November 3 9, 1892. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
185 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
Cypripedium Leeanum Masereelianum 
THE“great size of theTdorsaLsepal of this’variety, 
and its pronounced markings, give the whole flower 
a telling effect. It is white, with a small amount of 
green at the very base, and heavily spotted with 
violet-purple upwards. The petals are undulated on 
the upper edge and yellowish, spotted with brown. 
The lip is of large size, and of a bright shining 
brown. There are now several forms of C. Leeanum 
in cultivation, and like that under notice they all 
show the influence of the pollen-parent (C. Spiceri- 
anum) in the form of the petals and the markings of 
the upper sepal, as well as the white ground colour. 
The seed-parent was C. insigne, which in its ordi¬ 
nary form has the greater part of the upper sepal 
green, spotted or blotched with brown. Tbe elimi¬ 
nation of this, except at the base, has greatly im¬ 
proved the brightness and clearness of the progeny, 
of which the variety under notice is one, and has 
been flowering for some time past in the nursery of 
Messrs. Pitcher & Manda, Hextable, Swanley. 
Oncidium tetrapetalum. 
Although a native of Jamaica, this is comparatively 
seldom seen in cultivation, the reason being that the 
plant is somewhat difficult to grow. There can be 
no question as to its beauty, however, and the dura¬ 
bility of the flowers. Those whose favourite flowers 
are the Cattleyas would no doubt object to the small 
size of the flowers of this Oncidium, but beauty can 
exist independent of size. The leaves are arranged 
in two-ranked rosettes, triquetrous—that is, having 
three edges and three grooved faces—and vary from 
i in. to 6 in. in length according to the vigour of the 
plant. The flower scape also varies in length in the 
same way, and bears a drooping raceme of neat and 
pretty flowers. The sepals and petals are brown 
and purple, banded transversely with pale yellow. 
The lip is three-lobed and white, with exception of 
a red blotch in front of the crest, which is yellow. 
The wings of the column are pale purple, as well as 
the anther cap, and this gives the column consider¬ 
able prominence in the centre of the flower. The 
perfume of the latter is long-lasting, and resembles 
that of the Lily of the Valley. A piece of it has 
been flowering for a long time past on a small raft or 
basket in the nursery of Messrs. Pitcher & Manda, 
Hextable, Swanley. The small amount of space it 
occupies, the beauty of the flowers and their frag¬ 
rance should make this species a favourite with 
those who like the small-sized and pretty Orchids, 
which are uncommon in collections generally. 
WHAT TO DO IN THE GARDEN, 
Gesneras. —As the flowers of the later batches 
fade and the foliage becomes shabby the plants may 
be allowed to go to rest by gradually withholding 
water. The rhizomes would suffer if allowed to get 
dust dry before the leaves have so far faded as to be 
of little service to them. 
Eucharis. —When the plants are at rest or have 
finished flowering, repotting may be effected if the 
bulbs are too densely crowded in the pots. The 
bulbs should be assorted into sizes, so that the flower¬ 
ing in the pots may be regular. Good turfy loam 
with a little peat and plenty of sharp sand will make 
a suitable compost. Some crushed bones would add 
to its durability and also serve to keep it more open. 
Coprosma Baueriana variegata — Cuttings of 
this can be struck in spring by inserting young shoots 
or at least those with a piece of the old wood at the 
base in sandy soil, and placing them in a gentle 
warmth. Cover them with a bell-glass. Even by 
this method they take a long time to root, and a safer 
method would be to layer some shoots in small pots 
alongside of that confining the plant. Select a 
plant or plants that are of no value for decorative 
purposes, so that they may be thrown away after the 
layers have been taken off them. 
Winter flowering plants.— Before removing 
these to the conservatory, they should be kept cooler 
and more airy, so as to partly harden them off, and 
by this treatment they will last all the longer in fine 
condition. They include such things as Sericographis 
Ghiesbreightii, Jacobinia (Justicia) carnea, Libonia 
floribunda, L. Penrhosiensis, Centropogon Lucyanus, 
Eranthemums, and others of that class, 
Azaleas —Where cut flowers are wanted in 
quantity it will be advantageous to introduce some 
of the earlier flowering kinds into heat, which will 
bring them on more rapidly and regularly than when 
left in the ordinary greenhouse. The old A. indica 
alba, A. narcissiflora, and the grand ^emi-double 
Deutsche Perle respond readily to a gentle forcing, 
and as a rule they come on steadily, though slowly, 
when merely kept in the greenhouse. 
