24 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
September 9, 1898, 
adverse circumstances, and the success achieved 
' should be an incentive to those who may have failed 
in the cultivation of this universal favourite flower. 
They were grown all through this summer in a small 
span-roofed house, which had cucumbers on one 
side. These gave partial shade. Those in 32’s 
were bloomed in the same house, and have never 
been taken out since the younger plants were struck 
from cuttings, and which have been grown on into 
blooming plants where I found them.— W.B.G. 
EXACUM AFFINE. 
Amongst blue flowers for late summer and autumn 
culture in the greenhouse and conservatory, this 
member of the Gentian family is very choice. The 
flowers are small compared with those of E. mac- 
ranthum. and much paler in colour, but they are 
proportionately more numerous and deliciously 
scented during the middle of the day, when the con¬ 
servatory is most likely to receive a visit in the cool 
autumn weather. The fragrance reminds us of 
Phalaenopsis violacea, and that again may be com¬ 
pared with some of the Roses. The plant may be 
propagated by seeds or cuttings. It may be seen in 
one of the houses in the Portland Road nursery of 
Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Reading. 
NEPHROLEPIS RUFESCENS TRIPIN- 
NATIFIDA. 
This handsome Fern is generally grown in pots, and 
does well under that treatment; but ils bold 
appearance is more effectually set off when culti¬ 
vated in baskets and suspended from the roof of the 
house, as it is at Falkland Park, South Norwood 
Hill. The fronds attain a great length and have a 
feathery and massive appearance as they diverge in 
various directions and assume a semi-pendent habit, 
which is not the case when the plants are grown in 
pots and crowded amongst other Ferns or plants 
generally. The bottom of the baskets may be 
covered with Selaginella as in the present case. 
A BLUE GLOXINIA. 
Blue is always a great desideratum amongst all 
garden races of flowers, including Roses, Dahlias, 
Carnations, Begonias, and others. A blue has been 
obtained in the Chinese Primula, the Primrose, and 
the Polyanthus, yet how few there are who express 
any satisfaction at the realisation of their dream, 
because, forsooth, it is not the particular shade of 
blue their imagination had pictured. Who has faith 
enough to believe that the Blue daisy or Primrose 
will ever rival, or even simulate the blue of the 
Gentian ? The question is, which Gentian ? for 
some are yellow, purple, and even Gentiana acaulis 
has purple in it, and green as well. The Gloxinia 
under notice is named Porcelain Blue, but that does 
not indicate the real colour, which is many shades 
darker than porcelain. We should describe it as 
clear, bright blue, with a white edge and tube. It is 
a seedling from Her Majesty, now well-known as a 
large pure white variety. That in its turn w'as 
derived from a pink variety by the repeated raising 
of seeds and selection through a course of fifteen 
years. In looking through the houses of Messrs. 
Sutton & Sons, Reading, the other day, the eye 
singled out this blue variety as something very dis¬ 
tinct amongst Gloxinias, rich and varied as they are 
in all shades of colour except yellow in the lamina of 
the flower. 
ROSE VERVAIN. 
Such is the name very appropriately given to a North 
American species of Verbena (V. Aubletia) introduced 
to this country as early as 1774, and hardy, but very 
much neglected since the garden varieties have been 
brought to such perfection. In spite of this fact, it 
is a beautiful plant, producing a profusion of rosy- 
purple flowers all through the summer months. The 
stems are procumbent, not erect like those of V. 
venosa, and well furnished with ovate, deeply trifid, 
and cut leaves. It may be raised annual y from 
seeds, in the same way as its more popular congener 
already mentioned. There are various ways in which 
it may be utilised to advantage for bedding purposes, 
by growing it in small beds upon the grass, as 
edgings to others, or upon rockwork where its trail¬ 
ing stems would hang over ledges in moderately cool 
positions, but well exposed to sunlight. Plants 
raised from cuttings might bloom earlier, but they 
would hardly bloom more freely ; while the constitu¬ 
tion of seedlings is all that could be desired. 
EUPHORBIA MARGINATA. 
