812 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 23, 1890. 
Allotment Gardening. 
Ax interesting departure on the estate of F. Ricardo, 
Esq., The Friary, Old Windsor, deserves mention. 
This gentleman recently set apart five acres of land for 
allotment gardens of about twenty poles each, which 
have been let to inhabitants of Old Windsor at a merely 
nominal rent. This is the first year of the experiment, 
and the results are very good. Potatos are lifting well, 
with good tubers and fine crops. To stimulate healthy 
interest in the gardens, Mrs. Ricardo has offered prizes 
for the best kept. Mr. Swan, of Castle Hill 
Gardens, and Mr. Sturt, of Round Oak, Englefield 
Green, kindly consented to judge them, and a difficult 
task it has proved to be. This boon is greatly prized 
by the villagers, and affords valuable testimony to the 
interest shown by Mr. and Mrs. Ricardo in the welfare 
of their poorer neighbours.— F. R. S. 
Nepenthes edinense. 
Tn E pitchers of this comparatively new garden hybrid 
are light green, heavily blotched with crimson, and 
the two wings, which in this instance are very broad, 
are also blotched with the same rich colour. In shape 
they are oblong-cylindrical, of the same width through¬ 
out, and they attain a large size. The leaves are also 
proportionately large, oblong and blunt. The plant 
appears to be of vigorous constitution, and thrives 
vigorously under the same treatment as is given to 
garden kinds generally. We noted it recently in the 
nursery of Messrs. B. S. Williams & Son, Upper 
Holloway. 
Begonia corallina. 
Tiie leaves of this handsome species are oblong, 
obliquely cordate at the base, glaucous green, and red 
at the edges, as well as the under surface. The stems 
are upright, but tall, rather slender, and it is therefore 
adapted for growing as a pillar plant in an intermediate 
house. Long pendulous racemes of flowers are produced 
along the upper part of the stem, and present a fine 
appearance, notwithstanding their small size, compared 
with some of the modern tuberous kinds. The sepals, 
the broad wing of the seed vessel, and the peduncles 
are all of a bright coral-red. It may be seen in the 
nursery of Messrs. B. S. Williams & Son, Upper 
Holloway. 
Isora salicifolia variegata. 
The leaves of this Ixora are remarkable for their length 
as compared with their breadth, giving rise to the 
specific name, which means Willow-leaved. They are 
of a dark green, with a grey centre. We noted a 
batch of plants in the nursery of Messrs. B. S. 
Williams k Son, Upper Holloway, quite recently, 
and having been propagated froih cuttings they stood 
only about 4 ins. or 6 ins. high. Notwithstanding 
this they were in full bloom, pretty and interesting, 
the scarlet flowers not clashing with the variegation of 
the leaves. The flowers consist of four lanceolate, 
elongated segments, and the slender tube is as brightly 
coloured as the lamina. For the front benches of a 
stove or warm conservatory, small plants like the 
above are very serviceable, whether in flower or not. 
Cucumber, Express. 
This variety is said to be a cross between Parley 
Park Hero, and Tender and True. Twelve fruits of it 
were shown at the Drill Hall on the 12th inst. by 
Mr. S. Mortimer, Rowledge, Farnham, when a First 
Class Certificate was awarded the variety by the Fruit 
Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society. The 
fruits varied from 20 ins. to 22 ins. in length, and were 
rather narrowly cylindrical, deep glaucous green or 
dark green with often a glaucous bloom. They are 
shallowly and irregularly ridged. 
Veronica longifolia subsessilis. 
The typical form of this widely-cultivated Veronica is 
a native of Central Europe, from whence it was brought 
to this country in 1731. It varies remarkably, and 
there are many varieties in cultivation differing in 
stature, the size, shape and arrangement of the leaves, 
as well as in the colour of the flowers. It is not, 
therefore, remarkable to find a form in Japan differing 
considerably from the original. V. longifolia sub¬ 
sessilis was introduced from Japan in 1878, and is 
characterised by the great size of its dark amethystine 
blue flowers borne in long terminal racemes. Several 
lateral racemes are given off near the base of the principal 
one. The leaves are broad, almost ovate, deeply 
serrated, and inserted upon the stems by very short 
stalks, thus suggesting the varietal name. The stems 
vary from 2 ft. to 4 ft. in height, but are more often 
seen of the shorter stature. The whole plant when in 
flower has a telling appearance, and no collection of 
any pretensions should be without it. We received a 
specimen the other day from a correspondent in the far 
north, and it is therefore quite hardy. 
