458 
March 19, 1898. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
by the inspecting committee at Chiswick in August, 
1895, when a number of Beans were put to the cul¬ 
tural test. Excelsior was introduced by the Reading 
firm last year, and marks the highest development 
in this particular direction. It was highly spoken of 
in various influential quarters as a heavy and con¬ 
tinuous cropper, with pods of splendid flavour. It 
forces well. 
-—I*- 
MUSA CAVENDISHII. 
I enclose herewith photograph of a cluster of Ban- 
anas (Musa Cavendishii) grown here this last season. 
There were altogether 189 pods on the cluster, and 
the plant was grown in an ordinary stove. The stove 
is a lean-to structure, and we grow a row of them 
along the back. They seem to thrive admirably 
along with ordinary stove subjects. When shading 
has to be resorted to during summer, we only apply 
it half way up from the bottom, thus allowing all the 
sunshine possible to play upon the Bananas. To 
keep up a more constant supply of fruit I detach the 
suckers when ready, and pot them into 12 in. pots, 
plunge them in bottom heat, and grow them on as 
rapidly as possible, afterwards transferring the plants 
into 18 in. pots and keeping them growing till a 
vacancy occurs in the bed, when they are placed in 
their fruiting quarters. 
Our former practice was to plant the suckers right 
away in the bed at once, sometimes simply removing 
the parent plant after the fruit was gathered, and 
allowing the strongest sucker to take its place. They 
can be successfully cultivated either way, although 
the method of growing them to a large size in pots 
has the advantage of getting through a larger number 
of plants in a given time. I have at present a fruit¬ 
ing plant, which has evidently been kept too long in 
the pot before it was planted out; the cluster is much 
smaller than any I have ever had, although there are 
130 pods on the cluster. The fruit stalk is only 3 ft. 
from the surface of the bed; and I have no doubt 
but it would have fruited quite as well if it had been 
allowed to remain in the pot, when it could have 
been removed to a cooler structure after the pods 
had commenced to ripen, or utilised as a plant for 
the drawing-room in the mansion, where it would 
have been both ornamental and useful. 
We grow our plants in rough, fibrous loam and 
fresh manure, with a liberal addition of coal cinders 
and lime rubbish to keep the compost open. I have 
also used tiers of drain pipes at intervals around the 
plant to allow the heat from the pipes underneath to 
get more equally about the roots. Surface dressings 
aDd frequent supplies of liquid manure are given 
during the later stages of growth.— A. D., Dankeith 
Gardens, Kilmarnock, N.B. 
--f.- 
PLANTS RECENTLY CERTIFICATED. 
On the 8 th inst., the undermentioned certificates 
were awarded by the Royal Horticultural Society. 
Orchid Committee. 
Odontoglossum wilckeanum Pittiae. — This 
grand natural hybrid has been immensely improved 
since its cultivation was taken in hand by Messrs. 
McBean & Sons, Cooksbridge, Lewes, Sussex. A 
long and vigorous spike carried many flowers of 
greater size than those carried by the scapes when 
we first described the plant. The sepals are very 
broad and heavily blotched with large chocolate 
areas on a clear yellow ground. The petals are 
jagged at the edges, and the blotches upon them are 
smaller. There is a large horseshoe-shaped blotch 
on the lip. It is the largest and finest of the forms 
of O. wilckeanum, and has for its nearest relative 
O. w. Queen and Empress in Baron Schroder’s 
collection. The owner, H. T. Pitt, Esq. (gardener, 
Mr. R. Aldous), Rosslyn, Stamford Hill, may well 
feel proud of it. First-class Certificate. 
Cattleya Miranda. Nov. hyb .— The seed parent 
of this fine Cattleya was C. Trianaei, and the 
pollen parent C. guttata Prinzii. The soft lilac 
sepals are shaded with purple, while the petals are 
splashed with deep purple towards the apex. The 
lip is intense crimson-purple, the crimson in the 
throat almost obliterating the orange ; the outer face 
of the tube is lilac. The hybrid is both distinct and 
handsome. Award of Merit. Messrs. J. Veitch & 
Sons, Ltd., Chelsea. 
Dendrobium Ainsworthii Woodhaxch var. 
Nov. var .—The flowers of this variety are large, 
creamy-white, chaste, and very handsome A large 
crimson blotch on the lip is slightly rayed at its 
edges. Award of Merit. T. B. Haywood, Esq. 
(gardener, Mr. C. J. Salter), Woodbatch Lodge, 
Reigate. 
Phaius Norman. Nov. hyb .— The parentage of 
this hybrid was P. sanderianus and P. tuberculosus. 
The sepals and petals of the flowers are of a soft 
brownish salmon-red. The lip is large, deep purple 
Musa Cavendishii. 
on the upper half, and furnished with three golden 
ridges. The side lobes are brown with pale yellow 
veins. It is a robust grower. First-class Certificate. 
Messrs. Charlesworth & Co., Heaton, Bradford. 
Phaius Norman rosea. Nov. hyb. —The sepals 
and petals in this case are much paler and rosy. 
The lip is slightly lighter in colour than that of the 
previous hybrid, though the parents were the same. 
First-class Certificate. Messrs. Charlesworth & Co. 
Phvius Norman aurea, Nov. hyb. —The sepals 
and petals in this instance are creamy-yellow exter¬ 
nally and tinted with rose on the inner face. The 
lip is rosy on the upper half and otherwise lighter 
than the two previous forms Award of Merit, 
Messrs. Charlesworth & Co. 
