482 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  3,  1897. 
CYPRIPEDIUM  VILLOSUM  AUREUM. 
Compared  with  this  superb  variety,  the  ordinary  types  of 
C.  villosum  are  commonplace.  In  the  first  place  the  flowers  are 
larger,  they  are  much  more  brilliant  in  colouring,  and  owing  to 
their  greater  substance  last  a  good  deal  longer  in  good  condition. 
The  stems  are  green  instead  of  purplish,  the  dorsal  sepal  has  a 
distinct  white  margin,  the  body  of  the  segment  being  bright 
golden  yellow  ;  petals  and  lip  are  both  golden  yellow  externally, 
the  lower  part  of  the  former  having  the  usual  shining  brown  tint. 
It  thrives  and  blooms  most  profusely  under  the  same  conditions  as 
the  old  C.  villosum. 
CCELOGYNE  CRISTATA  (TRENTHAM  VARIETY). 
This  is  still  in  capital  condition,  the  lovely  sprays  of  pure  white 
blossoms  with  lemon  tinted  lip  being  most  useful  for  sprays  and 
buttonholes  now  the  ordinary  varieties  of  C.  cristata  are  over. 
The  pseudo-bulbs  are  more  ovate,  not  so  round  as  those  of  the 
type,  and  occur  at  longer  intervals  upon  the  wiry  rhizome.  This 
necessitates  more  frequent  repotting,  or  at  any  rate  packing  up 
with  compost,  as  if  the  growths  push  far  above  the  compost  line 
they  cannot  so  readily  obtain  sustenance  from  it.  Otherwise  the 
treatment  is  the  same — a  cool,  moist,  and  shady  atmosphere  and 
regular  moisture  at  the  roots. 
Oncidium  Kramerianum. 
This  fine  species  has  been  in  flower  since  January,  and  it  is 
now  pushing  up  fresh  flower  spikes.  The  blossoms  occur  singly 
in  a  long  succession  at  the  top  of  a  long  wiry  peduncle  that  rises 
from  the  side  of  the  pseudo-bulb.  It  is  well  known  for  its 
striking  resemblance  to  a  butterfly,  the  upper  sepals  taking  the 
place  of  the  antennas  of  the  insect,  the  lip  and  petals  that  of  the 
wings.  The  colour  is  a  bright  golden  yellow,  with  reddish  brown 
markings.  0.  Kramerianum  requires  plenty  of  beat  and  moisture, 
and  a  light  sunny  position  to  do  it  well. 
The  roots  are  not  ambitious  in  pushing  a  long  way  from  the 
centre  of  growth,  consequently  a  large  receptacle  is  unnecessary  for 
them.  It  does  admirably  suspended  from  the  roof  on  cork  blocks, 
lightly  dressed  with  living  sphagnum  moss,  this  being  encouraged 
to  grow  as  much  as  possible  during  the  summer,  and  a  little  of  it 
removed  during  the  resting  season.  Small  shallow  pans  are  also 
suitable  for  it  if  filled  nearly  to  the  rim  with  clean  crocks  and  a 
little  peat  and  moss  placed  about  the  roots.  It  grows  until  late  in 
the  season,  and  every  endeavour  should  be  made  to  ripen  the  growth' 
with  the  waning  sun  in  autumn.  O.  Kramerianum  is  a  widely 
■distributed  plant  in  Central  America,  and  was  introduced  in  1823. 
■* — H.  R.  R. 
Lycaste  Skinneri. 
