August 22nd, 1885. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
813 
a wonderful lot of flower spikes, and the plants are 
well grown, forming enormous bulbs. Laslia autum- 
nalis is also grown in quantity, and well too. Zygo- 
petalums, Cymbidiums, and Sobralias form also a very 
fine feature in this department. Three smaller houses 
are devoted to the growth of the world-famed Odonto- 
glossum Alexandra, hundreds of which are making 
fine stout bulbs, and, although the flowering season 
is past, there were still enough blooms open to show 
the excellence of the types grown. Several fine 0. 
vexillarium were still in flower, including rubellum, 
a grand dark variety, the best I have seen in marking. 
0. Lawrenceanum superbum was also in flower, a 
welcome addition to this noble family. The bulk 
of the Masdevallias have done flowering, but many 
fine sorts, and good plants, have bloomed very freely. 
Next comes a warm house, in which are the Aerides, 
all the leading Cypripediums, Saccolabiums, and 
Vandas, all growing to perfection, as also are the 
Phalrenopsis in variety. Cattleya amethystoglossa 
and Cattleya Dowiana were in flower, and the latter- 
very fine. 
I must not forget to mention the Odontoglossum 
Roezli, which appears here to be quite at home. The 
plants are very healthy and strong, the foliage clean 
and quite free from the insect pest which is so often 
the ruin of this species. Should any of your readers 
interested in Orchid-culture be in the neighbourhood 
of Southport, and care to visit Birkdale, they will, 
I am sure, receive a very hearty welcome from the 
enthusiastic owner and his intelligent gardener, Mr. 
George Beddoes .—Alfred Outram. 
Orchids Flowering in the Open Air. —The 
following Orchids are in bloom or showing spikes, in 
the open air, in Mr. A. H. Smee’s “ My Garden,” 
Wallington:—Cattleya Gaskelliana, Colax jugosus, 
Epidendrum fragrans, Lycaste Deppei, L. Smeeana, 
Masdevallia Normani, Maxillaria grandiflora, M. 
venusta, Mesospinidium sanguineum, M. vulcanicum, 
Odontoglossum Alexandra, 0. Bictonense, 0. cor- 
datum, O. gloriosum, 0. sceptrum, Oncidium aurosum, 
0. dasytyle, Vanda coerulea, and Oncidium lingui- 
forme. The Odontoglossums are making strong 
growths in the cool, shady nooks of the Fern glen. 
The plants of Dendrobium Wardianum have been 
exposed to full sunshine for some weeks, and having 
finished their growth, some of them will again bloom 
out-of-doors. 
— -"Tr ^ cr - ■ - j — 
GODETIA SATIN ROSE. 
We have long been convinced that Godetias are 
not so extensively grown by amateurs as their merits 
deserve, but why this should be so we have never 
quite been able to make out. It is true, there is some¬ 
thing about the look of the large, prettily-coloured 
silky blossoms which gives one an idea that they do 
not last long, that they are, in fact, of a fugacious, 
here to-day gone to-morrow sort of character, but this 
is really not the case, and even if it were, they flower 
so abundantly that the plants, in their flowering 
period of existence, would always be showy. But so 
far from being of a fleeting character, the Godetia 
lasts longer in a cut state than most of the annuals 
that we are acquainted with, and they will even open 
their buds in water. We have had them presentable 
in a vase for over a fortnight, and it is on this ground 
that we would strongly recommend all amateurs whose 
gardens are only of a limited extent to grow the 
Godetia more extensively, for there are few annuals 
which come in so useful for cutting. 
They are, too, of very easy cultivation, and by no 
means particular as to soil, though a good loam, not 
too heavily manured, seems to give the best results. 
They require only to be sown early, either in pots 
or on a nearly-spent hotbed, and in due time to be 
transplanted in the beds or borders. As to the 
varieties, there are now some twenty or more in culti¬ 
vation, and all are good. The white crimson-spotted 
G. Whitneyi is especially fine, and from it have been 
obtained those sterling novelties, the deep crimson 
Lady Albemarle, the satin-white Duchess of Albany, 
and the latest novelty, Messrs. James Carter & Co.’s 
Lady Satin Rose, a charming variety of a deep rose- 
pink colour, and the flowers large. A good many 
new annuals have been raised on their Essex seed 
farms, and this is one of the best. 
