162 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
February 20, 1904. 
Libonia. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Sir,—Your corresponxMit Mr. Wm. James Penton very 
justly describes the characteristic beauty of the much despised 
Libonia. (presumably) flo-ribunda, but, I think, advocates much 
loss of valuable time in the cultivation of it. 
If the cuttings are 'struck at the time mentioned by Mr. 
Penton, and when rooted potted singly into 60.’s (middle size), 
from these planted into a border sheltered from east winds, 
they will grow and make nice plant® by the early part of Sep¬ 
tember, when they should be taken up and kept, in a cool house 
until required for decoration. L'ibonias require no pinching, 
and can be had in flower from November until February. The 
old-plants', lightly pruned, will make fine specimens for the 
second year; shading and intermediate temperature can be 
dispensed with. Ulstra II. 
Plants Recently Certificated 
By the Royal Horticultural Society. 
February 9th. 
ORCHID COMMITTEE. 
Cypripedium aureum virginale. 
The dorsal sepal of this fine hybrid variety is orbicular and 
white, with a small green area at the base and a purple blotch 
running a short way along the midrib-. The petals are greenish- 
yellow, with a white blotch on the upper edge near the top, 
this distribution, of colour* being rather distinct and peculiar. 
The lip is of a light brown and glossy. Award of Merit to 
G. F. Moore, Esq. (gardener, Mr. W. H. Page), Chardwar, 
Bourt on-on-Water, Gloucester. 
Cypripedium W. H. Page. 
The parentage of this hybrid was niveuni x Boxallii 
atratum. The dorsal sepal is relatively sh-ort., elliptic and 
white, thickly spotted with purple. The narrowness of this 
segment is due to- the last-named parent, and the spotting also 
takes after it. The petals are horizontal, slightly twisted and 
white, heavily netted with purple. The lip is' white and finely 
dotted with purple. The flower, on the whole, most resembles 
C. niveum, especially in colour, but the effect of the pollen 
parent is as above indicated. Award of Merit to G. F. Moore, 
Esq. 
Cypripedium Thompsonii. 
The dorsal sepal of this hybrid (villosum aureum x Calypso) 
is orbicular and white, shaded with purple, with a. claret band 
along the centre and a. small green area at the base. The 
petals are obovate, twisted, shining and of a rich brown colour, 
with a maroon or nearly black rib. The lip is very large, 
yellow-brown and glossy. Not the least conspicuous.of its 
features are the two large side auricles or lateral lobes. Award 
of Merit to G. F. Moore, Esq. 
Cypripedium Oedippe. 
The parentage of this hybrid was spicerianum x Sailieri 
hyeanum. The dorsal sepal is obovate, bright rosei-purple, 
with a narrow white edge and a small green area at the base. 
The petals are yellow and overlaid with brown, chiefly in lines, 
but leaving the. edges of a. rich clear yellow. The lip is a rich 
brown, and altogether the hybrid conforms to the parentage. 
The finest feature of the flower is undoubtedly the large dorsal 
sepal, the central rosei-purple area of which recalls C. Charles- 
worthii. The leaves 1 are entirely green. Award of Merit to 
Captain Holford, C.I.E., C.Y.O., Westonbirt, Tetbury, Glou¬ 
cester, and Messrs. Charles-worth and Co., Heaton Bradford. 
FLORAL COMMITTEE. 
Tulioa kaufmanniana aurea. 
The importations of this Tulip give ample evidence of great 
variation, and the ground colour of the flower is mostly always 
white. That under notice is very distinct in having bright 
golden-yellow flowers 1 , with a. broad reddish-scarlet band along 
the centre of the back of the outer segments. The individual 
flowers are oblong, of large size, and apparently capable of 
being greatly improved. Award of Merit to Messrs. W. Cut- 
bush and Son, Highgate, N. 
Begonia Mrs. H. T. Dixon. 
In this we have one of the B. semp-erflorens type-, with a pro¬ 
fusion of soft pink flowers and large light green, glossy leaves. 
The chief improvement seems to be in the size of the flowers 
compared with those already in cultivation. Award of Merit 
to Mr. T. Dixon, Wood-side Nursery, Polegate, Sussex. 
Eupatorium vernale. 
The leaves of this Mexican species are heart-shaped, slightly 
elongated, dark green above and wrinkled. The plant is only 
about 18 in. high or slightly over, and produces its pure white 
floweir-heads in large terminal corymbs. It was introduced to 
Continental gardens- -early in the seventies of last century, but 
seems to have 1 been, neglected or overlooked. It is a much 
dwarfer plant than the popular E. trapezoideum, and flowers 
earlier. As only an intermediate temperature is necessary for 
its welfare, it should make a useful winter flowering subject. 
Award of Merit to- Messrs. J. Veitc-h and So-nis, Limited. 
The Horticultural Club. 
The annual meeting of the members of this club was held 
on Tuesday, the 9th ins-t,, at the Hotel Windsor, and was fol¬ 
lowed by the annual dimier under the presidency of Sir John 
D. Llewellyn, Bart., at which about eighty members and guests, 
including, on this occasion, a literally fair sprinkling of ladies. 
At the meeting a very satisfactory report of the progress of 
the club was read by the chairman, embracing not merely 
proofs of Jie increase of membership-, but also abstracts of 
the various papers read during the year by -some of the 
highest authorities in the horticultural world, attesting not 
only the social value of the club-, but its practical value as a 
factor of instruction and progress). • The membership is now 
about 140 as compared with about half that number a c-ouple 
of years back, and it is hoped that in view of the accommoda¬ 
tion afforded to those joining itt, by the possession of com¬ 
fortable quarters always available at the Hotel Windsor, its 
value as the recognised social centre of the Royal Horticultural 
Society will be -still further utilised by the ever-increasing 
number of its Fellows. 
The dinner, which was capitally arranged by the bon. secre¬ 
t-ary, Mr. E. T. Cook, was enlivened by the presence of the 
Georgian Singers, under the direction of Mr. Harry J. Stubbs, 
and their repertoire included a number of most charming songs 
rendered in an equally chariuing way, both in the shape of _ 
quartettes and s-olos, jovial and serious. Mr. C. T. Druery, 
V.M.H., gave a humoro-us reading of his own entitled “ Modern 
Chivalry,” which was extremely well received, and in every 
way the meeting was pronounced to- be one of the greatest 
social successes of the club. After the usual patriotic toasts, 
Mr. George Gordon, V.M.H., ini a- felicitous speech, proposed^ 
the toast of the Royal Horticultural Society, depicting in 
graphic terms its vicissitudes in tlie past and its triumphant 
progress of recent years, as attested at the annual meeting held 
that day at the Drill Hall, and the credit was given which was 
certainly due to the Horticultural Club, that at the darkest 
period in, the history of the society it was within the walls 
of that club that a-scheme of regeneration was formulated and 
started ivith the brilliant results in question. Mr. A. H. Pear¬ 
son responded ini an -equally happy vein. 
The toast of the club itself, proposed bv the president, Sir 
John D. Llewellyn, Bart-., was naturally bo-t-li well proposed and 
well received, Mr. George Mo-nro responding in a, humorously 
humble way as an outsider, which could hardly fail to tickle 
the fancy of all present who recognised his value- as a member 
and his general position- in the horticultural-world. Mr. Harry 
J. Veitch proposed the health of the president in his o-e-nial 
way, and the president, responding, t-o-ok the opportunity of 
