508 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
April 11th, 1885. 
THE 
©rcjntr (Smtocrs Cdwtmr. 
Cattleya Brymeriana.— We consider this one of 
the most beautiful species of Cattleya yet introduced, 
the colours being brilliant, and the plants producing a 
goodly number of flowers. It is similar in its manner 
of growth to a short-bulbed Laelia elegans, and seems 
to us to be, not improbably, a natural hybrid. This 
fine novelty was introduced by Messrs. Low & Co., 
and has been named in honour of W. E. Brymer, 
Esq., M.P., Ilsington House, Dorchester. Cattleya 
Brymeriana is a compact-growing evergreen plant, 
similar in growth to L®lia elegans. The flowers are 
of medium size, the sepals and petals of a pale rosy- 
purple, the lip narrow, with a closely folded tubular 
base, nearly 2 ins. long, yellowish below, pale lilac 
above, the front part veined with magenta-purple, 
and showing a clear yellow throat, cut off abruptly 
in front. It blooms during September, and lasts some 
time in beauty. 
This will be a most useful species, as it blossoms at 
a time when Orchid flowers are getting scarce. Our 
new Cattleyas are becoming very accommodating, 
several of the more recently introduced species 
flowering at the same time as our present subject, 
which makes them more especially valuable, as we 
already have' so many Cattleyas blooming during the 
spring and early summer months. In fact we are now, 
thanks to these acquisitions, seldom without Cattleyas 
in flower. The energetic collectors who obtain them 
deserve our warmest thanks and the fullest encourage¬ 
ment for what they have done. We can scarcely 
doubt but that many more prizes will yet be found for 
them to introduce to the enrichment of our Orchid- 
houses. 
Cattleya Brymeriana requires the temperature of 
the Cattleya-house, and should be kept at the warmest 
end, and grown in a basket or pot with rough fibrous 
peat and good drainage. It should be placed as near 
the glass as possible, for we find these plants require 
all the light we can secure to them, in order to ripen 
their pseudo-bulbs. Our sunny periods are so short 
that much vigilance is required to make the most of 
every available agency to keep them in vigorous 
health, and no time or opportunity should therefore 
be lost in securing for them all the light they require. 
Good sweet material must be kept about their roots, 
and sufficient moisture to keep them in a plump state 
must always be applied. The roots must not be 
injured in potting, which operation should be effected 
just as they are starting to make their new buds.— 
B. S. Williams, in The Orchid Album. 
Bendrohium rhodostoma. —This little known 
Orchid is now in bloom with Mr. James Cypher, 
Queen’s Boad Nursery, Cheltenham. Its showy 
flowers are If ins. across, sepals and petals pure white, 
quaintly tipped with reddish-violet; the lip white, 
tipped with the same colour as the petals, and bearing 
a deep yellow blotch in the centre. The plant is a 
hybrid raised by Messrs. James Yeitch & Sons, of 
Chelsea, between D. Huttoni and D. sanguinolentum. 
It is very handsome, and almost pepetual flowering. 
Mr. Cypher does hisDendrobes well, and has a fine show 
of them just now, including some superb varieties of 
D. Wardianum (grown on bare blocks), D. lituiflorum, 
with flowers twice as large as usual, and D. Bensoni®, 
remarkably well flowered. 
Cattleya Trianee at St. Albans.— Notwith¬ 
standing that the C. Trian® season is nearly over, 
Messrs. F. Sander & Co., of St. Albans, have over 
1,500 fine blooms of it still in good order in their 
large Cattleya-house. Some of the varieties are 
superb, and particularly one very near to C. Trian® 
Busselliana, and a grand pure white form. Their 
early-flowering strain of C. Mossi® is just coming in, 
and of C. Mossi® and C. Mendelii there are some 
5,000 buds in all stages. It is also calculated 
that their superb strain of Odontoglossum crispum 
(Alexandra) and its hybrids are giving over 20,000 
flow T er-spikes on the sturdy, healthy-looking plants, 
which are a treat to look at. Many new plants are 
also in bud. 
