138 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
February  18,  1897. 
Miltonia  Roezli. 
While  plenty  of  small  bits  of  this  beautiful  Orchid  ara  to  be 
seen  it  is  seldom  one  come*  across  really  well  grown  healthy  speci¬ 
mens  of  large  size.  This  is  a  great  pity,  for  they  are  extremely 
beautiful  when  in  flower.  It  is  not  so  easy  as  many  of  the  genus 
to  cultivate,  and  the  fact  of  a  grower  having  produced  specimens, 
say  in  pans  a  foot  across,  and  well  furnished  to  boot,  is  ample 
evidence  of  care  and  skill  beyond  the  ordinary.  Such  plants  I  had 
the  pleasure  of  inspecting  recently,  and  though  the  blossoms  were 
not  all  open,  yet  enough  to  show  the  beauty  of  the  plants  when  so 
grown  were  expanded. 
Individually  the  blossoms  of  O.  Roezli  are  about  3  inches 
across,  the  typical  form  beiDg  pure  white  in  ground  colour,  with 
a  purple  centre,  and  a  little  yellow  about  the  crest.  The  variety  alba 
ha*  no  purple  markings,  but  simply  the  yellow  on  the  crest  of  the 
lip  ;  a  chaste  and  lovely  flower.  The  spikes  proceed  from  the 
sheathing  bases  of  the  leaves,  are  erect,  or  slightly  arching,  accord¬ 
ing  to  their  length,  and  each  bears  from  three  to  six  blossoms. 
The  plant  has  a  clustered  habit  of  growth,  and  the  rounded  com¬ 
pressed  pseudo-bulbs  are  almost  hidden  in  the  sheathing  bases  of 
the  grey  green  leaves.  The  roots  call  for  no  special  comment, 
being  similar  to  M.  vexillaria  and  other*,  but  all  in  this  section 
have  a  great  aversion  to  anything  close  or  heavy  about  them. 
This  being  so  the  greatest  care  must  be  taken  in  the  pre¬ 
paration  of  the  compost,  and  bearing  on  this  is  a  fact  that  ought 
never  to  be  lost  sight  of  by  those  who  wish  to  grow  Orchids  well, 
namely,  that  inferior  material — at  no  matter  how  low  a  figure  it 
may  be  offered — is  much  dearer  in  the  long  run  than  good  stuff  at 
a  fair  price.  Peat,  for  instance,  of  the  quality  required  for  Orchid 
culture,  is  not  obtainable  everywhere,  and  those  dealers  who  have 
choice  cuts  naturally  make  the  best  market  they  can  of  them. 
The  small  amount  of  waste  in  using  this  compared  with  the  other 
class  is  an  important  point,  but  a  still  more  important  one  is  that 
in  the  one  valuable  plants  will,  if  well  treated  in  other  ways, 
increase  in  value  ;  in  the  other  there  is  great  risk  of  losing  them 
altogether. 
As  a  basis  of  the  compost  required  for  M.  Roezli,  nothing  but 
good  fibry  peat  and  clean  freshly  gathered  sphagnum  moss  is 
necessary  ;  but  as  this,  from  its  nature,  would  hold  too  much 
moisture  and  get  into  a  very  close  condition,  a  free  addition  of 
finely  broken  crocks  and  charcoal  must  be  made  to  it.  Whether 
these  are  mixed  with  the  other  ingredients  or  added  as  potting 
proceeds  is  immaterial,  some  growers  preferring  one  way,  some  the 
other  ;  but  if  they  are  kept  separate  until  the  compost  is  being 
used  it  saves  waste  to  a  certain  extent,  and  insures  a  more  uniform 
mixture  if  this  term  can  be  allowed. 
The  best  time  to  repot  is  when  a  flush  of  young  roots  from  the 
forming  pseudo-bulbs  is  imminent,  generally  when  about  half 
grown,  this  giving  the  plants  a  direct  hold  «upon  the  new  material. 
It  may  be  taken  as  a  general  rule  that  the  plants  require  repotting 
once  in  two  years,  the  removal  of  a  little  of  the  surface  and 
replacing  with  new  compost  sufficing  for  the  intervening  season. 
