May 4, 1901. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
575 
Salomon!, S. oppositifolia var. minor, S. rocheliana 
and Soldanella alpina are also beautifully in bloom. 
The greenhouse, known as No. 4, is, as usual, 
looking one blaze of colour. There is a fine collection 
of Hippeastrums in bloom in the east wing. The 
bed in this wing has been greatly improved by the 
planting of two or three large Camellias. It looked 
very nice during the summer, but when the Daturas 
were pruned in the winter it left a bare bed ; the 
planting of the Camellias has obviated this. Ciner¬ 
aria polyantha gives a bright colour to the bed in 
the centre. The other beds are filled with Eupa- 
toriums, Acacias, Genistas, Wistaria sinensis, 
Richardias, double Lilac and Roses. The stages 
are filled with a well grown collection of various 
spring plants. On the roof of the succulent house 
is a plant of the handsome climber, Bomarea frondea, 
in full bloom. 
WATERING PLANTS. 
With the kind permission of the Editor, I should 
like to make a few remarks on this very important 
operation. To water plants properly requires dis¬ 
cretion, and also intelligent judgment. Plants vary 
greatly in their requirements; one wants a great 
deal, another does with a scanty allowance. Again, 
when watering we must take into consideration the 
temperature, whether it be high, and the light 
intense, or if it is the contrary the supply of water 
must be limited in proportion. We must also study 
the nature of the soil as to drainage, &c., the texture 
of the plant, the roots whether they are near the 
surface or considerably below it, and also whether 
there are abundance of roots or very few. Plants 
growing rapidly naturally require greater food 
supplies than when resting, but the amount should 
always be decreased during the flowering period. 
Lots of amateurs and inexperienced gardeners give 
every plant the same dose whether it requires it or 
not. When we water plants we should give them “ a 
good watering,” always bearing in mind the old 
proverb slightly altered that a ” constant dribbling 
ruins the plant.”— T. W. Dollery, The Gardens, Whit- 
hum, Sunderland, April 2.7th, 1901. 
-—- 
A HALL FOR HORTICULTURE. 
“A Voice From Swanley.” (1890.) 
Surely it is inspiring, and must bring a feeling of 
exalted pride to the heart of every one, when they 
see the exhibits of their countrymen standing boldly 
up and distancing foreign competitors, and to hear 
other countrymen exclaim, " How perfect ! what 
size 1 ” 
It should be known that every variety of fruit, 
flowers, and vegetables of worth that can be found 
upon the earth is brought to England. In every 
instance we (English) grow them better than where 
they are indigenous, alter a work of ages- in intro¬ 
ducing. Of course the varieties are numerous, and 
it becomes a national necessity to weed out the 
inferior and to record the superior, and in this the 
Royal Horticultural Society has done an incalculable 
amount of gcod for the benefit of mankind. 
It is remarkable (and may be compared to the 
moral work and generosity of some, which is un¬ 
recognised during life) that scarcely any ODe knows 
its (the society's) worth, and those that do fail to 
promulgate the good. The English by sheer intelli¬ 
gence have considerably improved nearly every 
production for the sustenance and happiness of the 
public. These good kinds have gone forth to every 
part of the world ; and if it were possible to sum up 
the good, it would be found that horticulture has 
done more to benefit the human race and make 
England eminent than any other profession, and, 
although much has been done to comfort and 
strengthen the body and cheer the heart of man, 
there is an endless amount still to do. 
His late Royal Highness Prince Albert certainly 
made sure that he had secured a noble home for the 
society, but it is at this moment, from no fault of 
theirs, without a floor or roof to call its own, yet now 
even, in lodgings as it were, the society is leading on 
horticulture and doing enormous good—agriculture 
owes them a heavy debt of gratitude. 
When we read of a patriotic lady in Philadelphia, 
evidently an admirer, and anxious to forward horti¬ 
culture in America, bequeathing £40,000 wherewith 
to build and maintain a bad of horticulture in that 
City, we feel it is retiogiession on the part of the 
British in not possessing one long since to carry on 
one of the greatest sciences of the nation. There are 
many amongst our wealthy who in their time have 
enjoyed an immense amount of happiness, luxury, 
and contentment from their garden, who we believe 
will follow the noble example of this estimable and 
generous American lady and immortalise their name 
by securing and presenting the freehold of a suitable 
site for that noble and most necessary institution— 
to hold their meetings, shelter their library and the 
council who so nobly carry on the work for the 
benefit and honour of dear old England. 
