March 3, 1894. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
417 
five were dead through improper planting. The 
farmers should graft good sorts on to the cider trees. 
Short discussion followed, and the usual votes of 
thanks concluded the proceedings. 
Horticultural Cong^’ess of Paris.—The National 
Horticultural Society of France will hold its tenth 
congress in the month of May next, at the same 
time as its annual horticultural exhibition. The 
Bulletin d'Arboi'iculture says that, having an inter¬ 
national character, that congress will unite the 
scientific and practical men of all countries. The 
railway companies of France agree to a reduction of 
half-price to the members of the Society who betake 
themselves to Paris for the congress. The Society 
has put at the disposal of the organising Commission, 
gold, silver-gilt, silver and bronze medals, which 
will be accorded, as was the case last year, to the 
authors of preliminary memoirs considered meri¬ 
torious, and bearing upon the questions inscribed 
upon the programme. They ought to reach the 
Society before the ist of April next. The following 
questions are the order of the day :—i, Chlorophyll, 
considered in its relations to the vigour and hardi¬ 
ness of cultivated plants; 2, capillarity, in its 
relations with the preparation of the soil; 3, means 
of hastening the nitrification of substances contain¬ 
ing nitrogen, and as a consequence, to render them 
more promptly assimilable; 4, a study upon the best 
methods of forcing flowering plants (Lily of the 
Valley, Lilac, Ro.ses, &c.); 5, the economy of forc¬ 
ing fruits (Strawberries, Grapes, Peaches, &c.); 6, 
kitchen garden culture of the leading subjects 
(French Beans, Asparagus, &c ) ; 7, on the utility of 
a unity of comparison for estimating the divers 
systems of heating with hot water. For all instruc¬ 
tions, address the secretary of the Society, 84, Rue 
de Crenelle, Paris. 
- •** - 
THE THORNS, SEVENOAKS. 
When looking recently through the new range of 
houses erected for the cultivation of orchids by Mr. 
C. Young, I was much pleased and interested with 
what I saw. The plants generally have made a 
great improvement since they have been located at 
The Thorns ; the change from their former quarters 
(Richmond Hill), where I am told the glass houses 
were almost surrounded with buildings, obscuring 
the light and excluding fresh air, has indeed worked 
wonders for them. The new range is in three 
divisions, and at the warmest end the Phalaenopsis 
were making a fine show. P. amabilis was repre¬ 
sented by several varieties, including one which is 
fifteen years old and which was carrying a good spike 
of very large flowers almost as fine as those of the 
variety Dayana, and showing that with ordinary 
care the Moth Orchid is a long lived plant. Of P. 
grandiflora there were several of the Java v.:.riety 
coming into flower. There is also a fine show of 
P. Schilleriana, which is perhaps the finest of the 
genus, for when not in bloom the beautiful mottled 
foliage is most attractive; P. Stuartiana, which in 
growth resembles the preceding, is a fine addition to 
this family, and as seen here is most beautiful, one 
plant in particular being noticeable on account of 
its very large flowers. To P. Sanderiana, a supposed 
natural hybrid between P. Schilleriana and P. 
amabilis, must, I think, be awarded the palm. The 
flowers in size and shape are like P. amabilis, the 
sepals and petals being suffused with rose. On the 
middle stage of this division were some nice pieces 
of Angraecum sesquipedale, Vandas, Aerides, &c., 
and on the side stages, Cypripedium bellatulura 
niveum and Chamberlainianum find congenial 
quarters, whilst overhead Cattleya aureas eemed to 
be quite at home. 
The middle division is set apart almost exclusively 
for the culture of Cattleyas, of which there are 
some very good specimens, notably a grand plant of 
C. Bowringiana, which last November carried 
thirteen spikes of its warm purple flowers. Of C. 
Trianae there were a few of the type in flower, to be 
followed by a nice batch of C. Trianae Schroderiana 
and a nice plant of C. Trianae alba ; on the centre 
stage was a fine specimen, Laelia purpurata, with 
several sheaths, besides several examples of Cattleya 
Mendelii, which promises to be fine later on. C. labiata 
autumnalis is represented by a fine batch, amongst 
which are some very fine varieties. These are 
grown in rather deep pans, and ar^just beginning to 
root freely into the new compost that has been 
recently afforded them. Some newly imported pieces 
of Laelia anceps morada are making goo's progress. 
