January 23, 1897. 
827 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
brown. In all these characters, the influence of 
both parents is observable, The markings of the 
dorsal sepal are handsome. 
Dendrobium bancroftianum. —The flowers of 
this species are small but very numerous, and borne 
in subterminal racemes, 6 in. to 9 in. in length. The 
sepals and petals are linear and white. The small 
lip is spotted with purple. Botanical Certificate. 
Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans. 
Bulbophyllum dayanum.— Here we have a dwarf 
species with singular looking flowers arranged in 
clusters at the base of the short leathery leaves. The 
relatively large sepals are green, spotted with 
purple in lines and strongly fringed at the margin 
with gray hairs. The small oblong petals are deep 
red and shortly fringed. The lip is pale red. 
Botanical Certificate. The Hon. Walter Rothschild. 
Floral Committee. 
Cyclamen. —Several varieties of a new strain of 
Cyclamen were exhibited by M. de Langhe, Rue de 
Constantinople, Brussels. In some cases the seg¬ 
ments of the flower were reflexect in the ordinary 
way, and in others they were horizontal. The special 
feature of the segments is that they have developed 
in such a way as to be roundly-obovate or quite 
orbicular, and crisped and plaited towards the 
margin. There are, already, varieties with pink, 
white rose, deep crimson, and rose flowers, the latter 
having white edges. Award of Merit for the strain. 
Fnuit and Vegetable Committee. 
Apple Belle oe Boskoop. —The fruits of this 
variety in size and shape resemble those of Blenheim 
Orange, as well as in having a deeply sunk, open eye; 
but the flesh is more solid, and the fruit keeps in good 
condition for a longer period than that well-known 
Apple. The skin is yellow at this season, splashed 
with red and suffused with russet. The flesh is 
yellow, crisp, tender, juicy, pleasantly sweet, and 
otherwise excellent. Award of Merit. Messrs. James 
Veitch & Sons, Ltd., Chelsea. 
Apple Standard Bearer— The fruits in this case 
are large, conical, obtusely five-angled, yellow, finely 
dotted with brown, and streaked with red on the 
sunny side. A large area round the stalk is evidently 
constantly covered with russet. It is a late Apple of 
excellent quality. Award of Merit. Messrs. J. Veitch 
& Sons, Ltd. 
Potatos. —Where a good stock of fermenting 
material has been sweetened by frequent turning, it 
will be in good condition for supplying a steady bottom 
heat in pits and frames intended for the production 
of early Potatos. A bed about 3 ft. in depth should 
be formed, and over tbis 1 ft. of light, rich soil should 
be placed. The tubers —previously started in gentle 
heat—should be well rooted, and with growths short 
and sturdy. Rather close planting is necessary to 
make the most of the space at command, and this 
must not be done before the heat in the bed has risen 
to 6o°. Where leaves are plentiful, another bed may 
be formed outside for the production of a crop to 
succeed the frame produce. This bed should be at 
least 5 ft. to 6 ft. in depth, so as to maintain a gentle 
heat throughout the spring. Tbe width may be from 
fi ft-, to 10 ft., and the length must be ruled by the 
amount of material available for forming the bed. 
Some 10-in. boards made secure around the edges of 
the bed, and filled with some light loam and leaf 
mould, will be ready for planting as soon as 
completed. For this bed, tubers showing the grow¬ 
ing points prominently should be selected; and it 
will be necessary to form some kind of framework 
over the bed to carry protecting material in the 
shape of mats or tarred cloth. 
Peas.— Sowings of these should now be made on 
the first favourable occasion ; and the position 
selected warm and sunny. Trenches should be 
formed at least 1 it. in depth, and the bottom filled 
with long manure; and over this a few inches of well 
rotted dung may be placed, covering the whole with 
6 in. of well pulverised soil. The long dung acts as 
drainage during the spring, and also tends to admit 
atmospheric warmth more freely, and encourages a 
quick root action and strong growth. The trenches 
should be about 4 ft, apart, as this allows room for 
taking an early crop of Spinach, Lettuce, or dwarf 
Beans between the rows ; for Peas seldom give good 
crops when closely planted in the rows. In sowing 
at this season it is better to have the soil a little 
elevated over the trenches so as to receive the full 
benefit of the sun, drawing a little earth to the rows 
when the plants appear. William 1st, Gradus, and 
Day’s Sunrise are all good quality Peas for early 
sowing. The latter is a little later, but gives a heavy 
crop. 