FLORICULTURE. 
Culture of the Carnation : Layering. —Calling 
upon my old friend, Mr. E. S. Dodwell, at the Stanley 
Road, Oxford, a few days ago, I found him very busy 
at work layering his Carnations and Picotees. The 
stock is so large and the “ grass ” so numerous and 
vigorous that although I found three hard at work at 
layering, it will take some three weeks to get through 
the process. Mr. Dodwell has nearly 1,600 pots of 
Carnations and Picotees, not a few containing three, 
and the majority two plants each. In addition there 
is a large bed of seedlings containing some things of 
rare promise, but the plants are lifted with good balls 
of earth about the roots, put into pots, and layered as 
the others are. 
If three layerers are at work, it is almost necessary 
to have an assistant to each preparing the pots for the 
operator. Years ago, and it may be the case now, it 
was the practice to take a pair of sharp scissors, and 
with it cut away all the decaying leaves that are close 
to the stem, and also shorten back the remaining ones 
left on the shoot. Mr. Dodwell does not shorten 
back any of the leaves left on the runner; only the 
decaying ones, and those it is necessary to re¬ 
move, are cut away. The shoots are prepared, 
the old soil is carefully loosened down to the upper¬ 
most roots, removed, and replaced by a fine gritty 
compost, and into this the runners are pegged. Fern 
pegs are best for the purpose, and therefore it is of 
great advantage if a grower resides near a wood or 
common in which Ferns grow. Some use them green ; 
Mr. Dodwell prefers them kept a year in a cool, dry 
place, in order to become perfectly hardened, and 
when this is the case they can be employed a year or 
two. 
There are two ways of forming the layer, and both 
have been in practice for many years. One is to cut 
obliquely into the stem just below a joint, and then 
when the joint is reached go a little farther up the 
centre, and then the knife is withdrawn, and a por¬ 
tion of the tongue of the layer removed. Another 
method (and it is one generally practised by those 
expert at layering) is to have a sharp-pointed knife 
with a keen edge on both sides; the point of the knife 
is gently inserted in the centre of the stem, the handle 
is then given a slight twist, and the blade is brought 
out just below the joint on the underside, thus form¬ 
ing a nice tongue. The nib is then cut back to a joint 
and the piece of leaf stripped off, leaving a small bud 
at the bottom. It is then carefully and firmly pegged 
down in the fine soil placed in the pot. When all 
are done a little more soil is placed upon the layers, 
but they are not buried too deeply. It sometimes 
happens that there are shoots so high as not to be 
conveniently brought down to the same level as the 
others. When this is the case it is customary to place 
some broken pieces of pot within the rim which holds 
up the soil and makes a higher surface when they are 
layered, or sometimes it is necessary to layer in small 
pots placed close to the rim. 
Some growers adopt the practice of placing smooth, 
flat stones or oyster shells as near as possible over the 
cut of each layer. This not only prevents the soil 
being washed away from that particular spot, but it 
is considered that it accelerates the rooting of the 
layers, for if the weather be hot and the soil in other 
parts of the pot dry, a genial moisture will be found 
beneath the stones, and the layers are benefited 
thereby. 
Mr. Dodwell stands his plants out-of-doors after 
layering on planks laid down on a gravelled walk; 
they are merely sprinkled overhead at first until the 
cut part of the layers have “calloused” somewhat, 
and then water may be given more freely. 
In the act of layering some of the shoots break 
off, and others are so placed that it is difficult 
to layer them. These are made into “ pipings.” 
They are inserted in light soil under a cool wall or 
suitable spot, and hand-glasses placed over them, 
after being sprinkled to settle the soil about them. 
They need shade when necessary, and they should 
be examined occasionally to see that none of the 
pipings are damping off. Worms will be found 
troublesome at times, but a little lime-water will 
cause them to desert the bed. 