Cactus Dablia, Robert Maher. 
The flowers of this variety are large and clear bright 
yellow. The florets are elongated and pointed, entitling 
the variety to the name of Cactus ; but few indeed of 
the new varieties are so markedly distinctive in this 
respect as the old Juarezi. Flowers were shown by 
Mr. T. S. Ware, Hale Farm Nurseries, Tottenham, at 
the last meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society, 
when an Award of Merit was accorded the variety. 
New Gladioli. 
Stanley. —The flowers of this new variety are of large 
size, with recurved segments. The latter are pink, 
striped with red towards the margin, and the two inner 
and lower segments are creamy yellow on the lower half. 
Empress of Germany. —In this case the flowers are 
blush-white, striped and suffused with reddish crimson 
towards the tips of each of the three outer segments. 
The stripes are rosy purple on the inner segments. 
Both were shown at the Drill Hall, Westminster, on 
the 12th inst., by Messrs. Kelway & Son, Langport, 
Somerset, when each received an Award of Merit. 
Hydrangea paniculata as a Standard. 
Like many other subjects of like habit, this Hydrangea 
may be put to varied uses in the decoration of the 
greenhouse and conservatory as well as the open border 
or shrubbery. Besides being used in the bush form, 
a leading stem may be allowed to grow up straight and 
clean, topping it at a certain height so as to make it 
throw out branches and form a head. Treated in this 
manner it forms a handsome standard, neater and of 
course more natural than a standard Rose, because upon 
its own roots, whereas a standard Rose has been budded 
on something else. We recently noticed some specimens 
grown in this fashion in the nursery of Messrs. B. S. 
Williams & Son at Upper Holloway. The monotony 
of low plants in a greenhouse or conservatory can be 
broken by the use of a few standards placed here and 
tlfere amongst them. 
The Madresfleld Court Grape. 
I daresay this Grape is a puzzle to many, and a great 
source of annoyance at the ripening period. I have 
grown it for over fifteen years, and therefore have had 
some little experience of its behaviour. As an experi¬ 
ment I have grown it with an abundance of moisture 
through the whole season, and have had different 
results, sometimes cracking, at other times ripening 
fairly well. In my opinion, to have really well-finished 
and well-flavoured Grapes, the less unnecessary moisture 
one has to use the better. I grow the Madresfleld in 
the Hamburgh house and treat all alike, with the 
exception that I always leave three or four leaves 
beyond the bunch at pinching, and, in the case of 
young canes which have not filled their allotted space, 
I do not pinch the leader, or, what does as well, a 
lateral or two may be allowed to grow on, training 
th em down the back wall or along the top wire. This 
I find uses up a good deal of the superabundant sap. 
I begin the treatment when the first berries show 
colour. I also make an incision a short way off the 
bunch on the branch to which it is attached, and by 
this means I can ripen and flavour to perfection this 
rather troublesome subject. I should like to know if 
any of your readers have given it a trial on the Black 
Hamburgh as a stock, and, if so, with what results.— 
G. Dufferin, The Gardens, Runkerry, co. Antrim. 
-->*<-- 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
_ 
The Orchid Growers’ Calendar. 
Odontoglossums are very liable to be attacked by 
yellow thrips about this season, just when they are 
pushing their young growths. To prevent this, it is 
advisable to use the Thanatophore, or else to dip the 
plants in weak tobacco-water, it being less troublesome 
now than it would be after the thrips get established. 
There are but few plants in bloom at present, and 
therefore the dipping business is not so formidable an 
affair as it is when the plants are bristling with young 
flower spikes. September is the best time of the year 
for re-potting cool Orchids, and at that time it is 
necessary to examine each plant to see whether it 
requires a shift or not. They should afterwards be 
sponged over, and so given a fair start in the new 
compost; but if the plants are dipped now, they will be 
kept free from insects until after re-potting is over, 
when they may be sponged to free them from dust and 
dirt. 
