780 
THE GARDENING- WORLD 
August 8th, 1885. 
THE 
(frrjritr (Srofooers Cdmto, 
Orchid Houses. — Heating and Repairing : Now is 
the time to thoroughly overhaul the heating apparatus, 
bearing in mind any cause of difficulty experienced 
during the last winter and trying to remedy it; at the 
same time making any alterations and improvements 
that experience might suggest. Sometimes where 
houses do not heat well or regularly the cause may 
readily be traced by one who knows the simple 
principles on which hot v r ater works. Frequently 
a dip in the piping, made more for the sake of 
arranging it to look well than from necessity, throws 
the whole of it out of working, and gives much 
trouble in cold weather, whereas if the sudden dip 
were altered to a gradual rise all w'ould heat well and 
easily. 
By the same rule too, the settlement of the hot-water 
pipes out of the level causes them to work badly and 
much fuel to be wasted in winter in endeavouring to 
force heat where it would go naturally if the piping 
had a gradual rise to the extreme point of the flow (on 
which an open air pipe should be placed), and a 
gradual fall on the return. Those who think about 
these matters in summer are the best prepared in 
winter; it is therefore advisable to go over all the 
heating apparatus to see that it is in working 
order. If a plug at the lowest part, or any other 
means of sluicing the boiler is provided, a quantity 
of water should be run off from it to clear 
it of sediment, the fire bars and flues should 
be looked to, the piping levelled, the joints seen 
to, and the air taps and valves oiled and worked. 
The whole of it should also be painted over w T ith 
lamp black and oil if required to prevent rust. The 
simpler the stuff used for this purpose the better, as 
anything likely to give off offensive gases is very 
injurious, and once applied causes damage for years, 
as those unwary enough to use paint or gas-tar know 
to their cost. 
While seeing to the piping, it will be well to take a 
look behind them and have all the rubbish cleared 
away which may have accumulated. Nothing is of 
greater importance to Orchids than cleanliness, and 
no better time could be found for a general clean up 
than the present. At the same time, repairs to the 
structures and the ventilators should be attended to, 
as the weather makes it easy to accomplish repairs 
and alterations now which would be impossible later 
on in colder weather. But let me remind those in 
charge of Orchids where repairs are going on to look 
well after their plants and put them out of harm’s 
way, for the carpenters and other workmen as a rule 
look after their own work and care little about the 
plants. Wherever extensive repairs have to be done, 
therefore, it is better to clear the house if possible, or 
at least a good portion of it at a time, matting off the 
part under repair from that in which the plants are 
situated .—James O'Brien. 
MasdevaHia tridactylites.—A lovely specimen 
of this little gem has just bloomed with Mr. W. B. 
Latham, at the Botanical Gardens, Edgbaston, Bir¬ 
mingham, with seventy or eighty flowers open at one 
time. It is one of those plants of which small 
specimens are regarded contemptuously by all but 
lovers of botanical plants, but which when bloomed 
as at Edgbaston commands attention and admiration 
from all. The plant resembles a dwarf tuft of grass 
only 2 ins. or 3 ins. in height, the leaves being 
ujiright and fleshy; the flowers are borne on thread¬ 
like stalks, rising an inch or two above the leaves, 
the flowers are reddish-brown, the body resembling 
that of a slender cockroach, two yellow tails projecting 
at angles at the base and one from the apex. Seen 
at a little distance, they look like so many insects 
hovering over the plant, for the stalks are almost 
invisible. Near allies are M. triaristella and M. gem- 
mata, which seems to be identical with M. triehaste, 
is somewhat like it in flower, but has flat recurved 
leaves. The whole section is invaluable to those who 
have a little space in a cold house and wish to furnish 
it with nature’s beautiful pigmies.— J. B. 
Miltonia Reg-nelli purpurea. —A flower of the 
best form of this rare plant comes from Thos. G. 
Munyard, Esq., of Kingston Hill. The flower is 
3 ins. in length and 2 ins. in width; the labellum 
large and oval, violet-mauve, and the sepals and 
petals delicate rose with a white band in each. The 
variety is said to be very robust in growth, bearing 
five to seven flowers on a spike and the spikes 
measuring 18 ins. to 2 ft. in length. 
