342 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
January 26, 1895. 
spring, when, after the winter s run upon the stock 
of green stock, good material of this kind becomes 
scarce. Broccoli, although much appreciated as a 
vegetable, is not exactly the subject to which a gar¬ 
dener can with security trust, although we have now 
some comparatively hardy varieties, like Sutton s 
Late Queen, that will pass through an ordinary 
winter"fairly well and yield a good percentage of 
heads. 
Roots, as the year advances, deteriorate consider¬ 
ably in quality as well as being lessened in quantity. 
Celery that will stand the winter wonderfully well 
up to a certain point starts to rot off wholesale. 
Seakale, too, goes out of season, and that, of course, 
is equivalent to saying that the cook does not want 
to see any more of it. Kales from which the heads 
have been taken are exceedingly slow in starting to 
grow, at least, so the gardener thinks who is at his 
wits’ end to satisfy the call for green stuff that never 
seems so urgent or so pressing as when there is 
nothing to supply the demand. Accordingly, the 
forcing of vegetables is an absolutely necessary 
operation, and happy is the gardener who is well 
supplied with suitable conveniences for the same, as 
small quantities of these help considerably to lighten 
the burden of worry that is pressing so heavily upon 
his shoulders. 
French Beans. —The forcing of these under glass 
has become almost as common and matter of course 
an occurrence as the growing of them outside in the 
ordinary way. There can be no doubt but that as an 
early spring vegetable they meet with manifest 
appreciation to such an extent, indeed, that the cook 
in continually asking for more is apt to forget that it 
is not yet summer time. It is, therefore, extremely 
fortunate for the gardener that the forcing of French 
Beans in fair quantity is a comparatively easy and 
simple operation. As good reliable sorts suitable for 
forcing purposes, Osborne’s Forcing and theNe Plus 
Ultra will be found to give great satisfaction. Seven- 
inch pots are a handy size to grow them in, and the 
soil should consist chiefly of good loam, a little leaf 
soil being added to take away part of its pasty 
character. When the plants have reached a suffi¬ 
cient size, they should be roughly staked to prevent 
their lopping over the sides of the pots. Beyond this, 
but little trouble will be given—the great thing being 
to give an abundance of water, as niggardliness in 
this respect will often lead to an attack of the much 
dreaded red spider, which evinces such a particu¬ 
larly strong desire to make the acquaintance of the 
plants. A liberal use of the syringe is needful, as 
this will also serve to keep the red spider in check— 
an important consideration where Beans are being 
grown in the same house along with other subjects, 
such as Melons, Cucumbers, Strawberries, etc. 
Asparagus. —Great as are the quantities of this 
much sought after esculent which are grown year by 
year, it is very seldom that we hear of people getting 
at all tired of it. Accordingly, where the gardener de¬ 
cides on forcing some, it is advisable that he should 
decide whether he is able to keep up the succession or 
no, for if not, he will do wisely not to commence at all. 
As many gardeners are able to state from experience, 
once Asparagus is sent into the kitchen, it is almost 
impossible to satiate the demands for it. The crowns 
must be lifted with great care so that the injury sus¬ 
tained by them may be as little as possible. The quick¬ 
est and safest way of obtaining good heads is to make 
up a hot bed, having a temperature of about 65° Fahr., 
on which may be placed a few inches of leaf soil. 
Pack the crowns closely together on this and cover 
them lightly with fine soil. A frame should be placed 
over the whole and kept close until the growths are 
showing pretty freely; when a little air may be given 
to impart a little colour to the young heads. 
Mushrooms. —These, while they are greatly 
appreciated at all times, are especially so during the 
months of winter and spring, and there is no reason 
why they should not be obtainable,as nothing is easier 
to grow, although, like all other plan ts, they have their 
little likes and dislikes that must perforce be attended 
to if success in their treatment is aimed at. Where 
a plentiful supply of fresh horse droppings can be 
had the great difficulty is over, and it only remains 
to manipulate this material in the proper manner. 
Before making up a bed, the material must be well 
prepared by several turnings so as to thoroughly 
incorporate the old material with the new. To catch 
the right time for spawning the beds when the tem¬ 
perature is at 85$ Fahr. and declining, and after¬ 
wards to maintain a moist and equable atmospheric 
temperature in the house of 55 0 are the keynotes of 
success in the cultivation of this coveted esculent. It 
must not be supposed, however, that the lack of a 
house specially set apart for Mushroom growing is 
sufficient to debar any one from growing them on a 
small scale, for we have seen as good Mushrooms 
picked from a box standing in an old wine cellar as 
from the beds of the most elaborately constructed of 
houses. 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
By John Fraser, F.L.S., Kew. 
