156 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Nov. 8th, 18S4. 
THE 
(Brcbib (Srnfoars Calendar. 
Syringing Orchids. —Although of great service 
when properly used, the syringe, as we too often see 
it employed in Orchid-houses, is one of the most 
mischievous instruments imaginable, so that a word 
of caution about it at this season will not be out of 
place. Amateur Orchid-growers cannot too early 
appreciate the fact that delicate plants are much 
more susceptible to injury by carelessly applied and 
excessive quantities of water in autumn and winter 
than they are in spring and summer, although at any 
season it is very harmful. I have no hesitation in 
saying that rather than too freely or carelessly use the 
syringe it had better be banished from the Orchid- 
houses altogether ; indeed those who try to limit its 
use to the very narrowest compass will soon find that 
it can almost be done without altogether, and that 
with advantage to the plants. Let us note a few of 
the 
ABUSES OF THE SyKEnGE. 
Many a time in summer have I seen a house of 
Orchids being syringed with the full sun on it, and 
with the foliag'e of the plants heated to a high degree 
by sun heat. On such occasions on remonstrating I 
have often been told that it was done in order to keep 
a moist atmosphere. If such were the case the 
syringing had better have been confined to the lower 
part of the house, beneath the staging and the stages 
and between the pots, and the poor plants have been 
spared the deluge of cold water on then heated 
leaves, which, so far from being benefited, rapidly 
became dry again, and were injured by the sudden 
transition from dry to wet, and from wet to dry 
again. Nature rarely waters her plants in such a 
manner, as the sun is generally obscured before rain, 
and even were it not so the wetting in sunshine 
outdoors in the open-air would not be so hurtful as 
under glass. 
Another common abuse of the syringe, and one 
which gets hold of the most wary -when pressed for 
time, is the habit of employing it as a means for 
watering the baskets and blocks without taking them 
down. Those who have the direction of affairs in 
the Orchid-houses cannot too firmly set then faces 
against such a practice, as it is alike injurious to the 
suspended plants and to those below them, the blocks 
and baskets hanging up being imperfectly treated, 
some of them getting too much water and others too 
little, while the plants beneath them are injured by 
drips. 
Loss of young growths, flower-sheaths and centre 
leaves are among the most common evils which the 
syringe brings into the Orchid-houses, particularly 
in the dull season. I would, therefore, urge upon 
all the necessity of restricting its use in the Orchid- 
houses to the lowest possible limit, and to try how 
near to doing without it they can possibly get. It is 
surprising how much more the other means at 
command for keeping up a wholesome moist atmo¬ 
sphere are studied where the syringe is but little 
used, and how much more regular and healthy the 
temperature is when it is not regarded as one of the 
essentials. 
The Best Use of the Sybesge. 
But let us not pass without hearing the other side. 
The syringe is very'useful for keeping moist habitually 
dry corners and out-of-the-way parts of the brickwork 
under the stages, which form such good winter 
quarters for insects if left dry and undisturbed. It 
is of the greatest use in the same capacity for 
moistening between the pots and on the stages, and 
it is very serviceable for treating blocks or baskets 
which have been taken down and placed on the walk, 
and in which insects are supposed to be, as the shock 
of the water from the syringe often brings wood-lice 
and other insects out. The syringe is also useful in 
some cases for applying liquid insecticides, when 
dipping will not answer. And, above all, the syringe 
is most useful and in its best capacity when the 
periodical house-cleaning comes on, and when the 
youngsters may use it in an empty house to their 
hearts’ content . —, James O’Brien. 
ORCHID NOTES. 
Odontoglossum Williamsianum. —This is an 
evergreen species of the 0. grande section, and flowers 
in July. At first sight it somewhat resembles 0. 
grande, but differs considerably from that species in 
the shape and markings of the petals, as well as the 
colour and crests of the lip, which are perfectly 
distinct. The spike also stands up and shows itself 
off better than that of 0. grande, and the flowers are 
more compactly arranged on the spike. The pseudo¬ 
bulbs are about 3 ins. high, bearing at the top a pair 
of leaves about 10 ins. in height. The sepals and 
petals are of a greenish-yellow, having a large pale- 
brown anteriorly-lobed blotch at the base; and the 
lip is pale lemon-yellow, with a few pale dull reddish- 
brown spots at the base. It continues in bloom for 
about four weeks. It is a free-growing and free- 
blooming plant. Mr. Williams grew it in a pot, with 
rough fibrous peat and good drainage, in the cool 
Odontoglossum-house, on a shelf near the glass, where 
it received plenty of light, but was quite shaded from 
the burning sun. The plant is beautifully illustrated 
in The Orchid Album for the present month, whence 
we have gleaned the above particulars. 
ROOTING CUTTINGS IN MOSS. 