As far as the nursery and seed trade is concerned, 
they would, we believe, struggle with small sums to 
erect some temporary building, if only so that it 
could be utilised, the society could call it their own, 
and thus strengthen their hopes. 
There are plenty of central sites with dilapidated 
walls standing (almost a disgrace to the surroundings) 
which would answer admirably, and as soon as the 
freehold is secured we are ready to subscribe £25, 
and we are quite sure thehon. sec., Rev. W Wilkes, 
would be delighted to hear of others doing likewise. 
We hope to live to see the day when we have a 
hall worthy of our great nation, and that the com¬ 
mittee of the National Chrysanthemum Society, the 
members of which number well nigh 1,000, and 
whose work and exhibitions are of great importance, 
and stand pre-eminent with that flower, may ba 
‘invited, and see their way also to hold their shows 
and meetings in this building, and all special 
societies, such as Roses, Dahlias, Auriculas, Carna¬ 
tions, &c., also Gardeners’ Benevolent Society, 
Gardeners’ Orphan Fund, and Gardeners’ Provident 
Society, in fact, all societies pertaining to horticulture 
have the samfe privilege, and thus avoid expensive 
hotels and other public resorts. This building we 
picture in our minds, and hope some day to see in 
reality.— Henry Cannell <S- Sons. 
1901.—What a remarkable fact in horticulture; 
this plant has been lying dormant eleven years and 
now beginning to root and sprout. Will it grow ? 
I hope it is not stunted—water and keep in the right 
temperature, and it will come along I think.— H. 
Cannell 
-—s*- 
PLANTS RECENTLY CERTIFICATED. 
The awards mentioned below were made by the 
Royal Horticultural Society on the 23rd ult 
Orchid Committee. 
Laeliocattleya Cybele. —The parentage of this 
bigeneric hybrid was Cattleya Trianaei (seed bearer) 
and Laelia elegans (pollen parent). The sepals are 
white with blush edges, and the oblong-elliptic 
petals merely blush. The tube of the lip is pale 
purple externally, and creamy white internally; 
while the lip is of a rich purple with a white edge. 
It is a handsome and chaste Laeliocattleya, on 
account of its clean light colours. (Award of Merit.) 
Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Ltd., Chelsea. 
Odontoglossum Adrianae crawshayanum. — 
Like others belonging to this race of natural hy brids, 
the flowers in this instance are of beautiful round 
form. The sepals are heavily blotched with 
chestnut-brown on a creamy white ground. The 
petals have large blotches above the middle, with 
smaller spots below on a creamy white ground. 
The lip has a large chestnut blotch in front of the 
crest and small ones along each side. (Award of 
Merit) de B. Crawshay, Esq. (gardener, Mr. W. 
J. Stables), Rosefield, Sevenoaks. 
Odontoglossum luteo-purpureum Coundon 
Court var.— The plant of this exhibit gave 
evidence of excellent cultivation, for the flower spike 
was nearly a yard in length, and the flowers large. 
The sepals are almost wholly covered with the dark 
chocolate brown so common to this species, the 
edges and tips being yellow. The blotches on the 
petals are smaller and leave more of the ground 
colour exposed. The lamina of the lip is white, the 
basal part being yellow and more or less spotted. 
(First-class Certificate.) George Singer, Esq. 
(gardener, Mr. Collier), Coundon Court, Coventry. 
Odontoglossum crispum, Edward VII.—The 
face of the sepals and petals is white, and marbled 
with small blotches of a brownish-purple colour. 
The lip is thickly spotted with reddish-brown spots. 
It is a fine round, imbricated flower. (Award of 
Merit.) Mr. Thos. Rochford, Turnford Hall Nur¬ 
series, near Broxbourne. 
Odontoglossum wilckeanum Turnford Hall 
var. —The sepals of this fine variety have a few 
large, chestnut-red blotches on the centre on a 
yellow ground. The petals are ovate, acuminate and 
jagged at the edges, with a few small red spots about 
the middle. (Award of Merit.) Mr. Thos. Roch¬ 
ford. 