Dendrobium Farmeri.—A superb plant of this 
old Orchid now in bloom, with four heavy, drooping 
spikes, in Messrs. F. Sander & Co.’s Orchid Nursery at 
St. Albans, seems to remind us that although it is 
one of the finest of Dendrobes it is still very scarce, 
as collectors do not seem to drop on it in quantity. Its 
lovely pink-tinted flowers with their large yellow 
labellums will compare favourably with anything in its 
section. Some grand plants of Phakenopsis Schilleri- 
ana, with its handsome rose-coloured and rose-scented 
flowers, some of them having sixty or eighty on a 
branched spike, proclaim this species to be a lasting 
favourite. 
Dendrobium Pierardii. —Although not so showy 
as many other of the genera, this species is, neverthe¬ 
less, w 7 ell worth growing, its semi-transparent flowers 
lasting for quite three weeks if kept cool and in a 
rather dry atmosphere. I find that if kept in the 
house in which it has been grown it flowers more 
freely and the flowers are larger than if rested in a 
cooler house with the majority of Dendrobes. There 
is with this species not so much variety as in some of 
the other members of the family ; there is, however, a 
better form, having a larger and more deeply-coloured 
lip than the common type.— E. Dumper, Summerville 
Gardens, Limerick. 
FLORICULTURE. 
Concerning Dahlias. —Taking up the thread of 
my narrative where it was dropped last week, I may 
state that when Dahlia plants are received from a 
nursery, the invariable practice is to place them in 
a frame, sprinkle them overhead, and keep them 
close for a few days. Then they are repotted, and 
have tw T o, if not three shifts, in many cases, so that by 
the time the second week in June is reached they are, 
if they have been well looked after, fine strong plants. 
If good blooms are to be expected at the proper 
season, care must be taken that none but strong, 
healthy, thriving plants are planted out. As “ a 
corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit,” neither 
can a weak, ill-conditioned plant, if raised from a 
cutting in the last stage of exhaustion, become the 
parent of a vigorous progeny. As a matter of course, 
in the case of new varieties the grower is very much 
at the mercy of the dealer, and must do his best with 
such plants as the latter may send him ; but a house 
or firm famous for Dahlias will be pretty certain to 
supply good healthy plants. But, as a matter of pre¬ 
caution, the cultivator may order pot roots during the 
winter, and pot them up at the proper time. There 
is, of course, 
The Preparation of the Ground. —The Dahlia is a 
gross feeder and needs to have a rich soil to do it 
justice, and to ensure blooms of a fine character 
the usual method is to deeply trench and ridge up the 
ground in January, leaving it rough so that the 
elements may act upon it. Some growers level the 
ridges down and dig in plenty of soil in spring; 
others manure at the time of planting, forking it 
plentifully into the soil about the roots. The plants 
should be at least 4 ft. apart, and it is a common 
practice to place a 5-ft. stake firmly in the ground, 
and then plant against it; a deep hole is dug out, the 
plants are turned out of their pots, the soil about the 
roots slightly loosened, and then planted, some fine 
soil being first added to give the roots a good start, 
and pressing all firmly about the plants, leaving it 
secure. 
The following remarks comprise some excellent 
directions for planting;—“ Choose a dry day for 
planting; bring out the pots and stand each where 
the plant is to remain; and pardon me, experi¬ 
enced reader, if I give the novice a rule for 
turning out plants without fear of injuring them. 
