880 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Feb. 14th, 1885. 
THE 
(SrdjtLT (Graltrcrs ddcnta. 
Light, and its effects upon various Orchids.— 
The past favourable autumn seems to have had a 
marvellous effect upon the growths and bulbs of 
Orchids that are known to like more shade than 
others, for instance Odontoglossum Alexandra and 
O. Pascatorei are showing more flower-buds this year 
than did larger bulbs made in previous years. 0. 
Plialasnopsis has three flowers upon one spike. 
Cymbidium eburneum, with growths no stronger 
than those of the previous year, are producing two 
flowers in place of one. Lrelia albida, grown in the 
same house as the Odontoglossums, has eleven flowers 
upon one spike ! this is produced from a medium¬ 
sized bulb. 
Ccelogyne cristata, grown in the Cattleya-house, is 
another instance of what sun, light and air will do in 
thoroughly maturing growth. These plants are 
bristling with flower-spikes. Apart from the rarer 
C. c. alba and C. Lemoniana there are two or three 
distinct varieties of this. The Chatsworth form may 
be mentioned as being the best because it will give 
six, seven or'eight flowers upon a spike, and of good 
substance too. The commoner form with shorter and 
rounder bulbs will not, under the best cultivation, 
give an average of more than four flowers upon a 
spike. I have proved this beyond any doubt. Still 
specimens even of this variety with fifty or more 
spikes of flower upon them are not to be despised, 
being very chaste and beautiful. There is also what is 
known as the “ Trentham ” variety, which flowers 
much later than the preceding. I have seen it in 
flower as late as the month of May. The bulbs of 
this variety are much longer and thinner than the 
others. 
Now a word or two about Dendrobiums. D. 
Wardianium has one bulb bearing thirty-four very 
fine flowers, and upon the same plant is a smaller 
bulb, with green leaves still upon it, carrying fourteen 
flowers, this was an after-growth, perfectly green and 
soft in October last. I have never seen or heard of 
this Dendrobium flowering in such a way before. The 
finest, I may say, without exception, the best grown 
Dendrobiums, I have seen, are to be met with in Mr. 
James Cypher’s Nursery, Cheltenham. I mean the 
whole family of Dendrobes, not isolated specimens 
that may be met with here and there. I will name 
a few of the more reputed “ difficult doers.” D. 
bigibbum, D. superbiens, D. Deareii, D. formosum, 
and D. Bensoni®, the latter marvels of culture, 
having new growths upon them fat and well ripened, 
from 12 ins. to 18 ins. in length ! Mr. Cypher’s 
houses are built in such a manner as to give to the 
inmates the greatest amount of light possible. His 
newly-erected structures have the rafters about 7 ft. 
apart, with substantial sash bars intervening, grooved 
to take away all drip from the roof. No boxes are 
used at the top of the houses to protect the blinds in 
the winter, which tend to obstruct the light, and every¬ 
thing in the way of shading is cleared away for the 
winter season. 
When you enter the span-roofed houses, it appears 
as light within as without. Any gentleman about to 
build glass houses of any description would do well 
to visit this nursery before doing so. I have been a 
constant visitor there for the past seven years, and 
have not failed to notice structural improvements in 
every way. I always enjoy a chat with Mr. John 
Cypher, the nephew, who is a great enthusiast in 
Orchid culture, and is always pleased to give hints as 
well as to receive them. I may add that anyone 
interested in the culture of plants in general would 
be most courteously received at the Queen’s Road 
Nursery.— T. Simcoe, The Gardens, Lake House, 
Cheltenham. 
Lselia anceps Sanderiana. —There was a strong 
muster of Orchid buyers at Protheroe & Morris’s Rooms 
on Tuesday week, the event of the day being the 
sale of an entire importation of the new white variety 
of Lrelia anceps, collected and sent home from Mexico 
to Messrs. F. Sander & Co., by Mr. Arnold. Professor 
Reichenbach describes the plant as being of the L»lia 
anceps Dawsoni type, but distinct from that variety in 
its white lip and two purple eye-blotches in the place 
of the transverse purple zone in the lip of Dawsoni. 
