October 15, 1892. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
105 
growth, and atjr.o time should it be allowed to 
become shrivelled. Vanda Kimballiana has been 
flowering with great freedom in this house, and is 
without doubt a real gem, and should be in every 
collection. 
Flowers for the New Year.— If Orchid flower 
is wanted in quantity early in the new year a few plants 
of Dendrobium Wardianum, D. nobile, etc., that have 
been resting in the vinery or greenhouse should be 
placed in heat. By placing a few in at intervals of 
a fortnight a good succession may be had for a long 
time if grown in quantity, which is much better than 
having them all in bloom at once. 
The Cool House will soon be gay with the free- 
growing Oncidium tigrinum. This should be largely 
grown by amateurs on account of its easy culture and 
floriferousness. After the blooming season is over it 
should receive a good rest until it starts into growth, 
when a liberal course should be pursued until it 
again repays the cultivator for the pains taken with 
it by producing strong good spikes of bloom. As a 
precautionary measure I would advise that the Mas- 
devallias be dipped in a weak solution of Tobacco 
water, as with the use of fire heat comes the dreaded 
yellow thrips, which can only be kept under by 
allowing them no quarter. The same remark also 
applies to Miltonia vexillarium. 
There will no necessity to lower the temperatures 
in any of the divisions while the weather keeps bright 
and mild, but should it become frosty a reduction of 
a few degrees will do no harm.— C. 
Zygopetalum graminifolium. 
In general appearance this species closely resembles 
Z. maxillare, particularly in the flowers, but it differs 
in the thinner rhizomes, smaller pseudo-bulbs, and 
narrower leaves. The erect flower scape bears a 
raceme of five to seven flow,ers of appreciable size. 
The sepals and petals are deep brown with a few 
transverse irregular stripes or markings ; sometimes 
they may merely be heavily blotched with brown on 
a green ground. The lip is the showiest organ of 
the flower and of a nearly uniform warm purple hue, 
and has a large, half cup-shaped, darker coloured 
crest, ridged on the edges. It was introduced from 
South Brazil some years ago, and was tossing about 
with or without a name. A plant was exhibited at 
Brussels last April under the name of Z. Imschooti- 
anum, when it received a First-class Diploma of 
Honour. A coloured figure of it now appears in the 
August number of the Lindenia pi. 339. 
Fine variety of Oattleya Loddigesii. 
Cattleya Loddigesii was the first of the genus 
introduced to this country, or even to the Old 
World. Thistook placeearly in the present century, 
and the species was named Epidendrum violaceum 
by the Messrs. Loddiges, of Hackney, who intro¬ 
duced it from Rio de Janeiro. Since then several 
very distinct varieties have been brought home and 
named A very beautiful form has just been sent 
us by Captain Robert Twiss, Birdhill House, Bird- 
hill, Limerick, and which does not seem to agree 
exactly with any of the named sorts. The sepals 
and petals are of a warm deep purple, lightly tinted 
with violet. The tube of the lip externally is several 
shades paler, but internally a mixture of cream and 
pale purple gives a flesh-coloured hue. The side 
lobes are of the same hue, and the terminal lobe is 
more decidedly creamy, with a slight tint of purple 
at the apex, while the disc is orange. Four toothed 
ridges run along the centre of the lip, giving it a 
corrugated appearance. This latter character shows 
that the flower sent us would come under the variety 
C. L. Harrisonise; but the sepals and petals are 
darker, reminding us of C. L. violacea, but then ihe 
lip is paler and corrugated, so that it does not agree 
exactly with either. An appropriate way of naming 
it would be to call it C. Loddigesii Harrisonise Bird- 
hill var. It is certainly fine, and richly coloured. 
-- 
©bituan>. 
With deep regret, which will be shared in by all 
who knew him, we have to record the sudden death 
of Mr. Robert Bullen, Curator of the Botanic 
Garden, Glasgow, early on the morning of the 4th 
inst. On the previous day he had attended a 
meeting of the City Council and in the evening paid 
a visit to a sick friend, in whose house he was 
suddenly seized with apoplexy and broke a blood¬ 
vessel on the brain. He never spoke again, and 
expired early on the following morning. Poor 
Bullen! A more amiable or kinder hearted man 
never lived, and he had few superiors as a plants- 
man. Keenly indeed will hi^ loss be felt by all his 
old friends. He was born in 1833 at Latham House, 
Ormskirk, and received his early training there under 
his father, who was gardener to the Earl of Latham. 
Subsequently he served in the gardens at Knowsley, 
and in the nurseries of Messrs. Rollison & Sons, 
Tooting, and Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. 