Forcing pit. —In order to keep up a supply of 
plants in flower the forcing pit should now be kept 
in active operation, introducing batches of Rhodo¬ 
dendrons, Deutzias, Prunus sinensis, Hyacinths, 
Narcissi, chiefly of the Paper White at this early 
period, as well as Lilac and Lily of the Valley. The 
early Roman Hyacinths will be most in evidence at 
this period of the year. Most of these things will 
stand a considerable amount of forcing, but the aim 
should be to bring them on as gently as possible. 
Plunging the pots in fermenting material would not 
only supply heat but also the moisture so favourable 
to growth. 
Vineries. —The earliest vinery started about the 
beginning of the month should be kept at a mini¬ 
mum night temperature of 55 0 , allowing it to rise to 
65° by day. With the aid of fermenting materials 
this can easily be done while the weather remains 
mild as it has been for some time past. Prune the 
vines in succession houses as the leases fall off. 
Maintain a dry atmosphere where Grapes are still 
hanging by judicious firing and ventilation. 
Figs.-— To have ripe fruit in April it is necessary 
to start at cnce by getting the pot plants ready by 
top dressing and plunging them in fermenting 
material. A good plan is to elevate them on in¬ 
verted pots and to pack fermenting material between 
the pots, not necessarily entirely covering them at 
the first provided there is sufficient material to give 
the necessary heat required in the earlier stages. 
More can be added afterwards and artificial heat 
applied when the weather gets cold or when frosty 
nights occur, to keep up the requisite and increasing 
temperature. 
Cucumbers —The plants grown on for maintain¬ 
ing a supply of fruit from the end of December to 
January will now be showing fruit which should be 
thinned out, retaining only a moderate crop; for 
upon this the ability of the plants to keep on bearing 
till spring will depend. The bad weather and feeble 
light will not permit of heavy cropping which soon 
exhausts the plants. Attend to stopping, tying and 
keeping the glass clean. 
Strawberries. —The earliest batch of Straw¬ 
berries may be put into heat towards the end of this 
month. Reliable sorts or those which can be 
depended upon should be used, including Vicomtesse 
Hericarte de Thury and Black Prince. Compara¬ 
tively little if any fire heat will be needed for the 
first fortnight. The shelves of a Peach house or 
vinery just started would afford the necessary heat 
to bring them on. 
Apricots and Peaches on open walls. —Advan¬ 
tage should be taken of the present open and mild 
weather to execute planting and transplanting and 
root pruning of this class of trees. Old ones can 
sometimes be renovated by the mere act of lifting 
and transplanting them after having shortened the 
long straggling roots. Before putting a tree in the 
position of an old one, the soil should be removed 
or partly so, substituting fresh material, and at the 
same time working in a good quantity of lime rubble 
if the natural soil is in any way heavy or deficient 
in porosity. 
__ 
Questions add msujgrs. 
*,* 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.” 
Roses for Buttonholes. — Omega : Many of the 
Tea and Noisette Roses are well adapted for button¬ 
hole work when gathered in the bud state. The 
following include some that are most suitable, 
namely, Ma Capucin, Marie Van Houtte, Madame 
de Watteville, Niphetos, W. A. Richardson, W. F. 
Bennett, Rubens, Madame Lambard, Celine 
Forestier, Reve d'Or, and several others. 
Azaleas Injured. — Wm. Kellock : It all depends 
upon whether the buds were advanced or not. The 
early kinds would be more likely to suffer from being 
left out in a sharp night’s frost than the later or less 
advanced kinds. If in a position sheltered by trees 
or houses, so that the sun could not shine upon them 
early in the morning, the chances are greatly in 
their favour Either way nothing can be done for 
them now, but give them the ordinary good treat¬ 
ment, and the buds as they swell up will soon show 
whether they have sustained any injury or not. 
Lilium candidum diseased.— M. M., Aberdeen 
The attacking fungus is of such a nature as to be 
difficult to deal with successfully. In all cases which 
we have observed, it attacks the plants, destroying 
the leaves, flowers, and ultimately the stems, just as 
the stems are pushing up rapidly for bloom and the 
flowers themselves have almost reached the expand 
ing stage. The only remedy which we have seen 
applied is sulphur. If the fungus has spread much 
before this is applied, the plants cannot be saved nor 
will their flowers expand. You should watch them 
very closely when the flower stems are pushing up, 
and give the foliage a good dusting with flour of 
sulphur as soon as you see the first speck of the 
mildew like fungus. This should be done in the 
morning when the leaves are wet with dew, or you 
may syringe the plants on purpose ; or on the other 
hand you may put the sulphur in a pail of water, 
thoroughly mixing it with the syringe, and then 
syringe the plants with the mixture. This will kill 
the spores and those portions of the fungus that 
come outside the leaves and stems in order to 
produce the spores. By this means the fungus will 
be prevented from spreading to the healthy parts of 
the plant. Should the sulphur get washed off by 
rain, repeat the application immediately after the 
rain. In this way you may keep the fungus in 
check, even if you cannot hope to exterminate it. 
