598 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
May|18, 1895. 
greater. I am not sure, however, that at this 
moment we are not behind one at least of the great 
nations of the continent, perhaps more than one, in 
the art of combining theory and practice—in the art 
of so weldinsr together in a great organic and self- 
supporting whole, the man of genius, who, at one end 
of the scale, discovers a new law of nature, and the 
man of practice on the other hand, whose business 
it is to turn these discoveries to account . . . While 
I think that those who object to technical education 
have their justification, it yet remains true that if 
you include, as you ought to include within the term 
technical education, the really scientific instruction 
which would turn scientific discoveries to practical 
account—if that is what you mean, orwhat you ought 
to mean by technical instruction, then there is nothing 
of which England has at this moment any greater 
need, and there is nothing which, if she, in her folly, 
determines to neglect it, will more conduce to the 
success of her rivals in the markets of the world, and 
to her inevitable abdication of the position of com¬ 
mercial supremacy which she has hitherto held. I 
do not deny that manufactures and commerce have 
received an immense amount of gain from theoretical 
investigations, and, as everybody will admit who has 
even the most cursory acquaintance with, let us say, 
the history of discoveries in electricity and mag¬ 
netising power, science has been the means of great 
gain through industrial development. While both 
these things are true, I am the last person to deny 
that it is a poor end, a poor object for a man of 
science to look forward to, of merely making money 
for himself and other people. After all, while the 
effect of science on the world is almost incalculable, 
that effect can only be gained in the future, as it has 
been gained in the past, by men of science pursuing 
knowledge for the sake of knowledge, and for the 
sake of knowledge alone ; and if I thought that by 
anything that had dropped from me to-night I had 
given ground for the idea that I looked on science 
from what is called a strictly utilitarian point, that I 
measured its triumphs by the number of successful 
companies which it had succeeded in starting, or by 
the amount of dividends which it gave to capitalists, 
or even by the amount of additional comfort which 
it gave to the masses of population, I should greatly 
understate my thought. . . . Truth, not profit, 
must necessarily be the motto of every body of 
scientific men who desire to be remembered by 
posterity for their discoveries. — Hon. A.J. Balfour, 
M.P., at the Annual Meeting of the Chemical Society. 
-*#-- 
TOMATO DISEASE. 
I send you a Tomato plant affected with a disease 
which has troubled me for the last three years. The 
disease, ailment, or whatever it may be, takes the 
plant when in full vigour, and generally one side of 
the plant goes first. I did not expect a return of it 
this year as I trenched the soil and left it to the last 
winter's frost, so you will gather that they are 
planted in beds in the native soil, which is a brick 
earth rather full of iron rust. I have tried nothing 
more than keeping them wet and dry, but with the 
same results, except that they go off quicker when 
dry. It appears that no one else in this neighbour¬ 
hood is troubled with the same thing. I shall be 
glad if you can enlighten me on the subject.— F. 
Dunning, Ryde, Isle of Wight. 
[We failed to find any evidence of disease on the 
plant received ; in fact we think it too early in the 
season for the usual fungi to show themselves. 
Some of the lower leaves were indeed losing colour, 
but that frequently happens, especially when the 
plants in the early stages have been kept in a rather 
close, moist atmosphere. Such leaves are thin in 
texture, and, when overhung by other and larger 
ones above them, this natural shading causes them 
to be short-lived and to wither away. The rest of 
the leaves, the bunches, and the plant generally 
looked wonderfully healthy and dark green, but we 
would advise you to give them more ventilation 
now. There is just one other suggestion we should 
make,,and that is to ask whether you change your 
seed every year. Though using the same sort, you 
might arrange with some of your friends at a distance 
to grow seed for you on a different soil. Our 
experience in a town garden is that two or three 
seasons is the longest we can go without fresh seed. 
The plants get weaker and weaker every year, and 
some of them die off in the course of the summer 
without any evidence of insects or fungi upon them 
except red spider in very dry seasons in the open 
air.—E d^ j ... 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
By John Fraser, F.L.S., Kew. 
