240 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  22,  1900. 
of  his  frequent  visits,  however,  Sir  Trevor  also  noted  the  fact ;  and, 
not  content  with  a  distant  view,  mounted  the  steps  and  stage  for  a 
closer  inspection,  which  revealed  the  fact  that  the  growths  which  had 
been  taken  for  moss  were  really  small  plants.  At  least  two  of  these 
remain  on  the  roots,  and  the  remainder  have  been  placed  in  small  pots 
to  grow/.  Whence  these  seedlings  came,  and  what  the  plants  wi  1 
prove  to  be,  are  equally  unknown,  but  the  latter  will,  it  is  hoped,  be 
elucidated  in  the  future.  Vanda  coerulescens  is  flowering  in  another 
position  in  the  same  structure,  while  the  handsome  V.  coerulea  finds 
an  apparently  congenial  place  in  another  house,  where  it  is  hoped  it 
will  flower  freely.  The  green-leaved  Phatenopsis  grow  apace,  one 
plant  having  made  eight  leaves  during  the  past  twelve  months  ;  the 
marbled-leaved  types  also  look  w’onderfully  well.  There  are  hundreds 
of  other  plants  in  this  house  alone. 
Occupying  a  position  in  front  of  an  immense  basket  of  the  pure 
white  form  of  Coelogyne  cristata  are  some  plants  of  Lselia  harpophylla, 
and  the  combination  of  colour  is  peculiarly  pleasing.  Ltelia  Cowani 
is  also  close  by,  as  are  Lewisias,  though  the  latter  are  not  in  flower. 
Proceeding,  we  find  numbers  of  Epidendrums  in  various  places, 
including  radicans,  Endresi,  elegantulum,  Endresio- Wallisi, 
xantbinum,  and  others,  besids  s  Vanilla  Wight!  in  flower,  and  Maxillaria 
leptosepala,  Promenea  citrina,  Angrsecum  eburneum,  Cymbidiums, 
Cattleyas,  and  Odontoglossums.  So  one  might  go  on  naming  plant 
after  plant,  until  long  ere  finis  could  be  written  several  pages  of  the 
Journal  of  Horticulture  would  be  covered.  There  are  the  plants  and 
there  it  is  hoped  they  will  remain  and  continue  in  the  same  excellent 
health  that  characterises  the  majority  of  them  at  present,  despite  the 
fact  that  Box  Hill  frowns  above  and  deprives  the  garden  and  its 
occupants  of  much  light  and  air. — Orache. 
Dendrobiums  at  Woodhatcli,  Reigate. 
I  SAW  a  really  wonderful  show  of  these  beautif  il  Orchids  in  flow'er 
a  short  time  ago  at  the  above  place.  Mr.  Haywood  had  probably  just 
then  one  of  the  finest  displays  of  Dendrobes  to  be  seen  anywhere, 
some  300  being  in  bloom,  of  which  not  less  than  200  w'ere  seedlings, 
raised  by  Mr.  Salter  a  few  years  since,  from  several  crosses.  But 
apart  from  their  being  such,  there  was  great  interest  attached  to  their 
splendid  condition. 
This  first  set  of  seedlings  were  between  four  and  five  years  ol  1,  and 
were  all  in  32  and  24-sized  pots,  with  the  exception  of  a  noble  plant 
of  the  variety  “  Virgil,”  of  which  form  there  are  many,  and  which  was 
in  an  8-inch  pot,  carrying  several  fine  spikes.  Growths  of  the  latv  st 
production  ranged  from  20  to  40  inches  in  height,  and  were  propor¬ 
tionally  stout.  Possibly  being  so  far  maiden  plants  they  have  in  them 
greater  robustness  than  propagated  ones  have,  but  that  is  not  certain. 
In  any  case  the  culture  is  ot  the  very  best.  The  plants  have  ample 
light  and  air,  and  are  kept  rather  cool  than  warm.  The  houses,  for 
they  occupied  three  in  one  long  lean-to  range,  are  scrupulously  clean 
and  comparatively  dry.  N )  stimulants  are  used,  and  the  sole  rooting 
medium  is  sphagnum  moss,  with  a  few  crocks. 
It  was  difiBcult  to  look  upon  such  an  unusual  sight  of  Dendrobiura 
florescence  without  a  pang,  on  hearing  that  large  numbers  of  these 
plants  would  be  offered  for  sale  by  Protheroe  &  Morris  on  the  16th  inst. 