Odontoglossum luteo-purpureum hystrix.— 
The vigour of this variety as exhibited by Sir Trevor 
Lawrence, Bart, (gardener, Mr. W. H. White), Bur- 
ford, Dorking, was remarkable. The sepals are 
characterised by being chestnut red with yellow tips. 
The petals have blotches above the middle. The lip 
is well developed, being pale yellow, fringed at the 
margin and having long finger-like rays to the crest 
in front of which is a large chestnut blotch. (Award 
of Merit.) 
Oncidium marshallianum sulphureum. —The 
suppression of colour in this species is similar to 
what occurs in several species of Cypripedium in 
which all the colouring disappears, or leaves only 
green veins or blotches on a white ground. In this 
case the large flowers are light yellow with greenish- 
yellow blotches instead of brown upon the sepals and 
petals. Its distinctness will make it choice. 
(Award of Merit.) Walter Cobb, Esq. (gardener. 
Mr. J. Howes), Dulcote, Tunbridge Wells. 
Floral Committee. 
Iris willmottiana. —The general appearance of 
this pretty Iris recalls 1 . caucasica, except in the 
matter of colour. The leaves are of a glossy green, 
with a white line along the edge. The flowers are 
lavender blue, and the falls have a large white blotch, 
extending down the middle of the lamina. The 
standards are very small and the stigmas of a deeper 
blue. (Award of Merit.) Miss Willmott, Warley 
Place, Brentwood. 
Arabis aubrietioides.— Colour does not usually 
run very high in this genus, the flowers being gener¬ 
ally white. Those of the plant under notice are of a 
purplish-pink shade. (Award of Merit.) Miss 
Willmott. 
Erythronium giganteum Hartwegi. —The 
flowers of this variety are of large size, but vary 
slightly in colour. Some of them open pale yellow 
in the centre; others have a line of brown spots 
round the centre; while others are almost creamy 
yellow, the latter colour being dominant. (Award 
of Merit.) H. J. Elwes, Esq., Colesborne Park, 
Cheltenham. 
Primula viscosa Mrs. J. H. Wilson.— The 
flowers of this charming variety differ from the type 
in being dark purple-blue instead of the ordinary 
reddish-purple. The species would seem to be 
capable of giving rise to many choice new varieties. 
(Award of Merit.) Mr. John H. Wilson, Cemetery 
Nursery, Handsworth, Sheffield. 
Berberis congestiflora hakeoides. —The stems 
of this very distinct Barberry are dwarf and well 
furnished with nearly orbicular, glaucous-green, 
leathery leaves, serrated with white spines. The 
small flowers are aggregated in globular clusters in 
the axils of the leaves ; and the sepals are yellow, 
while the petals are orange. (Award of Merit.) 
Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Ltd. 
Primula obconica. —In this case an Award of 
Merit was accorded for the Kenmore strain of P. 
obconica. The varieties as shown had white, pink, 
blush, rose, purple and carmine flowers, the mixture 
of colours being charming and pretty, and the 
flowers large. The Marchioness of Breadalbane 
(gardener, Mr. Wright), Taymouth Castle, Kenmore, 
Perthshire. 
Carnation May. —The flowers of this variety are 
large, shapely and pure white, with slightly incurved 
petals nearly entire at the margin. The calyx dees 
not split very readily. (Award of Merit.) Messrs. J. 
James & Son, Woodside, Farnham Royal, Slough. 
Narcissus Committee. 
Narcissus General Roberts. —The segments of 
this trumpet Daffodil are broad, almost triangular 
and sulphur yellow. The trumpet is short, clear 
yellow, widely revolute at the mouth. The whole 
flower is very stoutly built. (First Class Certifi¬ 
cate.) Messrs. Barr & Sons, King Street, Covent 
Garden. 
Narcissus incomparabilis Lucifer. —The seg¬ 
ments of this variety are creamy white, while the 
long, bell-shaped chalice is rich oraDge. (First 
Class Certificate.) Messrs. Barr & Sons. 
Narcissus poeticus Herrick —The flowers of 
this variety are of large size, with broadly obovate 
