553 
May 1, 1897. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Cold Tea is of no use to plants, Argus, so that the 
plants are really " teetotalers.” 
--f- 
ROYAL EXOTIC NURSERIES, CHELSEA. 
An abundance of indoor spring flowers of all kinds 
has been keeping up a fine display for many weeks 
past in the nurseries of Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, 
Ltd., Chelsea. Orchids as a matter of course receive 
a large share of attention, for the number of hybrids 
that have been raised and sent out from the Chelsea 
establishment for years past, is now widely known 
wherever Orchids are cultivated. The more com¬ 
mon as well as the uncommon flowers belonging to 
various other natural orders are also well cared for, 
and the quantities of flowers to be seen in the con¬ 
servatories or show houses are enough to make the 
amateur feel green with envy, ay, and others with 
more glass accomodation as well. 
Orchids. 
The Orchid rockery house is always an interesting 
feature of this establishment, because plants of a 
most varied character are transferred to this house 
when in bloom. The pots or baskets containing 
them are tastefully arranged, according to their habit 
amongst the boulders and banks of tufa, covered 
with Selaginellas or other trailing or tufted subjects 
that supply the greenery ; or they are suspended 
from the roof if the flowers are drooping and look 
down upon visitors. The water in the centre, with 
broken and rocky banks surrounding it, also adds 
greatly to the interest of the place. 
The creamy yellow sepals and petals of Phaius 
amabilis are faintly tinted with brown, and the lip 
heavily marbled with crimson-brown on an orange 
ground. A grand Cymbidium is C. eburneo- 
lowianum, whose parentage is indicated by the 
name. The creamy-yellow flowers are tinted with 
bronze. Some of the varieties of C. lowianum are 
rendered conspicuous by the large dark blotch on the 
lip; and the delicious fragrance of C. eburneum will 
always recommend it. Vanda suavis is also fine, the 
flowers being richly spotted with crimson-brown on 
a white ground. Good varieties of Lycaste Skinneri 
have also been plentiful. Coelogyne cristata alba 
looks best when suspended, owiDg to the drooping 
character of the flowers. Oncidium cavendishianum 
remains one of the showy and useful species, but it is 
entirely overshadowed by the branching panicles of 
the large and richly coloured flowers of O. 
marshallianum. Laeliocattleya Pallas, a hybiid 
between Laelia crispa and Cattleya dowiana aurea, 
still remains one of the uneclipsed gems of the 
establishment. The lip is the handsomest and most 
striking feature of the flower, being of a dark crim¬ 
son-purple, with a lilac margin, beautifully 
undulated and crisped. The accompanying illustra¬ 
tion lent us by Messrs. Veitch & Sons, will give an 
idea of the general aspect of this splendid hybrid. 
The dwarf Epidendrum Endresii is a gem in minia¬ 
ture, having white flowers and a violet blotch on the 
lip. That together with E. Wallisii has been the 
parent of more than one set of hybrids. In E. 
Endresio-Wallisii, it was the pollen bearer. The 
progeny has dark purple sepals and petals, and a lip 
that is heavily tinted with violet on a white ground. 
A batch of seedlings has keen raised from E. Wallisii 
crossed with the pollen of E. Endresio-Wallisii, and 
the name E. elegantulum has been given to all of the 
seedlings. The flowers vary greatly in colour, the 
sepals and petals being either greenish, creamy, pale 
yellow, golden yellow or orange-brown. All the 
varieties are beautifully spotted, but those having a 
dark ground more particularly. They are certainly 
very elegant, specially when grown side by side for 
comparison. The beautiful Miltonia Phalaenopsis is 
well grown here, and very attractive. An uncommon 
species is Trichopilia brevis, with its yellow sepals 
and petals blotched with brown, and its short, white 
lip. 
Cattleya Trianaei has been a feature of the Cattleya 
house for some time past, and when at its best 
showed a considerable amount of variety and some 
richly coloured forms. C. T. delicata in beautiful 
and delicate shades of colour, has also upheld its 
share of the display. C. T. alba, with the exception of 
a pale lemon blotch in the throat, is pure white. 
Laelia cinnabarina is notable amongst its kind for 
its tall stems and dark orange-scarlet flowers. L. c. 
harpophylla is dwarfer with a paler white and 
apricot lip, though the rest of the flower is very 
bright. Cattleya Schroderae in its numerous and 
beautiful shades of colour, is now in the height of its 
season ; and C. Mendelii is quickly adding its quota 
to the display. 
Hybrid Dendrobiums are now a feature of this 
establishment, which sometimes places a group con¬ 
sisting entirely of hjbrid Orchids before the public. 
A new variety is DendrobiumAinsworthii intertextum, 
with creamy white flowers and a rich violet blotch 
on the lip. Beautiful is D. Virginia, with white 
flowers and a dark purple disc. D. Cordelia 
flavescens (raised between auratum and euosmum 
leucopterum) has creamy-white flowers with an 
orange-brown disc. We meet with rich colour in 
the rosy violet-purple flowers of D. Alcippe derived 
from D. wardianum x Freemani. D. Ainsworthii 
album adds yet another to a popular and easily grown 
Both the natural and the artificial cross known as 
D. crassinodi-wardianum are grown at Chelsea. 
Though not a hybrid, yet D. nobile nobilius still 
maintains its popularity as the finest variety of the 
species. 
Cypripediums, both hybrids and otherwise, main¬ 
tain an equal race with the Dendrobiums for popu¬ 
larity. C. Schroderae candidulum is quite distinct 
from the type in having very pale, almost white 
flowers of huge and imposing size. C. lathamianum 
is now well-known and more widely disseminated 
than C. germinyanum and C. godseffianum, both 
having bold and beautifully blotched flowers. They 
are allied in origin, inasmuch as the former was 
obtained from C. hirsutissimum x C. villosum ; and 
the latter from C. hirsutissimum x C. v. Boxallii. 
race of hybrids. The creamy and slightly bronzy 
tints of D. Wiganiae are distinct and pleasing. 
D. Rolfae is a beautiful hybrid intermediate in 
colour between its parents (nobile x tortile). There 
is a considerable amount of purple on the sepals and 
petals of D. Edithae, and the lip bears a large, rich 
violet blotch. The hybrid named D. wardiano- 
japonicum is intermediate between the parents here 
indicated, and shows that the progeny is more 
vigorous and easily grown than the parents 
often prove, particularly in the case of D. 
japonicum. D. Aeneas (japonicum x crystallinum) 
is another instance of this with creamy-white flowers 
and the usual blotch. D. splendidissimum leeanum 
Veitch’s var,, has large white flowers, tipped with 
rose, and a violet blotch on the lip. The name D. 
chrysodiscus recalls the orange-brown disc of the lip. 
Large and bold flowers are produced by the well- 
known C. selligerum majus. Other flowering plants 
in this house include Chysis bractescens, with 
massive white flowers, and C. Chelsoni, with yellow 
flowers, tipped with bronze. The latter is a hand¬ 
some hybrid raised at Chelsea. Very fragrant are 
the white flowers of Angraecum modestum. The 
richly coloured and spring-flowering Oncidium 
sarcodes is grown in quantity. The creamy-white 
Stanhopea amesiana is a very choice species. 
The cool or Odontoglossum house contains a great 
variety of the usual occupants assigned to this divi¬ 
sion, that is to say, Odontoglossum crispum, O. 
cirrhosum, O. Pescatorei, O. Cervantesii, O. 
andersonianum and a great many others. The 
amount of variety to be seen amongst the individuals 
of O. triumphans is wonderful, particularly those 
Laeliocattleya Pallas. 