D.sturb  the  plants  no  more  than  is  absolutely  necessary  ;  but  it  is 
better  to  dislodge  every  root,  even  to  wash  them  entirely  clear  of 
c  impost,  than  to  return  any  sour  or  decayed  material  into  the  new 
po'8.  Drainage  is  an  important  item,  and  if  the  ordinary  make  of 
pots  are  used  these  must  be  filled  quite  two-thirds  of  their  depth 
with  clean  crocks. 
Perhaps  more  suitable  are  the  shallow  pans,  pierced  for 
su 'pending,  and  these  must  be  quite  half  filled  or  a  little  over. 
C  >ver  with  a  film  of  rough  moss,  and  fix  the  plants  firmly  with  the 
dibber.  The  base  of  the  leading  bulbs  must  be  kept  above  the  rim, 
and  a  neat  cone-shaped  mound  of  compost  will  receive  them.  Trim 
off  all  ragged  ends  of  compost,  carefully  avoiding  the  young 
growths,  with  the  scissors  or  shears,  and  replace  the  plants  with  as 
little  delay  as  pos  ible  into  their  growing  quarters.  A  position  not 
far  from  the  roof  glass  in  a  moist  and  well  heated  situation  should 
be  chosen  for  them,  and  they  need  only  be  shaded  sufficiently  to 
prevent  injury  to  the  foliage. 
Last  season  I  saw  in  a  well-known  collection  a  batch  of  this 
species  plunged  alongside  a  fine  lot  of  Vanda  teres  in  a  totally 
unshaded  end  of  &  warm  structure,  and  the  conditions  apparently 
suited  them  well.  Until  the  roots  are  beginning  to  work  freely 
after  disturbance  water  very  carefully,  but  keep  the  atmosphere 
very  moist.  1  At  all  other  times  the  plants  delight  in  copious 
supplies  of  water  to  the  roots.  Often  when  suspended  from  the 
roof  as  described,  the  plants  will  take  water  daily,  small  ones  of 
course  needing  it  oftener  than  larger  ones  owing  to  the  limited 
capacity  of  the  receptacle  wherein  they  are  grown. 
Perhaps  the  most  frequent  of  all  causes  of  failure  is  the  attacks 
of  thrips,  to  which  C.  Roezli  is  so  subject.  These  insects  of  course 
are  in  evidence  on  many  other  Orchids,  but  they ’seem  to  quite 
paralyse  the  system  of  this  species,  and  unless  instant  means  of 
suppression  are  taken  when  they  are  first  seen  the  plants  will  soon 
be  entirely  overrun,  when  their  doom  may  be  said  to  be  sealed.  I 
have  often  described  the  best  mean*  of  destroying  these  insects  by 
fumigation  and  sponging,  so  need  say  no  more  on  that  head  at 
present ;  only  give  them  no  quarter.  If  the  insects  return  after 
apparent  destruction  repeat  the  dose  until  the  plants  are  really 
clean.  M.  Roezli  is  a  native  of  New  Grenada,  and  was  introduced 
to  this  country  in  1873. — H.  R.  R. 
FLOWERING  TREES  AND  SHRUBS. 
Deciduous. 
British  gardening  has  many  phases,  each  interesting  and 
enjoyable  in  its  own  particular  way.  Some  of  these  are  at  times 
suddenly  lifted  to  a  pedestal  of  prominence  by  the  ever  changing 
tide  of  fashion  ;  then  after  a  brief — or  it  may  be  an  extended — 
period  of  popularity  the  favoured  aspect  of  our  “  gentle  art  ”  drops 
back  into  obscurity,  often  leaving  but  little  trace  behind  to  mark 
its  reign  of  splendour.  The  above  remarks  are  especially  true  in 
regard  to  the  various  styles  of  bedding  which  have  at  different 
periods  been  in  vogue  in  our  gardens,  and  of  the  numerous  kinds  of 
florists’  flowers  so  largely  cultivated  long  ago,  but  which  have  left 
no  trace  behind  save  the  memory  of  them. 
