
villosum, C. Lowii, C. vernixium, C. callosum, C. 
hirsutissimum, C. Dominyanum, and C. Boxallii. In 
the warm house already mentioned, some of the more 
striking and ornamental kinds were C. tessellatum 
porphyreum, of a deep reddish purple hue ; C. 
cenantlium superbum, with a handsomely-spotted upper 
sepal ; and C. nitens, to which the same statement 
applies. The flowers of the latter are also of great size. 
A host of other kinds, chiefly hybrids, were located 
here, amongst which we noticed C. politum, C. 
cardinale, C. tonsum, C. melanopthalmum, C. 
Swanianum, C. Sedeni candidulum, C. Measuresianum, 
C. selligerum, C. Sallieri, C. calurum, and C. 
■Williamsianum. 
The flowers of Yanda crerulescens although small are 
of a cheerful blue colour, affording a striking contrast 
to the giants of the genus flowering alongside, namely, 
Y. tricolor Patersoni, a finely-spotted variety, and 
Y. suavis. The typical Zygopetalum crinitum was 
inferior to a fine form, in which the lip was densely 
covered with violet hairs in lines along the veins. A 
rarer kind was Z. rostratum, with a solitary, large, 
nearly white flower, and rose-coloured radii on the base 
of the lip. Cypripedium eburneum is now gay and 
fragrant, many of the scapes bearing twin flowers. A 
grand piece of C. Lowii, consisting of 157 pseudo-bulbs, 
had seven long racemes bearing from twenty-four to 
thirty flowers each. Here may be mentioned P. grandi- 
folius and P. maculatus, with its spotted leaves, yellow 
and orange flowers. 
Cattleyas are not yet very numerous ; but we noted 
amongst the forms of C. Triame, the beautiful C. T. 
Backhouseana, with an intensely coloured lip, and 
C. T. delicata. Lrelia harpophylla is also appreciated 
at this season. Lycaste costata in numerous specimens 
is flowering vigorously, with six to eight flowers from a 
pseudo-bulb. Strikingly distinct is L. fulveseens, with 
large fulvous or amber-brown flowers ; and near by was 
the more sober-tinted L. leucantha, with white petals 
and greenish sepals. Two beautiful varieties of 
Ccelogyne cristata are now in bloom, namely, C. c. alba, 
pure white ; and C. c. Trentham variety, with long 
rhizomes and pseudo-bulbs, bearing eight large flowers 
on a raceme. Showy and ornamental Oncidiums are 
0. Cavendishianum, and 0. splendidum. A pretty 
effect was produced by a large piece of Dendrobium 
glumaceum in a pot suspended from the roof of a house. 
An uncommon species is Epidendrum lanipes, with 
leafy stems and pendent panicles of white flowers borne 
on densely haired pedicels. 
Odontoglossums were both numerous and showy 
when we saw them, including such fine things as 
0. Roezlii, 0. Harryanum, 0. Edwardi, 0. crispum, 
0. c. roseum, 0. cirrhosum, 0. odoratum, 0. triumphans, 
and 0. Rossii majus in its numerous forms. 0. An- 
dersonianum and 0. baphicantlium were in fine form. 
Both belong to the same type, but the latter has the 
sepals and petals spotted with red below the middle 
only, while the lip is more broadly triangular at the 
base. 0. luteo-purpureum in its numerous forms could 
hardly be absent, including the richly coloured 0. l.-p. 
sceptrum, and 0. l.-p. cuspidatum. The latter has 
narrower sepals and petals than in the type, blotched 
with deep chestnut-brown, while there is a large blotch 
of a similar hue on the lip. It is not particularly 
common. Nor must we forget the free-flowering 
though small 0. constrictum with its panicles of bloom, 
nor the distinct 0. cristatum with its radiating lobed 
white crest, edged with brown. 
-- 
SAXIFRAGA LIGULATA. 
“R. D.’s” note (p. 362), and Mr. Kipling’s comments 
on p. 391, anent this early-flowering and large-leaved 
Saxifrage must be welcome to all those who possess 
cold greenhouses, and know not how to ornament them. 
Although not practically acquainted with the plant 
in question, I am aware of its floral merits, and was 
delighted to learn that “ R. D.” succeeds iu obtaining 
blooms so early and so fine. Some day I trust I may 
be permitted to gratify my vision by a sight of 
“ R. D.’s” cold plant house, as my love for these 
hardy denizens of our herbaceous borders runs in this 
direction. I think, with him, that gardeners give this 
class of plants too little consideration. Some plants of 
S. crassifolia flowered well with me last year in 
February and March in my own unheated structure, 
and were generally admired. The “glide” wife, 
however, claimed them as her own, and not content with 
their beauty when in bloom, used them, on account of 
their foliage, for decorative purposes long after their 
pretty panicles of rosy pink flowers had faded and 
gone. This “too gentle” treatment has had its effect, 
and the plants will shortly be committed to the open 
ground for recuperation and redress. 
I think, with “ R. D. ” and Mr. Kipling, that the 
intrinsic value of many of our beautiful hardy her¬ 
baceous and Alpine subjects should insure for them 
better cultural treatment than they generally receive. 
The gardener is apt to overlook and ignore their merits 
because they are hardy. 
With the last paragraph of Mr. Kipling’s note I am 
in entire accord, and would like to be the happy 
possessor of such a structure as he there indicates. — 
C. 13. G., Acton, IV. 
-- 
EUG HARIS AMAZONICA. 