In the process of layering, all “ run” flowers, that 
is flowers the petals of which have become self- 
coloured, should be marked, as if propagated the 
stock cannot be depended upon to produce flowers of 
the true character. Cases are known of a “ run ” 
flower breaking back to its proper character, but they 
are few, and opposed to the general experience. 
Layering should be proceeded with at once ; whether 
the plants are in pots or in the open ground, the 
present time is the one for the prosecution of this 
work.— R. 1). 
-- 
Begonia Princess Beatrice. —This is a charm¬ 
ing bedding variety, raised by Messrs. Sutton & 
Sons, Reading. It is one of the small-leaved, free- 
floweriflg sections, and with a compact yet free bushy 
habit of growth, producing numberless pink and white 
blossoms. Some weeks ago, Messrs. Sutton & Sons 
sent a basket of plants up to one of the meetings of 
the Royal Horticultural Society, but they failed to 
give anything like an adequate idea of its valuable 
decorative beauty. It should be seen growing in a 
bed at the Portland Nurseries of this eminent firm at 
Reading. It is, undoubtedly, one of the most effective 
of bedding Begonias, and as such deserves to be 
noticed.— R. D. 
- Q_* - 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
Grantham Horticultural. —This society held 
its fourteenth annual exhibition on August 13th, and 
it was in every way a very great success. The entries 
much exceeded those of former years, the weather 
was fine, and the attendance large, so that we hope 
the society has largely benefited financially. During 
the last few years the society has been very unsuccess¬ 
ful, but by “ sticking to it,” the committee have at 
last established it on a sound footing, and great 
praise is due to the secretary and committee for the 
admirable manner in which all have laboured to 
achieve the end in view. A class for a group of 
miscellaneous plants arranged for effect and covering 
250 square feet of space, brought out three competi¬ 
tors, and their exhibits formed the principal feature 
of the show, as far as plants were concerned. The first 
prize of £10 was awarded to Mr. Thacker, of Notting¬ 
ham, for a beautiful piece of artistic work, similar to 
that which attracted so much attention at the late 
Nottingham Show. Too much cannot be said in 
favour of this gentleman’s style of grouping, every 
corner and recess being a picture in itself, every plant 
being placed to the best advantage, and the whole 
entirely different to the stiff and formal arrangements 
so often seen. Mr. Lyon, gardener to Lady Ossington, 
Newark, whose grouping of late has very much im¬ 
proved, came in second ; the plants in this collection 
were good examples of cultivation, nice, clean, useful, 
well-coloured subjects, if anything too much crowded. 
Mr. Ashley, gardener to Sir J. H. Thorold, Bart., 
Syston Park, was third. For six stove and greenhouse 
plants, in or out of flower, Mr. Thacker was again 
first, closely followed by Mr. Lyon, who was placed 
second, and who had some fairly well-grown plants, 
rather lacking weight in the flowering section. For 
six Ferns, the last-named exhibitor was first, with 
good clean, well-grown plants. The second prize 
went to a fair lot exhibited by J. R. Boyall, Esq. (Mr. 
Melville, gardener), Castle Gate House, Grantham. 
Table plants were shown in quantity, and the first 
prize went to Mr. German, gardener to J. Cutts, Esq., 
Nottingham, for a good well-matched half-dozen of 
light and graceful subjects, and Mr. Lyon, who was 
second, also showed a good set, while the others staged 
were far too heavy. Coleuses were exhibited in fail- 
numbers, the first prize lot being well-grown and 
finely-coloured. 
Tuberous Begonias were small, but nicely flowered 
Gloxinias, with the exception of the first prize lot. 
were poor indeed, some of them badly grown, and 
with one puny flower on them. How exhibitors can 
thus publicly show how little they have profited by 
experience is beyond our comprehension. 
The cut blooms of Roses, twenty-four single blooms, 
were, considering the season, pretty good, the first 
prize going to Mr. House, nurseryman, Peterborough, 
and the second to Messrs. J. & W. Brown, Stamford. 
In the class for twelve, this order was reversed, 