Dendrobium Astraea superbum, Nov. Hyb .— 
Though not stated the parents of this hybrid would 
seem to be D. superbiens and D. wardianum. The 
sepals and broader petals are creamy and tipped with 
deep amethyst purple. The lip is similar in hue, 
and has a blotch at the base consisting of brown 
lines. Norman C. Cookson, Esq. (gardener, Mr. 
Wm. Murray), Oakwood, Wylam-on-Tyne. 
Odontoglossum nebulosum pardinum, Nov. var. 
—The flowers of this magnificent variety are of 
large size, and heavily blotched with brown for three- 
fourtbs of the length of the segments. Award of 
Merit. Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Clapton, N. 
Laeliocattleya warnhamensis, Nov. hyb .— This 
is a beautifiul and very striking flower, with orange 
sepals and darker petals, which are much 
shaded with carmine overlying orange. The long 
tube of the lip is similar in colour. The lamina is 
crimson-carmine. The pseudobulbs are slender, and 
together with the colour of the flowers recall L. 
cinnabarina. Award of Merit. C. J. Lucas, Esq. 
(gardener, Mr. G. Duncan), Warnham Court, Hor¬ 
sham. 
Spiranthes colorata maculata. —On a tall 
scape this bears a dense head of red flowers that are 
soft rosy-pink internally. The dark olive-green 
leaves are 6 in. to 8 in. long, and blotched with light 
green. Botanical Certificate. M. Otto Froebel, 
Zurich, Switzerland. 
Floral Committee. 
Amaryllis Navala,— The plant is dwarf in habit 
and produces short and wide, campanulate, and 
well-shaped flowers of great substance. The 
segments overlap one another considerably, beiDg of 
great width, and of a bright salmon-orange. Award 
of Merit. Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Ltd. 
Azalea grandiflora alba.— The flowers of this 
hybrid variety are of great size and pure white with 
the exception of a pale lemon blotch at the base of 
the two upper segments. It will be useful for 
greenhouse decoration. Award of Merit. The St. 
George's Nursery Co., Hanwell. 
Amaryllis Princess Osra. —Here we have a 
short and widely funnel-shaped flower of a brilliant 
crimson-scarlet with a white base and a six-rayed 
white star running out almost to the apex of the 
segments. Award of Merit. Captain Holford 
(gardener, Mr. A. Chapman), Weston Birt, Tetbury, 
Gloucester. 
Bryophyllum calycinum. — This singular 
member of the Crassulaceae produces a panicle of 
pendulous, rather interesting flowers. The inflated 
subcylindrical calyx is greenish-yellow, while the 
petals are reddish. The leaves produce buds on the 
margins by which they’may be propagated. Bo¬ 
tanical Certificate. Mr. W. Neild, Horticultural 
College, Holmes Chapel, Cheshire. 
-- 
ORCHID NOTES & GLEANINGS. 
By the Editor. 
Dendrobium Venus —The parentage of this 
hybrid is an indication of the beauty of the progeny, 
which was raised from D. Falconeri crossed with D. 
nobile. The cross was made on the 15th May, 
1884, and from the sowing made on the 18th July, 
1885, ico plants were raised. One of these at least 
has found its way to Falkland Park, South Norwood 
Hill, the residence of Thos. McMeekin, Esq. The 
plant carried thirty-four of its large and showy 
flowers, the longest stem being 3 ft. 6 in., thus indi¬ 
cating good treatment on the part of the gardener, 
Mr. A. Wright. The long sepals and petals are 
white, and heavily tipped with purple on both 
surfaces. The broadly ovate, acuminate lip is 
tipped in the same way and furnished with a large, 
circular crimson blotch on the disc. 
A Blue Cattleya Trianaei, Nov. var .—The 
sepals, and triangular, crisped petals of a variety 
that has been flowering for a month past in the 
collection of Mr. Thomas Rochford, Turnford Hall 
Nurseries, near Broxbourne, Herts, are pure white 
thus affording a fine contrast with the beautifully 
distinct lip. The lamina and the side lobes at 
present are lilac-blue, this colour being separated 
from the orange blotch in the throat by a transverse 
deep blue band, of undulated outline, but well 
defined on both edges. When the flower first 
expanded the lip was much darker. In any case it 
is a chaste, beautiful and distinct variety. The last 
blue Cattleya spoken of was a variety of C. Mossiae. 
Dendrobium nobile Segerae. —The sepals 
and petals of this pretty variety are pure white, but 
faintly tipped with purple at times. There is gener¬ 
ally a little more colour on the back of the sepals 
than elsewhere. The lip is creamy-white, with a 
dark purple blotch on the disc. The variety was 
first described about four years ago. About three 
years ago Mr. A. Wright, The Gardens, Falkland 
Park, South Norwood Hill, obtained a small piece 
of an old stem and managed to coax this into life, and 
the piece is now flowering on the second young 
growths made. 
Odontoglossum crispum Baroness Schro¬ 
der, Nov var .—A most remarkable Odontoglot was 
exhibited under this name by Baron Schroder (gar¬ 
dener, Mr. H. Ballantine), The Dell, Egham, at the 
meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society on the 
8th inst. The plant was a very small one carrying 
two flowers of beautiful round shape, and very 
highly coloured. Both sepals and petals were of a 
dark violet-purple except at the margins, the colour¬ 
ing being lighter and darker in places giving the im¬ 
pression of blotches, which almost entirely hide the 
White ground. Many remarks were made concern¬ 
ing the variety, and four figures were mentioned as 
the value of it. 
-- 
The soil and climate of Scotland are well adapted 
for the profitable cultivation of Gooseberries, Straw¬ 
berries, Black and Red Currants, and Raspberries. 