Eventually he became gardener to A. Turner, Esq., 
of Leicester, with whom he made a name for himself 
as a skilful cultivator of Orchids, a class of plants 
that most gardeners then knew little about. He was 
a frequent and successful competitor at the London 
shows, and wound up his career as an exhibitor by 
winning the first prize for twenty Orchids at the 
ever-to-be-remembered International Horticultural 
Exhibition of 1866. Two years later—the summer 
of 1868—he gained the appointment of curator of the 
Glasgow Botanic Garden, in succession to the late 
Mr. Peter Clark, and quickly gained the confidence 
and respect of the Directors. During his period of 
curatorship the collection of plants has largely 
increased, and the houses entirely rebuilt and en¬ 
larged. For a number of years previous to the 
acquisition by the Corporation of the Gardens, he 
had to struggle with the difficulty of a short-handed 
staff, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is 
greatly owing to his personal influence and activity 
that the large collection of plants passed in such a 
satisfactory condition into the hands of the city. 
When we saw him in our office but a few weeks ago 
he expressed himself as heartily grateful for the 
happy termination of his troubles at the garden, and 
was most hopeful for the future. Alas ! his beloved 
plants will know him no more. He was buried at 
the Western Necropolis, Maryhill, on the 7th inst., 
and the greatest sympathy is felt for his widow and 
family. 
--* 2 --* 
Questions add Ansajens. 
%* Correspondents are requested, in order to avoid delay, 
*■ to address all communications to ‘‘The Editor” 
or “ The Publisher,” and not to any person by 
name, unless the correspondence is of a private 
character. Telegrams may be addressed “ Bambusa, 
London." 
Carnations not Layered. — H. Anderson: If not 
overgrown in rich soil, they will stand the winter in 
the open ground just as well, if not better, than 
layers transplanted during the present month, more 
especially if they are varieties of naturally vigorous 
growth and strong constitution. Of course it is un¬ 
derstood that the soil is naturally well drained and 
not too much inclined to clay. In moderately light 
soil, Carnations make, as a rule, short-jointed and 
stiff shoots, naturally well adapted for passing 
through the winter, and the roots being well estab¬ 
lished in the soil, the plants are not liable to be 
thrown out of the ground by frost. Grown in this 
way Carnations form fine clumps, and produce 
flowers in great quantity. It will depend upon the 
condition of the plants as to the quantity of good 
grass, if it would be advisable or safe to trust to 
them for a supply of flowers the third season. They 
behave very differently in different soils ; and if the 
stems are getting long and straggling the third sea¬ 
son it would be advisable to layer all the best shoots 
about the beginning of August. Of course if you 
wanted to grow for exhibition purposes, it would be 
necessary to make layers every year; but for cut 
flowers, and plenty of them, it is quite a different 
matter. 
Good Show and Fancy Dahlias.— Dahlia : The 
undermentioned show Dahlias are all first class for 
exhibition ; but giving the list from memory it would 
be rash to say that it includes all the very best. In 
fact there are so many good varieties now-a-days 
that there would be little difficulty in doubling the 
length of the list with really good things. There can 
be no question, however, that the list here given 
includes many of the cream of Dahlias judging by the 
frequency with which they turn up in fine condition 
at exhibitions. Gloire de Lyon is a grand white, but 
liable to come with a double centre when highly fed ; 
John Walker is much smaller and white, but nearly 
always good ; others are Mrs. Gladstone and Queen 
of the Belgians, both soft pink ; Harry Keith, violet- 
purple; Mrs. Douglas, bright scarlet; Duke of Fife, 
red; Buttercup, yellow; MaudeFellowes, lilac; Glow¬ 
worm, scarlet; Antagonist, purple; John Hickling, 
R. T. Rawlings, yellow; Arthur Ocock, scarlet; Alice 
Emily, buff yellow; Ethel Button, lilac; John 
Standish, bright red; W. H. Williams, scarlet; 
Mr. Glascock, purple ; Coronet, scarlet; and Prince 
of Denmark, nearly black. Niobe, crimson ; Kathleen, 
lilac-pink ; and Gwendoline, deep crimson are fine 
new varieties, but they probably do not excel those 
already given. Lists of the best show varieties ten 
or fourteen years ago included very few of the above. 
The following are a few of the leading varieties of 
the fancy types of the present day, namely, Mrs. 
Saunders, yellow, tipped white ; Mrs. John Downie, 
buff yellow, striped and spotted crimson; Dazzler, 
with fewer spots on a yellow ground; Hercules, 
Buffalo Bill, similar, but different shades ; Gaiety, 
yellow, splashed with bronzy-orange, and H. W. 