Amongst Orchids exhibited at the Drill Hall on the 
15th inst. the undermentioned received awards 
according to merit from the Royal Horticultural 
Society. 
Cypripedium Norma, Nov. hy’o .—This hybrid 
was derived from C. Spicerianum crossed with the 
pollen of C. Niobe, itself a hybrid, and the progeny 
is intermediate between the two as well as partaking 
of the characters of the parents of the pollen bearer. 
The upper sepal is remarkably revolute at the sides 
in the lower half, and white suffused with rose, with 
darker veins, a dark purple midrib, and green at the 
very base. The petals are declinate, wavy on both 
edges (which are yellow), brown on a yellow ground, 
and yellow at the base, dotted with brown. The lip 
is large, inflated, squarish, very bold, and deep 
brownish-purple, edged with yellow. The staminode 
is flesh coloured with a purple band across it. The 
upper revolute sepal forcibly recalls that of C. 
purpurea, and is strikingly beautiful, as is the whole 
flower. Award of Merit. Exhibited by Messrs. J. 
Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. 
Cypripedium Minosa superbum, Nov. hyb .— 
The seed parent of this hybrid was C. Spicerianum, 
and the pollen bearer C. Arthurianum. The upper 
sepal is of large size, greenish-yellow densely marked 
with small brown spots ; the apex is white with a 
cluster of purple spots, and a broad white margin 
extends down the sides. The drooping petals are 
strongly undulated on the upper edge, brown and 
yellow at the base, closely spotted with brown. The 
lip is of a deep shining brown with a yellow edge and 
claw. The wavy character of the petals are largely 
derived from C. Fairieanum through the pollen 
parent. This in a measure bespeaks its beauty, and 
the marbled upper sepal and the bright brown of the 
rest makes the whole flower a gem of the first water. 
Award of Merit. Exhibited by Messrs. J. Veitch & 
Sons. 
Cypripedium Mrs. Fred Hardy, Nov. hyb .— 
The parents of this hybrid are C. superbiens and C. 
bellatulum, the former being the seed parent, though 
the progeny has a strong resemblance to the latter 
in many respects. The upper sepal is nearly 
orbicular, white, marbled with purple in lines, and 
shaded with purple in the centre. The oblong 
slightly declining petals are white, with a faint tint 
of green and thickly spotted with blackish-purple. 
The lip is creamy-white, lined and suffused with 
purple near the mouth, and spotted on the claw. 
Altogether it is very distinct and beautiful. Award 
of Merit. Exhibited by Messrs. F. Sander & Co., 
St. Albans. 
Cypripedium J. H. Berry, Nov. hyb .—The seed 
parent in this case was C. Harrisianum superbum, 
and the pollen bearer C. concolor. It takes the 
colour of the former and the form of the latter, and 
has a massive appearance. The upper sepal is 
orbicular, and deep brownish-purple with a whitish 
edge. The petals are broadly spathulate, and of a 
lighter brownish-purple. The lip is more intensely 
purple, and greenish at the lower end of the pouch. 
The leaves are oblong, deep green, and slightly 
marbled with a darker shade. On the whole it is a 
large and bold flower. Award of Merit. Exhibited 
by Messrs. F. Sander & Co. 
Cypripedium Madame Georges Truffaut, 
Nov. hyb .—This was derived from C. ciliolare crossed 
with C. Stonei, after which it takes very largely. 
The upper sepal is large, ovate, elongated, and of a 
pale rosy hue with numerous deep purple veins. 
The drooping petals are 4 in. to 5 in. long, yellowish- 
green, spotted and warted with black ; but towards 
the apex it deepens to purple with larger spots, 
almost covering the surface. The large lip is dark 
purple and shining. The leaves are of the C. Stonei 
type, and the tall scape bears two or more flowers. 
It is a handsome Cypripedium. Award of Merit. 
Exhibited by Messrs. F. Sander & Co. 
Dendrobium Bursigerum album, Nov. var .— 
The species was described by Bindley in 1859, and 
was introduced from the Philippine Islands in 1882. 
