100 THE GARDENING WORLD. October 17, 1896. 
for which the establishment is noted, was 
making wonderful growth. 
After a terrific downpour of rain which 
occurred early in the afternoon, the sun 
again shone out brightly as we discovered 
on finding ourselves in one of the warmest 
houses on the establishment. Here were 
some beautiful pieces of Anoectochilus so 
tantalising to many Orchid growers, on 
account of the difficulty in preserving them 
in a healthy condition for more than a few 
years at most. The olive-green and velvety 
leaves of A. Rollisonii were variegated and 
banded with yellow. The olive leaves of 
A. Dawsoni were beautifully netted with 
pink lines. A fine plant of Macodes 
Petola would have been the envy of many 
an Orchid grower, for its velvety leaves 
were beautifully fretted and netted in a 
most intricate way with slender lines like 
threads of gold-coloured silk. A strange 
looking Orchid named Eulophiella Casimir 
Pierriere may furnish a surprise later on 
when it comes into bloom. Many strange 
and rare Orchids as well as showy ones find 
their way here ; and and we were pleased 
to notice that singular looking species 
Bulbophyllum grandiflorum in bloom. The 
huge upper sepal was pale orange-brown, 
tessellated with white. Not far off was the 
pretty Cirrhopetalum mastersianum, with 
buff-yellow and brown flowers arranged in 
whorls forming half or three-fourths of a 
circle. The larger flowers of Bulbophyllum 
Dearei were even more showy, with orange 
veins and ornamented with white tesserae. 
Nor less curious and fantastic were Cata- 
setum fimbriatum and C. christyanum, with 
their fringed lips and grotesque forms gener¬ 
ally. Here, too, were some of those forms 
which are strikingly intermediate between 
C. Bungerothi and C. macrocarpum, judg¬ 
ing by the form arid great size of the lip 
which suggests natural hybrids. Nor less 
singular was that Swan’s-neck Orchid, 
Cycnoches Lehmanni. 
The Cattleya house was occupied with 
a varied assortment of Orchids widely 
different in character, but all agreeing in 
the temperature and general treatment 
they required. The Cattleyas were mostly 
out of season, with the exception of the 
late summer-flowering C. Eldorado. There 
were, however, some closely related plants in 
the shape of several forms of Laelia elegans, 
including L. e.alba, and L.pumila praestans 
marginata. Five very distinct species of 
Epidendrum were in bloom, including the 
delightfully fragrant E. fragans, and E. 
ottonis. On the other hand E. sceptrum 
and E. prismatocarpum are notable for 
their showy, crimson blotched flowers. 
E. O’Brienianum had been flowering con¬ 
tinuously since the Temple Show, and that 
not from a batch of plants, but the same 
identical specimen which had been exhibited 
atthattime. Three speciesofOncidiumwere 
at their best, including 0. boothianum with 
its long pendulous panicles of bloom, and 
a richly spotted form of O. jonesianum. 
A beautiful subject is Burlingtonia venusta, 
growing in a wooden Orchid basket, and 
furnished with a profusion of white flowers. 
A strong contrast was furnished by the 
richly coloured flowers of a dark form of 
Miltonia moreliana. Several other types 
were in bloom including M. Clowesii and 
M. bicolor, having white flowers with a 
large violet blotch on the lip. A huge 
piece of Sobralia macrantha splendens had 
been flowering for many weeks previous to 
our visit. The collection ol Cypripediums 
was in fine condition and throwing up 
flower spikes plentifully. A large and 
thriving piece of the beautiful, but somewhat 
fastidious, C. Schlimii was pointed out to us 
with pride. C. Charlesworthi had com¬ 
menced its annual flowering season, which 
continues over a long period. That dwarf 
and pretty species C. purpuratum is not too 
frequently met with in collections, but here 
we noted it in the pink of condition. 
Many strange and rare Orchids have 
been flowered here from time to time, 
including some things with which most 
Orchid growers fail. Whether success 
will attend the efforts to flower Grammato- 
phyllum speciosum remains to be seen ; 
but the huge specimen to be seen here is 
very striking, and as likely to flower at 
Burford Lodge as anywhere. Vanda 
Hookeri with very tall stems was pushing 
up its flower stalks ; and the new Den- 
drobium cruentum with an orange-red 
blotch on the lip had quite and uncommon 
aspect. Many terrestrial Orchids find a 
happy home here, and many an exhibition 
table has been graced with the species 
grown here. At the time of our visit 
Habenaria militaris, with the scarlet lip, 
and the delicately chaste, flesh-tinted H. 
carnea with its pure white variety, H. c. 
nivosa, were flowering as they had been 
for weeks previously. All three are quite 
unlike our British species, one or two of 
which grow on Box Hill not far off, or did so 
until quite recently. The species above 
mentioned never fail to find admirers when¬ 
ever brought before the public. 
Strictly cool Orchids are not forgotten, 
though most of them were making their 
new growths. Odontoglossum crispum, 
and O. Pescatorei were represented by 
several varieties. The Bee Orchid 
(Oncidium dasytile) is quite unlike our 
native Bee Orchis (Ophrys apifera) which 
finds a home on Box Hill and other chalk 
hills of the North Downs. The pretty 
Odontoglossum aspersum roseum drew 
attention to its beautifully marked flowers, 
the petals and lip being purple, while the 
sepals were spotted or blotched with purple 
and brown. Elsewhere, the Indian 
Crocuses were throwing up their scapes for 
an autumn display. Close by was a collec¬ 
tion of the hybrid forms of Dendrobium 
nobile and its allies in a resting condition. 
The plants in many cases were of wonder¬ 
fully large size,notwithstanding the fact that 
they were grown in very small pots or 
pans. 