A YeHow Lycaste or Bifrenaria also comes 
from the same gentleman. It resembles Lycaste Harri- 
sonianum in form, but the flowers are wholly yellow, 
the petals having a slight green tinge in them. There 
are four flowers on a spike, and they emit a very 
penetrating and pleasing odour. It seems to be of 
the Bifrenaria (Lycaste) inodora section, and will 
probably be the B. inodora xanthina, described by 
Professor Reichenbach from Linden’s specimen in 
1866, notwithstanding its sweet scent.— J. O’B. 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
Royal Southampton Horticultural, August 
1st and 3rd .—This society held its Annual Summer 
Exhibition in Westwood Park, and it may truly be 
said to have been one of the very best the society has 
ever had. Everything that is calculated to promote 
and sustain a good provincial horticultural show is 
embodied in the society under notice; it is well 
supported by the nobility and gentry of the county, 
and the leading citizens of the town and neighbour¬ 
hood. The Council, consisting mostly of business 
men, bring their keen commercial knowledge to bear 
upon the management, in conjunction with the 
practical suggestions of their horticultural colleagues; 
it is ably presided over by Major-General Lacy and 
Captain Gibbs, and having in Mr. Fuidge a most 
energetic and courteous Secretary, and a most suit¬ 
able and convenient park in the outskirts of a 
flourishing commercial seaport town, it is therefore, 
we repeat, most favourably situated for the holding of 
a successful and representative horticultural meeting. 
The exhibits on the present occasion—even the ‘Targe 
plants ” of Mr. Cypher and others—were as fresh as if 
they had been at home from their “ infancy,” instead 
of having been to most of the leading shows in the 
country, and their grand condition doubtless tended 
to stimulate a love for plant culture in the minds of 
many who saw them. 
Plants. 
In the class for twelve stove and greenhouse 
plants, six in flower and six fine-foliage, Mr. James 
Cypher, of Cheltenham, was easily first, out of 
three lots staged, showing a large, even, fresh lot of 
plants, particularly noticeable being his grandly- 
coloured specimens of Croton Sunset, 6 ft. through; 
C. Queen Victoria, of about the same dimensions ; 
Phoenocoma prolifera Barnesii, 5 ft. through, and 
profusely covered with well-developed fresh flowers ; 
Allamanda Hendersoni, Dasylirion acrotrichum, Dip- 
ladenia Brearleyana, Erica Thompsoni, Encephalartos 
villosus, having fronds 10 ft. long, and a well-flowered 
plant of Stephanotis floribunda; second, Mr. Bann, 
gardener to J. Warren, Esq.,Handcross Park, Crawley, 
whose best plants were a grandly-flowered Statice pro- 
fusa, and well-coloured Croton interruptus (9 ft. over) 
and C. Warreni, about the same in size. Mr. Tudgey, 
Waltham Cross, was third, his best plants being 
Erica tricolor superba, E. Wiisoni, and Ixora Wil- 
liamsii. For a like number of plants not open to 
exhibitors in the preceding class, Mr. J. Mould, 
Pewsey, Wiltshire, was a good first, showing, among 
others, good plants of Dipladenia Brearleyana, Erica 
insignis, Allamanda Hendersoni, A. nobilis, Dracfena 
Goldiana, and Statice profusa; second, Messrs. Ban- 
some, nurserymen, Hill Lane Gardens, Southampton, 
whose best plants were of Ixora Williamsii and Statice 
profusa ; third, Messrs. Oakley & Watling, nursery¬ 
men, St. Mary’s Koad, Southampton. Mr. Wills, 
gardener to Mrs. Pearce, The Firs, Bassett, was first 
with a similar number of plants (open to gardeners 
only), staging a good, even, well-grown lot, the best of 
which were Clerodendron Balfourianum, Bougainvillea 
glabra, Kalosanthes coccinea, a grandly-flowered 
plant, and Phcenocoma prolifera Barnesii. Mr. N. 
Blandford, gardener to Mrs. Haselfoot, Moor Hill, 
West End, Southampton, was a good second, having 
remarkably good plants of Allamanda Hendersoni 
and Clerodendron Balfourianum; and Mr. Amys, 
gardener to the Hon. Mrs. Elliot York, Hamblecliff, 
Southampton, was third. In the class for nine 
miscellaneous plants, distinct, Mr. Molyneaux, gardener 
to W. H. Myers, Esq., Swanmore Park, Bishop's 
Waltham, was a good first, staging a good, even, fresh, 
well-grown collection, in which were well-coloured 
Crotons variegatus and Queen Victoria, Alocasia 
macrorhiza variegata, a very good specimen, and 
Chamasdorea glaucifolium, a handsome Palm,with long 
graceful fronds; second, Mr. Budd, gardener to F. G. 