Wards, yellow with a crimson tip. Some might 
include the latter amongst show varieties, but it is 
rather arbitrary. 
Cactus Dahlias.— Dahlia : We are well aware 
that a proper distinction between true Cactus and 
decorative varieties is seldom made, and that much 
confusion prevails generally with regard to this 
matter. There are numerous varieties so exactly 
intermediate in character that it is often difficult to 
draw the line. The following varieties include many 
of the very best in cultivation, although a number of 
them are new and probably rather expensive as yet 
but it must be remembered that true Cactus varieties 
are yet comparatively scarce:—Robert Cannell, 
rich purple; Sir Roger, orange-scarlet; Kaiserin, 
yellow : Countess of Radnor, lilac-purple on a yellow 
ground; Bertha Mawley, red flushed with scarlet; 
Baron Schroder, similar; Panthea, orange; 
Launcelot, orange-scarlet ; Delicata, pink; Ava¬ 
lanche, white; Matchless, maroon-crimson; and 
Juarezi, scarlet. It is difficult to say why some of 
them should be open in the centre, and others with 
hard, green centres, as florists say ; but we have 
noted that some of the very large-flowered varieties 
are very liable to this defect, so that Beauty of 
Brentwood does not stand alone in this respect. 
Florists themselves cannot prevent it, so that you 
should select varieties with moderate sized flowers. 
Several of the above mentioned always come good 
as far as we have seen them, but a longer trial must be 
given them. 
Tuberous Begonias.- — Dahlia'. You do not give 
any particulars as to the treatment you give your 
plants under glass. Some growers fail by keeping 
their plants too close and moist with the idea of 
getting them well forward. Of course they require 
the warmth of an intermediate house or a stove to 
start them freely, dependent upon whether they are 
started early or late in the year, but as soon as 
growth has fairly started they must be repotted — 
that is, assuming they have been kept in the old pots 
through the winter. Then keep them as near the 
glass as possible in the same house to encourage 
growth in the fresh soil, and at the same time to 
prevent drawing. When they have made some 
growth, and the weather is getting mild outside, you 
must take them to a cooler and more airy house, so 
that they may grow slowly and make sturdy, short- 
jointed stems. Should the weather outside be cold 
and raw, a mild and genial heat must be kept up by 
artificial means, always remembering to give plenty 
of ventilation if the weather is at all favourable out¬ 
side. You say your plants were raised from seed, 
and if they have been raised this year you could not 
expect great things from them the first year out of 
doors at least, although you ought by this time to 
have made a fair show indoors, with the plants of 
moderate size. Even in the London nurseries the 
plants out of doors raised from seeds have not made 
great progress, owing to the dry weather in June, 
and later on owing to the cold and sunless weather 
which we have experienced just as you have. The 
best thing you can do is to go over the beds and 
mark all the varieties worth saving. Start them 
about the end of March or the beginning of April in 
a mild temperature, harden them off towards the end 
of May, and plant out about the beginning of June if 
the weather is favourable. Three or four-inch pots will 
be large enough according to the size of the tubers. 
They will do better the second year, owing to the 
tubers being larger to begin with. 
Carnation. — Wesley Kaye : The flower answers to 
the description of Van Dyck, and though it is past 
its best we have little doubt it is that variety. 
Apprenticeship, etc.— Print : (1) The contract 
lapsed with the death of your employer, and you 
have no claim whatever upon anyone. (2) Miss 
Ormerod’s “Insects Injurious to Agriculture, etc.,” 
published by Swan, Sonnenschein & Co. (3) You 
can get a good microscope for from any of the 
leading opticians. 
Rhodochiton volubile.— P. Cogger : Without 
some definite knowledge as to the condition of the 
roots of your plant it is not possible to give much 
advice. If the plant is in good sandy soil, carefully 
watered, and the shoots regularly thinned out to 
encourage new growths on which the flowers appear, 
there is no reason why it should not do well one sea¬ 
son as well as another. The soil is either too dry or 
sodden, and either condition will explain the cause 
of your non-success. 
Gardeners’ Review and Register.— X. Z. : We 
do not know. You should write to the Editor or 
publisher. 
Names of Plants.— J. W. : The red-leaved 
Croton is C. Earl of Derby; narrow-leaved Croton 
is C. augustifolium; the narrow green leaves are 
those of Elaeodendron orientale, usually called 
Aralia Chabrieri in gardens ; the broad green leaf is 
Clerodendron Thomsonas, or the variety C. T. Bal- 
fourianum ; the finely-divided leaf is Pauliniathalictri- 
folia. You should attach a number to each leaf or 
