796 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 16, 1890. 
Tomatos Planted Out. 
A fair quantity of fruit may be produced on Tomatos 
grown in pots, but when planting out can be effected, 
and the other cultural conditions are equal, the largest 
quantity and the finest quality the plants are capable 
of producing is obtained. A dry atmosphere with 
plenty of ventilation is also needed, in order to secure 
a healthy state of the foliage, and to ward off disease. 
Several varieties are grown for early work in a warm 
house by Mr. T. Bones, Tower House, Chiswick ; but 
in summer an unheated span-roofed house is utilised 
for the main crop. Few varieties are grown, the 
greater bulk consisting of selections from good and 
promising seedlings of Perfection, with some plants of 
The Conference and Tennis Ball. They are strictly 
confined to a single stem, and tied to stout rods. The 
stems are now from 6 ft. to 8 ft. high, and fruited from 
the base upwards. Some idea of the prolific nature of 
Tomatos when treated on this system may be gleaned 
from the fact that one stem bears from six to eight 
bunches of fruit while the upper part is still in full 
bloom. 
Telegraph Cucumber. 
The popularity of this Cucumber still continues, for it 
hardly ever fails to give satisfaction either for summer 
or winter culture, in properly heated houses. It is, 
moreover, the Cucumber par excellence, for the amateur 
for culture in cold frames during summer. A few 
barrow-loads of manure is sufficient to give the 
plants a start in spring, after which, with proper care, 
a supply of Cucumbers can be obtained throughout the 
summer. In the Chiswick nursery of Messrs. J. Veitch 
& Sons, Chelsea, there is a span-roofed house in two 
divisions, used for testing seeds in winter and spring, 
but utilised for growing Cucumbers for seed during the 
summer months. It is 10 ft. wide, and one division is 
21 ft. long, the other 17£ ft. Ten plants are grown in 
each division, five on each side, and trained to strong 
wire trellis-work just under the roof. The twenty 
plants carried in the aggregate 366 fruits when we 
inspected them the other day, and a fine effect they 
had. The fruits varied from 18 to 24 ins. in length, 
and nearly half of them were ripe and ready for 
cutting. 
Cheltenham Green-top Beet. 
The foliage of this variety would not lead one to expect 
a dark-coloured root, yet it is darker than many of the 
black-foliaged kinds. It is tap-shaped, like an Inter¬ 
mediate Carrot, smooth, even, and dark purple-red. 
Internally it is crimson, and the flesh is tender or crisp 
and much sweeter than the Egyptian Turnip-rooted 
grown in the same soil. The leaves are of a rich, dark, 
shining green, slightly tinted with a bronzy hue along 
the midrib and the principal veins, and by no means 
bulky compared with some of the coarse green kinds. 
It was honoured with an Award of Merit at the Vege¬ 
table Conference held at Chiswick last year. 
Sulphate of Copper and Sulphate of Iron. 
The communication of your Swiss correspondent, Mr. 
L. Morhardt (p. 778), advocating sulphate of copperas 
a remedy against the Potato fungus, will no doubt 
cause many to try it, not only on Potatos, but other 
things as well. In June last, p. 662 of the present 
volume, I mentioned a couple of Marechal Niel Roses 
supposed to have owed their welldoing to the soil being 
impregnated with sulphate of iron or green vitriol. 
The least plant of these two Roses, I may say, made 
five shoots last year, averaging 23 ft. each in length, 
although on its own roots. Experiments with several 
stones of sulphate of iron made since then have 
convinced me that it gives a splendid colour and tone 
to both Roses and vegetables when rightly applied ; 
indeed, it is now no secret that prize-winning cottagers 
in this district use it largely. For Roses, we give 1 oz. 
to 3 gals, of water once a fortnight; and for vegetables, 
give an occasional slight sprinkling. If either sulphate 
of iron or sulphate of copper should ultimately prove 
to be an antidote to canker or fungus, applied either 
to the roots or branches, it will certainly be a blessing 
to gardeners.— B, L. 
Abies Tsuga. 
This tree is of slower growth and denser habit than 
the common Hemlock Spruce (A. canadensis), to 
which it is not distantly related. The linear leaves are 
arranged in a two-ranked fashion, dark shining green 
on the upper surface, with two conspicuous white lines 
beneath. A specimen about 31 ft. high was shown 
by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons at the Drill Hall on the 
12th inst., when a First Class Certificate was awarded it. 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
_ , ♦ - 
- s - 
L/elia elegans Turneri. 
