118 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
October 20, 1894. 
place on Wimbledon Common, a few days ago, I 
saw some Dahlias, Cactus, and single, planted in the 
grass, much as %ve plant Standard Roses. Mr. 
Newell, Sir E. Saunders’ gardener, said they were 
planted four years ago, and that he had allowed 
them to remain in the soil all the winter, and they 
came up year after year. I do not know how far 
this practice prevails, but it is the first time in my 
experience that I have known the Dahlia so 
treated. 
As I write, 11 the heavens are all coldly 
clear,” the ruddy sun-glow in the west, and the 
clearness in the horizon in the north, and the crisp¬ 
ness in the air, foretell of frost. The end of the 
Dahlia season may thus be near. The foliage of the 
Dahlia is soon affected by frost, the main stem not 
so quickly. But as soon as the branches put on 
mourning touch of the frosty influence, it is time to 
think of digging the roots up from the open ground. 
It should be done on a fine day whan the air is 
balmy ; the tuberous roots with the fibres attaching 
to them will be found encrusted with soil. By means 
of a pointed stick some of the heaviest of the soil 
should be removed, and the roots allowed to dry as 
much as possible in the wind and sun, taking care to 
house them by night even if they have to be put out 
in the open by day. I have known writers to recom¬ 
mend that the roots be washed, but that is a mistake. 
Let the soil on them dry gradually, removing the 
soil until only a kind of earthy powder appears 
on the tubers, and then they can be housed for the 
winter. 
When I was at the Royal Nursery, Slough, about 
forty years ago, we had an old wooden fruit room, 
and on the shelves of this room the Dahlia roots 
were staged for the winter. A small portable stove kept 
out frost, but fire heat was employed only when 
absolutely necessary. Frost and rot from damp were 
the two dangers to guard against; and during the 
autumn and wunter the roots were frequently looked 
over, and any decaying parts cut away. Sometimes 
a root would decay entirely, hence the necessity of 
growing from two or six or more of a variety, accord¬ 
ing, of course, to the demand for it. I should add 
that -when a root was dug up, the name of the variety, 
lightly written on a wooden label, was tied to the 
roots by means of flexible wire, and kept secured all 
the winter.— R.D. 
-- 
VEGETABLE NOTES. 
Owing to the immunity from frost which gardeners 
in the south of England have enjoyed as well as the 
fine weather, that taking it as a whole, has been our 
lot to enjoy of late, things are presenting a brighter 
appearance all round than the past cold and wet 
season would have warranted us in hoping- for, a few 
-weeks ago. Apples and Pears have made very great 
progress in the much-to-be-desired ripening of the 
wood, for which all fruit growers are praying. 
Dahlias in many parts are still blooming freely, and 
the blooms thus produced, although a good deal 
smaller in size than those -which were produced 
earlier (which is only natural after all) are of very 
good colour and have proved exceedingly useful. 
Along the valley of the Thames in many places 
exceptionally good crops of cauliflower are being cut 
that for colour, size, and weight are everything that 
could be desired. Veitch's Autumn Giant is doing 
particularly well, and is a general favourite all 
round. 
Scarlet Runner Beans are still yielding crops of 
very fair quality from late rows, and in some 
cases vegetable marrows are even now flourishing, 
and this at a season when as a rule we have 
experienced one or two sharp frosts. Carrots are 
generally heavy crops, but rather too much given 
to forking and splitting to please the grower, whose 
aim is rather to produce clean and shapely roots of 
medium size, than large, coarse-growing ones of 
indifferent shape. Parsnips are also good crops, but 
the roots are not so free from scab and rust as one 
could desire them to be Brussels Sprouts, Kale, 
Cabbage, Broccoli, &c., are as might be expected 
nearly giant in size. Brussels Sprouts particularly 
are very fine. Tomatos outside are but indifferent 
crops. In one or two places good results have been 
obtained, the great difficulty being to obtain well 
ripened fruit. The disease has played a conspicuous 
part in the reduction of the quantity of good 
saleable fruit produced this year. Onions, almost 
without exception, have proved great successes, and 
the bulbs are rather larger in size than usual, and of 
firm and well-ripened character. This is a fact upoD 
which we may well congratulate ourselves, for in 
many instances the Onion crop is only secondary in 
importance to that of the Potato. Like members 
of the Cabbage tribe Celery is also of large size, and 
if we get a very severe winter will need protection if 
it is to be kept in condition for very long.— G. 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
By John Fraser, F.L.S., Kew. 
