April 14, 1894. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
515 
Fruit Culture.—The Board of Agriculture have 
been requested to state that the forthcoming Inter¬ 
national Exhibition of Horticulture and P'ruit 
Culture at St. Petersburg, to which attention was 
directed by an intimation published by the Board in 
August last, will be opened at the Manege Michel, 
St. Petersburg, on September 22nd next, and will be 
closed on November 12th. Applications by intend¬ 
ing exhibitors for forms of entry and for copies of 
the regulations should be addressed without delay 
to the offices of the International Exhibition of 
Fruit Culture, Imperial Agricultural Museum, 
Fontanka, 10, St. Petersburg. The regulations 
may also be seen on application at the offices of the 
Board, 4, Whitehall Place, S.W. 
Scottish Horticultural Association.—The usual 
monthly meeting of this Association was held on the 
3rd inst., at 5, St. Andrew’s Square, Edinburgh, 
Councillor Mackenzie, the president, in the chair. 
Mr. A. Bogie, Auchans, Kilmarnock, made a com¬ 
munication on " The Cultivation of Sweet Violets.” 
Confining his remarks in the main to frame culture, 
he gave his experiences of raising these flowers 
during a period of some eighteen years, particularly 
Maria Louise, which he regarded as the best. Dis¬ 
cussing the different means of propagation, he con¬ 
demned the method of " runners,” and commended 
that of ” side shoots,” which he invariably adopted. 
As to soil, he gave it as his opinion that the most 
suitable was light loam, neither too rich nor too 
poor. Other details were given in the direction of 
successful cultivation, and Mr. Bogie afterwards 
dealt with the two great enemies of the Violet—the 
red spider and mildew—and showed how these 
could be combated by horticulturists. He also 
showed a collection of Maria Louise blooms and 
plants. Some discussion followed the reading of the 
paper, and at the close Mr. Bogie was accorded a 
cordial vote of thanks. Among other exhibits was 
a remarkably fine display of Rhododendron blooms, 
comprising about twenty varieties, the product of 
open-air cultivation at Hay Lodge, Trinity, by Mr. 
Robert Morris. The Society’s cultural certificate 
was awarded to Mr. Morris and to Mr. Bogie. Mr. 
M. Dunn, Dalkeith Palace Gardens, reported 
favourably on the result of the examination in con¬ 
nection with the Association’s technical education 
scheme, the marks of the first six competitors with 
papers on " The Vegetable Garden” varying from 
91 to 82 out of a possible 100, the gainer cf the 
larger percentage being Mr. G. G. Paton, Morton 
Hall. 
-- 
THE RECENT WEATHER 
AND GARDENING. 
The winter of 1893-4 this district has been one of 
the most favourable of which I have any note for 
providing a constant supply of culinary produce 
such as is usually obtained from the open garden. 
Celery and Brussels Sprouts being exceptionally 
good. Before adopting the system of raising the 
latter under glass for the total supply, I seldom had 
them of much service, as unless strong plants could 
be got out by the 15th or 20th May, the Sprouts 
never got properly formed before winter set in. 
Craig’s Favourite, Dalkeith, and President Carnot 
are among the best and hardiest sorts for northern 
gardens. Spinach and Tripoli Onions have been 
fresh and green all the winter, and the latter are 
specially acceptable at this time. I notice that the 
Banbury is a capital sort for winter and spring 
work alike. 
While speaking of Onions, I have to note the 
shortest interval between sowing and germination in 
my experience ; sown on March 19th the seedlings 
were first observed on April 3rd. This, I think, is 
pretty sharp work, and resulted no doubt from the 
extraordinary high temperature recorded for fifteen 
days previously, viz., an average of 58° in shade. 
On the 2nd inst. the almost phenomenal reaching of 
67’’ in shade was recorded tor April in Ayrshire. 
Reverting to Onion culture, the benefit of trench¬ 
ing as a system for the culture of this crop cannot 
be overlooked. After such a wet period as we had 
here from February ist to March 19th, viz., lo oi 
in., it is difficult to get rid of surface water readily 
on many soils, and trenching is certainly of material 
help in this direction, as by its aid the ground is 
ready for operation at the earliest possible moment 
if no bad material is brought to the surface.— M., 
Ayrshirt. 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
By John Fraser, F.L.S., Kew. 
