March  25,  1897. 
245 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Western  Asia,  in  North  Africa,  and  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
Broadly  speaking  the  climatic  condition*  of  these  places  are  very 
cold  or  dry  in  winter,  rainy  and  warm  in  spring,  followed  by  a 
blazing  hot  and  dry  summer  and  autumn.  Hardy  bulbs  may  suffer 
during  a  dry  and  hot  spring,  but  they  cannot  well  have  too  much 
moisture  at  the  roots  when  in  growth,  and  they  enjoy  warmth  and 
drought  when  at  rest. 
In  order  to  grow  bulbs  to  the  best  advantage  for  trade  purposes 
they  must  all  be  lifted  and  replanted  every  year.  Here  again  we 
must  follow  out  the  good  gardener’s  axiom  of  doing  the  right  thing 
in  the  right  way  or  manner,  and  at  the  right  time.  The  bulbs 
must  be  dug  or  lifted  as  soon  as  the  leaves  turn  yellow  and  fade, 
in  June  or  July  at  latest.  Above  all  dig  too  early  rather  than  too 
late  ;  dig  before  the  leaves  fade  entirely  rather  than  after  new 
roots  grow  from  the  base  of  the  bulb.  On  most  deep,  rich,  sandy 
soils  bulbs,  such  as  Narcissi  and  Tulips,  &c.,  ripen  off  in  June  or 
July,  and  should  then  be  dug,  assorted,  and  cleaned  ready  for  sale 
or  replanting.  A  light,  dry,  and  airy  bulb  shed,  fitted  with  lath  or 
open-work  shelves  is  convenient  for  storage  ;  but  much  may  be 
done  with  strong  lath  boxes  that  will  stack  one  above  another  in 
field  or  garden,  and  which  can  be  covered  over  temporarily  when 
it  rains. 
The  first  thing  is  to  select  the  land  most  suitable  to  bulbs  of 
various  kinds.  Even  in  Holland  and  other  places  where  bulbs  are 
and  have  long  been  a  special  culture,  success  can  only  be  assured  on 
certain  plots  of  suitable  soil.  Again,  the  land  that  grows  the  best 
Hyacinths  is  not  *o  suitable  for  Narcissi,  or  for  Tulips,  even  in 
Holland.  I  think  the  Dutch  pre-eminence  in  bulb  culture  is  more 
due  to  their  methodical  thrift  and  skilful  industry — an  hereditary 
gift  to  them — rather  than  to  the  super-excellence  of  their  soils  or 
.  their  climate. 
Where  suitable  land  can  be  had,  and  it  is  tolerably  level,  a 
plough  followed  by  a  three-pronged  cultivator  to  loosen  the 
subsoil,  may  be  used  with  economy,  but  in  rocky  plots  on  a  steep 
gradient,  and  elsewhere  on  small  areas,  the  »pade  is  the  best 
implement  to  use.  Again,  land,  however  good,  won’t  grow  bulbs 
year  after  year  for  ever,  without  manure  or  some  recuperative 
rotation  of  cropping.  On  large  bulb  farms  the  ground  is  'well 
tilled  and  enriched  for  vegetable  crops,  or  Clover  and  Rye  Grass, 
and  then  well  worked  after  these  for  bulbs  to  follow.  In  any  case, 
never  use  crude  or  farmyard  manures  direct  for  bulbs.  Bone 
superphosphate,  and  wood  ashes  or  kainit,  may  be  worked  into  the 
soil  with  advantage  a  week  or  so  before  the  bulbs  are  planted. 
I  have  also  seen  nitrate  of  soda  and  wood  ashes  and  soil  used  with 
advantage  in  February  as  a  top-dressing. 
There  are  in  England  to-day  thousands  of  acres  of  derelict  land 
suited  for  bulb  culture.  All  around  our  sea  coasts,  especially, 
there  are  sheltered  sunny  nooks  and  valleys  that  are  unvexed  by 
wind  and  unscathed  by  biting  frosts,  even  during  our  usual  winter 
season.  These  places  require  selection  and  utilisation  ;  in  a  word, 
we  must  discover  our  own  land.  You  don’t  want  the  expensive 
horse  power,  the  deep  tilth,  and  the  heavy  manurings  necessary  for 
Swedes  or  Mangolds  in  order  to  grow  bulbs  successfully,  but  you 
must  have  a  loam  sufficiently  sandy  to  be  workable  even  during  a 
rainy  season.  (To  be  continued0 
Oncidium  splendidttm. 