The undermentioned Orchids received awards 
according to merit from the Royal Horticultural 
Society, on the gthinst. 
Cattleya Wendlandii, Nov. hyb. —The seed 
parent of this hybrid was C. Bowringiana, crossed 
with the pollen of C. Warscewiczii. It looks like a 
giant form of C. Bowringiana, but is quite inter¬ 
mediate. The broad sepals and ovate petals are 
deep purple. The tube of the lip is more intensified, 
and the orbicular lamina is crisped at the edge, rich 
purple tinted, crimson at the base, with a yellow 
blotch in the throat. Award of Merit. Exhibited 
by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. 
Cattleya labiata Countess Fitzwilliam, Nov. 
var .—The sepals, petals, and tube of the lip of this 
chaste and beautiful variety are pure white. The 
lamina of the lip is lightly tinted with blush. First- 
class Certificate. Exhibited by G. D. Osven, Esq. 
(gardener, Mr. Mark Watts), Selwood, Rotherham. 
Cattleya labiata Foleyana, Nov. var. —The 
sepals and petals in this case are faintly tinted with 
blush. There is a pale purple blotch on the lip, and 
an orange one in the throat, but it is otherwise 
nearly white. It is certainly handsome. First-class 
Certificate. Exhibited by G. D. Owen, Esq. 
Dendrobium Phalaenopsis Schroderianum 
album, Nov. var. —There is a pale purple, rayed 
blotch on the middle of the lip, and some purple at 
the very base of the tube, otherwise this fine variety 
is pure white. Award of Merit. Exhibited by 
Admiral Ralph P. Cator (gardener, Mr. G. E. Day), 
Hazelwood, King’s Langley. 
Stauropsis philippinensis— The sepals and 
petals of this Orchid are brownish purple and edged 
with white. The purplish lip is narrow, with two 
small, lateral lobes, one beneath, and bearded above 
like a white hat brush. Botanical Certificate. 
Exhibited by Admiral Ralph P. Cator. 
Miltonia spectabilis Moreliana atropur- 
punea, Nov. var .—The sepals and petals of this 
bold and handsome variety are blackish-purple with 
a clear spot at the very base. The huge lip is rich 
purple tinted with a daiker hue at the base. Award 
of Merit. Exhibited by Walter Cobb, Esq., Dulcote 
Park, Tunbridge Wells. 
Sarcanthus pugioniformis. —The small flowers 
of this species are borne in dense, drooping racemes. 
The sepals and petals are brown with a yellow stripe 
along the centre, and the pink lip and spur finally 
change to yellow. Botanical Certificate. Exhibited 
by C. J. Lucas, Esq., Warnham Court, Horsham. 
Cattleya hybrida Brownii, Nov. hyb. —The seed 
parent of this hybrid was Cattleya Harrisoniae 
crossed with the pollen of C. Bowringiana. The 
oblong sepals and ovate petals are of a cheerful 
bright rose. The lip is slightly curved, and widened 
upwards with the sides of the tube rolled over one 
another and bright purple; the roundish lamina is 
crisped, soft, pale yellow and slightly tinted with 
purple round the edges. Award of Merit. Exhibited 
by Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans. 
Cypripedium Memoria Moensi, Nov. hyb.— 
The seed parent of this hybrid was evidently C. 
Spicerianum, and the pollen parent possibly C. 
oenanthe superbum. The upper sepal is heavily 
shaded with purple, claret purple along the middle, 
and white at the edges. The petals are wavy on 
the upper edge, of a rich shining brow-n except at 
the very base, which is yellowish and densely dotted. 
The lip is very large, squarish, and of a rich shining 
brownish purple. Award of Merit. Exhibited by 
Thos. Statter, Esq. (gardener, Mr. R. Johnson), 
Stand Hall, Manchester. 
Dendrobium palpebrae— The stems of this 
species are quadrangular, clavate, and may be 
leafless or bear one or two leaves at the top. The 
flowers are borne in ascending or spreading racemes 
from near the top of the stems, and are fragrant, 
rather small, but white, with a yellow’ blotch in the 
throat lined with orange. Award of Merit. Ex¬ 
hibited by Messrs. W. L. Lew-is & Co., Southgate. 
