februarv  15.  1900. 
JOURXAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AXD  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
131 
Ctpripedil'm  Mbs.  Fred  Hardy. 
^  C.  Mrs.  Feed  Hardy  was  exhibited  by  Messrs.  F.  Sander  &  Co., 
St.  Albans,  in  the  early  part  of  1895,  when  it  was  honoured  by  the 
Orchid  Committee  of  the  Eoyal  Horticultural  Society.  It  was  obtained 
from  a  cross  between  C.  superbiens  and  C.  bellatulum,  and  traces 
of  both  |>arents  are  readily  observable.  The  petals  are  very  striking 
and  of  much  substance,  with  purplish  spots  on  an  almost  pure  white 
ground.  The  lip  is  somewhat  small,  and  is  of  a  dull  white  flushed 
with  rose  colour,  darkening  towards  the  mouth.  The 
dorsal  sepal  is  white  faintly  tinged  with  green,  and  having 
rows  of  dark  maroon  spots. 
La:lia  haepophtlla. 
A  GOOD  form  ot  this  plant  flowering  now  is  about  as 
cheery  and  bright  an  object  as  can  well  be  imagined,  and 
though  the  individual  flowers  do  not  come  up  to  L.  purpu- 
rata  and  similar  kinds  for  size,  they  are  at  least  equally 
beautiful  and  useful.  Slender  growing  and  not  particularly 
strong  rooting,  L.  harpophylla  does  not  need  a  large 
receptacle,  but  in  a  cool,  intermediate  temperature,  with 
small  pots  or  baskets,  it  thrives  well.  Severe  drying  in 
winter  is  not  to  be  recommended,  and  care  is  needed  to 
keep  it  clear  of  white  scale. 
DeXDROBIUM  SUBCLiUSUil. 
Bright  red  Dendrobiums  are  not  common,  and  on  this 
account,  D.  subclausum,  a  rather  small-flowered  specie^ 
recently  introduced  by  Messrs.  Veitch  &  Sons,  will  be 
worth  noting.  Pushing  a  large  number  of  smallish  bulbs 
from  a  slender  central  one,  it  reminds  one  a  little  of 
D.  Falconer!,  but  the  resemblance  ends  with  the  habit,  as 
the  flowers  are  totally  different,  being  small  and  tubular. 
Ample  heat  and  a  very  moist  atmosphere  during  the  growing 
season  suit  it  well,  and  the  effect  of  a  plant  of  it  well 
flowered  is  very  light  and  pretty. 
Epide^’dbems. 
The  recent  award  of  a  first-class  certificate  to  the 
hybrid  Epidendrum  figured  on  page  89  was  probably  a 
surprise  to  many.  Not  but  that  it  richly  deserved  the 
honour,  for  it  is  a  very  beautiful  plant,  but  the  genus 
has  long  been  under  a  cloud  that  as  yet  shows  little  signs 
of  lifting,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  hybrid  will 
be  the  forerunner  of  others.  Kespecting  the  genus  as  a 
whole  it  may  be  termed  a  New  World  congener  of  the 
Old  World  Dendrobium,  and  the  similarity  of  the  name  is 
also  to  be  noted. 
Like  Dendrobium,  it  contains  a  few  plants  that  are 
little  better  than  botanical  curiosities,  weeds  of  the  great 
Orchid  family,  but  it  also  contains  some  splendid  garden 
plants.  Take  one  of  the  parents  of  the  hybrid  referred 
to  as  an  instance — viz.,  E,  Wallisi.  This  is  a  very  fine 
plant,  and  the  only  reason  I  can  think  of  that  it  is  not 
more  grown,  is  that  in  the  rush  for  new  Cattleyas  and  Lselio- 
Cattleyas,  Odontoglots,  and  Cypripediums,  about  all  of  which  there 
is  a  great  similarity,  the  more  varied  beauties  of  the  Epidendrums 
have  been  overlooked. 
Of  quite  a  different  class  is  the  richly’ tinted  E.  nemorale,  a 
plant  well  worth  a  place  in  all  collections,  and  of  course  the  orange 
and  scarlet  E.  vitellinum  is  equally  worthy.  But  this  is  not  a 
neglected  plant  by  any  means  ;  instead  it  is  one  of  the  most  popular. 
