THE GARDENING WORLD. 
343 
January 30, 1897. 
ORTHOEPY OF THE TERM “CYCLA¬ 
MEN.” 
It is generally admitted that the flowers and foliage 
of Cyclamen persicum are very beautiful; but- 
How shall we sound its mystic name 
Of Greek descent and Persian fame ? 
Shall “ y " be long and " a ” be short, 
Or will the 11 y " and “ a ” retort ? 
Shall " y ” be lightly iripped o’er, 
Or should we emphasise it more ? 
Alas ! the doctors disagree, 
For “ y ” ’s a doubtful quantity. 
Some people use it now and then, 
As if 'twere written “ Sickly-men ” ; 
While others try its scope to ken, 
And mournful give it " Sigh-clay-men " ; 
But, as it comes from kuklos, Greek, 
Why not " Kick-laymen,” so to speak ? 
The gardener, with his ready wit, 
Upon another mode has hit; 
He’s terse and brief—long names dislikes, 
And so he renders it as " Sykes.” 
— C. B. G., Acton, W. 
-«*.- 
EXHIBITORS OF VEGETABLES. 
North versus South. 
Your correspondent, J.C., Chard (p. 269), raises an 
interesting point respecting the merits of Northern 
v. Southern exhibitors of vegetables ; and, after deal¬ 
ing with various points respecting the early training of 
young gardeners, goes on to state that "When looking 
over the reports of many large shows and that of the 
National Chrysanthenum Society’s late show, 
was impressed with the idea that northern exhibitors 
were not maintaining their ground, when one comes to 
see how many prizesgo to thesouthern growers.” Itis 
on this point that I am inclined to differ, as I fail to 
see where a fair comparison can be made. Suppos¬ 
ing J. C. had also read the reports of some of the 
leading exhibitions in the north, say at Glasgow, 
Edinburgh, or Dundee, and he found that all the 
prizes were won by exhibitors practically from these 
localities (which is the fact), would that give J. 
C. the idea that the southern growers were not 
maintaining their reputation ? I venture to say 
it would not. The mere fact of the N.C.S. Show 
being held in. the south I consider fully 
accounts for the success of the southern 
exhibitors, because of being fully represented, 
whereas the northern growers, except in the single 
dishes, as far as I am aware, were not exhibitors, 
and, of course, their reputation as vegetable growers 
stands where it did.— James Gibson, Devonhurst, 
Chiswick. 
ORCHID NOTES * GLEANINGS. 
By The Editor. 
Odontoglosaum Pittiae, Nov. hyb. nat .—' This is 
the name that has been resolved upon for the Odon- 
toglossum mentioned in our last issue as having been 
sold for 105 guineas. It is a supposed natural hybrid 
between O. crispum and O. luteo-purpureum, and 
having been examined with the picture of O. 
pittianum is found to be abundantly distinct. Both 
are from a similar parentage, but the actual varieties 
concerned in it must have been different. The sepals 
and petals of O. Pittiae are broader than those of O. 
pittianum, and the flower as a whole is much rounder 
and equal to that of a good O. crispum, though very 
different in the ground colour. Both are now in the 
possession of H. T. Pitt, Esq., Rosslyn, Stamford 
Hill, N., who has had a hand painting of a flower of 
each executed. 
Dendrobium crassinode album. — This is the 
name given to the beautiful variety of D. crassinode, 
in which the purple tips of the sepals and petals are 
absent, the whole flower being white, with the excep¬ 
tion of the golden-yellow blotch at the base of the lip. 
We saw it in the possession of Mr. J. Seeger, Bandon 
Hill, Croydon, the other week. 
Varieties of Cattleya Trianaei. — A great 
amount of variety has turned up from time 
to time amongst importations of this popular and 
useful Cattleya, since it was first discovered by M. 
Linden in 1842, in the Cundinamarca district of 
Columbia. A double page coloured plate represent¬ 
ing the flowers of eight selected varieties, appears in 
the Lindenia, pi. 530-531. The sepals of C. T. 