Cymbidium Lowianum—A short time ago we 
noted a considerable range of variety amongst the 
flowers of plants in the nursery of Messrs. J. Laing 
& Sons, Forest Hill. In one case the apical blotch 
on the lip was bright brownish-crimson edged with 
yellow, while the sepals and petals were pale yellow 
tinted with green. Close by was another distinct 
variety having a dark crimson-red blotch to the lip, 
and the sepals and petals were tinted with chocolate- 
brown. Some of the pieces are large, others small, 
but well grown, as we counted twenty-six flowers on 
a raceme ; this particular plant had a richly coloured 
lip, and the face of the column was rather prominently 
spotted. 
Two Varieties of Dendrobium Farmeri.—The 
dwarf habit and the large pendent raceme of flowers 
of D. Farmeri render it one of the prettiest and most 
accommodating species of Dendrobe for basket 
culture. The varieties constitute great acquisitions, 
whether as companions for the type or for their own 
intrinsic merit. D. F. aureum has bright yellow 
flowers, so different from the ordinary type as to be 
misleading at first sight. The variety D. F. roseum, 
though less far removed from the original, is yet 
distinct and pretty. The sepals are pink, the ovate 
petals white, and the lip yellow with a white tip, 
thus showing all the range of colours of the species 
in one and the same variety. Both of the varieties 
here mentioned flowered beautifully in the nursery 
of Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, a short time 
ago. 
Cattleya gigas franconvillensis —Many sub- 
varieties of Cattleya Warscewiczii, better known as 
C. gigas have been introduced from time to time and 
named. That under notice is indeed distinct and 
very charming. The flower measures about six inches 
across, and has pure white sepals and petals, the 
latter being broadly ovate and imbricate. All these 
segments constitute a beautiful background for the 
lip which is beautifully and distinctly coloured—we 
say distinctly because the margins of the long bifid 
lamina are white. The greater portion is crimson- 
purple, including the side lobes, but their richness 
serves to make the yellow and white eye-like blotches 
at the base even more distinct. The variety was 
introduced amongst an importation of C. gigas, 
amongst which it turned up quite accidentally 
according to the phraseology of Orchid lore, and 
first flowered in the rich collection of the Due de 
Massa, Chateau de Franconville, par Luzarches, 
France. The plant is of the same habit as the type, 
and in all probability will succeed under the same 
treatment. Whether grown in a basket or in pots, 
it should be stood on staging close to the glass or 
suspended from the roof where it will get all the 
advantage of light and ventilation, and be freely 
supplied with water during the period of growth. 
The compost for it should consist of fibrous peat, or 
polypodium fibre and sphagnum with a few lumps of 
charcoal incorporated with it. A beautiful coloured 
illustration of the variety is given in the Orchid 
Album PI. 505. 
The Orchids described below were awarded 
Certificates according to merit by the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society on the 14th inst. :— 
Cypripedium Godefroyae leucochilum. 
Nov. var .—The flowers of this variety are of great 
size, and the colouring, with exception of the lip, 
recalls C. bellatulum, while the foliage recalls C. 
niveum. The upper sepal is nearly orbicular, and 
boldly netted with crimson-purple all over a pure 
white ground. The petals are broadly oval and 
coloured in the same way, but the markings are 
more broken up. The lip is pure white with excep¬ 
tion of small purple spots on the claw. The 
staminode is similarly spotted. The leaves are small, 
very leathery, and deep purple beneath. The plant 
looks like a natural hybrid between C. bellatulum 
and C. niveum. First-class Certificate, R.H.S., 
May 14th. R. I. Measures, Esq. (gardener, Mr. H. 
Chapman), Flodden Road, Camberwell. 
Cypripedium Gertrude Hollington, Nov. hyb. 
—This new hybrid was obtained from C. ciliolare 
crossed with the pollen of C. bellatulum. From the 
latter it takes its great size. The upper sepal is 
white tinted with pale green along the centre and 
having numerous purple veins. The petals are very 
broadly oblong and densely spotted cr blotched all 
over with deep purple, especially at the base, where 
the colour becomes almost continuous. The lip is 
very dark purple and green behind. First-class 
Certificate, R.H.S., May 14th. Messrs. Hugh Low 
& Co., Clapton. 