Open a hole with a trow'el, and drop the plant into 
it, level with the general surface, and fill round 
the pot so as to imbed it neatly, pressing the earth 
to it with the hand, just as if the pot with the 
plant in it was to remain there. Then give the 
pot a twist round and lift it out, and there will remain 
a clean firm hole, ready for the ball that is to be 
dropped into it. Place two or three fingers of the 
left hand on the soil of the pot, making the palm of 
the hand into a hollow, so as not to break the tender 
plant; turn the pot up, give the rim a gentle tap on 
the side of the wheel-barrow, and, presto ! you will 
have the bulb out and complete in your hand, and 
have only to turn it over neatly into the hole, which 
it fits exactly.” It is, perhaps, scarcely necessary for 
me to give sterotyped directions for the management 
of the Dahlia with a view of producing 
Flowers for the Exhibition Table.— There must 
be mulching the roots with manure, watering of the 
roots in dry weather, sprinkling overhead in the cool 
of the evening, searching for earwigs and other 
vermin ; in fact, doing all that can be done to ensure a 
vigorous growth. As a matter of course, there will be 
manifest differences in the growth of the plants, their 
freedom of blooming, and the size and character of 
the flowers they produce. Some varieties will present 
such a mass of branches, shoots, and foliage as to 
prevent the free circulation of air through the interior; 
these are the sorts that require severe pruning. If in 
addition to this habit of exuberance, the same varieties 
have a tendency to excessive flowering, or if the 
blooms they furnish are below the medium size, free 
disbudding must be added to the liberal 
Thinning of Shoots and Branches. —If the sorts 
requiring this treatment are tolerably constant, that 
is, if the majority of the flowers they yield are true 
to their best character, disbudding cannot well take 
place too early. But there are some varieties of 
Dahlias which, although they occasionally afford 
flowers of the most perfect shape, cannot be depended 
on for good blooms. To disbud these early, that is 
as soon as the buds begin to show themselves, wiil 
be seriously to impair the chances of obtaining a fine 
bloom. It is wise, therefore, to wait before the dis¬ 
budding of these sorts is commenced. By exercising 
a little patience, the cultivator is able to ascertain 
which buds must, from their formation, produce 
faulty flowers, and these should be removed as 
soon as he has ascertained their true character, but 
not till then. 
Liquid Manure is of great use in the production 
of large flowers, but it should not be had recourse to 
until the plant has nearly completed its growth, say 
three weeks or a month before the flo vers are wanted. 
A good liquid manure for Dahlias can be obtained 
from a tank which receives the drainage from the 
house and stables. Manure-water may be used twice 
a week ; and it is best applied in wet weather, taking 
care to avoid wetting the foliage. The water used 
for sprinkling overhead in the evenings should be 
exposed to the sun a few hours before use. For this 
purpose nothing is better than pure, clear water. 
Here I slop for the present. I trust the fore¬ 
going suggestions may prove of service. Next week 
I hope to give some selections of varieties for exhi¬ 
bition purposes.— B. D. 
LILY OF THE VALLEY. 
Though quite common' out-of-doors with us in 
its season the Lily of the Valley is, nevertheless, 
one of our finest winter and spring flowers when 
forced, not solely for its modest spikes of white 
bell-shaped blossoms, but also for its delicious 
fragrance. I have had a good deal to do with the 
forcing of the above, both imported and home¬ 
grown crowns, and with the latter I never failed, 
but wnth the former I never obtained results that 
I could boast of until three years ago, when I 
tried the following plan, which has been attended 
with complete success. On the receipt of the impor¬ 
ted clumps and crowns, I immediately unpack them 
and put them in a cold dark cellar. I then give them 
a thorough drenching with cold water, which I repeat 
as soon as they show the least sign of dryness, 
and as soon as the first night’s frost appears I turn 
them out-of-doors to get a freezing [What advantage 
is gained by doing this?—Ed.], returning them to 
the cellar in the morning before the sun breaks out. 
When I commence forcing, I use pots for the single 
crowns and boxes for the clumps, the potting material 
being moss and sand. I place them in a forcing-case 
registering from 80 degs. to 00 degs. bottom-heat, 
keeping the case closed and dark, and supplying the 
roots with an abundance of moisture, indeed, it is 
impossible to give them too much. In fourteen days 
the spikes are 8 ins. or 9 ins. long, when I admit the 
light and a little air, and in seven days more they are 
in flower with a fair supply of foliage.— S. 