Cypripedium Bookerii, Nov. hyb.— This new 
hybrid w T as derived from C. ciliolare crossed with C. 
Spicerianum. The upper sepal is of huge size and 
rich purple marked with white towards the edge. 
The petals are 2 in. long, dull purple upwards, and 
green on the lower half, dotted with black. The 
lip is of a rich blackish purple. Award of Merit. 
Exhibited by Messrs. W. L. Lewis & Co. 
The King of Dendrobes.— ■■ A visitor” writes:— 
•' When again visiting Mr. Moore's collection at 
Bourton-on-the-Water, on Saturday, I saw’ a 
wonderful plant of Dendrobium Phalaenopsis 
Schroderiana, bearing seven flowers spikes on the 
new bulb ; also a pretty plant of Oncidium orni- 
thorynchum in a 6-in. pot carrying 6oo blooms.” 
These are noteworthy plants, the Dendrobium 
especially, which beats anything we have heard of 
before. 
Maxiilaria mirabilis, Nov. sp .—A large propor¬ 
tion of the species of Maxiilaria are not particularly 
showy, but that under notice seems a good exception 
to the general rule. The flowers are of good average 
size, rather fleshy, and somewhat triangular in form. 
The sepals are dark purple on the lower portion with 
numerous brownish-purple lines, yellow towards the 
apex, and spotted all over with brown; the lateral 
ones are broadest and triangular. The fleshy petals 
are erect with recurved tips, orange-yellow fading 
towards the base, and striped and spotted similarly 
to the sepals. The very fleshy lip is bright orange- 
yellow spotted with purple, and more or less downy, 
particularly on the crest. It was introduced by 
Messrs. Linden, Parc Leopold, Brussels, and is 
figured in the Li/idenia, pi. 417. 
Dendrobium Wardianum Lindeniae, Nov. var. 
—This differs from the type in being an albino with¬ 
out any colouring except the large orange-yellow 
blotch on the lip, the sepals and petals being without 
the purple tips exhibited by the type. It first made 
its appearance at a meeting of the Orcbideenne in 
February last, when it was accorded a First-class 
Diploma of Honour. There is a figure of it in the 
Lindenia, pi., 419. 
TIE FLOWER GARDEN. 
There will be plenty to do in this department at the 
present to keep up a tidy appearance. Most trees 
are shedding, some have well nigh shed, their leaves, 
and the rake and the broom will be constantly in 
requisition. It is a hard matter even then to pre¬ 
serve a semblance of order, and every gardener will 
heave a sigh of relief when the next few weeks have 
passed, and the leaves are all down. Remove all 
old and useless plants to the rubbish heap, and neatly 
tie up in bundles and preserve stakes which are of 
no further use, but avoid treading upon the ground 
any more than is really necessary, especially if it is 
of a heavy character. 
The Herbaceous Border will now be fast assum¬ 
ing the cemetery-like character so common to many 
of them during the winter. In wet weather seeds of 
choice plants that have been previously gathered, 
and placed in a warm room to dry and finish ripen¬ 
ing, may be cleaned, put into separate bags and 
correctly and legibly named, before they are packed 
away. 
Carnations, —Layers of these ought by this time 
to have made sufficient roots. They should be lifted 
and potted off singly into small pots, and plunged in 
ashes in a cool frame for the winter, if it is intended 
to plant them in their flowering position in spring. 
In this case the ground which it is purposed to plant 
with them may now receive a dressing of lime and 
soot which, if well incorporated with the soil, will 
greatly assist in preventing the attentions of wire- 
worms—those much-to-be-dreaded enemies of the 
Carnation grower. If, however, autumn planting 
finds favour, no time should be lost in setting about 
the performance of this operation. 
Bulbs. —Complete the planting of Hyacinths, 
Tulips, and Anemones during favourable weather. 
Any alterations in the size or shape of beds may still 
be made, although it is getting a little late for the 
laying of fresh turf. Still in the event of mild open 
w’eather there need be little fear felt as to its safety. 
It will not be safe to leave plants of Aloes, Agaves, 
etc., out of doors any longer, for although up to the 
present we have been remarkably free from frosts, 