Dalgety, Esq.. Lockerley Hall, Bomsey; third, Mr. 
Beynolds, gardener to Colonel the Hon. H. Crichton, 
Netley Castle, Southampton ; and fourth, Mr. Peel, 
gardener to Miss Todd, Sidford Lodge, Shirley. 
Groups of 
Miscellaneous Plants 
arranged for effect are always interesting features in 
this excellent show, and were particularly so on the 
present occasion, presenting in the capacious tent at 
the top of the grounds a beautiful floral picture. 
There were ten groups, five belonging to. profes¬ 
sionals and nurserymen, and five arranged by 
amateurs. In the former class Mr. Wills was first, 
Messrs. Bansome second, Mr. Beynolds third, and 
Mr. Blandford fourth, all arranging tastefully, suit¬ 
able, and well-chosen plants. Mr. Blandford was 
awarded a second prize for a collection of small, 
nicely - flowered plants of Orchids, which included 
nice pieces of Odontoglossum vexillarium, 0. Boezlii, 
and Saccolabium Blumeii. For a miscellaneous 
collection of nursery stock, Messrs. Oakley & Wat¬ 
ling were awarded the first prize, Mrs. Kingsbury 
the second, Mr. G. Windebank the third, and 
Messrs. Bansome the fourth; an extra prize being 
accorded to Mr. W. H. Bogers, Bed Lodge Nursery, 
Southampton, for a nice fresh lot of chiefly hardy- 
plants ; Messrs. Elcombe & Son, Bomsey, being 
highly commended for a similar collection. Mr. 
Wills had the best eight Begonias in flower ; and 
Mr. Osborne, gardener to H. J. Buchanan, Esq., 
Wilton House, Southampton, Mr. Blandford, and Mr. 
Windebank had the second, third, and fourth best 
lots. In the class for four plants of Double Begonias, 
distinct, two lots only were staged, well-flowered 
plants, which secured for the exhibitors, Messrs. 
Wilts and Osborne, first and second prizes in the 
order named. The class for six stove or greenhouse 
Ferns brought out three exhibitors, Messrs. Wills, 
Amys, and Peel, who all showed well and secured 
the prizes in the order in which their names appear. 
The nurserymen's class for four stove or greenhouse 
Ferns only brought one exhibitor, Mr. J. Mould, who 
was awarded a first prize for a not very grand col¬ 
lection. 
Feens, Florists’ Flowers, &c. 
In a similar class, for gardeners oply, Mr. Blandford 
was a good first, showing nice plants of Lygodium 
scandens, Adiantum cuneatum, A. concinnum, and 
Davallia Mooreana; second, Mr. Budd; third, Mr. 
Beynolds. Messrs. Wills, and W. Joy, nurseryman, 
Shirley, had the best two collections of six Fuchsias, 
distinct, and in the following class for a like number 
of plants from which exhibitors in the preceding class 
were excluded, Mr. Betteridge was first, and Mr. Bush, 
Thornhill Park, Bittern, second. Messrs. Windebank, 
Wills, and Blandford, were first, second, and thud iu 
the order named for six Pelargoniums, Zonal or 
Nosegay, distinct; and for a like number of doubles, 
or semi-doubles, distinct, the prizes went to Messrs. 
Bansome, Mr. Wills, and Mr. Windebank, all showing 
creditable specimens. In the next class, which was 
for four plants of the same description, the exhibitors 
in the preceding class not being allowed to compete, 
the first and second prizes went to Mr. Betteridge and 
Mr. B. West, gardener to — Wigram, Esq , Northlands, 
Salisbury, only two lots being staged, as in the 
following class for two Golden Tricolor, two Bronze, 
one Silver Tricolor, and ODe silver-edged Pelargoniums, 
the prizes in which were awarded to Messrs. W ills 
and West for neat, well-grown plants. Four lots of 
six Celosiapyramidalis were staged, and Messrs. Amys, 
Osborne, and Wills were placed first, second, and 
third, all showing admirably-grown plants of an 
excellent strain. The same exhibitors staged six pans 
each of well-grown Achimenes, distinct varieties; first, 
Mr. Osborne ; second, Mr. Wills ; and third, Mr. Amys. 