Comparatively few of the hardy Euphorbias are 
extensively grown in this country. A few of the 
perennial species with yellow bracts and young 
leaves are grown in herbaceous borders. That 
under notice has the habit of an annual, and would 
have to be raised from seeds annually. The stems 
are 18 in. high, branched from the middle, with a 
broad table-like top. The leaves are oblong-ovate, 
glaucous, and the upper ones are margined with 
white. The bracts are even more distinctly edged 
in the same way, while the involucral leaves are 
white and arranged as they are, round the small, 
inconspicuous flowers, they have the appearance of 
being flowers. The plant, as a whole, is rather con¬ 
spicuous, and the white edges of the numerous 
bracts and leaves give it an enlivening effect. There 
are some good sized plants of it in the herbaceous 
department at Kew. 
■» 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
Orchid Growers’ Calendar. 
The Tropical heat of the past few weeks has left 
us as suddenly as it came, and it is doubtful if we 
shall again find the thermometer registering 95° in 
the shade, as far as 1S93 is concerned. If the intense 
heat did not quite suit the Masdevallias and 
Odontoglossums, the Dendrobiums seemed to revel 
in it, especially those that have nearly finished their 
growths, so that a good supply of bloom next spring 
should be ours. 
Cattleya speciosissima, a rather shy blooming 
species, but one of the best when in flower, has been 
blooming freely with us this season. Our plants are 
grown in baskets, which are suspended close to the 
glass in a light airy place. Very little material is 
required for them to root into, but one point should 
be observed if they are to be kept in health for any 
length of time, i. e., to pick out as much of the old 
material as possible every spring, and replace with 
some new. This can be easily done without 
damaging the roots. 
C\TTLEYA Dowiana aurea. —The free flowering 
Orchid is just now finishing up its growths and as 
the plants flower on its completion, the flower spikes 
will soon be pushing through the sheaths. At this 
stage they must have an abundant supply of 
moisture at the roots, otherwise the flowers will be 
small and lack substance. After flowering, gradually 
withhold moisture from the roots so that they do not 
start into growth again, as so much depends on their 
being kept dormant through the winter months. 
This resting system, however, must not be carried 
so far, to allow the plants to shrivel beyond reall. 
Pleiones. —These have completed their growth 
and should,, as soon as most of the foliage has 
dropped off, be removed to cooler quarters. They 
must not be allowed to get too dry or the flowers 
will be few and poor. If the pans could be stood on 
a cool ash bottom in the greenhouse, they would 
keep plump without being watered much overhead. 
Oncidium incurvum.— The individual flowers of 
this Oncid are certainly not to be compared with 
some other kinds ; but spikes with over a hundred 
blooms are charming in the extreme, and flowering as 
they do when there are none too many Orchids in 
bloom enhances their value not a little. It is a 
species of easy culture, whether grown entirely cool 
or with the Cattleyas. We adopt a medium course 
with ours and one that seems to answer, their re¬ 
quirements to a nicety. We place them with the 
Odontoglossums in summer, and by wintering them 
with the Cattleyas, we fancy they flov.'er more freely 
under this treatment; certain it is, at any rate, we 
get more flowers to a spike. 
Oncidium flexuosum.— This is an old species 
which is little thought of by Orchid growers gener¬ 
ally, but what is more graceful for table decoration 
or for grouping with ferns? It is nearly always in 
flower. It grows best in nearly all moss, and should 
not be dried off.—C 
Oncidium Lanceanum. 
Of the numerous species of Oncidium that have been 
cultivated in Britain at one time or other, that under 
notice is amongst the largest flowered and most 
richly coloured. The sepals and petals are wholly 
brown at the base, and so heavily blotched with that 
hue on the rest as nearly to cover the yellowish 
green ground. On the contrary, thelipis rosy purple 
with a violet purple base, crest, column and wings. 
When at their best the flowers are distinctly fragrant. 