Coelogyne cristata Lemoniana. 
A BEAUTIFUL piece of this grown on a moderate-sized 
raft, and suspended from the rafters of the house, 
flowered recently in the nursery of Mr. P. McArthur, 
4, Maida Vale, London. It bore nineteen of its 
delicately coloured flowers, which were shown off 
to the best advantage by being suspended on a level 
with the eye, so that the interior of the flowers, and 
the delicately yellow fringes, can be seen at a glance. 
The habit of growth is very much like that of C. c. 
alba, but the pseudo-bulbs are longer and less liable 
to get wrinkled when old. The buds are straw- 
coloured before opening, while those of some other 
forms are white at the same stage. 
Dendrobium nobile elegans delicatum. 
The flowers of this variety are much paler than the 
typical D. n. elegans, hence the application of the 
name will be evident. The flowers are large, 
measuring some 3J in. across the petals, and have an 
elegant contour, owing to the relative length and dis¬ 
position of the segments. The sepals are white but 
flushed with pink on the back, and this hue shines 
through them, so as to impart a blush tint. The 
petals, on the contrary, are white, with pale purple 
tips. The lip is unusually narrow for D. nobile, and 
much rolled round the column, so as to give it a 
tubular appearance; less of the crimson-purple 
blotch is shown than usual, while this is surrounded 
by a pale creamy-white zone, and the tip is pale 
purple. A piece of this delicately flowered sub- 
variety, is flowering in the collection of J. 
MacMeekin, Esq., Falkland Park, South Norwood 
Hill. 
Cyprlpedium Phoedra. 
The parents of this hybrid were C. Sedeni candi- 
dulum and C. Lindleyanum, the latter being the 
pollen bearer. The latter has not often been used 
for the purposes of hybridisation, but it was the seed 
parent of another hybrid named C. Perseus, and its 
variety, superbum. The upper sepal of the form 
under notice is short, broad, and of a beautiful 
clear, sulphur yellow and pink, but it ultimately 
acquires much more of the pink hue. The oblong 
petals are slightly twisted, and suffused with pink 
on a yellowish ground. The large lip is inflated, 
deep rose, and faintly spotted with purple on the 
infolded side lobes. The hybrid originated in the 
nursery of Messrs. J. Veitch & Son, Chelsea, where 
it has been flowering for some time past. 
Brassia Lawrenceana. 
The Brassias are generally characterised by their 
long and narrow sepals, with a much broader lip. 
In any case, however, the beauty of the lip is 
much enhanced by the graceful contour given to the 
flower by those organs. The sepals of the species 
under notice are yellow, spotted with black at the 
base, and 4in. or sin. long. The petals are much 
shorter, being only 3in. long, but they are otherwise 
similar. The lip has a broad, yellow claw, spotted 
with brown, and its lamina is pale yellow, with a few 
large spots along the middle of a brownish black 
hue. Sometimes the sepals are described as spotted 
with cinnamon and green. The flowers are fragrant, 
and usually make their appearance between June 
and August, but we noted the plant in full bloom 
some time ago in the nursery of Messrs. J. Veitch 
& Son, Chelsea. 
Odontoglossum tentaculatum. 
The first plant of this supposed natural hybrid 
made its appearance in 1883. Since then, however, 
several others have turned up more or less closely 
identical with the original. O. Lindleyanum and O. 
crispum are given as the supposed parents, but 
instead of the latter we would suggest O. luteo- 
purpureum or some of its numerous forms. The 
flowers are moderate in size, but of very bright 
colours ; the sepals and petals are heavily blotched 
with chocolate on a bright yellow ground. The 
apex of the lip is clear yellow and the front part of 
the crest, while the hinder portion shades off to 
white. The number of teeth on each side of the 
crest and the bristle-like processes of the column 
vary slightly in different flowers of the same plant. 
