588 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May 16th. 1885. 
THE 
(firrbifr (Srnfcrers (ffalenirar. 
o 
Orchids at Kew.—Knowing no one at Kew Gardens, 
I have no one to praise or to blame there. I went 
there to look at the place, maintained at the expense 
of the public, and passed my opinion. I was not 
aware of the existence of Mr. Rolfe, and had no wish 
to reproach any official. Everyone knows that the 
officials cannot spend as much as they would like, and 
one must look higher before fixing the blame on any 
particular individual. However, Mr. Knife seems very 
angry, and challenges the accuracy of my statement, 
and I am bound to notice his “ unofficial anger.” I 
went to Kew on the afternoon of April 19th ; there 
I was told to go to house No. 12 to find the Orchids. 
I entered house No. 12 (the number is written on the 
door), and in part of that house I found them : this 
part of the house may be called No. 14, but I certainly 
entered by door No. 12. I carefully noted down all 
that was in bloom, even -when the flowers were nearly 
gone, and I positively saw only fifty-nine plants in 
bloom belonging to twenty-one genera. Mr. Rolfe on 
reading roy letter, published fourteen days after my 
visit, says that he found more. I have no doubt he 
did, but they were not there on April 19th. 
I was wrong in saying that these twenty-one genera 
were represented by one or two species, and my list 
shows it; I should have written “ most of these 
genera .” Mr. Rolfe tells me that there were 929 
species of Orchids at Kew in 1882, and that now the 
number exceeds 1,000 ! I presume he is correct, but I 
did not see them. It appears they are in three other- 
houses to which the “profanum vulgus ” is not 
admitted. How could a visitor to the gardens know 
that ? Let me assure Mr. Rolfe that I had no desire 
to mislead the Editor; I stated the facts, and I 
maintain every word I said. I am very fond cf 
Orchids; I know something of them, and I have seen 
thousands of them, and I can but repeat that on 
leaving the house the word “rubbish” passed my 
lips. Go on April 19th of next year to the nurseries 
of Messrs. Veitch, Mr. Bull, or Mr. Williams, Ac., 
and you will see a sight worth travelling for. T1 e 
praises bestowed by some periodicals on the Kew 
Orchids tempted me to undertake the journey, and I 
was disappointed. 
Your correspondent, Sir Charles Strickland, is not 
very polite in surmising that I have a vulgar taste, 
and I can assure him that he is mistaken. I can value 
little Orchids as well as large ones. I call a good 
Cattleya gigas, a good Yanda Sanderiana, Ac., 
glorious flowers, but I like the Cirrhopetalum, 
Promenssa, Leptotes, Comparettia, Trichocentrum, &c. 
—they are very interesting little species. I have bloomed 
Cirrhopetalum picturatum with six spikes, a plant 
certainly more peculiar than Thouarsii, and I grow 
also fimbriatum, ornatissimum, and umbellatum of 
the same genus, and if next Spring Sir C. Strickland 
would like to see them in bloom, the Editor will no 
doubt tell him where to go. However, if Sir Charles 
always finds some interesting Orchids at Kew, perhaps 
he is privileged to enter the “sanctum,” namely, the 
three other houses mentioned by Mr. Rolfe.-— A. F. L. 
The Cattleya Fly. — In 1883 I bought fifty 
plants of Dendrobium leucolophotum, just imported. 
They appeared to be alive, but none would start into 
growth. On examining them I discovered a number 
of little black spots on the whole length of the pseudo¬ 
bulbs. Splitting the bulbs longitudinally with a knife, 
I found out that the inside had been, and was being, 
eaten by a little grub, and the black spots were little 
apertures leading to the very centre. I even found 
some adult insects ready to emerge. It turned out to 
be a black weevil. Dendrobium undulatum, I found, 
had also been a great sufferer, but I could not 
discover the pest in any other variety. 
The same year I bought several imported plants of 
Cattleya Eldorado. They grew weak and did not 
bloom. The following spring I observed that the 
eyes of these Cattleyas were very large, and growing 
almost spherical at the base. I was delighted at the 
prospect of strong bulbs. I was disappointed; the 
growths were small, and I had no bloom. Then I saw 
that other Cattleyas were following suit, but I was far 
from suspecting that any enemy was at work. 