In the same house Dendrobiura Wardianum, D. 
Ainsworthii and D. noblie were in bloom, to be 
followed by a fine plant of D. chrysotoxum with over 
twenty racemes. On the side stages Coelogyne cris- 
tata is grown, and one plant has nearly a hundred 
spikes ; C. cristata hololeuca has also several spikes ; 
Miltonia vexillaria is growing away and evidently 
appreciates the change of quarters ; while Cattleya 
gigas Sanderiana suspended from the roof is just 
beginning to grow, and promises to be fine in due 
time. 
In the third division there is a nice healthy lot of 
Odontoglossums, O. crispum, of course, forming the 
bulk, and a fine, distinct looking lot they are. Some 
were in bloom, but it will be some little time before 
there will be a great quantity in flower together. 
Some half dozen plants of O. polyxanthum were 
pushing up very strong spikes, as also is O. luteo- 
purpureum magnificum ; and close beside it was a 
very fine plant of O. nebulosum, a very fine variety. 
I hope to have an opportunity of writing something 
about these plants at a future date. Meanwhile, I 
predict a great future for this compact collection 
under the able management of Mr. S. Ryder, the 
enthusiastic cultivator.-— S. 
-- 
ABOUT BEDDING PLANTS. 
It is time to be on the move with these, therefore no 
time should be lost in getting to work. Old plants 
of Zonal Pelargoniums will furnish plenty of cutiings, 
and if the wood be ripe they should be neatly taken 
off, have the lower leaves removed, and be allowed 
to dry or " wilt ” for a time, and then be dibbled 
five or six in a pot filled with a sandy compost. 
When rooted, pot them off singly into something 
better. 
Of Lobelias, if the stock plants are limited, sow 
seeds in clean pans or boxes filled with sifted loam, 
leaf soil and sand. Make the surface smooth before 
sowing, as the seeds are very small, and cover them 
very slightly. 
Ageraturns, blue and white, are not* nearly so 
much thought of as they deserve to be, their free 
blooming propensities and dwarf, compact habit, 
being strong points in their favour. Sow seeds in 
the same way as Lobelias. 
The Fagetes, beautiful flowers of the Marigold 
type, but much smaller, and very dwarf, if placed in 
a good position, will in due time give a mass of 
yellow flowers. I have sown them all the year 
round in the open air, and they have done splendidly 
when thinned out to 9 ins. apart. 
Stocks and Asters are too well known to require 
much detail respecting their culture. The first 
batch should be sown now, the young plants be 
gradually hardened off, and subsequently be pricked 
off either into boxes or cold frames. I prefer the 
latter. Never let them get v«ry large before pricking 
them off, as they never make so good plants. 
Penstemons, Perilla, Beet, Marguerites, Carna¬ 
tions, Petunias, Phlox, Dianthus, and Pyrethrum, 
may all be sown now, and will help to make a bright 
display.— J. G. Pettiiiger, Strawberry Dale Nursery, 
Harrogate. 
- .f.. - 
LENTEN ROSES. 
Scarcely have the true Christmas Roses finished 
flowering, after keeping up a more or less intermit¬ 
tent display since Christmas, than the Lenten Roses 
succeed then to furnish flowers till the end of March 
at least. All are species of Heleborus, the true 
Christmas Roses being forms of H. niger, of which 
the large flowered H. n. maximus and H. n. rubra, 
often continue in bloom till they overlap the period 
of the Lenten Roses which may be said to flower 
from February till the beginning of April. They 
are now in fine form and so fresh that they do not 
seem to have suffered in the least from the recent 
cold winds, and frost which ranged from 10° to 16®^ 
during the night and early morning as well as more 
or less all day. All the species are natives of South 
Europe and Western Asia, two of them being 
occasionally met with in Britain. 