A fine piece bearing thirteen flowers on a raceme 
bloomed recently in the collection of J. MacMeekin, 
Esq. (gardener, Mr. A. Wright), Falkland Park, 
South Norwood Hill. 
Angraecum polystachya. 
The flowers of this species are small compared with 
those of A. sesquipedale, but what they lack in size 
they make up in numbers and by their delicious 
fragrance. Ihe sepals and petals are linear, and 
like the lip are white ; the latter is convolute round 
the column, and appears different from the flattened 
lip of most other species in cultivation. Possibly 
this is the reason why another name is sometimes 
given it, namely, Aeonia polystachya. In any case 
the graceful sprays of pure white and highly 
fragrant flowers are the chief recommendations of 
the plant. Some compare the odour to that of 
Hawthorn, and others to Stephanotis. The best 
time to enjoy it is when the house has been closed in 
the afternoon and the moist atmosphere gets laden 
as it were with the fragrance. It has been flowering 
for some time past in the nursery of Mr. P. 
McArthur, 4, Maida Vale, London. The habit of 
the plant is not unlike some of the dwarfer and 
shorter leaved Vandas. It is a native of Madagas¬ 
car, and likes stove heat. 
Phalaenopsis leucorhoda. 
As the plant and flowers of this Moth Orchid unite 
the characters of P. Aphrodite (amabilis) and P. 
Schilleriana, it is believed to be a natural hybrid 
between those two. The sepals are white, the 
lateral ones being spotted with purple on the con¬ 
tiguous sides, and the base of the upper sepal is 
suffused with purple, as are the bases of the petals. 
The lip has purple spots at the base of the side 
lobes, and the terminal lobe is faintly dotted at the 
base; its tendrils are intermediate between the 
supposed petals, and much shorter than those of P. 
Aphrodite. The column is pale purple. The leaves 
are marbled with deep green on a gray ground. We 
noted a specimen which had flowered in the nursery 
of Messrs. J. Laing & Sons, Forest Hill. 
-- 
(gipnings funin Ih^ Poilh 
uj Science. 
Proliferation of the British Maidenhair.— 
There are now some very remarkable and some 
very fine forms of Adiantum Capillus Veneris, 
including A. C.-V. incisum, A. C.-V. fissum, and 
A. C.-V. Footi, all of which have broad pinnules 
more or less deeply incised or cut; but the best of 
all these forms is A.C.-V. imbricatum, which has 
drooping fronds, broad and deeply cut, imbricate 
pinnules. Their colour is light green, and altogether 
the variety very much resembles A. farleyense. 
Like that fern, the fronds in this case are perfectly 
barren as far as spores are concerned, but under 
certain conditions they become proliferous, as they 
have done with Mr. J. Smith, London Fern Nursery, 
Loughboro’ Junction, London. In the moistairof 
his propagating house, some plants standing near 
the continually moist back wall of the house have 
thrown out clusters of young plants from the edges 
of the fronds, giving them a very unwonted aspect. 
The plantlets. while in this position develop small 
fronds and their customary dark brown roots. 
If the tips of the pinnules are examined under 
a high power of the microscope, the process of 
development can be determined. As the pin¬ 
nules are very broad, the veinlets ramify or 
fork considerably, and where forks or divisions of 
the veins occur close to the apical margin of the 
pinnules, young plantlets are likely to arise just 
between the forks at the very edge and on the under 
side of the fronds. The new growth commences by 
the formation of a cushion of cellular tissue at the 
points mentioned. These cushion-like elevations are 
circular in outline, and deepest in the centre, where, 
however, they are rounded or convex ; they are wffiolly 
green until little reddish-brown specks can be seen 
pushing through the cushion, and which appear to be 
the first evidence of the formation of a young plant. 
They are invisible to the naked eye till long after this 
stage—till, in fact, the rootlets have attained some 
size, and the first fronds give evidence of a bud or 
offsett. As these forked veins are pretty closely 
crowded together, so are the young plants after a 
time. As the plantlets or buds occur in the usual 
position for the spores, this proliferation is evidently 
an effort on the part of the plant to reproduce itself 
by budding as a compensation for the lack of spores. 
