May 21, 1898. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
597 
The Present Season promises to be one of the most 
fruitful on record in Herts, both in field and orchard. 
Let us hope it will not belie its promise. 
Mr. P. C. M. Veitch, of Exeter, we are pleased to 
learn from J. C. Stogdon, Esq., is rapidly recovering 
from the serious illness under which he was suffering 
recently. 
Royal Gardeners’ Orphan Fund.—We are in 
receipt of a postcard soliciting the votes and interest 
of friends on behalf of a candidate for relief from 
the above fund during 1898. We are somewhat at a 
loss to account for such a belated appeal seeing that 
the ballottiag for candidates for the fund took place 
at Anderton’s Hotel, Fleet Street, E.C., on February 
18th last. 
New Year’s Banquets in Japan.— The first day of 
the year is so extensively feted in Japan that even 
the prisoners in gaol rest and make merry in their 
dungeons. On this day a Japanese gentleman will 
find in his room a vase of brass or porcelain con¬ 
taining some sprigs of Fir, Bamboo, or Plum. It is 
thus that the servants express their good wishes. 
The Fir, by its constant leafage, signifies long life ; 
the Bamboo, prosperity; and the flower of the Plum, 
the first flower of the season, white, chaste, and 
sweet, filling the room with its delicate fragrance, 
bespeaks the presence of the all-pervading wisdom. 
—Revue de VHorticulture Beige. 
A Generous Donor to Horticulture. —The Bulletin 
d'Arboriculture, de Floriculture, &c., states that M. 
Durant-Castelin, sole legatee of M. Dobree, who 
died leaving a fortune valued at 30,000,000 francs has 
given to the department of Loire-Inferieure, France, 
300,000 francs for the building and management 
of a national school of horticulture and viticulture, 
and i.ooo.coo francs for the construction of 
greenhouses, destined chiefly for exotic and 
colonial plants, for improvements and ornamenta¬ 
tion in the park and its buildings, as well as to 
constitute capital destined for the maintenance 
of the park, greenhouses, and dwelling-houses. That 
national school of horticulture ought to be con¬ 
structed in the park of Grand-Blotterau, at some 
distance from Nantes in the commune of Doulon. 
The departmental commission has accepted the gift 
of M. Durant-Castelin. 
Sale of Orchids at Walton Grange, Stone.—The sale 
of surplus and duplicate established Orchids on the 
nth and 12th inst., at Walton Grange, Stone, Staffs., 
the residence of William Thompson, Esq., was well 
attended by nurserymen and amateur buyers of 
Orchids. Mr. A. Outram, of London ; Mr J. God- 
seff, of Sander & Co., St. Albans; Mr. Low, of 
Messrs. H. Low & Co., Clapton; Messrs. Back¬ 
house, of York ; and CharleswOrth.of Bradford, were 
the principal buyers in the trade. A splendid show 
of Orchids, beautifully arranged in the houses 
attracted great attention, and were much admired 
by those who had the privilege of seeing them. The 
plants are in splendid condition, reflecting great 
credit upon the abilities of Mr. Stevens, who has 
had the important charge of the collection for so 
many years. The sale was conducted by Messrs. 
Protheroe & Morris on the premises of Walton 
Grange, and many princely sums were obtained for 
the finer varieties. For instance, Odontoglossum 
crispum, with six pseudo-bulbs, went for £24 ; O. 
excellens for £ 21; Cypripedium insigne Dorothy, 
£22 ; C. rothschildianum, £22 is. ; Cattleya labiata 
Peetersi superba, £78 15s.; Odontoglossum crispum 
Katae £21 6s.; Cypripedium Charles Richman and 
Oncidium ornithorrhynchum album, £10 ios. each ; 
Odontoglossum crispum aureum, £27 6s.; Cypriped¬ 
ium leeanum superbum, £31 ios. ; Laelia gouldiana, 
£11 ns.; Odontoglossum wilckeanum coDcinnum, 
£15 15s. ; O. crispum Stevensii, £115 105. ; O. 
Meleagris, £36 15s.; O. crispum Alfred, £25 ; O. 
nebulosum album, £15 15s. ; O. crispum Golden 
Queen, £i 63 ; Cattleya Victoriae Reginae, £46 4s. ; 
and Dendrobium splendidissimum grandiflorum. All 
of the above went on the first day of the sale. On 
the second day, Cypripedium insigne Dorothy 
fetched £21 and £22 ; Laeliocattleya Pallas, £12 12s ; 
Odontoglossum sceptrum aureum, £147 ; O. rucker- 
ianum ocellatum, £52 ios.; O. sceptrum Argus, 
£15 15s. ; O. excellens Thomsoni, £147 ; and 
Cattleya labiata caerulescens, £30. The list is 
headed by the Odontoglossums, while Cattleyas and 
Cypripediums follow in this order, showing that 
choice things still bring their price.— Rustcus. 