Ix June last, Mr. James Lye, of Market Lavington, 
the well-known Fuchsia grower, wrote to The Gardeners’ 
Chronicle, detailing his experience with Moss as a 
medium for rooting cuttings in, instead of ordinary 
composts. His plan was to tie a small ball of Moss at 
the base of each cutting and put them singly in thumb 
pots without any soil, to keep them in a vertical 
position, and no cuttings that he tried refused to root 
in this way. A few weeks later I tried the plan with 
some cuttings of choice Zonal Pelargoniums, sent me 
by a friend, from a distance, and send you a little 
sketch of one of them, made a fortnight after it was 
mossed. Nothing could be nicer than the way they 
rooted in a small closed frame, placed on the north 
side of a garden hedge. I put some of them singly in 
the small thumb pots, and others I packed at about a 
couple of inches apart, in shallow boxes filled with 
cocoa-nut fibre refuse. These if anything thrived the 
best. My object in sending you the sketch and this 
note, is to bring the plan under the notice of those 
amateurs living in towns who find it a difficult matter 
to get good fresh potting materials, but who should 
have no difficulty in obtaining a bit of fresh or dry 
moss—for either will answer the purpose. For 
sending a few cuttings to a friend, I have proved the 
plan an excellent one, so well do the rooted cuttings 
travel in small tin boxes.— Z. 
- - a- - - - — 
It is stated that in consequence of the damage to 
crops caused by the depredations of small buds, the 
farmers in the neighbourhood of Warminster, have 
formed themselves into a club to promote their 
destruction. A considerable sum was subscribed at a 
meeting for the purpose. 
FLORICULTURE 
Early Single TuHps.—If any amateur with a 
small greenhouse, is desirous of having something 
that will make it gay and cheerful in spring, let him 
try some early Single Tulips. Of them it can be said 
that they are eminently satisfying. They are also 
moderate in price, and on the whole easily grown. 
What is wanted, is, say, a dozen or twenty o-inch pots; 
some good yellow fibry loam, leaf-soil, well-decayed 
manure, and silver sand. That is all, excepting the 
Tulips; and as to these there are several beautiful 
sorts, such as :— 
Artus, scarlet, dwarf and showy. 
Belle Alliance, brilliant scarlet; very fine. 
Canary Bird, clear, rich yellow; very free and 
early. 
Couleur Cardinal, rich shaded red or crimson ; very 
fine. 
Duchesse de Parma, orange-red, margined with 
yellow. 
Keizerskroon crimson scarlet, edged with clear 
yellow ; one of the very best. 
1111116 Pottebakker, pure white. 
Royal Standard, white, feathered with rosy 
crimson. 
Thomas Moore, orange ; very distinct. And 
Yellow Prince, bright yellow. 
Three bulbs should be placed in a pot, and a pot of 
each of the foregoing varieties would cost but little. 
Anyone wishing for something better in quality and 
higher in price will find them in the following :— 
Bride of Haarlem, white striped and feathered with 
crimson. 
Cerise Grisdeline, purplish rose, margined with 
creamy white ; very pretty. 
Cramoise Superbe, rosy cerise ; a very beautiful and 
distinct variety. 
Joost van \ondel, rosy crimson, panelled with 
white. 
Le Matelas, white, flushed with bright rose. 
Princess Helena, pure white ; very fine. 
Proserpine, rich dark rose ; extra fine. 
Roi Pepin, pure white, flaked with crimson. 
Bose Louisante, clear silken rose ; very fine. 
Tan der Neer, purplish violet; large and very fine. 
Vermillion Brilliant, true Vermillion ; the finest of 
all the red varieties. And 
Wouverman, deep purplish violet. 
This makes a very fine lot for pot culture, and they 
are equally useful for conservatory decoration, and if 
the grower is at all ambitious, he may be able to shine 
with them on the exhibition table. 
Pottixg Tumps.— And now just a word or two 
about potting. Let a piece of crock be placed over the 
hole at the bottom of the pot, and over this half-an- 
inch or so of finely-broken crocks ; and over this again 
a thin layer of cocoa-nut fibre. Then pot the bulbs, 
placing three bulbs in each, and leaving them with 
the points of the bulbs above the surface, pressing 
soil and Tulips firmly into the soil. Then place them 
in a cold frame, or under a wall out-of-doors, standing 
the pots on pieces of boards or slates, and covering 
them with three or four inches of cocoa-nut fibre— 
which is much more easily obtainable than anything 
else of a like nature—and let them remain for six 
weeks or so. Those who grow bulbs largely for 
Covent Garden and other markets,'stand their pots 
out-of-doors and cover them with about 6 ins. of spent 
hops and dung mixed together, and then leave them 
until they begin to grow, when they are taken into a 
warm house, and brought on into flower. 
The grower who wishes to have good Tulip blooms 
in early spring should be careful not to allow his 
plants to become drawn, but strive to keep them as 
sturdy and hardy as possible; therefore he must 
allow air to play freely upon them, except when the 
weather is cold and frosty, and biting winds prevail. 
The flower-stalks should be carefully staked, and 
by-and-bye, when the flowers are fully developed, if 
a piece of silk be tied round them they will last for 
some time longer. 
W hen the plants have done blooming, there is no 
reason why the bulbs should be wasted. When the 
flowers have faded they should be planted out in the 
mixed or shrubbery border, placing some soil about 