Festiva are slightly rosy, the petals pale rose, and 
the lip of a rich reddish-crimson. The lip of C. T. 
regalis is of a dark purple red, the colour extending 
into the tube and obscuring the customary large 
orange blotch. In this respect it is a distinct and 
most telling variety. Delicate aud charming is C. T. 
Dulcis, something in the way of C. T. delicata, but 
the central area of the lip is lilac-rose and the small 
orange blotch in the throat is margined with a white 
band in front. It is almost orbicular and beautifully 
crisped. Another handsome light variety is C. T. 
amplissima, the beauty of which also centres in the 
lip. This has a broad crimson band towards the 
apex with a broad white border (a feature of unusual 
occurrence in C. Trianaei), and the orange blotch of 
the throat is clearly defined. The sepals and petals 
in the above four cases are very light. The sepals 
and petals of C. T. superba are pure white, while the 
crimson-red lip has a paler margin, and forms a 
striking contrast to them. The sepals and petals of 
C. T. Ardens are pale rose, intensified towards the 
margin. The orange blotch covers a large area of 
the base of the lip. The seventh variety is named 
C. T. splendens and is characterised by pure white 
sepals and petals, and a lip that is almost wholly 
purple-red, making a most striking contrast. The 
side lobes are flushed with rose and therefore con¬ 
siderably paler than the lamina. C. T. majestica 
may be described as intermediate between C. T. 
ardens and C. T. Amplissima, inasmuch as the pale 
rose margin of the lip is more or less heavily flushed 
or splashed with red. On the centre of the lamina 
is a large purple-red blotch below which the expan¬ 
sive lip is ornamented with two large white blotches, 
one on either side. The whole of the eight varieties 
form a striking picture on a background of foliage. 
* 
If the present cold snap lasts, work out of doors will 
be greatly impeded. Snow sweeping, of course, will 
require some attention. It will be wise, indeed, to 
clear the paths as soon as possible after the snow has 
ceased falling, otherwise a little traffic will render it 
exceedingly difficult to sweep them clean. This will 
especially apply to paths near the mansion. Another 
job that usually falls to the gardener and his men to 
perform is the clearing of the snow off the roof of the 
mansion. Where the latter is of considerable size, 
and, as is often the case, rather hybrid in con¬ 
struction, there are numbers of nooks and corners in 
which the snow lodges. The heat from the rooms 
beneath causes it to melt, and if the water cannot 
readily escape the plaster and wall paper of the 
dwelling rooms receive injury. 
In other ways the cold weather will do real good. 
The mildness of the autumn and early part of the 
winter have caused things to be unduly forward, and 
if this had gone on for a little longer there would 
have been considerable damage done if sharp weather 
had then supervened. A little seasonable frost and 
snow will at least have the effect of keeping things 
back in their proper places. 
Meanwhile the days that cannot be improved by 
forwarding work out of doors may be turned to 
advantage under shelter. It is often difficult to know 
how to employ unskilled labour to the best advan¬ 
tage. Such men, however, as are not capable of 
doing good service under glass may be set to work 
making labels and stakes. During the summer 
months many plants require to be pegged down,such, 
for instance, as Verbenas and Heliotropes. A supply 
of small pegs suitable for such work should be 
secured now, and thus much valuable time, and not 
a little trouble, will be saved presently. 
Carting Manure.— Advantage should be taken of 
the ground being hard with frost to do any heavy 
carting of soil or manure that is necessary. In mild 
weather, unless it is unusually dry, it is impossible to 
run heavy carts over lawns and paths without cutting 
them up and spoiling them. 
Seeds of Annuals that were saved last year, and 
have been lying by in a rough state just as they 
were gathered may now be cleaned, properly 
labelled, and tied up in packets for use when re¬ 
quired. This will not be very long, by the way. 
Some seeds will take a deal of time to pick over, as 
for instance, Stocks, and in such a case the job 
should be given to the garden women, if any are 
employed, for they are, as a rule, very much lighter 
fingered than the men. 