Several amateurs and a few nurserymen visited my 
collection, and I was simple enough to boast of the 
powerful growth of some of my Cattleyas. The 
amateurs opened their eyes, but the nurserymen 
smiled assent. Fortunately for me, Mr. Horsman, of 
Colchester, came to see my collection. He at once 
perceived these cono-spherieal eyes, and made me 
aware that they contained some “ grubs,” by cutting 
one of them into two. He told me that Mr. Chamber- 
lain had greatly suffered from them. I was told that 
the only remedy was to cut the growths and fumigate 
every fortnight so as to kill any fly coming out. I am 
sorry to say that I had to cut a hundred eyes. I have 
kept the pest under, but I have not yet succeeded in 
getting rid of it. This spring I have cut about a 
dozen injured plants. I send you the growth, con¬ 
taining the grub (sometimes one, sometimes three) and 
also the full-grown insect. It is very small, and as 
I never saw it before, I trust you may be able to 
identify the species. Perhaps some of your corre¬ 
spondents know more about it. I am glad to say 
that Cattleyas only were attacked; Laslias, Epiden- 
drums, &c., seem safe. 
This insect seems to be always at work and to 
ignore the seasons ; spring, summer, winter make no 
difference. The fly deposits its eggs on the dormant 
eyes; they hatch, the grub gets in, eats the inside of 
the bulb when it starts into growth, and so on. There 
may be four generations in a year for what I know.— 
A. F. L. —[Mr. McLachlan, to whom proofs of the 
illustrations below were submitted, has kindly favoured 
us with the following note :—“ There is, I think, no 
doubt your insect is the Isosoma orchidearum, of 
ISOSOIIA OKCHIDEARU1I. SLAGN. 7 DLUI. 
which Prof. Westwood published a very long account, 
with figures, in The Transactions of the Entomological 
Society of London, 1882, p. 323. He also published 
some short notes on it in The Gardeners' Chronicle. 
There is some amount of mystery attached to it. 
The Isosoma belongs to a group of Hymenoptera, 
parasitic on the larvae of other insects ; but some main¬ 
tain that in this case the habit is abandoned and that 
the Hymenoptera itself is the true cause of the damage. 
Since Prof. Westwood’s paper was published, I have 
myself bred, from swellings on the roots of Cattleya, 
both the Isosoma and minute midges of the Dipterous 
family Cecidomyiidae, hence I think it highly probable 
that Isosoma is really parasitic on the midge, and 
that it is the latter that does the damage. What was 
the colour of the larvae figured ? If reddish or orange, 
they are pretty sure to be those of the midge.” The 
larvae are not red, but pure white. We shall be 
obliged if any of our readers who have had experience 
of the enemy in question will tell us how far they 
have succeeded in exterminating it.— Ed.] 
- g_- 'TL- «0- Ci“ — s — 
THE ORCHID CONFERENCE. 
The promoters of the Orchid Show held at South 
Kensington on Tuesday last have much reason to 
congratulate themselves on the extent and beauty of 
the display, which, though disappointing in some 
particulars, was undoubtedly a fine one. We have no 
recollection of any Orchid Exhibition in this country 
of greater extent, or which included such a number of 
species and varieties as were brought together on this 
occasion. In this respect the display was unquestion¬ 
ably unique. With but few exceptions, however, the 
plants all ran on the small side, and, though it may be 
a vulgar taste, we cannot help expressing a sense of 
disappointment at the absence of those wonderful 
specimens from Lancashire and the North which 
in a week or two will doubtless figure conspicuously 
at Old Trafford. The absence of anything in the 
way of specimens above the ordinary run of the 
occupants of the Orchid-houses was one of the weak 
spots of the Exhibition. Another disappointing 
feature which was much commented upon was the 
comparatively poor show made by the large trade 
growers, who, with the exception, perhaps, of Messrs. 
Sander & Co., were very inadequately represented. 