The cultivation of this useful and beautiful plant has 
so often been commented upon by many first-class 
practitioners that we approach the subject with a 
certain amount of diffidence; yet having made ac¬ 
quaintance with the plant from the time it first came 
into general cultivation, and having had it under our 
care in large and small quantities from those early 
days till the present time, we may plead in justification 
of our venture that we ought at least to know some¬ 
thing about its requirements, which in spite of its very 
extended cultivation seem in some quarters to be im¬ 
perfectly understood. Yet its requirements are the 
simplest imaginable when under proper conditions 
as respects heat and moisture, ordinary stove plant 
treatment suiting it admirably ; and when free from 
the notorious Eucharis mite, it is as free from other 
insect pests as any plant we are acquainted with. 
It is quite true that where mealy-bug is prevalent, it 
has a decided partiality for this plant, and should be 
sharply looked after till finally expelled from its 
lodgings. Brown scale and thrip will sometimes put 
in an appearance, but with the use of the usual 
remedies, applied at the first appearance of either of 
them, are easily kept at bay. As regards the mite, we 
have the satisfaction of saying it has never given us 
any trouble ; but from what we have known of stocks 
infested with it, and which have got into a very 
unhealthy condition, we would advocate the throwing 
away of such plants, and replacing with healthy ones 
from another source. As there are plenty of healthy 
stocks in the country, this ought not to be a serious 
undertaking, as it would cost far less than the coddling 
of diseased plants into fresh life and vigour, besides 
the loss of time and flower entailed in the process. 
"We have seen numbers of bulbs reputed to be badly 
infested with mite brought round by having the soil 
washed away from them, and all loose dead matter 
carefully cleaned off ; then planted in fresh soil, and 
■watered twice a week with soot-water. With some 
show of reason, the unhealthy condition accompanying 
the attacks of mite are often ascribed to too low a 
temperature over a prolonged period. Our own obser¬ 
vations lead us to a somewhat opposite conclusion, 
because in many places, where mite has been trouble¬ 
some, these conditions are scarcely likely to have 
occurred, and we have too frequently found what we 
regard as a fatal mistake in the management of the 
plant—we mean subjecting it to seasons of dryness at 
the roots, the same as for some other bulbous plants, 
such as Pancratiums, Amaryllis, &e. We ourselves are 
so situated that we have to subject our stocks for about 
four months in the winter to what must be considered 
a very low temperature, and having carried them 
successfully through the ordeal for a series of years, 
we cannot think that the attacks of the .mite are 
occasioned by cold. We would never hesitate to 
subject the plants to the same ordeal if circum¬ 
stances demanded it. They are kept in a structure 
where with a very moderate frost the thermometer 
will often be down to 40°, and not rise during dull 
weather higher than 45°. At the same time we keep 
them away from sharp draughts, which would, we 
believe, with the low temperature be fatal. We 
keep them moderately moist at the roots, and if an 
exceptionally fine day occurs, syringe them. During 
the present winter under these conditions they have 
made a considerable growth. IVe had rather they had 
remained at rest, but they do not seem any the worse 
for it. and now they are in a warm vinery, and making 
rapid growth. We grow ours in a mixture of loam and 
peat; about two-thirds of the former to one of the 
latter, but with ample drainage. 
Where cut flowers are the main object for which they 
are grown, the larger the plants are the better, because, 
when well established, these large pots of roots yield 
several crops of bloom during the season. We would 
seldom break up any of them when in good health ; by 
giving an occasional watering of soot or cow-manure 
water during their period of growth, they can be kept 
going well in the same pots for several years. They 
delight in plenty of moisture when growing, it being 
quite impossible, where there is plenty of heat, to 
syringe them too much. Where there is plenty of 
stove room, this plant ought almost always to be had 
in flower by having it in different batches, completing 
their growth at various periods during the year. But 
where accommodation is limited, two or three batches 
of bloom are all that can reasonably be expected. 
When in flower, place in as cool a temperature as the 
plant will stand without injury, by which means the 
flowering period will be prolonged. If cut flowers are 
in demand, gather them as they expand, and keep in a 
dry cool place in the dark till wanted for use. — TV. B. G. 
-«»$<-*- 
TRITELEIA UNIFLORA. 
At a recent meeting of the Ealing and District Gar¬ 
deners’ Mutual Improvement Society, three pots of this 
very striking and beautiful spring Starflower were ex¬ 
hibited by Mr. Edwards, gardener to W. Oven, Esq. As 
the specific name implies, the flowers are produced singly, 
and these are elevated upon strong slender stems about 
5 ins. high, but in the plants in question many of the 
blooms were in pairs, the stems longer and stronger 
than is usually seen, and the foliage of a very pleasing 
glaucous green colour. These facts testify to the 
health and vigour of the plants, and also to the 
cultural treatment bestowed upon them by Mr. 
Edwards, who is evidently a good plantsman, as 
witness his performance lately in connection with the 
National Chrysanthemum Society’s Medals. 
T. uniflora was introduced from America in 1836, 
where it is much esteemed and cultivated by the 
Americans as a window plant. The perianth is pale 
lilac in colour, with a dark band runnning along the 
centre of each segment, and which gives to the flower 
that special characteristic by which it is commonly 
known. Of bulbous habit, and of the Liliaceous tribe, 
it is especially suitable for the decoration of the hardy 
house or cold frame, and notwithstanding its rather 
disagreeable garlic-like odour, its conspicuous star-like 