An  illustration  of  this  beautiful  plant,  as  grown  in  these  gardens, 
having  recently  appeared  in  the  pages  of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture, 
a  few  notes  on  the  culture  of  the  plants,  as  practised  here,  may 
be  of  interest  to  some  readers.  This  is,  in  my  opinion,  one  of 
the  most  desirable  of  all  Orchids,  as  the  plants  are  of  easy  culture 
and  require  little  heat.  Our  plants  are  grown  in  a  span-roofed 
house,  which  is  kept  at  a  temperature  of  about  60°,  with  a  rise  of 
10°  by  sun  heat.  The  plant  figured  was  grown  in  a  24-sized  pot, 
and  carried,  when  at  its  best,  twenty-five  fully  expanded  flowers, 
several  of  which  were  borne  in  pairs.  It  has  three  pseudo-bulbs, 
and  leaves  2  feet  in  length.  Although  the  species  is  very  free 
flowering  and  lasts  for  several  weeks  in  perfection,  it  is  detrimental 
to  the  plant  to  leave  the  blooms  on  for  a  lengthy  period,  as  by  so 
doing  it  materially  affects  its  flowering  so  well  the  following 
season. 
The  compost  we  find  to  suit  them  admirably  consists  of  a 
mixture  of  fibrous  peat  and  sphagnum,  with  a  good  sprinkling  of 
silver  sand,  broken  charcoal,  and  potsherds.  The  pots  should  be 
clean  and  well  drained,  copious  supplies  of  water  being  necessary 
during  the  growing  season,  with  an  occasional  application  of  weak 
liquid  cow  manure.  The  amount  of  water  must  be  reduced  in 
winter,  although  at  no  time  should  the  plants  be  allowed  to  get  dry 
at  the  roots.  The  flowers  are  very  variable  in  colour,  from  a  blush 
white  to  a  deep  rose  colour,  those  borne  on  the  plant  in  question 
being  of  a  bright  rose  colour,  lip  white, spotted  with  crimson.  The 
most  suitable  time  to  pot  the  plants  is  soon  after  flowering,  when 
they  commence  to  make  new  growths,  we  having  just  completed 
ours.' — H.  T.  M.,  Stoneleigh  Abbey. 
Orchids  at  Summerville,  Dumfries. 
For  some  years  Mr.  James  Davidson  has  been  forming  a  nice 
collection,  and  a  recent  visit  showed  that  his  liking  for  these 
fascinating  plants  is  being  rewarded  with  considerable  results. 
Newly  imported  plants  are  often  purchased,  and  the  interest  these 
give  when  coming  into  flower  for  the  first  time  is  very  great.  This 
year  a  number  of  Odontoglossums  are  flowering  for  the  first  time, 
and  some  good  things  are  appearing  among  them. 
Last  year  a  good  form  of  Odontoglossum  crispum  came  into 
bloom,  and  this  year  it  is  stronger  and  finer,  giving  a  spike  with 
thirteen  flowers.  It  is  of  the  true  Pacho  type,  and  the  flower  is  of 
excellent  form  and  well  coloured.  A  very  good  form  of 
O.  cirrhosum  wich  dark  coffee-coloured  blotches  was  also  in  flower, 
and  an  exceptionally  fine  variety  of  O.  Rackerianum.  About 
300  Odontoglossums  are  grown  in  all,  other  good  varieties  being  a 
dark  form  of  O.  cordatum,  a  fine  O.  vexillarium,  and  one  of 
O.  triumphans.  Several  plants  of  Cattleya  citrina  were  doing  well 
and  producing  fine  flowers.  These  have  flowered  for  a  few  years, 
and  show  no  sign  of  degeneration.  There  is  also  a  very  fine  variety 
of  C.  Mossise,  a  capital  dark-spotted  0.  Schilleriana,  C.  Regnelli, 
and  a  good  variety  of  C.  intermedia,  with  the  lip  a  rich  deep  rosy 
purple.  Cattleya  Skinneri  is  also  doing  well. 
Many  Cypripediums  are  grown,  among  those  in  bloom  being 
niveum,  Dominianum,  Dayanum,  Argus,  and  a  very  dark  form  of 
barbatum  nigrum.  Other  genera  of  the  natural  order  are  also 
well  represented,  and  the  progress  made  in  a  few  years  is  very 
creditable  to  Mr.  Davidson,  who  takes  a  strong  interest  in  his 
Orchids,  and  attends  personally  to  many  of  their  requirements. 