The species is one of the few that has no pseudo¬ 
bulbs, their place being taken by large, thick and 
rigid leaves, which in this case are more or less 
blotched or marbled with purple. Great care should 
therefore be taken of these leaves which serve not 
merely for the growth of the plant, but as a store¬ 
house for what reserve the plant may possess. It is 
now flowering finely in the collection of John 
McMeekin, Esq., Falkland Park, South Norwood 
Hill. 
Laelia pumila praestans. 
This may be considered the finest of the forms of 
L. pumila in cultivation, on account of the size and 
rich colouring of the flowers. The sepals and elliptic 
petals are deep purple, well spread out and displayed. 
The tube of the lip may be a shade or so paler. The 
lamina on the contrary is of a dark crimson-purple, 
with a small, pale blotch at the apex. It differs 
from the type chiefly in -the richer colour and in the 
purple lines in the interior of the tube being nearly 
absent, leaving the ground of a clear yellow. It has 
been flowering for some time in the collection at 
Falkland Park, South Norwood Hill. The variety 
was originally brought from Santa Catherina and 
has always been a rare plant in collections. It varies 
somewhat in colour, as may be seen by a paler form 
in the same house. 
Peristeria elata. 
Mr. W. Driver, Longfords, Minchinghampton, sends 
us some waxy blooms of the Dove Orchid, and which 
have every appearance of having been well grown. 
The spots on the basal part of the lip were of a deep 
purple, almost crimson, whereas in the more typical 
form they are much paler and lilac. The flowers 
were also highly fragrant. Accompanying the above 
was a bloom of Lselia pumila Dayana, also in fine 
condition. The lip was highly coloured, the lamina 
being of a dark crimson-purple ; the upper part of 
the tube was of this rich hue, while the underside 
was nearly white ; the interior as well as the disc was 
white, thus showing off the crimson lines or ridges 
upon it to advantage. 
Cyppipedium niveum Dr. Gorton’s van. 
The ordinary C. niveum has white flowers, more or 
less dotted with purple towards the base of the upper 
sepal and the petals. The spotting is so pronounced 
in the above variety not merely on the sepals and 
petals, but over all the segments as to warrant the 
varietal name given it. The upper sepal is roundish 
or oblate, and faintly punctate with purple. The 
oblong, deflexed petals, on the contrary, are closely 
spotted with deep purple all over, in lines following 
the course of the veins. In this respect they remind 
us of some of the forms of C. Godefroyae, but the 
roundish or oval inflated lip is quite that of C. 
niveum, and is white with smaller purple spots than 
the petals. The scape is about gin. high, which is 
strong for C. niveum. The undersurface of the 
leaves is of a deep violet purple. A plant of this 
beautiful variety has been flowering for some time 
past in the nursery of Mr. P. McArthur, 4, Maida 
Vale, London. 
Orchids from Birdhill House. 
Last week we received some beautiful forms of 
Cattleya Loddigesii from Captain Twiss, Birdhill 
House, Birdhill, Limerick, Ireland. One of them 
was C. L. Harrisoniae known by the bold orange 
coloured corrugations on the middle lobe of the lip. 
The sepals and petals were of a uniform soft purple 
with a silky gloss and the tube and side lobes of the 
lip were considerably paler. The other variety was 
a subvariety of the last, namely C. L. Harrisoniae 
Birdhill var. in which the sepals and petals were of 
an intense and beautiful purple of uniform tint 
throughout their length. The curved tube of the 
lip, on the contrary, was of a soft pinkish-purple 
forming a striking contrast. The lamina and the 
inner face of the side lobes was of a pale sulphur 
yellow tint with orange corrugations forming a 
blotch in the centre. The large column was like the 
outer face of the tube. Altogether this is a beautiful 
and richly coloured variety. Captain Twiss also 
sent a raceme of flowers of Ccelogyne cristata. He 
has had the plant for the last ten years, and it 
flowers in July and August from the top of the 
pseudo-bulbs and again in March from the base of 
them in the ordinary way. The plants differ from 
the others he has in its longer and thinner pseudo¬ 
bulbs placed about 4 in. to 5 in. apart on the 
rhizomes. The second flowering we should say is 
unusual, and still more strange for this species to 
flower from the top of the pseudo-bulbs. 