Onions.— Where large bulbs are required for 
exhibition or special purposes, some seed of approved 
kinds such as Ailsa Craig, Excelsior, and Carters' 
Record may be sown in boxes under glass. A gentle 
heat only is required, and the young plants must be 
kept clos£ to the light as soon as vegetation has taken 
place. 
Carrots. —A few lights of frames should be 
devoted to an early crop of the French Horn. A 
slight hot-bed is necessary at this season, and a light 
sandy soil will be an advantage in getting quickly 
grown roots. A small bed may also be sown on a 
south border. 
Lettuce. —A sowing of the best forms of Cos 
Lettuce in a cold frame will give a very useful crop 
to follow those sown in frames in the autumn. In 
sowing now, the soil should be raised to within a few 
inches of the glass, and the frame should be placed 
to receive the full benefit of the sun. The autumn- 
sown plants under frames will require careful watch- 
to prevent damping during the next few weeks, and 
may be dusted with burnt refuse occasionally, until 
planting time next month.— J. R. 
-•*.- 
THE ORCHID HOUSES. 
That there is a diversity of opinion amongst the 
numerous growers of Orchids of the present day as 
to the treatment of many species goes without say¬ 
ing. Each one advances his pet system or theory as 
to how such and such a plant should be grown. But 
if we choose to differ in a few cultural details, there 
is one thing we are one and all agreed about, and 
that is, to grow Orchids for a number of years 
successfully, they must have assiduous attention, 
the present time being perhaps one of the most 
critical. Sometimes we get a spell of dull sunless 
weather, to be followed by bright days and sharp 
frosty nights, such as we are getting at the present 
time, requiring care and judgment in the use of the 
heating apparatus. Very hard firing always takes a 
lot out of the plants, no matter if you have plenty of 
piping ; and anything that can be done to secure the 
plaqts from harm, and at the same time mitigate the 
effect of harsh heat which accrues from hard driving 
during severe weather, should be done. Mats or old 
blinds hung along the sides of the houses will help 
to do this. We adopt this plan as much as possible, 
and it is really surprising the difference it makes to 
the plants, to say nothing of the saving in the fuel, 
which is always a large item no matter how careful 
one may be. 
General Work. — Potting of Orchids during 
frosty weather should not be thought of, unless it be 
newly imported plants; but assistance may be 
afforded such plants that are making up their growths 
and pushing new roots from the base, by placing 
some fresh material for the roots to take hold of. 
This will sustain them until the days lengthen, and 
the weather is more congenial, when the potting can 
be carried out without fear of any check being given. 
This applies me re to Cattleyas and Laelias ; with 
Odontoglossums it is different, for where O, crispum 
is grown in great quantities you are always having 
some potting to do, as it is a very rare thing to be 
without some in flower all the year round, although 
the bulk of the plants flower in May and Jnne, and 
are potted early in September. 
Odontoglossum wilckeanum. —This is a most 
beautiful natural hybrid between O. crispum and O. 
luteo-purpureum, and requires the same treatment as 
O. crispum. We have one at present in flower, 
beautifully marked with large blotches of red on a 
bright sulphur ground colour. This was imported in 
a mixed lot of O. crispum and O. luteo-purpureum 
from Colombia. The varieties of O. crispum, how¬ 
ever, from this locality, are not to be compared with 
those from Pacho. 
O. luteo-purpureum, now pushing spikes, is a 
very desirable species, and a splendid grower, making 
fine bulbs and flowering well, if treated as advised 
for O. crispum. It likes a little more shade, and 
should be placed so that it gets it.— C. 