Starlings in great numbers have built their nests 
this year in the chimneys of Buckingham Palace. 
Destructive Fire at Edinburgh. —On the night of 
the nth inst. a fire broke out on the premises of 
Messrs. Mackenzie & Moncur, Edinburgh, doing 
damage to the extent of £25,000. Fears were for 
some time entertained that the fire would spread to 
other properties, but it was finally subdued. 
The German Society of Rose Growers. —The Con¬ 
gress of the German Rose Society will be held this 
year in Gotha, Germany, in conjunction with a Rose 
show, inside the great Thuringian Industrial Exhibi¬ 
tion, from the 10th to the 12th July. All the par¬ 
ticulars will be made known through the local com¬ 
mittee in Gotha, and the executive of the German 
Rose Society, of whom also programmes are to be 
had. This intimation has been furnished us by the 
editor of Rosen Zeituhg, the organ of the German 
Rose Society. 
- 4 *- 
READING GARDENERS. 
The first meeting of the summer season of the 
Reading and District Gardeners’ Mutual Improve¬ 
ment Association was held on Monday evening last, 
when the chairman of the association, Mr. Turton, 
presided over a good attendance of members. The 
subject for discussion was hardy flowers, including 
shrubs and bulbs. This was introduced by Mr. 
Townsend, gardener to Sir William Farrer, Sand¬ 
hurst Lodge, who said that he should refer princi¬ 
pally to those varieties which made the garden look 
gay during the early months of the year and only 
those which were grown in the gardens under his 
charge. 
The following varieties were touched upon :—■ 
Flowering Shrubs: Amygdalus, Abelia, Andromedas, 
Buddleias, Berberis, Cydonias, Cerasus, Crataegus, 
Ceanothus, Choisya, Cytisus, Carpenteria, 
Chimonanthus, Cistus, Cornus, Deutzia, Daphne, 
Diplopappus chrysophyllus, Escallonias, For- 
sythias, Garrya elliptica, Genista, Iberis, 
Jasmine, Kerrias, Laburnum, Leycesteria for- 
mosa, Ledum, Mespilus, Magnolias, Nuttallia, 
Pyrus, Prunus, Philadelphus, Ribes, Spiraea 
Sambucus, Ulex, Viburnum, Veronica, Weigela. 
Bulbs: Hyacinths, Tulips, Narcissi, Crocuses, 
Aconite, Cbionodoxas, Triteleias, Scillas, Grape 
Hyacinths, Alliums, Ornithogalum, Leucojum, 
Dog’s-Tooth Violets, Trilliums. Flowers (flowering 
from February till the early part of May) : Hele- 
borus, Violets, Arabis, Aubrietias, Daisies, Wall¬ 
flowers, Myosotis. Primroses, Polyanthus, Alyssum, 
Doronicum, Alpine Phlox, and Primula Sieboldi. 
A discussion followed. An interesting feature of 
the meeting was the large display of cut flowers, 
including Primula Sieboldi, Daisies, Myosotis, 
Tulips, Trilliums, Pansies, Lily of the Valley, Wall¬ 
flowers, Narcissi, Auriculas, Honeysuckles, Roses 
(outdoor growth), &c. These were contributed by 
Mr. Turton, Maiden Erleigh Gardens, Mr. W. 
Smith, gardener to Miss Neild, Greenbank, and Mr. 
Townsend, the latter exhibiting a splendidly-grown 
Anthurium showing forty-three spatbes. A vote of 
thanks to the lecturer and to those members who 
had brought the flowers ended a pleasant evening. 
ORCHID NOTES & GLEANINGS. 
By the Editor. 
A Fine Laelia purpurata.—A beautiful variety 
of this species was secured for £3 ios. at the Sale 
Rooms of Messrs. Protheroe & Morris, on the 13th 
inst., by Mr. G. E. Day, gardener to H. J. Simonds, 
Esq., Mendham House, Park Place, Leyton, Essex. 
The sepals and petals are rosy-pink. The lip is the 
feature of the flower, the large lamina being of a 
rich, velvety-crimson, while the pale lemon throat is 
handsomely striated, as usual, with slender purple 
lines. The variety, therefore, is in keeping with 
several other fine things that have recently been 
added to the same collection. 