It -was an amateur’s show, par excellence, and, as 
such, was a great success. We regret that the 
limited amount of space only that can be devoted 
to Orchids in our columns precludes the possibility 
of our giving anything like a detailed report, but 
we will endeavour to give in a brief form some idea 
of the extent and richness of this most interesting 
Exhibition. 
Orchids in Flower. 
The main stay of the Exhibition was undoubtedly 
the class for collections of Orchids in flower, to which 
no less than eighteen growers contributed. By far the 
largest groups very appropriately came from the 
President and Mr. Lee, bat judged for quality and 
not for numbers, Baron Schroder’s contribution was 
the most remarkable, comprising amongst others a 
fine piece of Cattaleya Skinneri nearly 3 ft. over. C. 
Skinneri alba, with six spikes ; Cymbidium Lowianom, 
with six grand spikes ; the lovely Laelia bella, with two 
fine blooms ; three magnificent Odontoglossums, which 
were awarded First-Class Certificates, viz., 0. erispum 
Yeitchianum, the most beautiful form of all (figured 
by us at p. 37), with a spike of ten flowers; 0. 
erispum Sanderianum, a grand and striking variety 
in the way of Yeitchianum, but with large, dense 
blotches of rich rosy-red; and O. excellens, with 
broad sepals and petals, white, tipped with yellow. 
The new spotted Cypripedium Godefroyse, and Maxil- 
laria Sanderiana, a very distinct species, with large 
white and deep crimson blossoms, in the same 
collection, also received First-Class Certificates. 
In the fine representative collection from Burford 
Lodge, the greatest novelty was a plant with two 
spikes of orange and red flowers of the rare and 
interesting Liiddemannia Pescatorei, to which a First- 
Class Certificate was awarded, and respecting which 
Professor Reichenbach sent a communication to the 
Conference. In Mr. Lee’s grand group, the most 
remarkable plants were two enormous masses of 
Cattleya Skinneri, both about 4 ft. over, and im¬ 
ported in 1884, and now flowering in splendid style, 
with some two dozen spikes on each. Cattleya 
Mendeli Selborniensis, and a strong piece of Mas- 
devallia Schlimii with five spikes, also claimed 
attention. A collection from Chatsworth, sent by 
the Duke of Devonshire, contained many good things, 
notably the Trentham and Chatsworth varieties of 
Ccelogyne cristata, and a fine plant of Renanthera 
coccinea, growing on a birch pole, and all showing 
that they have lost nothing in the hands of Mr. Owen 
Thomas. From S. Courtauld, Esq , Booking Place, 
came a pretty little group, mainly of small Orchids, 
and rich especially in Masdsvallias. H. M. Pollett, 
Esq., Bickley Park, and J. T. Peacock, Esq., Sudbury 
House, Hammersmith (Mr. Viccary, gardener), both 
had neat and interesting groups. Another pretty 
little collection was contributed by C. L. N. Ingram, 
Esq., Elstead House, Godaiming (Mr. Bond, gardener). 
Other collections of great merit came from G. N. 
Wyatt, Esq., Lake House, Cheltenham (Mr. Simcoe, 
gardener); Mr. Cypher, of Cheltenham ; Mr. Roberts, 
Gunnersbury; W. E. Brymer, Esq., M.P., Bsington 
House, Dorchester (Mr. Powell, gardener); Mr. B. S. 
Williams, Holloway; A. H Smee, Esq., The Grange 
WallingtoD (Mr. Cumming, gardener); J. Southgate, 
Esq., Selborne, Streatham (Mr. Salter, gardener); 
Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Clapton; H. Little, Esq., 
Hillingdon Place (Mr. Hill, gardener) ; the Director of 
the Royal Gardens, Kew; J. C. Duke, Esq., The 
Glen, Lewisham, and Messrs. Sander and Co., who 
amongst other good things had some remarkably 
fine new white Cattleyas, four of which received First- 
Class Certificates, viz., C. Wagneriana, pure white, 
with lemon blotch in the centre ; C. maxima 
peruviana, sepals and petals rosy-lilac, the lip rosy- 
purple, and prettily veined ; C. speciossima Sehro- 
deriana, white, with a beautiful bright purple 
pencilling on the lip; and C. Bluntii, pure white, 