Melons.— It is quite time now that some prepara¬ 
tions were made for the earliest crop of these. Many 
good growers sow for their first crop about the 
middle of January. On an average, four months will 
elapse between the sowing of the seed and the ripen¬ 
ing of the fruit. Some of the successful crops 
which are more favourably situated with regard 
to light in their earlier stages will reduce tbis 
to some extent, whilst on the other hand the earliest 
may take a little longer. The seeds should be sown 
singly in small thumbpots, using a compost of two 
parts loam to oneot leaf soil, and must not be buried 
more than half an inch, otherwise they will rot. It 
is not advisable to sow more than one seed in a pot as 
the subsequent separation of the plants imposes a 
greater or less check upon them. A single plant can 
be shifted on into the larger sizes as more space 
becomes necessary with the minimum chance of a 
check. 
To insure speedy germination the pots should be 
plunged in a bottom heat of from 70^ to 8o° Fahr., 
with an atmospheric temperature of not less than 
70°. The pots may be stood quite close together, 
and thus enough of plants to fill a good-sized house 
can be obtained from a very small area. 
Varieties. —There are numbers of good varieties, 
and probably every cultivator has an opinion of his 
own as to their respective merits. Scarlet-fleshed 
sorts, perhaps, are more in favour with his employers 
than white, or vice versa. The following varieties, 
however, are worthy of every one’s consideration, for 
they have won golden opinions for themselves in 
many parts of the country; Sutton’s Ai, and 
Carter’s Blenheim Orange, scarlet-fleshed ; Sutton's 
Hero of Lockinge, white-fleshed, excellent for early 
work ; and Carter’s Earl's Favourite, one of the very 
best green-fleshed Melons in cultivation. Other 
good sorts might be mentioned, but the foregoing 
will be sufficient for ordinary cultivators. Of new 
sorts Sutton's Eureka, sent out in 1896, is very 
promising. The flesh is pale red, and the plants 
possess great vigour of constitution, and are very 
suitable for early crop. 
Cucumbers. —A sowing of Cucumber seeds should 
be made at the same time as the Melons. Where 
the Melon houses are lean-to or three-quarter span- 
roofed erections facing south, the back of the house 
will do very well for Cucumbers, as they do not need 
so much light as Melons. Hence the difficulty of 
giving a sufficiency of heat will not be feared. Those 
growers who do not go in for very early Melons, and 
who have not the means of giving sufficient heat, will 
do better to wait a little longer. In order to be able 
to cut Cucumbers in March the plants must not be 
allowed to receive a check. 
For an all-round Cucumber it would be very diffi¬ 
cult to beat Rollison’s Telegraph. Tender and 
True, Lockie’s Perfection, and Sutton’s Ai, are all 
good sorts, the latter being of comparatively recent 
introduction. As a rule two varieties at most are 
enough for the needs of an ordinary establishment, 
and one good variety may be made to answer the 
majority of purposes. 
Preparing the House. —Under glass space 
during the winter months is of great value, as there 
are so many plants demanding winter accommoda¬ 
tion. Accordingly, all available space soon becomes 
filled, and it is not infrequently a matter of some 
difficulty to get houses cleared for forcing purposes. 
It will be advisable, therefore, to set about clearing 
a house for the Melons and Cucumbers without 
delay, ho that it may receive a thorough cleansing 
preparatory to their advert. Let glass and wood¬ 
work be well washed. Any odd corners, either in 
the iron or woodwork that may serve as a harbourage 
for insect pests should be annointed with neat petror 
leum. All the walls should be lime washed. It is 
an excellent plan, where it can be managed, to give a 
fumigation of sulphur before the washing, but in 
cases where the house is only part of a range it is 
almost impossible to keep the fumes of the sulphur 
from penetrating into adjacent compartments to the 
peril of the plants they contain.— A. S. G. 
- —- 
A New Sweet Pea Classification has recently been 
offered by the Sunset Seed and Plant Co., San 
Francisco. Under it the varieties are grouped accord¬ 
ing to form, instead of colour, the size, and more or 
less orbicular character of the standard forming the 
main point. 