Names of Plants. — G. T. : 1, Lomaria Patersoni; 
2, Pteris incisa, frequently called Litobrochia ves- 
pertilionis in gardens; 3, Platyloma rotundifolia.— 
A.S. : 1, Viburnum Lantana ; 2, Viburnum Tinus ; 
3, Symphoricarus racemosus ; 4, Crataegus tanaceti- 
folia. —H. B. : Rubus laciniatus. — L. M. : 1, Rosa 
rugosa ; 2, Spiraea filipendula ; 3, Thuya gigantea.— 
Omega : 1, Aster ericoides, or the Heath-like Aster ; 
2, the Chrysanthemum appears to be Golden Madam- 
oiselle Marthe, or Flora, but it was smashed in the 
post.— Mrs. Leadbetter : Odontoglossum luteo-pur 
pureum sceptrum. 
Root-pruning Cherry Tree.— Omega : When 
growing too rampantly the trees may be checked to 
advantage by root pruning. Young trees may be 
lifted, long strangling roots shortened back, and the 
trees replanted. In the case of large or old trees, it 
would be advisable to extend the operation over two 
years, cuttftig back half of the roots now and the 
other half next autumn. In other words, a trench 
may be taken out extending half way round the tree, 
and the roots shortened back. Dress the cut ends 
with a sharp knife. Complete the other half next 
year. Get underneath the roots so as to cut all those 
that dip perpendicularly ; or they may be lifted into 
a horizontal position if possible. In making up the 
trenches again make the soil firm wherever it has 
been disturbed. 
Size of Botanic Gardens.— C. B. G. : We are 
unable to lay hands upon statistics, but we believe 
no other botanic garden has an acreage so extensive 
as that at Kew. There are certainly none in this 
country nor on the Continent. The possibility is 
that some of the Indian gardens are larger, but we 
doubt very much whether this is the case. No 
other in the world has the same amount of glass. 
None of the continental gardens possess the same 
amount, and the gardens of tropical countries do not 
require it. The larvae sent belong to some of the 
night flying moths, Noctuina, not to the butterflies. 
We will try to develop them into the perfect state. 
The earwig question, we believe, is imperfectly 
known. 
Names of Fruits.— G. T .\ Apples: 1, Graven- 
stein; 2, Emperor Alexander; 3, Gooseberry; 
4, Pear, Marie Louise d’Uccle ; 5, Doyenne Boussoch. 
— F.H.D. -. 1, fieauty of Kent; 2, Small’s Admirable ; 
3, Cox’s Pomona; 4, London Pippin; 6, Cellini ; 
5, Margil; 7, Court of Wick. 
Elements of Botany.— J . C. : We are not 
acquainted with Schoedler’s “ Elements of Botany," 
but are always suspicious of books that go back 
to the fifties. A vast amount of progress has 
been made in several branches of botany since then, 
and we always select modern books on the subject. 
Master’s “ Botany for Beginners ” is very good in its 
way, but does not go very far. Other good books 
on the subject are Edmond's “ Botany,” 2s. 6d. ; 
" Elementary Botany," by Prantle and Vines, 6s ; 
and " Elementary Botany,” by Henfrey and Masters, 
15s. A later edition of Bentham’s “ Handbook of the 
British Flora ” than you mention, is that published 
by Messrs. Reeve & Co., in 18S7, price 10s. 6d. The 
illustrations to the same are published separately by 
the same firm, price 10s. 6d. 
Communications Received.—R. G. W. — A. H. — 
Saxon-G. J. I.—E. VV. & S.—T. A —S. & S — 
G. S. A.- -E. P. L.-P. B.-J. C. 
TRADE CATALOGUE RECEIVED. 
Dicksons, Limited, Chester. — Forest and Orna¬ 
mental Trees, Select Fruits, &c. 
Little & Ballantyne, Carlisle.—Forest and 
Ornamental Trees, Fruit Trees, &c. 
Thomas Laxton, Bedford.—Novelties in Seeds. 