This is considered to be the most richly coloured of all 
the forms of Lfelia elegans, and deserves a place in all 
choice collections, as it is almost certain to bloom well 
and to prove attractive if the plants have attained 
flowering size. The colour of the sepals and petals is 
amethyst-purple, toned with rose, while the lip is 
amethyst-purple, shaded with maroon. Laelia elegans 
is considered to be in all probability a natural hybrid 
between L. purpurata and Cattleya intermedia, while 
the darker-coloured forms, such as Prasiata and Turneri, 
may have gained their coloration by being descended 
from Cattleya guttata Leopoldii. Anyhow, they are 
all very showy flowers, and exhibit a great variety of 
forms and colours during the spring and summer 
months, while the different types of bulbs and 
leaves are quite an interesting study in themselves, 
some being almost as stout as L. purpurata, while 
others are apparently much like Cattleya intermedia. 
A fine form of Laelia elegans Turneri is now carrying 
a spike of seven large flowers in the collection of 
H. M. Pollett, Esq., Fernside, Bickley. 
Cattleya Gaskelliana alba. 
There is also in flower at Fernside a fine variety of 
the beautiful Cattleya Gaskelliana alba. The petals 
and sepals are beautifully white, while the lip is white, 
with a deep orange blotch in the centre, and strongly 
perfumed, as in the type. 
Cypripedium, H. BaLLANTINEi 
The seed parent of this hybrid was Cypripedium 
purpuratum, and the pollen parent C. Fairieanum. 
The plant, as a whole, is dwarf and compact, with 
oblong, obliquely emarginate, dull green leaves, some¬ 
what marked by a darker shade. The one-flowered 
scape is about 5 ins. high, purple, and pubescent. The 
flower is large and pretty, with the white standard 
marked by longitudinal dark purple veins united by 
paler transverse ones. The petals are short, oblong, 
slightly declining, green on the upper longitudinal 
half, pale almost white on the lower half, spotted 
all over with purple in lines, and there is a purple band 
all round the margin. Both edges are ciliate, and the 
upper one is slightly undulate. The lip is dull brownish 
purple. The staminode has a deep sinus on the lower 
side, and is netted with purple and green. A First 
Class Certificate was awarded it by the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society, when shown at the Drill Hall on the 
12th inst. by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons. 
Odontoglossum bictonense superbum. 
The finest variety of 0. bictonense is undoubtedly that 
here named. The sepals and petals are heavily 
blotched with rich crimson-brown on a yellow ground, 
almost obscuring the latter, while the lip is of a warm 
rosy purple. The colour and fine appearance of the 
flowers remind one of 0. Uro-Skinneri ; but they are 
of course considerably smaller. The so-called white 
variety has a pure white lip, but the sepals and petals 
are of a pale drab yellow, as if the brown had been 
washed out of them. A flowering specimen at Devon- 
hurst, Chiswick, bears four spikes, each about 2£ ft. 
long, and the flowers are developed in succession over a 
long period of time during the summer months. 
Masdevallia Lowii. 
The leaves of this species are lanceolate, and 3 ins. to 
5 ins. long. The pendulous scapes bear one flower 
each of very unusual form. There is scarcely any tube, 
and the three sepals are lanceolate acuminate, ter¬ 
minating in creamy white tails about \ in. long, and 
diverge in triangular fashion. They are closely spotted 
and marbled with purple on a white ground. The 
small purple lip is spathulate, with the sides of the claw 
infolded, forming a groove. The small erect petals are 
yellow, tipped with purple, and the column is yellow. 
A specimen was exhibited by Sydney Courtauld, Esq. 
(gardener, Mr. A. Wright), Booking Place, Braintree, 
at the last meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society, 
when a First Class Certificate was awarded it. 
Oncidium Harrisonianum. 
Few of the dwarfer species of Oncidium are prettier 
than that under notice. To compactness it adds a 
large quantity of bloom, produced on panicled scapes 
about 1 ft. in height. Sometimes it may be under this, 
but the panicle is very much branched all the same. 
The sepals and petals are linear, and blotched with 
brown on a yellow ground, while the lobed lip is 
yellow. Each pseudo-bulb bears a solitary oblong- 
elliptic leaf. Although originally introduced from 
Brazil in 1830, it is comparatively seldom seen in culti¬ 
vation. It may be seen in the nursery of Messrs. 