I  am  quite  persuaded  that  amongst  the  many  Orchids  in  bloom 
with  us  at  the  present  time  there  is  none  claiming  greater  attention 
than  the  beautiful  Guatemalan  species,  Oncidium  splendidum,  and 
considering  the  perfect  ease  with  which  it  may  be  grown  it  is  not 
only  worthy  of  inclusion  among  large  collections,  but  is  quite  as 
essential  in  those  of  the  small  amateur  growers.  To  grow  it 
successfully  place  the  plants  in  shallow  baskets  or  pans,  using  a 
compost  of  peat  and  sphagnum  moss.  After  potting  the  pans 
should  be  su°pended  from  the  roof  of  a  house  having  a  temperature 
of  from  55°  to  65°  during  the  summer,  shading  from  strong  sun¬ 
shine  and  giving  free  supplies  of  water  as  growth  advances, 
diminishing  during  the  autumn  months.  I  have  seen  many  fine 
plants  fail  to  produce  their  flower  spikes  through  a  check  of  water 
during  the  summer  time.  The  flowers,  which  are  produced  on 
strong  upright  spikes,  have  the  sepals  and  petals  banded  with 
bright  brown  ;  but  perhaps  the  predominating  feature  is  the  broad 
lip,  which  is  of  a  lovely  shade  of  bright  yellow,— R.  P. 
Trichoglottis  cockle aris. 
This  pretty  little  Orchid  does  not  seem  to  be  very  generally 
known,  judging  by  its  rare  appearance,  even  in  large  collections. 
The  plant  is  dwarf  in  habit,  and  has  thick  slightly  channelled 
leaves  arranged  in  Yanda-like  manner  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
stem.  The  flowers  are  borne  three  or  four  together  in  small 
racemes  springing  from  the  axils  of  the  upper  leaves,  md  are 
remarkably  pretty.  The  sepals  are  lanceolate  ;  the  petals  are 
broader  and  rounder  at  the  upper  part,  both  being  pure  white 
barred  with  bright  purple  —  a  charming  contrast.  The  lip  is 
curiously  hollowed  or  scoop-like,  terminating  beneath  in  a  short 
conical  spur,  and  the  form  being  somewhat  suggestive  of  a  shell 
has  given  rise  to  the  specific  name  adopted.  Trichoglottis  cochlearis 
is  a  native  of  Sumatra,  whence  it  was  introduced  by  Messrs." 
J.  Yeitch  &  Sons  a  few  years  ago. 
VARIATIONS  OF  SEEDLINGS  FROM  FRUIT. 
No  doubt  raising  seedling  fruit  has  for  many  years  been  a 
matter  of  great  interest  to  those  who  have  entered  all  forms  of 
fruit  culture,  and  pomologists  have  attempted,  with  more  or  less 
success,  to  secure  improved  varieties  of  fruit  with  rather  less  than 
more  success.  One  name,  that  of  Andrew  Ivnigbt,  has  achieved  a 
lasting  reputation  in  England,  and  the  name  of  Van  Mons  in 
Belgium  is  equally  well  known  as  the  raiser  of  numerous  Pears, 
the  greater  part  of  which  have  not  retained  the  position  he 
claimed  for  them.  The  Pear  known  by  his  name,  the  “  Van  Mons,” 
(Leon  le  Clerc)  not  being  a  seedling,  but  named  by  the  raiser 
(Leon  le  Clerc)  as  a  compliment,  the  compliment  being  returned 
by  a  Pear  named  Leon  le  Clerc  (Van  Mons),  a  very  inferior  fruit, 
and  fit  only  for  the  kitchen.  . 
The  number  of  Pears  described  by  Andr£  Leroy  and  Dr.  Hogg 
testify  to  the  persistent  attempts  of  seedling  fruit  raisers  to  obtain 
Pears  of  superior  quality.  It  is  natural  to  suppose  that  for  this 
purpose  the  fruit  selected  for  sowing  would  be  of  the  best  quality, 
and  yet  how  disappointing  are  the  results.  New  fruits  aPPear 
and  disappear  in  regular  order,  for  whether  the  failure  is  caused  by 
soil  or  climate,  it  is  seldom  indeed  that  varieties  carefully  cherished 
by  the  raiser  fulfil  the  description  given  of  their  qualities. 
The  eccentric  differences  observable  in  Pears  alone  are 
exasperating.  Crossing  with  sorts  possessing  superior  qualities 
does  not  appear  to  give  any  special  results  ;  there  is  always  the 
1  element  of  chance,  and  the  careful  experimenter  is  beaten  by  a 