The habit of the plant is similar to that of D. 
secundum, having stout stems with small flowers 
arranged in dense horizontal spikes, with the flowers 
all directed to the upper side, they are white with a 
yellow lip. Botanical Certificate. Exhibited by 
Messrs F. Sander & Co. 
Laelia anceps Crawshayana, Nov. var. —The 
flowers of this grand variety are of great size, and 
the vigour of the plant may be guessed at since the 
scape was 2J ft. high, and bore five flowers of great 
size. The sepals are oblong and rosy, while the 
obovate-elliptic petals are slightly darker. The 
edge of the tube of the lip is dark purple, and the 
lateral lobes more intensely so; the large terminal 
lobe is even richer in hue. The interior of the tube 
is yellow and lined with dark purple. It is an 
acquisition to the long list of named varieties of the 
popular L. anceps. First-class Certificate. Exhibited 
by De B. Crawshay, Esq. (gardener, Mr. S. Cooke), 
Rosefield, Sevenoaks. 
Maxillaria ochroleuca. —The flowers of this 
species are moderate in size, with linear pale yellow 
sepals fading to white at the base. The petals are 
shorter, but otherwise similar. The basal portion of 
the lip is white mottled with purple, the side lobes 
edged with that hue, and the terminal lobe is orange. 
Botanical Certificate. Exhibited by Messrs. F. 
Sander & Co. 
Dendrobium dicuphum. —The pseudo-bulbs of 
this pretty Australian species are fusiform, varying 
from 6 in. to 12 in. high, and leafy at the top where 
the scapes arise. The latter are drooping, slender, 
and bear a one-sided raceme of small flowers. The 
sepals are oblong, acute, and white. The spreading 
petals are obovate-rhomboid and white. The side 
lobes of the lip are purple, the rest white. The 
flowers may be described as small but very pretty. 
Botanical Certificate. Exhibited by Sir Trevor 
Lawrence, Bart, (gardener, Mr. W. H. White), 
Burford Lodge, Dorking. 
Dendrobium Wattianum. —This species belongs 
to the same group as D. eburneum and D. infundi¬ 
bulum, but has slender stems about iS in. high. 
The flowers are produced one or two together at the 
top of the stems. The sepals, petals, and lip are 
white, but on the latter is a median orange band, 
with a small blotch on either side of this and united 
with it in the throat. The terminal lobe of the lip 
is deeply lacerated, but the side lobes less so. 
Botanical Certificate. Exhibited by Sir Trevor 
Lawrence, Bart. 
Cypripedium Henry Graves, Nov. hyb .—The 
parentage of this hybrid was C. Lawrenceanum and 
C. Marshallianum, the latter being the pollen bearer. 
The upper sepal is ovate and suffused with a rosy 
shade on a white ground; the central veins are 
greenish, the rest rose, and the margin white. The 
oblong horizontal petals are slightly twisted, rosy, 
thinly dotted with black, and shining as if varnished. 
The lip is pale purple except at the lower end of the 
pouch, which is tawny-yellow. The leaves are broad 
and tessellated with deep green on a lighter ground. 
The shining petals make this variety very conspicu¬ 
ous. Award of Merit. Exhibited by Henry Graves, 
Esq., Orange, New Jersey, United States, America. 
Cypripedium Madame Jules Hye, Nov hyb .— 
The upper sepal of this hybrid is very large, nearly 
orbicular, and white, suffused with pale rose, and 
has a deep vinous midrib. The broad petals are 
oblong and browish-green, with a purple midrib. 
The huge lip is inflated; purple, and shaded with 
green in front, and yellowish at the edge; the claw 
is paler purple and spotted. The staminode is deep 
purple with a white edge. The parents of the plant 
have not been stated, but C. Spicerianum seems to 
be one of them. It is certainly a bold and striking 
flower on account of its massive build. Award of 
Merit. Exhibited by M. Jules Hye-Leysen, 8, Le 
Coupure, Ghent, Belgium. 
Cypripedium nitens superbum, Nov. var — 
The upper sepal of this pretty variety is broadly 
ovate, yellow, shining, and richly blotched with 
brownish-purple, which gives place to clear purple 
blotches at the top ; the apex and sides are white. 
The petals are spathulate, shining, and brown. The 
lip is of a clear shining brown with yellow edges. 
The upper sepal is undoubtedly the finest feature of 
this attractive variety. Award of Merit. Exhibited 
by Walter Cobb, Esq. (gardener, Mr. Howse), 
Dulcote Park, Tunbridge Wells. 
