March  1,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTIGULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
173 
little  extra  warmth  in  early  spring  is  advisable.  For  compost  use  the 
ordinary  peat  and  moss  mixture,  giving  good  drainage  and  pots  of 
medium  size. 
Trichocentrum  albo-purpureum. 
Though  not  a  showy  Orchid,  this  is  very  interesting  and  pretty, 
and  a  few  plants  may  be  grown  where  a  variety  is  liked.  The  flowers 
(fig.  45)  are  small,  have  brownish  and  green  sepals  and  a  white  lip 
with  a  purple  spot  on  each  side  of  the  crest.  A  native  of  Brazil,  it 
should  be  allowed  a  fair  amount  of  heat  and  moisture ;  but  the  plant 
is  too  small  for  growing  in  large  pots,  and  the  most  likely  plan  to 
45,— TRfCHOCENtRtTM 
succeed  with  it  is  placing  the  plants  upon  soft  blocks  of  Tree  Pern 
stem  with  a  little  moss  about  their  roots,  though  some  growers 
succeed  with  it  in  pans.  A  fair  amount  of  moisture  all  the  year  round 
is  better  than  very  widely  divergent  treatment  summer  and  winter. 
Cymbidium  Devonianum. 
A  well-flowered  plant  of  this  species  with  its  pendulous  spikes  of 
blossom,  each  one  a  study  in  browns,  is  very  interesting  and  pretty, 
but,  unfortunately,  it  is  much  too  rarely  seen.  I  noted  a  fine  specimen 
with  ten  spikes  during  the  week,  and  though  flowering  earlier  than 
usual  was  none  the  less  welcome.  Its  best  position  is  suspended  in  a 
basket  near  the  roof,  and  though  many  cultivators  still  keep  it  in  a 
hothouse  the  specimen  above  referred  to  was  grown  in  a  cool 
temperature.  Ample  moisture  and  a  substantial  compost  are  needed. 
LiELIA  JONGHEANA. 
This  being  the  season  when  the  flowers  of  this  Laelia  may  be 
expected  those  having  plants  from  the  recent  importation  will  have  an 
interesting  flower  to  look  forward  to,  and,  unlike  most  kinds,  one  which 
the  majority  of  growers  have  not  seen.  It  will  never  probably  gain 
any  very  important  place,  but  it  will  be  useful  for  hybridising,  and 
possibly  good  forms  of  it  may  turn  up.  Although  so  rare  before  the 
discovery  lately,  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  it  has  been  known  for 
just  upon  half  a  century,  having  been  discovered  in  1854.  Then  it 
was  probably  lost  sight  of  for  a  number  of  years. — H.  R.  R. 
Fig.  44.— Oncipium  crispdm  grandiflordm. 
yearjit  is  quite  possible  to  overwater  t' is  species,  and  a  frequent 
mistake  made  in  its  cu  ture  is  overdrying  ihe  roots  in  winter.  It  likes 
a  good  supply  of  water  when  growth  and  roots  are  both  active,  and  a 
Oncipium  crispum  grandiflorum. 
Yes,  “  R.  J.  H.,”  there  is  an  Oncidium  crispum  grandiflorum,  and 
your  supposition  that  it  should  be  Odontoglossum  crispum  grandi¬ 
florum  is  an  erroneous  one.  This  Oncidium  was  placed  before  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society  upwards  of  ten  years  ago,  when  it  was 
awarded  a  first-class  certificate  by  the  Orchid  Committee.  The  flowers 
(fig.  44)  were  of  great  size,  over  3  inches  in  diameter  ;  the  sepals  and 
petals  deep  brown,  with  some  yellow  markings,  the  base  of  the  lip 
having  a  broad  rich  yellow  band.  It  was  exhibited  by  Mr.  J.  Charles- 
worth,  of  Heaton,  Yorks. 
Oncidium  spilopterum. 
This  species  is  well  worth  growing  on  account  of  its  very  bright 
and  showy  appearance  when  in  flower,  the  fine  chrome  yellow  tint  of 
the  segments  being  unsurpassed  in  the  genus.  Anyone  having  an 
intermediate  house  a  little  warmer  than  where  the  coolest  section  of 
Odontoglossum s  thrive  will  be  able  to  grow  it  to  perfection,  and  a 
suitable  compost  will  be  found  in  equal  parts  peat  and  moss,  with  a 
few  pieces  of  broken  charcoal  and  crocks.  The  pots  must  he  of 
medium  size  only,  and  water  in  small  quantities  only  is  required.  A 
native  of  large  tracts  of  country  in  South  America,  it  naturally  varies 
a  good  deal,  but  all  the  forms  are  effective. 
Cattleya  ScHRODER/E. 
To  many  people  the  idea  that  one  form  of  C.  labiata  is  better  than 
another  seems  absurd,  but  for  beauty  I  am  doubtful  if  there  is  one  to 
beat  C.  SchrSderae.  Its  charm  lies  in  the  beautifully  crisped  petals 
and  lip,  and  in  that  delicate  heliotrope-like  odour  always  noticed  in  a 
house  wherein  it  may  be  flowering.  There  are  several  varieties  of  it, 
one  especially  pretty  form  having  pale  mauve  sepals  and  petals,  with 
a  rather  deeper  lip  covered  partly  with  a  deep  orange  yellow  blotch. 
There  is  also  a  white  form,  but  it  is  not  the  best  of  the  albinos  by  any 
means,  as  it  lacks  that  snowy  whiteness  so  characteristic  of  some  of 
the  others,  such  as  C.  Mossim  Wagneri. 
For  cultural  purposes  group  it  with  0.  Trianse,  of  which  some 
jauthorities  make  it  a  variety,  and  allow  it  a  light  airy  position 
with  the  Brazilian  species  generally.  Paring  the  parly  months  of  thq 