Bedding Plants. —Just now the working up of a 
sufficient stock of bedding stuff will be requiring 
earnest attention. Where thousands of plants are 
bedded out an immense amount of labour is required 
to get them together. Zonal Pelargoniums that were 
placed in a gentle heat at the beginning of the yeai 
may have their tops taken off at once, and 
inserted as cuttings. If kept fairly close for a while 
these strike readily enough, but they must not be 
kept in heat for too long, otherwise they will become 
drawn and weak, and will never develop into really 
serviceable plants. All the flowers must be kept 
regularly picked off the autumn struck cuttings, for 
they are not infrequently liable to weaken themselves 
by flowering at this season. 
Alternantheras, Mesembryanthemums, and 
other dwarf growing plants, suitable for carpet 
bedding, are needed in strong force in many establish¬ 
ments still, and hence it is advisable to make an 
early start with their propagation. They, together 
with Lobelias, Heliotropes, and Verbenas, strike 
quickly and well in a hot bed ; indeed we have found 
by experience that better results are obtained with 
Lobelia cuttings, when treated this way, than have 
been forthcoming by any other. Use very sandy 
soil for the cuttings, and do not be afraid of putting 
them in thickly, as directly they are rooted they will 
have to be potted off. 
Soil —About the middle of February a start must 
be made with potting up the zonal Pelargoniums for 
bedding. Whether pots or boxes are used, a large 
quantity of soil is necessary, and this should be got 
in readiness meanwhile. If the soil has been outside, 
and has got sodden, it must be dried by artificial 
means, for to pot plants in such a medium at any 
time is a mistake. 
Every advantage should be taken of fine weather to 
push on the pruning of all hardy fruit trees except 
Figs. The prevailing mildness of the season has 
caused the buds to swell earlier this year than usual, 
and unless the spell of frosty weather breaks before 
long, the period during which it will be safe to 
handle the trees will be considerably shortened. 
Small Fruits, such as Gooseberries and Currants, 
in addition to being planted in lines close to the edge 
of the walks in the kitchen garden have often to be 
planted in quarters specially devoted to them in 
order to supply the demand for this class of fruit. 
Trees planted in this latter way have the advantage 
of being easily protected from birds when the fruit 
is ripe. These should be pruned as soon as possible, 
as it will enable the digging over of the ground they 
occupy to be seen to, and this is very desirable, if 
only for the sake of tidiness. 
Bud-eating Birds. —Although this term is specially 
applied to bullfinches there are other birds that are 
fond of pecking out the buds of various fruit trees, 
particularly Plums, Cherries, and Gooseberries. 
Sparrows, for instance, are more destructive than 
bullfinches by reason of their vastly superior num¬ 
bers. Bullfinches it is possible to keep down by 
shooting, always supposing that the shooting does 
not take place when the birds are resting on the fruit 
trees, otherwise the remedy will be far worse than 
the disease. No. 9 shot will be found the most 
serviceable missile. O a the other hand, the sparrows 
are too numerous to shoot, and are, moreover, not 
easily scared away. The only thing that can be 
done to keep them at bay is to dust the trees, when 
wet, with lime or soot, or a mixture of both. 
Fixing Wires on Walls. — The present time is a 
very suitable one for furnishing walls with wires, or 
mending any that may be broken. Nails are all 
very well in their way, but pull a wall to pieces 
terribly. Old walls that have been subjected to this 
knocking about for a few years will require to be 
repointed, and when the frost has gone this may be 
done, otherwise it must be left until next autumn, 
for frost is sure to destroy fresh mortar that has not 
had time to set and harden properly. 
Lime-washing Walls.— Where insect pests are 
very troublesome in the spring and summer it is a 
good plan to give the walls a good lime-washing 
sometime during the winter. The trees must be 
untied or unnailed, and the branches looped together 
in bunches. This will be found necessary, or, no 
matter how careful the workmen may be, there will 
be sure to be damage done to the trees, 
Newly-Planted Wall Trees. — It will not be 
advisable to tie or nail these for some time yet, as 
the ground will be sure to sink to some extent, and 
if the tying is done before this sinking occurs the 
branches are apt to get “hung,” and harm results 
both to them and the roots which are disturbed in 
consequence. Trees planted in the autumn have 
had the benefit of some very heavy rains, and these 
have settled the soil to a very great extent, so that 
in such a case there will not be likely to be much 
more subsidence. Still it is best to be on the safe 
side and leave the tying for a little longer.— A.S G 