Charlesworth & Shuttleworth, Park Road, Clapham. 
A Fragrant Cattleya. 
Cattleyas recommend themselves to the attention of 
the public by the great size and rich colours of their 
flowers, but C. Gaskelliana appeals to the olfactory 
nerves, as well as by the delicate showiness of the 
flowers, and the period at which it comes into bloom. 
The fragrance of the flowers we noted in the collection 
of Messrs. Charlesworth & Shuttleworth, at Park Road, 
Clapham, reminded us of something between Violets 
and Primroses. The odour was quite distinct, but by 
no means overpowering, as occurs in many other species 
of Orchids. The sepals and petals were soft mauve, 
and the undulated lip was lilac, with a large purple 
central blotch. The orange blotch in the throat was 
striated with purple, while towards the base of the 
tube purple veins alternated with white ones. 
Odontoglossum cristatellum. 
The late Professor Reichenbach described this as a 
distinct species, and other names have been given it, 
but it is merely a distinct and well-marked form of 
0. cristatum with broader sepals and petals, the former 
being of a dark chocolate-brown, with a few yellow 
streaks, while the basal two-thirds of the petals are 
yellow, blotched with chocolate, the upper portion 
being of the latter colour. The crest is very con¬ 
spicuous, and consists of many brown and yellow rays, 
with two large white plates in front. It flowered 
recently in the nursery of Messrs. Charlesworth & 
Shuttleworth. 
Sobralia xantholeuca. 
The flowers of this comparatively rare Orchid are large 
and handsome. They are nodding or decurved, with 
oblong-lanceolate sepals and broader petals, wavy at 
the margin, and all of a similar pale sulphur-yellow 
hue. The lip is long, tubular, and of a much darker 
yellow colour. -Flowers are produced singly and in 
succession from a mass of bracts surmounting the stem, 
somewhat reminding one of an Iris. The stems are 
slender and reed-like, as in other species of the genus ; 
but they are much dwarfer than those of the well- 
known S. macrantha, and do not exceed 2 ft. in height, 
bearing a double series of lanceolate, elongated, deep 
green and plaited leaves. It flowered recently in the 
nursery of Messrs. B. S. "Williams & Son, Upper 
Holloway. 
-- 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
—-j-— 
Royal Horticultural.— Aug. 12th. 
There was a varied display at the Drill Hall on 
Tuesday last, the largest groups consisting of Conifers, 
hardy ornamental trees and shrubs, Gladioli, Dracienas, 
Gloxinias, Roses, and various groups of annuals, as well 
as hardy and greenhouse subjects. The exhibits of 
Orchids were much smaller than early in the year, and 
by no means numerous. There were some large collec¬ 
tions of Gooseberries, Peaches and Tomatos, and smaller 
exhibits of Apples and other fruits. 
A Silver Banksian Medal was awarded to Messrs. J. 
Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, for a collection of Conifers, 
hardy trees and flowering shrubs, including a basket of 
cut sprays of Eucryphia pinnatifolia, with its large 
pure white Hypericum-like flowers. The Conifers 
included Sequoia sempervirens albo-spica, Abies Tsuga, 
Cupressus Lawsoniana filiformis, and Abies canadensis 
pendula. They also showed a collection of American 
seedlings of Gladioli, including American Banner, scarlet 
striped slaty blue ; Sensation, fine scarlet ; Amazon, 
blush, with three crimson stripes; and Hew York 
Pride, striped scarlet and crimson on a paler 
ground. In addition to these were exhibited 
collections of hybrid greenhouse Rhododendrons, 
African and French Marigolds, and some Nepenthes. 
Messrs. B. S. Williams & Son, Upper Holloway, were 
also awarded a Silver Banksian Medal for a large 
collection of Dracaenas and Orchids. Amongst the 
former were D. Miss Glendinning, D. Louisae, margined 
with white ; D. iudivisa variegata, D. superba, narrow 
leaves with a red margin ; D. angustifolia, narrow 
bronzy purple leaves; D. Guilfoylei, narrow white- 
margined leaves, and others. The Orchids included 
Pachystoma Thompsonii, Cypripedium cenanthum, C. 
grande, C. Ashburtoniie, and others in fine condition. 
A similar award was made to Messrs. Kelway & Son, 
Langport, Somerset, for a large collection of Gladioli, 
showing a great variety of colours. Fine kinds were 
Empress of Germany, Emperor of Germany, Stanley, 