Miltonia vexillaria is already forward enough to be 
re-potted, and should receive attention before the cool 
house section, any old plants of which, if bare in the 
centre or otherwise unsatisfactory, will be all the better 
for being taken right out and potted up into smaller 
pots again, where they will root more freely than when 
massed together in large pots. The fortnightly dipping 
in tobacco-water, as previously advised, should still be 
continued, as the plants easily get into ill health if the 
thrip is not kept well under. One ounce of shag 
tobacco to a gallon of water makes a safe and useful 
mixture into which they may be dipped. 
Our Dendrobiums are now mostly removed to a vinery 
to ripen, though the evergreen D. thyrsiflorum and its 
allies are being pushed on in the warmest house. Any 
Trichopilias that require, it may now be re-potted, as 
well as various Anguloas, Oncidium splendidum, 0. 
phymatochilum, and late-flowering plants of Cattleya 
gigas Sanderiana. 
Odontoglossum grande, 0. Insleayi and its varieties 
now pushing spikes are tempting morsels for any slugs 
that may be lurking about, and the flower spikes are too 
useful to be sacrificed to their greed. Yanda coerulea 
grown in a cool house, and now pushing out flower 
spikes, will need watching where slugs exist, and will 
be safer if stood over a pan of water. — IV. P. 
A Fine Group of Satyrium. 
Nearly fifty species of this genus have been described, 
but comparatively few of them have been introduced. 
Most of them are natives of the Cape, and may be 
described as half-hardy, requiring somewhat similar 
treatment to the Disas. The rootstock is tuberous, and 
thrives in a compost of fibrous peat and loam, with 
sufficient sand to render the whole porous and open. 
Plenty of drainage must also be used, because a liberal 
supply of water is required while growth is being made. 
They may even be grown in small pots, provided the 
latter are plunged in something that will prevent undue 
or too rapid evaporation. A group of them shown at 
the Drill Hall on the 12th inst. by Messrs. Seeger & 
Tropp, East Dulwich, and for which a Silver Banksian 
Medal was awarded, showed what a beautiful effect they 
are capable of producing when well managed. Satyrium 
candidum had white flowers, much smaller than any of 
the others ; but this defect is made up by the deliciously 
aromatic odour proceeding from them. The others 
varied from 12 ins. to 18 ins. in height, bearing large 
flowers in a close terminal raceme. The blooms of 
S. carneum are white, suffused with flesh or pink ; 
while those of S. c. roseum are bright rose. S. erectum 
has golden yellow flowers, and its variety S. c. nitens 
had an orange lip. This latter organ is hooded or 
helmet-shaped, and two-spurred in all the species. To 
this peculiarity is added the fact that the lip is upper¬ 
most, and although not unique in the Orchid family, is 
by no means common. 
Cattleya gigas. 
The forms of this Cattleya which have the shortest 
and most slender pseudo-bulbs flower much more freely 
and regularly than those with long and strong-growing 
stems. Quite recently a number of plants having 
pseudo-bulbs only about 6 ins. long were flowering 
freely in the nursery of Messrs. B. S. 'Williams k Son, 
Upper Holloway, while tall and strong ones, probably 
coming from a different locality, were showing no signs 
of flowering. They varied somewhat in colour, but the 
lip generally was of a rich purple-lake with a lilac 
margin, and had a large white blotch on each side of 
the entrance to the tube. One suspended from the 
roof of a house in a basket had a very richly coloured 
lip. 
Pachystoma Thomsonianum- 
The pseudo-bulbs of this Orchid are short, angular, 
and flattened on the top, much after the same style as 
those of a Pleione, to which they bear a considerable 
resemblance at a short distance. The flowers are 
generally borne singly or in pairs on short, arching 
scapes, and are remarkably pretty. The sepals and 
petals are narrowly lanceolate, pure white and shining, 
while the lip is three-lobed and parti-coloured. Tuo 
lateral lobes are spotted with brown, while the middle 
