September 18, 1897. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
37 
living specimens subsequently made by Sir 
Henry Low, Mr. F. W. Burbidge, Mr. Thos. 
Lobb, and Mr. P. C. M. Veitch also failed. 
Sir Joseph Hooker in 1874 advanced the cause 
of the Nepenthes very much by a lecture 
delivered by him before the British Association 
(biological section) at Belfast. 
By the year 1872, continued Mr. Veitch, there were 
ten species of Nepenthes in cultivation, including N. 
Rajab, and N. bicalcarata from Borneo, and N. 
Nortbii. The last named was discovered through 
Miss North, the celebrated artist, painting a spray 
brought to her by a native. Curtis was sent in search 
Mr. William P. Laird. 
of it, and after a good deal of trouble was successful. 
The number of introduced species has now been 
brought up to twenty four, although all of these are 
Dot in cultivation, some having been lost. The first 
hybrid was raised by Dominy, and bears his name. 
This was exhibited by the Messrs. Veitch at a Royal 
Horticultural Society's meeting at South Kensington 
in 1862. Seden has also raised several. Here Mr. 
Veitch gave a list of the finest hybrids up to date. 
Of these, two of the finest are N. mastersiana, ob¬ 
tained by crossing N. khasiana with N. sanguinea, 
and N. dicksoniana, the result of a cross between N. 
rafflesiana and N. Veitchii. 
Coming to the culture of Nepenthes Mr. Veitch 
stated that the seed is usually sown on the surface of 
peat fibre and sphagnum moss, and placed in a close 
frame with a temperature of 70 0 —75 0 Fahr. It will 
germinate in from six to eight weeks, although im¬ 
ported seeds grow much slower than home grown 
ones. Nepenthes are but poorly provided with roots, 
and are not wholly land plants, being epiphytal 
under certain conditions. In the wild state fertilisa¬ 
tion is effected by aerial agency. The number of 
seeds in a capsule varies from 40 to 50, and the seeds 
are minute and light. 
The lecturer discussed in detail the different char¬ 
acteristics of the various forms, both in leaf and 
pitcher. He quoted Sir Joseph Hooker’s statement 
that he beliered the pitchers to be modifications of a 
gland situated at the apex of the midrib of the leaf. 
Coming to the geographical distribution Mr. Veitch 
stated that out of thirty-six species, or thereabouts, 
fourteen are confined to Borneo, and three others to 
that and adjacent islands ; thirteen more are extra- 
Bornean, but strictly Malaysian. North Australia has 
one, New Caledonia has one, Ceylon one, The Sey¬ 
chelles one, and North East India one (N. khasiana). 
With the exception of the last named all come from 
insular positions, and all are equatorial. They are 
found, moreover, in a zone lying within 12 0 on either 
side of the equator. 
The climatal conditions show that the temperature 
is very uniform both day and night, for while the 
greatest heat of the day is 90°—92 0 Fahr. it seldom 
falls below 74 0 Fahr. by night. The air is nearly 
saturated during the greater part of the year, and 
the rainfall varies from 75 to 80 inches. 
At the conclusion of the paper Mr. F. W. 
Burbidge, M.A., Curator of the Trinity College 
Botanic Gardens, Dublin, made some interesting 
remarks concerning the subject of the lecture. Mr. 
Burbidge in recounting his experiences as a collector 
remarked on the prevalence of the white mist in the 
higher attitudes in Borneo, and the great evenness of 
the temperature and moistness of the atmosphere. 
Mr. Burbidge suggested as a suitable house for 
Nepenthes a house that was not directly heated with 
pipes, but which was surrounded with other hot 
houses, the air from the latter beiDg allowed to pass 
into it. A condensation of moisture would thus 
occur which would be a very close imitation of the 
natural conditions. 
- — - 
PEOPLE I HAVE MET. 
Mr. James W. Laird. 
This gentleman, who has frequently been in our 
office, started life in Edinburgh, when the present 
firm of Messrs. R. B. Laird & Sons was differently 
constituted and traded under the old title of Downie, 
Laird & Laing. Mr. James W. Laird was for some 
time with the old firm, studying and practising land¬ 
scape gardening. His next occupation was with 
Messrs. Fisher, Son & Sibray, the well-known firm 
at the Royal Handsworth Nurseries, Sheffield. 
Leaving this nursery he travelled in foreign 
countries, principally Australia, for the period of two 
years. 
After leaving Australia be returned to the mother 
country, and joined the late Mr. Andrew Sinclair in 
the management of Messrs. W. P. Laird & Sinclair's 
Nurseries, in the neighbourhood of Dundee, where 
he has ever since been. He is now the senior 
partner of that firm. The head office is in Nether- 
gate, Dundee, but the nurseries are at Monifieth and 
MoDikie, a little way out of Dundee. Mr. James W. 