The  present  collection  has  come  from  Ainsworth!  X  nobile  roseum, 
which  has  produced  the  beautiful  white  “  Virgil  ”  strain ;  hetero- 
carpum  X  splendidissimum,  and  Ainsworth!  x  heterocarpum.  Some 
specially  fine  forms  will  not  be  parted  wiUi  at  present.  Another 
stock  of  seedlings  yet  in  small  pots  has  been  raised  by  crossing 
other  and  possibly  choicer  varieties.  Mr.  Salter’s  success  has  been 
remarkable,  and  if  he  worked  on  a  liberal  scale  could  soon  make 
Dendrobium  plants  for  the  million.  But  orchidists  do  not  want  that 
to  occur. — A.  D. 
In  Cheapside. 
Were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  the  great  horticultural  auctioneering 
firm  of  Protheroe  &  Morris  has  its  headquarters  there,  people  would 
hardly  look  for  Orchids  in  Cheapside.  The  result  of  this  location, 
however,  is  that  at  various  times  many  valuable  Orchids  ceme  and 
go ;  in  fact,  some  of  the  most  important  Orchid  sales  in  the  world 
take  place  there.  Natunliy  enough,  these  vary  in  extent  and 
importance,  but  there  is  usually  something  of  interest  at  every 
weekly  meeting.  There  are  those  among  Orchid  enthusiasts  who 
set  Friday  entirely  apart,  so  that  they  may  not  be  debarred  from 
attendance  at  Cheapside.  They  may  not  always  bo  buyers,  but  their 
interest  is  so  keen  that  they  must  go,  and  if  they  do  not  enter 
into  the  bidding,  derive  satisfaction  from  knowing  who  does.  Some 
of  the  habitues  buy  for  their  own  collections,  while  others  accept  the 
wmrk  on  commission,  and  amongst  them  may  be  found  men  whose 
knowledge  of  the  commercial  value  of  Orchids  cannot  be  surpassed, 
and  probably  is  unrivalled. 
On  Friday,  March  16th,  many  exceptionally  important  lots  were 
to  come  under  the  hammer,  and  we  made  our  way  to  Cheapside  as 
spectators  of  men  and  manners.  The  sale  room  was  a  veritable  paradise 
of  Dendrobiums  from  Surrey,  Phaius  from  the  Tyne,  Odontoglossums 
from  Belgium,  Cattleyas  and  Laelio-Cattleyas  from  France,  and 
hundreds  of  others  from  various  quarters.  Buyers,  too,  were  numerous, 
and  while  they  were  apathetic  enough  when  plants  of  mediocre  merit 
— in  the  eyes  of  experts — were  to  the  fore,  they  were  wonderfully 
keen  in  scenting  out  anything  above  the  ordinary.  The  no  Is  and 
winks,  of  which  the  bidding  appeared  mainly  to  consist,  were  then 
rapid — at  least  this  was  the  conclusion  arrived  at  from  the  celerity 
with  which  the  presiding  genius  ran  up  the  scale  of  figures.  For 
one  Dendrobium  a  bidder  calmly  offered  8s.,  and  retired  from  active 
participation  when  ISs.  was  reached  ;  the  plant  was  eventually  knocked 
down  at  4^  guineas.  It  was  not  much  to  look  at,  but  the  experts,  in 
everyday  parlance,  “  knew  something.” 
Amongst  the  conspicuous  lots  were  a  splendid  specimen  of  Eulo- 
phiella  Peefirsi,  which  a  buyer  was  fortunate  enough  to  secure  for 
20  guineas  ;  the  chastely  beautiful  Dendrobium  nobile  Viiginalis, 
carrying  about  two  dozen  flowers,  which  remained  unsold  at  74  guineas  ; 
a  hybrid  Odontoglossum  which  fetched  20  guineas,  and  0.  Loo- 
christiense,  24  guineas.  A  plant  in  sheath  of  Lselio-Cattleya  Digbyano- 
Mendeli  (Imperatrice  de  Piussie),  from  Mons.  Ch.  Marou,  reached 
90  guineas  and  remained  unsold,  as  the  reserve  was  100  guineas,  but 
it  was  said,  subsequently  changed  hands  at  50  guineas,  at  which  figure 
it  was  secured  for  Lord  Eoihschild,  who  was  indeed,  by  proxy,  a 
large  buyer.  Laelio-Cattleya  Ernesti,  carrying  three  flowers,  fetched 
32  guineas,  as  also  did  L.-C.  Lucasiana.  L.-C.  Captain  Percy  Scott 
and  L.-C.  Minerva  brought  20  guineas  and  15  guineas  respectively, 
and  L.-C.  Edouard  Andre  28  guineas,  these  being  some  of  the  heaviest 
prices.  A  numl  er  of  plants  of  Odontoglossum  crispum,  Pacho  type, 
in  splendid  condition,  from  Mons.  Florent  Claes,  ranged  between 
10s.  and  15s.  apiece  and  sold  rapidly.  With  a  few  exceptions  the 
well  grown  seedling  Dendrobiums  did  not  realise  high  prices,  partly 
because  several  were  not  of  superlative  merit,  and  partly  because  they 
were  so  numerous.  As  an  example  of  the  fluctuation  it  may  be  said 
that  one  set  of  three  realised  £3  15s.,  and  another  fet  only  63.  Some, 
of  the  plants  of  D.  Virgil  went  well,  as  did  the  Woodhatch  Lodge 
variety  of  D.  Ainsworth!,  while  D.  Ballianum  fetched  guineas. 