Happily,  however,  there  are  other  aspects  of  gardening  in  which 
the  work  of  one  generation  descends  to  future  ones  a9  a  priceless 
blessing,  and  forms  a  fitting  monument  to  the  foresight  and  skill 
of  the  grand  old  gardeners  of  the  past.  Many  fine  specimens  of 
Coniferse  and  other  trees  which  have  made  the  gardens  of  Britain 
famous  show  how  important  a  branch  of  horticulture  arbori¬ 
culture  was  then  considered,  and  the  many  splendidly  laid  out 
grounds  around  stately  mansions  show  that  at  least  a  few  among 
the  gardeners  of  the  past  possessed  fine  ideas  upon  that  branch  of 
their  art.  There  still  remains,  however,  one  way  of  adding  beauty 
to  gardens  of  all  descriptions  which  has  not  received  the  amount 
of  attention  it  deserves,  I  refer  to  the  planting  of  flowering  trees 
and  shrubs. 
Much  is  being  done  in  this  direction  in  some  modern  gardens,  but 
there  are  yet  too  many  large  masses  of  common  evergreens  planted 
without  any  attempt  being  made  to  render  them  attractive  at 
various  seasons  by  the  aid  of  easily  grown  flowering  trees.  During 
recent  years  so  many  gems  of  this  description  have  been  introduced 
to  this  country,  that  there  is  variety  enough  to  suit  all  tastes.  Old 
time  gardens  had  but  a  comparatively  limited  stock  of  materials  to 
select  from,  and  this  perhaps  accounts  for  the  dearth  of  showy 
trees  which  many  ancient  gardens  exhibit.  This  gives  the  present 
generation  a  splendid  opportunity  of  enhancing  the  beauty  of 
many  a  fine  demesne  by  supplying  the  deficiency.  The  work  may 
be  easily  done  by  planting  masses  at  well  chosen  points  in  the  fore¬ 
ground  of  shrubberies  or  belts  of  trees,  and  in  some  instances 
removing  old  and  unsightly  ones,  to  afford  space  for  more  attractive 
kind*. 
Details  about  planting  I  hope  to  treat  of  in  a  subsequent  article. 
I  will  therefore  now  proceed  <  o  give  a  concise  description  of  some 
of  the  most  useful  and  beautiful  flowering  trees  and  shrubs  that  I 
am  acquainted  with.  Fortunately  the  noble  fam;ly  I  have  the 
honour  to  serve  take  great  interest  in  these  matters,  and  are 
constantly  adding  new  species  and  varieties  to  the  fine  collection 
brought  together  by  their  ancestors,  which  collection  is  greatly 
admired  by  the  many  thousands  of  visitors  who  flock  to  Warwick 
Castle. 
Alnus  glutinosa  aurea,  the  Golden  Alder,  is  well  worthy  of  a 
place  in  gardens  where  large  shrubberies  abound,  as  it  forms  a 
handsome  bush,  both  leaves  and  flowers  being  attractive  when 
growing  in  a  sunny  position.  It  thrives  well  on  dry  banks  where 
many  other  shrubs  do  not,  and  on  that  account  is  especially  useful, 
as  there  is  often  a  difficulty  in  getting  a  bright  bit  of  colour  on 
steep  banks  where  the  soil  is  shallow. 
Amelanchiers,  or  Snowy  Mespilus,  comprise  several  pretty  spring 
flowering  shrubs,  which  are  easily  grown  in  any  fairly  rich  soil,  and 
are  readily  propagated  by  cuttings  in  the  autumn.  A.  canadensis 
(the  Canadian  Pear)  is  one  of  the  most  showy  ;  it  produces  a 
wealth  of  white  flowers  in  April,  and  seldom  attains  a  height  of 
more  than  6  or  7  feet.  In  autumn  the  foliage  is  usually  very 
attractive.  A.  vulgaris  is  also  well  worth  growing  on  account  of 
the  freedom  with  which  its  white  flowers  are  produced. 
Amygdalus  (Almond). — No  class  of  flowering  trees  are  more 