Laird is well known in the English trade as one of 
Scotland's prominent growers of forest tree seedlings 
for which the Monifieth Nurseries have long 
been famous. See p. 42 for a fuller account of 
these nurseries. Owing to pressure for time ve 
were unable to furnish the dates relating to the 
various points in Mr. Laird’s career, but, as the 
accompanying portrait will show, he is still a young 
man and has plenty of time to do some good work for 
the benefit of the community at large. —[Ed ] 
Mr. William P. Laird. 
Monifieth is a delightful little place along the Tay 
side. It is one of those places that the poets love to 
dawdle, and when my good friend was too pressing 
to brook a denial in his cordial invitation to get a 
breath of fresh air, and an inkling of what true 
hospitality really is, I gladly availed myself of an 
invita'ion to spend a week end at Braefoot, the re¬ 
sidence of Mr. William P. Laird. Mine host is just 
a typical Scotch laddie, possessing the qualities of 
that exquisite blend of manliness and courtesy which 
we in the south too often are unable to reciprocate, 
and rarely able to excel. 
Born in Edinburgh in 1865, Mr. Laird was educated 
at the Edinburgh Institution ; he served an ap¬ 
prenticeship with the famous firm of Messrs. Downie 
& Laird ; he went to Dundee in 1885, and fulfilled a 
useful period of work with his late father, and is now 
a partner with Mr. James W. Laird, taking over the 
management of the indoor department of the well- 
known seed establishment in Nethergate, Dundee. 
Mr. Laird is a well-known figure at the shows of the 
Dundee Horticultural Society, and be is the 
progressive and energetic secretary of the Dundee 
Chrysanthemum Society, which in the coming 
November is to hold high carnival in that city of jute 
and hessian. Mr. Laird married in 1895 a daughter 
of the late Mr. Swan, of Inverpeffer ; and a charm¬ 
ing little bairn promises well to carry to posterity 
the attributes of both father and mother, to whom 
the genuine and heartfelt thanks of the writer are due 
for the many hospitalities which they have extended 
with their thoughtful kindness to him. — Gyp. 
-- 
PLANTS RECENTLY CERTIFICATED. 
At the meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society on 
the 7th inst. the following awards were made. 
Orchid Committee. 
Cattleya Euphrasia. Nov. hyb.- — Thisfire hybrid 
is the result of a cross between C. superba and C. 
Warscewiczii. Both sepals and petals are bright 
rose, although the sepals are narrower, and a shade 
deeper in hue than the petals. The lip is large, well 
expanded,and about 1J inches in diameter. It exhibits 
a rich glowing purple, passing into a duller purple at 
the throat, where originate a series of dull purple 
stripes which occupy the centre and pass down to the 
base. On either side of these is a buff-yellow area. 
First-class Certificate. Messrs. James Veitch & Sons 
Limited, Chelsea. 
Mr. James W. Laird. 
Brassia lawrenceana longissima. This is a 
well marked variety of the species, the sepals being 
very much produced, and assuming the appearance 
of long brown-yellow tails, spotted near to their origin 
with chocolate on a yellow-green ground. The petals 
are shorter than the sepals, but still long and of the 
same colours. The lip is ovate-lanceolate in shape, 
and from three to four inches in length, white at the 
base, and spotted with deep maroon. Botanical 
Certificate. Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Limited. 
Rhynchostylis coelestis, Cambridge Lodge 
var. —The plant exhibited bore a spike some six 
inches in length. The individual flowers are small 
but effective in the mass. The sepals and petals are 
blue-white, tipped with flesh pink. The bright 
violet-blue lip is the chief feature, however, and a 
very attractive one. Award cf Merit. Mr. H. J, 
Chapman, gardener to R. I. Measures, Esq., Cam¬ 
bridge Lodge, Camberwell. 
Acineta Barkeri.—A grand plant was shown of 
this handsome Orchid, carrying two abnormally 
large pendent spikes, each of which bore twenty-two 
flowers—an unusual number. The flowers are sub- 
globose in shape, and very fleshy. In colour they 
are rich yellow, the lip being spotted with dark red 
in the centre, and having a deep notch on either side. 
Botanical Certificate. Mr. F. J. Thorne, gardener to 
Major Joicey, Sunningdale, Berks. 
Oncidium panduratum. — This is a rare species 
with long compound racemes of relatively small 
flowers. The sepals and petals are chocolate-brown, 
margined with green-yellow, and with a prettily 
crisped or waved outline. The apex of the lip is 
acute and tipped with yellow. From either side of 
it near to the base appears a small and narrow yellow 
process, standing at nearly right angles to the body 
of the lip Botanical Certificate. Mr. S. Barrell, 
gardener to Wellbore Ellis, Esq., Hazelbourne, 
DorkiDg. 
Floral Committee. 
Nepenthes Tiveyi. Nov. hyb. — This is the result of 
a cross between N. Veitchii and N. Curtisii superba 