And  so  we  might  proceed  naming  price  after  price,  but  space 
forbids.  There  were  quality  and  quantity  both  largely  represented, 
and  the  interest  in  the  sale  was  excellently  maintained.  The  proceed¬ 
ings  were  quiet  as  a  rule,  but  an  occasional  flash  of  humour  helped 
the  Orchids  in  brightening  the  sale  room  and  its  occupants. 
A  Great  Specialist. 
The  late  Mr,  Edward  Joseph  Lowe,  whose  death  was  recorded 
last  week,  was  a  specialist  of  an  exceptional  character,  and  besides  his 
numerous  personal  frierds,  all  Fern  lovers  and  students  will  unite  in 
sincere  regret  at  the  bss  we  have  sustained.  As  a  cultivator  and 
collector  of  the  varied  forms  of  British  Ferns  he  was  indefatigable  and 
successful,  but  beyond  this  he  was  a  philosophical  and  scientific  experi¬ 
mentalist  and  investigator  of  rare  patience  and  persistence.  Of  the 
numerous  works  Mr.  Lowe  had  written  the  most  recent  was  perhaps 
the  most  interesting — namely,  “  Fern  Growing,  Fifty  Years.’  Experience 
in  Crossing  and  Cultivation.”  In  this  book  he  detailed  his  experi¬ 
ments  in  hybridising  and  crossing  Ferns,  and  sets  forth  reasons  and 
facts  in  support  of  multiple  parentage,  which  have  attracted  wide 
attention,  though  all  pteudologists  do  not  agree  in  the  conclusions  at 
which  he  arrived. 
The  other  works  on  Ferns  which  we  owe  to  his  pen  are  entitled 
“Our  Native  Ferns,”  “British  and  Exotic  Ferns,”  “  New  and  Rare 
Ferns,”  and  “  British  Ftrns,  and  Where  Found.”  Some  of  these  are 
finely  illustrated  by  coloired  plates,  and  constitute  a  library  of  Fern 
lore,  unrivalled  as  the  work  of  one  man.  Other  works  of  horticultural 
interest  which  Mr.  Lowe  produced  at  intervals  are  “British  Grasses’' 
and  “  Beautiful  Leaved  Plant's.” 
As  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Royal  Meteorological  Society  in  1850, 
Mr.  Lowe  did  further  gooi  service ;  he  devoted  much  time  for  many 
years  to  meteorological  w)rk,  and  he  was  the  author  of  several  treatises 
on  weather  ebservations  and  phenomena.  In  addition  to  being  a  Fellow 
of  many  scientific  societies,  he  had  received  some  well-merited  honours 
in  recognitien  of  his  biolojical  work.  He  was  elected  a  Fellow  of  the 
Royal  Society  in  1867,  anc  an  honorary  life  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Horti¬ 
cultural  Seciety  in  1872,  the  year  in  which  he  acted  as  honorary 
’secretary  at  the  Nottinghan  meeting.  At  the  Nottingham  meeting  of 
the  Britisi  Association  in  1866  he  was  also  appointed  honorary  secretarv. 
Mr.  iowe  was  born  it  Highfield  House,  Nottinghamshire,  on 
November  11th,  1825,  and  removed  to  Shirenewton  Hall,  Monmouth¬ 
shire,  inT880,  where  he  continued  the  studies  which  gained  him  so 
mucb  fsme  in  Nottinghamshire.  He  was  essentially  a  true  naturalist, 
and,  aptrt  from  his  botanical  investigations,  he  was  much  interested  in 
Conchaogy,  while  amongst  the  numerous  achievements  chronicled  in 
one  of  his  works  he  claims  to  have  been  the  “  discoverer  of  a  new 
BritisP  worm.” — R.  L.  C, 