One of the most vigorous and floriferous of the 
Lenten Roses at present is H. orientalis, with large 
white flowers faintly flushed with green for a long 
time after their expansion. There are several more 
or less distinct varieties and hybrids of this in 
gardens, some of which are very beautiful and 
highly deserving of extensive cultivation. The pale 
purple flowers of H. abchasicus sometimes spotted 
with crimson are both distinct and pretty. The 
individual blooms are much smaller than those of 
H. orientalis, and the whole plant is less vigorous. 
The sepals are comparatively narrow and do not 
overlap one another. More intrinsically valuable is 
H. colchicus, by many considered the choicest and 
most ornamental of the genus. The flowers are 
large with broad, imbricating segments of a rich 
plum purple colour, more or less heavily overlaid 
with a glaucous bloom when at their best, and each 
stem bears from three to six of them. Both the 
stems and young foliage are of a dark purple, thus 
increasing the beauty of the plants at flowering time. 
It is a robust and strong-growing plant, but 
altogether too rare in cultivation, considering its 
decorative value in early spring. Although it has 
been flowering for some time past, it attains its 
greatest perfection about the middle of March as a 
rule. H. atrorubens is also a good garden plant, 
with much of the same redeeming characters as 
H. colchicus, but the flowers are brighter even if 
paler, and of a rich purple when first expanded, 
fading to a deeper hue with age. The sepals are 
roundish and imbricated, forming good size flowers, 
two to four of which are borne upon a stem. 
The Caucasian species (H. caucasicus) is a more 
slender plant than either of the above, with pale 
green flowers, whose sepals do not overlap one 
another. It is seldom seen in cultivation, but its 
variety, P. c. punctatus, has rosy, spotted sepal, and 
therefore of more interest to cultivators. The 
greenish-white flowers of H. olympicus are of large 
sire, somewhat globular in form, and drooping. They 
are produced in great abundance on robust and vigor¬ 
ous plants, whose leathery leaves are serrated with 
teeth of a sharp and somewhat spiny character. For 
vigour, it may well be compared with H. orientalis. 
As they fade with age they assume a purplish hue, 
just as those of the previously mentioned species do. 
The flowers of H. odorus are of a pale greenish hue, 
but redeem their uninteresting appearance to some 
extent by the odour which they emit. The leaves of 
this species are deciduous, and the flowering stems 
make their appearance in advance of the leaves. 
The large, leafy bracts make some amends, however, 
for the want of foliage. There are some varieties of 
this plant, differing chiefly in the colour of the 
flowers. A dwarf form appearing in gardens under 
the name of H. cupreus, with curious coppery 
flowers, is evidently one of them. Another named 
H. purpurascens is a taller plant, with reddish- 
purple flowers of a peculiar shade that has been 
compared to the bluish-purple hue of the rock 
pigeon. Its foliage is also strictly deciduous. 
Of the garden forms, the beautiful H. orientalis 
guttatus cannot be overlooked, as its large, expanded 
white flowers are beautifully spotted with purple, 
which is better defined on the white ground than in 
the cases where the purple or crimson spotting over- 
lies paler shades of a similar hue. Notwithstanding 
this fact, the flowers of H. o. Frau Irene Heinemann 
are very choice in their rosy-purple hue, spotted with 
deep crimson. H. o. roseus is a vigorous for.na, with 
rosy-purple flowers of great size. The flowers of H. 
o. punctatissimus are purplish crimson, spotted and 
veined with darker markings ; they are produced in 
great abundance, as is generally the case with the 
forms of H. orientalis, which have mostly been 
obtained by artificial cross-breeding and hybridiza¬ 
tion. —De facto. 
-•*-- 
GARDEN WAGES. 
I AM not quite sure if you can verify all the figures 
and amounts you give in your leaderette on p. 400 ; 
but if they are in the main correct, and by further 
examination can be proved to be a fair statement of 
the facts, they certainly open up to us a view of the 
case as pertains to gardening labour, such as is 
seldom taken into consideration, and still less often 
alluded to in any controvesry in which work and 
wages form the main topic of discussion. That some 
of these facts have been well known to temperance 
speakers, and by them enforced in public and private 
assemblies for many years past, I can abundantly 
testify, but that a gardening journal of the standard 
of the Gardening World should repeat them and 
draw arguments from such recapitulation is a fact 
that in these days one may well be surprised at, then 
thankful for, and still further hope that other views 