One hundred and sixty-seven lots were put up, and 
nearly all were sold. The largest piece, a mass some 
11 ft. in circumference, with hundreds of bulbs, was 
withdrawn, but another immense green-leaved mass, 
containing one hundred and fifty bulbs, fell to a bid 
of 48 gs. The next highest prices realized were 38 gs., 
36 gs., and 25 gs. respectively. 
-- 
Lselia albida. —This pretty Mexican Orchid seems 
to have been rather slighted of late years, for what 
reason I know not, for as a pretty and durable winter 
flower it is by no means a bad or even an indifferent 
thing, and at the same time it will bring its pretty 
flowers to perfection in any ordinary greenhouse or 
cool conservatory. For a long time past Messrs. 
Fred. Horsman & Co., of Colchester, have had a 
charming display of it in bloom, many interesting 
and lovely varieties having appeared among the 
imported plants, among them being L. albida, the 
old type with white flowers and yellow blotch on 
the labellum ; L. albida Marian®, a variety first 
flowered by R. Warner, Esq., at Broomfield, with 
white sepals and petals, and rose lip with yellow 
lines; L. albida sulphurea, with pale yellow petals; 
L. albida bella, like L. a. Marian®, but having the 
sepals and petals heavily tipped with rose; and L. 
albida Stobartiana, a variety with well-formed rose- 
tinted flowers. So great is the beauty and fragrance 
of the handsome varieties of this plant, that one may 
safely predict a better future for them — J. 
Orchids at South Kensington. —At the meeting 
of the Floral Committee on Tuesday last, Orchids 
again formed a very prominent feature. Sir Trevor 
Lawrence, Bart., M.P. (who at the annual general 
meeting held in the afternoon was unanimously 
elected President of the Society), exhibited a splendid 
mass, on a raft, of the beautiful Lselia anceps 
Hilliana, and which was awarded a First-Class 
Certificate. The specimen bore quite a profusion 
of flowers, of which the sepals and petals are white, 
the lip a delicate shade of rose with a yellow crest, 
and the throat veined with purple. Another First- 
Class Certificate was also voted to Sir Trevor for 
Dendrobium heterocarpum album, a white variety 
with a yellow blotch, and brown markings on the 
lip only. From W. Lee, Esq., Downside, Leather- 
head, also came some interesting species, three of 
which were awarded Certificates of the First-Class. 
These were Saccalobium bellinum, a pretty, small¬ 
growing species, with a short spike of four flowers of 
a greenish-yellow ground colour, dotted with round 
and oval-shaped dark purple brown spots, and the 
cup-shaped lip white, with a broad apron-like fringe, 
with a lemon-coloured blotch in the centre ; Odonto¬ 
glossum Hrubyanum, which might be taken for a 
white 0. cirrhosum, though its sepals and petals 
are a little broader, and the lip yellow pencilled 
with purple ; and Acineta clirysantha, a strong 
growing species with a fine spike of rich lemon- 
yellow flowers spotted with brown. Mr. B. S. 
Williams also received a First-Class Certificate for 
Odontoglossum hystrix magnificum, a grand variety 
with flowers of a rich deep purple-brown overlaying 
the yellow ground. G. N. Wyatt, Esq., Lake House, 
Cheltenham (Mr. Simcoe, gardener), sent a specimen 
with five flowers of the lovely Cattleya chocoensis, 
whose fine shaped white sepals and petals, and orange 
blotched, purplish-crimson lip, was much admired. 
From the same collection also came a specimen with 
two fine spikes of the rare, curious, and pretty 
Odontoglossum ramossissimum. The sepals, petals, 
and lip, are long andnarrow, white, spotted with purple. 
From F. A. Philbrick, Esq., Q.C., Oldfield Bickley 
(Mr. Heims, gardener), came the pretty Odontoglossum 
blandum, and a major form of the white 0. (Erstedtii. 
Odontoglossum membranaceum, with a fine spike of 
nine flowers, came from A. H. Smee, Esq., The 
Grange, Wallingford (Mr. Cummings, gardener), and 
it was awarded a Cultural Commendation. This is 
one of the plants which Mr. Smee kept out-of-doors 
last summer for three months, and it says much for 
the good done to the plants, that the bulb now 
flowering was made in the open-air. Mr. Smee also 
had Oncidium concolor giganteum, a variety with a 
very large lip. In a newcollectionof plants, Mr. William 
Bull also exhibited some choice Orchids, notably 
several distinct varieties of Cattleya Trianse ; Odonto¬ 
glossum Halli leucoglossum, a pure white 0. 
