November i, 1898. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
147 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS, 
The Orchid Growers’ Calendar. 
Cattleya House : Epidendrum prismatocarpum. 
_This is one of the best of a wondrous family, and is 
rather easily grown if well looked after, but if 
allowed to get out of health is most difficult to coax 
back again into vigour. We have a good batch of 
it which has done well grown on the north side of 
the Cattleya house. The new growths are nearly 
made up, and are pushing large fleshy roots from 
their base. I am not an advocate for top-dressing 
Orchids, but in this case, considering the time of 
year, I would recommend a top-dressing of peat and 
moss for these new roots to run into. This will 
materially help the plants to carry the spikes for a 
long time. Very little water is needed during the 
winter months, and just enough only to keep the 
bulbs from shrivelling should be given. Spot on the 
foliage is caused by over-watering and imperfect 
ventilation. 
A.vgraecum sesquipedale. —As I pointed out in 
a previous calendar, those who do not possess an 
East India house or stove need not despair of grow¬ 
ing this, the finest of the genus in the Cattleya 
house. We have now a plant coming into bloom 
which has never failed us, the foliage, too, being 
perfect, and a spring-flowering variety that would 
take some matching. These are grown the whole 
year round with the Cattleyas, and as this division 
goes down as low as 50° during winter it cannot be 
said that it requires excessive heat to grow it well. 
The growth of the plant may not be quite so rapid 
as those grown warm, but the leaves are certainly 
thicker if not quite so large. We keep the plants 
rather dry during the winter months, only giving 
water when there is any sign of shrinking in the 
bottom leaves which show it first. They are stood 
over a bed of leaves and some distance from the hot- 
water pipes, so that they do not feel the effects of 
the harsh heat during severe weather through hard 
firing. 
Cattleya labiata.— There is no mistaking the 
time of year, although it is warm and summer-like, 
for this grand Cattleya is opening its blooms in 
quantity, reminding us that we are well on into 
autumn. Some of the plants have made enormous 
growths, and the sheaths remind one of Laelia pur- 
purata, so large are they. I notice in one or two 
cases the sheaths have become spotted, necessitating 
their removal, or the bulbs may become affected. 
This we suspect has been caused by their being kept 
a bit too wet after the growths are fully made up. 
It is not, however, an uncommon thing for this 
Cattleya to be affected by the spot, but not to such 
an extent as C. gigas and C. Dowiana. After 
flowering we keep our plants rather dry so as to give 
them a good season of rest. 
Temperatures. —The weather is so mild and 
bright that there is no need to have the temperature 
lower than 68° by night in the East India house ; 
Cattleya house, 58°; and cool house 50° by night, 
with a rise of 10° all round by day.— C. 
Orchids were unusually well Represented at the 
meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society on the 
24th ult., when the undermentioned kinds were 
certificated:— 
Cypripedium Clonius. 
In this we have a hybrid obtained from C. conchi- 
ferum fertilised with the pollen of C. caudatum 
Lindeni, the latter being that curious form with a 
long, flat lip tailed like the petals. The leaves are 
of the usual form characteristic of those species. A 
plant exhibited by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, 
Chelsea, bore two expanded flowers and two or more 
buds on one scape. The upper sepal is lanceolate 
and straw-coloured with greenish-yellow veins. 
The petals are about 10 in. long, linear, and pale 
pink or flesh coloured, except at the base, which is 
broader and straw-coloured with green veins. The 
lip is creamy or flesh coloured, mottled with purple 
on the infolded, white side lobes, with an arch of 
rich brown spots just under the column. The 
staminode is pale green with brown hairs on the 
edges. The soft colours make the hybrid chaste and 
choice. First-class Certificate. 
Laelio-Cattleya Pisandra. 
The seed parent of this bigeneric hybrid was Laelia 
crispa, and the pollen bearer Cattleya Eldorado. 
The leaves are solitary on the stems, and broadly- 
oblong. The sepals are of the palest lilac with 
deeper veins, and the petals are folded backwards 
along the middle, and soft purple. The lip has a 
long, bifid, crisped, and rich crimson-purple lamina; 
the throat is golden-yellow with a medium purple 
band dilated at the base of the tube; the side lobes 
are pale purple edged with a white line, and the 
outer face of the tube is creamy-white. A First- 
class Certificate was awarded it when shown by 
Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. 