Hybridising  has  been  begun  with  Dendrobiums.  The  plants  look 
well  in  general,  the  pseudo-bulbs  being  large  and  firm.  Cleanliness 
and  health  prevail,  ascribed  largely  to  the  use  of  the  XL  fumigating 
material. — A.  S. 
Ljelia  purpurata  Malformed. 
I  herewith  send  you  a  somewhat  remarkable  malformation  in 
an  Orchid,  Laelia  purpurata,  which  has,  as  you  see,  four  lips.  I 
thought  it  m'ght  prove  interesting.  Earlier  in  the  season  I  had 
another  peculiar  deformity  in  a  L.  purpurata.  The  sepals  and 
petals  were  normal,  but  attached  to  the  base  of  the  column  where 
the  lip  is  usually  joined  was  a  thread-like  filament  about  1£  inch 
ia  length,  and  to  the  end  of  this  was  attached  a  funnel-shaped 
structure  for  what  should  have  been  the  lip.  The  colouring  of  it 
was  the  same  as  in  a  normal  lip. — W.  H.  Stephens,  Prescot  House , 
Stourbridge. 
[The  abnormal  flower  of  Lselia  purpurata  sent  is  just  as 
described  by  our  correspondent.  A  careful  examination  of  the 
flower  shows  that  the  true  labellum  and  the  lateral  sepals  are 
almost  perfectly  normal,  though  the  latter  are  more  pointed  than 
usual,  and  have  not  opened  to  their  fulhst  extent.  What  we  may 
term  the  spurious  lips  have  taken  the  place  of  the  dorsal  sepal  and 
the  two  petals,  making  four  with  the  true  lip.  Another  pecu¬ 
liarity  not  mentioned  in  our  correspondent’s  letter  is  the  fact  that 
the  column  is  quite  transformed,  and  instead  of  the  usual  viscid 
stigma  on  the  under  side,  and  the  pollen  masses  above,  the  latter 
are  entirely  absent,  and  the  former  is  reproduced  facing  each  of 
the  abnormal  segments.  It  would  have  been  interesting  if  the 
pollen  from  another  plant  bad  been  placed  upon  these  to  see 
whether  the  bloom  possessed  the  power  of  fertilisation.  The 
nectary  was  perfect,  and  the  tubes  could  be  easily  traced  to  this, 
so  probably  it  would,  though,  of  course,  no  one  would  think  of 
sowing  the  seed  from  such  a  bloom,  or  trying  in  any  other  way  to 
perpetuate  such  a  monstrosity. 
B  itanists  are  fond  of  working  out  elaborate  theories  as  to  what 
causes  this  metamorphosis  in  Orchid  flowers,  but  as  a  rule  they  have 
to  content  themselves  with  rather  a  vague  idea  of  it.  There  can 
be  do  doubt  that  it  is  due  in  some  cases  to  a  physical  derangement 
of  the  internal  parts  of  the  plant,  and  it  would  be  well  within  the 
bounds  of  possibility  to  say  that  in  this  case  the  rudimentary  parts 
of  four,  or  at  least  three,  blooms  were  present,  the  fact  of  three 
perfect  stigmas  pointing  to  this.  The  other  parts  of  the  flowers  not 
developing,  the  whole  became  fused,  as  it  were,  into  one,  or  should  we 
say  never  became  disunited,  as  they  would  do  normally.  But  this, 
of  course,  is  mere  conjecture,  as  it  must  always  be  in  cases  of  this 
description.  Doubtless  these  malformations  are  sometimes  caused 
by  improper  development,  as,  for  instance,  a  badly  ripened  stem  of 
Dendrobium.  There  is  not  time  in  this  case  for  the  flowers  to 
form  properly,  and  the  advancing  fluids  push  them  out  as  they  are, 
small,  crude,  and  deformed.  The  best  thing  to  do  with  a  plant 
that  produces  this  class  of  flower  is  to  grow  it  as  well  as  possible  in 
the  hope  of  inducing  it  to  perfect  its  blossoms  another  season,  but 
if  it  persists  in  pushing  the  deformities  its  best  place  would  be  on 
'  the  rubbish  heap.] 