Throughout the entire establishment 
everything was healthy and clean, clearly 
indicating the fact that Orchids of all kinds 
are still as carefully looked after as they 
have been for many years past. Mr. W. 
H. White, the grower, deserves great credit 
for the orderly condition in which he main¬ 
tains everything under his charge, and for 
the success which attends his cultivation 
amongst so numerous a collection of repre¬ 
sentatives of this popular family. 
Smell of the Country.—Those people must have 
had an intense longing for the country who smelt 
the peat on view at the Crystal Palace recently. 
A pension for Mr. John Richardson —At a recent 
meeting of the Liverpool City Council a recommen¬ 
dation of the finance committee was adopted, 
namely, a pension of £192 to Mr. John Richardson, 
late of the Botanic Gardens, for life. 
Disposal of Market Produce. —A contemporary gives 
an instance of how railway companies might make 
themselves useful to the community by quoting an 
instance from the Eastern counties. A grower in the 
Isle of Ely had a large quantity of Asparagus for 
which he could not find a market. He wrote to the 
railway company which serves the district, explaining 
matters, and the manager readily consented to help 
him. A number of circulars concerning the produce, 
were printed and circulated amongst the season 
ticket-holders on that particular railway. So great 
was the demand for the Asparagus that the vendor 
was able to dispose of not only his own produce but 
large quantities from other people. 
Mark Hawkes, a Chelmsford labourer was 
assisting in thrashing down the nuts from a Walnut 
tree, when he lost his balance and fell to the ground, 
a distance of 25 ft., breaking his neck. 
A Golden Eagle, a fine specimen of its kind, having 
been caught in a trap in Sutherlandshire, was sent 
to the British Museum to be stuffed for exhibition. 
That is probably the place where the last specimen 
of this noble British bird will be seen. 
There is a proposal for an Agricultural Hall in Ayr, 
and some of the inhabitants are suggesting that it 
should be made large enough to accommodate the 
horticultural exhibition. How much longer should 
London wait for a Horticultural Hall ? 
A Wash for Aphides. —A German writer recom¬ 
mends a mixture of 10 parts soft soft, 50 parts 
quassia powdered, and 5 parts of salicylic acid in 
200 parts of alcohol. The plants are sprayed with 
this in order to destroy and keep aphides at bay. 
The mixture is said to be harmless to the plants to 
which it is applied. 
The first prize Group of Chrysanthemums and 
foliage plants staged at the Royal Aquarium last 
week by that prolific exhibitor Mr. H. J. Jones, 
rightly named the Ryecroft Hero, has been moved to 
the windows of Messrs. Cheeseman, Bros., High 
Street, Lewisham, where thousands of the local 
inhabitants of that thriving suburb have availed 
themselves of the opportunities of inspecting it. At 
times the crowd around the windows was so great 
as to completely block the sidewalks. 
Erratum. —On p. 86, in the fifth line from the 
bottom of the third column, Mr. W. J. Godfrey is 
represented as exhibiting Calla Little Gem. This 
was an oversight in reporting. He had his two new 
Richardias named Devoniensis and The Godfrey, 
both of which are superior to Little Gem in 
the freedom with which they flower. The former is 
also earlier and superior in form and substance to 
Little Gem. The Godfrey is much earlier, dwarfer 
in habit, and purer white than R. africana. 
Distribution of Bedding Plants.— Arrangements 
have been made for the distribution to the public, on 
the days named under, of any surplus bedding 
plants, there may be at the following places : —At the 
Island Gardens, Poplar, on October 12th ; Finsbury 
Park, Myatts’ Fields, and Southwark Park, on 
October 14th ; Meath Gardens and Victoria Embank¬ 
ment Gardens, on October 15th ; Ravenscourt 
Park, Royal Victoria Gardens (North Woolwich), 
Victoria Park, and Waterlow Park, on October 20; 
Kennington Park, on October 21st ; Battersea Park 
and Dulwich Park, on October 13rd ; Bethnal Green 
Gardens, on October 26th. At Clissold, Brockwell, 
and Peckham Rye Parks, there are no surplus plants 
this year. 
Flowers amongst the Japanese. —The use of 
flowers for interior decorations, particularly on 
occasions of ceremony and festivity, has always been 
a universal custom among the Japanese, and out of 
this pastime they have elaborated a method 
distinctly their own, which, upon examination, 
reveals aesthetic principles of a high order. With 
the October number of the Studio, which is the first 
part of a new volume, will be commenced a series of 
illustrated articles fully describing for the first time in 
any European publication, the wonderfully original 
methods of flower arrangement adopted in Japan. 
This number will also contain the first of a series of 
illustrated articles upon the Arts and Crafts Exhibi¬ 
tion of the New Gallery. 
Syndical Chamber of Belgian Horticulturists. —The 
monthly meeting of this society, for estimating the 
value of horticultural products, was held in the 
Casino, Ghent, on the 4th inst. Certificates of Merit 
were awarded to Yucca gloriosa medio albo-picta 
presented by M. E. Bedinghaus ; to Miltonia Bluntii 
lubbersiana, presented by M. Jules Hye ; to Agave 
ousselghemiana variegata, exhibited by M. E. 
Bedinghaus ; to Miltonia moreliana illustris, shown 
by M. L. De Smet-Duvivier ; to Odontoglossum 
grande var., shown by M. Jules Hye; to Cypri- 
pedium Vulso, a hybrid between C. Veitchi 
Demidofi and C. bellatulum Mariae, exhibited by 
M. Jules Hye; and to a collection of Begonia Rex 
crossed with B. decora, staged by M. L. De Smet- 
Duvivier. Five certificates were also awarded for 
culture, and one Honourable Mention. 