Cattleya Lord Rothschild. 
Here we have a hybrid between Cattleya Gaskelli- 
ana and C. Hardyana. The sepals are soft purple 
and the large wavy petals similar in hue. The 
exterior of the lip is purple lined with gold, and the 
interior lined with orange and crimson. The most 
striking feature of the flower is the large and massive 
looking lamina, the apical half of which is of a rich 
crimson-purple edged with lilac, and the rest is like . 
the throat. A First-class Certificate was awarded 
the hybrid when exhibited by Messrs. F. Sander & 
Co., St. Albans. 
Cattleya labiata Sanderiana. 
The sepals of this handsome variety are of a rich 
purple; the petals are just a shade paler and slightly 
crisped near the apex. The tube of the lip externally 
is of a deep purple, and the large lamina is crimson- 
purple edged with lilac ; on each side of the throat 
is a large lilac blotch, and the interior is purple lined 
with lilac veins. A First-class Certificate was 
awarded it when exhibited by Messrs. F. Sander 
& Co. 
Cypripedium jnsigne albens. 
The upper sepal in this instance is the most attrac¬ 
tive feature of the flower ; it is obovate, infolded at 
the sides at the very top, and the whole of the upper 
half is white, while the lower is of a pale yellowish- 
green with brown spots, e.xcept at the sides which 
are white. The petals are of a light, shining greenish- 
yellow netted with brown. The lip is of a shining 
brown reticulate with deeper lines. An Award of 
Merit was accorded it when shown by Messrs. Heath 
& Son, Cheltenham. 
Cattleya Hardyana Selwood var. 
The sepals of this Cattleya are of the palest purple 
lilac. The petals, on the contrary, are of a rich 
rosy-purple netted with white veins. The lamina 
of the lip is bifid, undulated, crisped, and of a rich 
crimson ; the throat is slightly paler and lined with 
yellow, while the exterior of the tube is intense pur¬ 
ple. The large eye spots are golden edged with 
yellow. It came out of one of Messrs. Charlesworth, 
Shuttleworth & Co.’s importations, and received an 
Award of Merit when exhibited by G. D. Owen, 
Esq. (gardener, Mr. Mark Watts), Selwood, Rother¬ 
ham. 
Cattleya Warocqueana Imschootiana. 
The flowers of this variety are of imposing size with 
rich purple sepals and huge, ovate, crisped petals of 
a slightly paler shade. The tube of the lip is of a 
warm purple, and the orbicular lamina is much un¬ 
dulated and crisped, and rich crimson-purple with a 
broad lilac margin. The eye spots are white shaded 
with lavendar. An Award of Merit was accorded 
it when shown by Messrs. Linden, Parc Leopold, 
Brussels. 
Paphinia grandis. 
The correct botanical name of this species, because 
the oldest, is P, grandiflora, though the above is 
best known in gardens. The flowers are the largest 
in the genus. The upper sepal is yellowish towards 
the base, with numerous transverse, chocolate-purple 
bands, while the upper portion is wholly of the latter 
colour ; the lateral sepals are similar, but slightly 
bent. So likewise are the petals, but they are 
narrowed to the base. The lower portion of the 
curiously-formed lip is yellowish-white with brown 
auricles, and the upper portion is covered with 
shaggy white hairs. Award of Merit. It was shown 
by Messrs. Linden. 
Dendrobium lamellatum. 
The singular-looking stems of this species are about 
9 in. long, flattened, jointed, notched at the sides 
like those of an Epiphyllum, and of a shining green. 
The oblong leaves are broad and deep green. 
The flowers are moderate in size, and produced in 
clusters from the notches near the apex of the stems. 
The ovate sepals and oblanceolate petals are white 
slightly tinted with yellow. The lip is brownish- 
orange and shallowly fringed at the margins. A 
Botanical Certificate was granted it when exhibited 
by Messrs. Linden. 