Cattleya Mendelii Princess of Wales, Nov. var. 
—The sepals and petals of this beautiful variety are 
of the palest or softest blush lilac and very chaste. 
The lamina of the lip is very wavy and crisped, 
intense purple, but not crimson ; the side lobes are 
wlrte tinted with yellow at the base ; the interior of 
the tube is purple striped with yellow, and the 
exterior is almost white. Award of Merit, R.H.S., 
May 14th. De B. Crawshay, Esq. (gardener, Mr. 
S. Cooke), Rosefield, Sevenoaks. 
Odontoglossum crispum The Bride, Nov. var. 
—A fine arching raceme of this variety bore fourteen 
closely placed flowers. The sepals and petals are 
very broad, imbricated, and pure white ; the petals 
are also very jagged at the edges. The lip is white 
with a yellow centre, with a number of small brown 
spots on the surface. It is a chaste and telling 
variety. Award of Merit, R.H.S., 14th May. W. 
Thompson, Esq. (gardener, Mr. W. Stevens), Walton 
Grange, Stone, Staffs. 
Epide drum Obrienianum roseum, Nov. var. 
—The flowers are borne in a short raceme at the 
top of a long scape and are of a uniform rosy- 
carmine. The sepals are oblanceolate, the petals 
narrower, but otherwise similar, and the three 
cuneate lobes of the lip are fringed at the end. The 
type is intense scarlet, and the two are therefore very 
distinct. Award of Merit, R.H.S., 14th May, 
Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons. 
Dendrobium Taurinum. —The stems of this 
species are 2 ft. to 3 ft. high, and bear shortly oblong 
and very obtuse, leathery leaves recurved in the 
middle. The sepals are creamy-white and the lateral 
ones unite at the base to form a conical spur. The 
oblong-linear, twisted petals are rosy-purple, but 
paler towards the base. The three-lobed and scoop- 
sbaped lip is rosy-purple. Botanical Certificate, 
R.H.S., 14th May. Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons. 
Cattleya Mendelii leucoglossa. Nov. var. — 
The sepals and petals of this variety are faintly 
tinted with a blush hue, while the lamina, and, in 
fact, the greatest portion of the lip, is pure white ; the 
yellow blotch in the throat fades to a pale sulphur tint. 
Award of Merit, RH.S, 14th May. Thos. Statter, 
Esq. (gardener, Mr. R. Johnson), Stand Hall, Man¬ 
chester. 
Cirrhopetalum macraei. —The lateral sepals of 
this species are about 2 in. long, and of a deep buff- 
yellow. They are united by the upper edges in such 
a way that the lower surface is uppermost, except at 
the very base. The upper sepal is ovate, concave, 
and buff-yellow, with five crimson lines, and ciliate. 
The petals are small and ciliate, and the lip is dark 
blood-red. Botanical Certificate, R.H.S., 14th May. 
Mrs. Langton (gardener, Mr. J. Pierce), Hillfield, 
Reigate. 
Dendrobium strongylanthum.— This is a 
dwarf growing subject about 6 in. high, and bearing 
a pendent raceme of flowers from the apex of the 
younger growths. The sepals and petals are lanceo¬ 
late and buff-yellow, more or less mottled with small 
purple spots. The lip is revolute at the middle and 
rather more stained with purple than the rest. 
Botanical Certificate, R.H.S , 14th May. Messrs. 
Hugh Low & Co., Clapton. 
t 
Bedding Out. 
Where a great amount of summer bedding plants 
have to be put out it is necessary that as early a 
start as possible should be made in order that the 
work may be well advanced by the middle of June 
at the latest, and a fairly long period of growth thus 
afforded the plants, which have cost such a deal of 
time and trouble to raise in sufficient quantities. A 
commencement should therefore be made without 
delay. The hardier subjects, such as Zonal 
Pelargoniums, must be operated on first, leaving 
those of more tender constitution, such as Irecines, 
Coleuses, and Begonias, until the last. A good 