Alexandra, Ac. 
- •>$-< - 
Cypripedium Argus. — This Cypripedium, 
although perhaps not one of the gems of the genus, 
is certainly worth a place in. every collection. The 
intermediate-house suits it admirably, and if potted 
in peat and sphagnum, and liberally supplied with 
water during the growing season, it grows freely and 
produces its flowers early in spring; the petals are 
prettily spotted with dark purple. As with most of 
the Cypripediums, it is ornamental when out of 
flower, its leaves being handsomely tesselated with 
grey.— J. S. B. 
-■ _ ^ —■ 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
Royal Horticultural, February 10th.— Probably, 
in anticipation of a large number of Fellows being 
present for the annual general meeting, a very pretty 
little show was got together to-day, made up princi¬ 
pally of Cyclamens, Primulas, and Orchids, but we regret 
to say that very few were present to appreciate the 
good things exhibited. The display of Cyclamens in 
itself was worth going miles to see, the number shown 
being large and the quality superb. The growers 
represented were, Mr. Clarke, of Twickenham, Mr. H. 
B. Smith, Ealing Dean, Messrs. Veitch & Sons, Messrs. 
Cannell & Sons, and W. Clay, Esq., Kingston (Mr. 
Wiggins, gardener), all of whom had large collections. 
The Orchids we have alluded to in another column, so 
that the Primulas must have a word next. These, in 
bulk, came from Messrs. Cannell & Son, and the 
high state of cultivation exhibited by the plants came 
in for universal commendation. The group con¬ 
sisted of some two dozen plants in 48’s of the pretty 
Swanley Blue, a good porcelain blue as seen in the 
bright light, with immense trusses of flowers thrown 
well about the stout, robust foliage ; and a dozen 
plants in 32’s, the very best we have seen, of the old 
double white variety. The plauts measured from 
16 ins. to 18 ins. through, perfect in foliage and 
magnificently bloomed. The Messrs. Cannell also 
obtained a First-Class Certificate for one of the finest 
white Primulas that has ever come under our notice. 
The plant is a strong grower, fern-leaved with red 
stalks, and the flowers white, of great size and 
substance, very pure, and fimbriated. It is well- 
named White Perfection. Mr. J. King, of Rousham, 
near Aylesbury, showed several high-coloured seedling 
Primulas, one of them, The King of Primulas, making 
a decided step in advance. This was awarded a First- 
Class Certificate, and deserved it for its fine crimson- 
scarlet colour, great substance, and neat habit. Mr. 
King, who is an adept at hybridization, should soon 
show us something novel from this break. 
Messrs. James Yeitch & Sons sent several new 
plants of note, most conspicuous among which was a 
strikingly fine and very interesting new Pitcher-plant 
named Nepenthes cincta, and which was raised from 
seeds imported among seeds of the new Nephenthes 
Northiana, and believed to be a natural hybrid between 
that species and N. albo-marginata, which were found 
growing together in Borneo. It is a strong robust- 
growing plant, with handsome pitchers, some 10 ins. 
long, of a dull reddish-crimson colour, with rich 
crimson markings. It was awarded a First-Class 
Certificate, as was also a very fine new hybrid green¬ 
house Rhododendron named Militare, having a grand 
truss of some twenty pure scarlet blossoms. From 
the same firm also came a large and brilliantly- 
coloured spatlie and spadix of the new Anthurium 
Ferierense, and which was awarded a Cultural 
Commendation. Mr. H. B. Smith, Ealing Dean, 
received a First-Class Certificate for Cyclamen 
persicum giganteum album, a remarkably fine pure 
white variety, the petals of which measured over an 
inch across and were of great substance. 
Mr. Bull, amongst other new plants, showed a fine 
specimen of Vriesia Janeirense variegata, a noble¬ 
looking plant, with the broad, stiff, arching, green 