Pholidota convallanioides. 
The .pseudobulbs of this Orchid are short and 
oblong, furnished with lanceolate, leathery, evergreen 
stalked leaves about 18 in. long, and not unlike those 
of Lily of the Valley; hence the specific name. The 
flower scape arises from the centre of the young 
leaves, bearing a one-sided raceme about 4 in. to 5 
in. long, of numerous, fair-sized flowers for the 
genus, and which may be described as pretty. They 
are borne well above the leaves. The sepals and 
petals are small and greenish, while the bifid lip is 
white with a cup-like crest. A Botanical Certificate 
was accorded it when shown by Messrs. Linden. 
Cirrhopetalum ornatissimum. 
The pseudo-bulbs of this beautiful, ornamental and 
singular-looking species are about i in. long, and 
four-angled, bearing a single leathery, deep-green 
leaf. The arching scape is about 10 in. long, bearing 
a half-circular umbel of large flowers. The two 
upper sepals are long, and partly joined by their 
upper edges ; they are pale brown with darker veins. 
The upper sepal is short, edged and tipped with a 
fringe of brown hairs. The petals are subulate and 
yellow, with red veins, and bearded with a tuft of 
brown or black hairs,-giving the whole a singular 
effect. The lip is tongue-like, and of a deep 
chocolate-black hue. It was exhibited by Sir Trevor 
Lawrence, Bart, (grower, Mr. W. H. White), 
Burford Lodge, Dorking, and received a First-class 
Certificate. 
Dendrobium Phalaenopsis Appleton’s var. 
The soft and pleasing colours of this variety give it 
an attractive and engaging appearance. The sepals 
and petals are rosy-pink, fading off to white at the 
base. The lower half of the«lip is also pure white, 
and the terminal lobe rosy-purple. An Award of 
Merit was accorded it when shown by W. M. 
Appleton, Esq., Tyn-y Coed, Weston-super-Mare. 
Cattleya labiata. 
A beautiful variety of this autumn flowering 
species was exhibited by W. M. Appleton, Esq., and 
received an Award of Merit. The sepals and petals 
were of a warm lilac. The tube and side lobes of 
the lip were similar in colour, but the interior was 
purple, brightening on the lamina with a shade of 
blue. 
Cypripedium Statterianum. 
The flowers of this Cypripedium have a solid and 
massive-looking appearance, and the upper sepal, 
which is white, shaded with purple, and suffused 
with green at the base, is of great size. The petals 
are purple, shaded with green, and have a dark mid¬ 
rib. The lip is also of a greenish-purple. The 
plant is evidently of vigorous constitution. It 
received a First-class Certificate when shown by T. 
Statter, Esq., Stand Hall, Manchester. 
Cypripedium insigne Clarkei. 
An Award of Merit was accorded this variety when 
shown by W. C. Clarke, Esq,, Liverpool. The upper 
sepal is the most attractive organ of the flower, and 
is of a soft yellowish shade, richly marked wit’n 
purple-brown spots. The petals and lip are also of 
a clearer yellow shade than usual, but light in hue. 
-- * 1 *-- 
THE SWAN RIVER DAISY. 
The name has very appropriately been given to 
Brachycome iberidifolia, the typical form of which 
has blue flowers with a narrow white zone around 
the brown disc. The plant is an annual, growing to 
a height of 6 in. to 12 in. and flowering freely fcr a 
long period during the summer months and even till 
quite late, or sometimes till cut down by frost. 
There are several vatieties of it in cultivation, in¬ 
cluding those with purple and white rays, but we 
consider them inferior in point of beauty to the type. 
Of course, all three might be grown together for the 
sake of contrast, in which case the particular merits 
of each would be properly brought out. Its cultiva¬ 
tion is of the easiest. Seeds may be sown in the 
open ground about the end of April, when the plants 
are intended to bloom, and thinned out sufficiently 
when well up. The plant is also amenable for pot 
culture, and may be sown in 48 size pots and brought 
slowly on by cool treatment in the same way as 
Mignonette, Scabious, or Browallia elata. It it very 
dwarf in pots and when well grown is handsome 
when in bloom. 