Dendrobium chryseum.—To all intents and 
purposes this is a rare Dendrobe seldom seen in 
cultivation. The stems are about 1 ft. high, and 
bear a few flowers in pairs as a rule. The riehness 
of the golden-yellow sepals and petals compensates 
in a measure for the moderate size of the flowers, 
which are not unlike those of D. Griffithi in size and 
colour, though belonging to a different section of 
the genus. The lip is pubescent on the upper sur¬ 
face, finely toothed at the margins and orange-yellow, 
with a few slender, brown lines at the very base. 
For some years past it has been grown and flowered 
by Mr. W. H. YouDg at Clare Lawn, East Sheen, 
Surrey. 
Laelia elegans Monica.—This handsome 
variety belongs to the 6chilleriana type or section of 
L. elegans and possesses all the good qualities of the 
original though differing somewhat in colour. The 
sepals and petals are white, faintly shaded with pale 
rose along the veins and margins, and having a few 
scattered purple spots towards the apex on either 
surface. The exterior of the tube of the lip is similar 
in colour at the edges, passing into white round the 
sides and back. The lamina and anterior edges of 
the lateral lobes are rich crimson-purple, the colour 
becoming wedge-shaped at the base, and then running 
along the centre of the tube to the very base. The 
throat and interior of the tube are pale lemon, thus 
forming a beautiful contrast with the intense hue of the 
lamina. Some idea of the size of the flower may be 
gleaned from the fact that it measures fully in. 
across the petals. The variety is flowering with Mr. 
J. Seeger, Bandon Hill, Croydon. 
->5*- 
ORCHIDS AT MESSRS. LEWIS & CO., 
SOUTHGATE. 
I was very much pleased when visiting this enter¬ 
prising firm not long since, to find everything that 
has been said in its favour to be well warranted. As 
is well known they-have for some time made a great 
mark by importing large quantities annually of free- 
flowering Brazilian and Mexican Orchids, and as 
may be expected they are well represented. The 
spacious Cattleya House, which is 130 ft. long and 
25 ft. wide, is crammed full of fine unflowered 
pieces of C. Mossiae, of which there are sixty to 
seventy pieces marked white; quantities of C. 
Harrisoniae, Laelia purpurata. L. tenebrosa, and L. 
praestans, the varieties of which created such a sen¬ 
sation last year. Oncidium tigrinum in the cool 
house was just breaking strongly into growth. 
Oncidium marshallianum, too, is making good 
plants. Of Odontoglossum crispum there are some 
4,000 plants in various stages, several good forms 
being amongst those in flower. In another division 
there are grand pieces of the beautiful yellow Onci¬ 
dium ampliatum majus, one with nine spikes, and 
such spikes, too. The season is, of course, over for 
Dendrobes, but the beautiful D. dalhousianum was 
making a good show. Of imported plants there is a 
great quantity of Cattleya labiata, all ready to break 
away into growth.— S. C. 
PEOPLE WE HAVE MET. 
Mr. George Wythes. 
The subject of our sketch is a Worcestershire 
man, born in 1851, and educated at the Queen 
Elizabeth’s Grammar School, in the old city of 
Worcester ; but both parents dying just as he had 
entered upon his scholastic course, he unfortunately 
had to leave school and begin work earlier than most 
boys (at the age of twelve), and rely upon night 
schools to gain the necessary knowledge so needful 
for a gardener. Strange to relate there was no one 
connected with gardening at any period in the family 
history ; and of the two surviving boys, the eldest 
and youngest, the latter is the now well-known Syon 
gardener; the eldest having for the past twenty-five 
years held a responsible position in ihe Botanic 
Gardens, Melbourne, Victoria. Both had a liking for 
the work, and though much pressure was used with 
Mr. G. Wythes to turn his attention to other things, 
by persistence he carried the point and passed the 
first four years as garden boy in a small place in the 
city, utilising his evenings in improving himself, 
there being some excellent night classes. 
At the age of sixteen he says “ I was very restless 
and I fear I gave my good old instructor some little 
trouble by my enquiries as to the name of this or 
that, and how to grow it; and I think I never was 
happier than when I obtained for a shilling a bit of 
Mrs. Pollock Geranium to add to my own collection ; 
and I can assure you shillings with me then were 
scarce enough, and I never watched a plant grow as 
I did that one. I had at the time quite a respectable 