E.  radicans,  again,  gets  a  fair  shade  of  attention,  but  not  as  much 
as  it  deserves. 
Orchid  that  dislikes  root  disturbance,  and  the  most  lasting  description 
of  compost  must  on  this  account  be  allowed.  Taken  as  a  Avhole,  there 
are  few  months  in  the  year  when  a  house  devoted  lo  Epidendrums 
was  without  flower,  aijd  to  gather  together  and  cultivate  a  repre¬ 
sentative  collection  w'ould  be  very  interesting. 
COMPARETTIA  FALCATA. 
This  is  a  very  charming  little  Orchid,  not  often  seen  in  creditable 
condition,  for,  like  others  of  a  similar  habit,  there  is  not  much  to 
come  and  go  on,  and  the  result  of  a  severe  check  is  to  so  paralyse 
the  whole  system  of  the  plant  that  recovery  is  slow  and  doubtful. 
But  newly  imported  pieces  usually  go  on  and  flower  for  a  year  or 
two,  and  from  these  it  is  evident  that  the  plant  would  become 
popular  were  it  less  fastidious.  There  are  no  doubt  many  places  up 
and  down  the  country  where  C.  falcata  has  been  grown  and  flowered 
for  a  considerable  period,  but  they  are  few  in  comparison  with  the 
number  of  Orchid  collections  generally. 
Fig.  33.— Ctpripedium  Mrs.  Fred  Hardy. 
One  such  instance  I  know,  and  in  this  case  the  plants  thrive  well 
in  a  cool  light  fernery  on  a  lattice  stage  over  an  open  tank.  Any 
receptacle  that  allows  of  perfect  ventilation  to  the  roots  and  does 
not  hold  a  very  large  amount  of  compost  will  suit  it  well,  and  a  very 
useful  material  is  Tree  Fern  stem  cut  into  short  lengths.  The  flowers, 
purplish  red  in  colour,  are  usually  an  inch  or  so  across,  borne  about 
half  a  dozen  together  on  pendant  spikes.  The  plant  is  widely  distri¬ 
buted  in  Guatemala,  Cuba,  and  Ecuador,  and  possibly  in  other  adjacent 
countries.  It  is  an  old  species  in  gardens,  having  been  figured  in  the 
“  Botanical  Register  ”  in  1840. — H.  R.  R. 
Perhaps  the  most  beautiful  of  all  is  E.  bicornutum,  with  its  white 
starry  blossoms  growing  from  the  top  of  its  pseudo-bulbs.  The  latter,  1 
hollow  as  a  horn,  have  been  found  very  difficult  to  keep  up  to  size  for  ; 
any  number  of  years,  and  though  a  few  cases  are  on  record  c  f  successful  i 
culture  extending  over  a  considerable  period,  the  fact  remains  that  I 
it  is  a  difficult  species.  An  atmo-phere  -well  quickened  by  heat, 
always  reeking  with  moisture,  constantly  changing,  and  never  shaded,  | 
was  what  I  was  told  years  ago  suited  this  plant.  i 
Alter  vainly  tryh  g  to  get  it,  I  grew  the  plmt  in  the  lightest  part  ' 
of  the  East  Indian  house,  and  w'as  fairly  successful  with  it  It  is  an  1 
Fruit  Stoxes.  —  The  stones  of  Peaches,  Apricots,  Nectarines 
Plums,  and  Prunes,  heretofore  thrown  away  or  used  for  fuel  in  Cali¬ 
fornia,  are  now  articles  of  commerce,  and  realise  from  8  dols.  to  10  dols.  a 
ton  delivered  in  San  Francisco.  From  the  Apricot  kernel  French  “  nut 
candy  ”  is  made,  displacing  the  Almond.  Cinnamon,  allspice,  and  nut¬ 
meg  are  adulterated  with  this  same  spurce,  ground  and  highly  pre¬ 
pared.  Prussic  acid  and  essence  nd  oil  of  almonds  are  made  from  the 
Peach  and  Prune  stones,  and  these  flavours  are  used  in  a  thousand 
different  ways. 
