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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  17,  ■1897. 
Epidendrums. 
The  genus  Epidendrum  is  the  largest,  numerically,  in  the  order* 
and  consists  of  an  immense  variety  of  plants  so  different  in  habit 
and  inflorescence  that  one  can  hardly  imagine  they  are  members  of 
the  same  genus.  The  name  of  the  genus  was  doubtless  suggested 
by  their  habit  of  growing,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  LinDgeus  included 
every  exotic  Orchid  in  it.  But  the  great  botanist  could  never  have 
foreseen  what  an  immense  number  of  species  the  order  would  be 
found  to  contain  when,  as  has  happened,  their  lovely  colours, 
graceful  forms,  and  other  beautiful  features  have  led  to  their 
being  searched  for  by  enthusiastic  collectors  in  every  part  of  the 
world. 
Thus  the  genus  grew  until  it  was  quite  impossible  to  suitably 
classify  them  all,  and  later  botanists,  as  Swartz,  Lindley,  and 
Reichenbach,  have  broken  them  up  into  other  genera.  The  residue 
is  a  very  mixed  lot  of  plants,  some  of  undoubted  beauty  and  first- 
rate  garden  plants,  others  miffy  under  cultivation,  though  hand¬ 
some,  while  a  large  number  a*e  of  no  value  whatever  to  the  horti¬ 
culturist,  though  interesting  to  botanists.  The  latter  are,  in  fact, 
the  weeds  of  the  Orchid  family,  and  unless  a  rare  or  unknown 
kind,  are  best  relegated  to  the  rubbish  heap.  It  is  a  widely 
distributed  genus,  geographically  extending  almost  from  end  to  end 
of  the  American  continent,  and  occurring  in  nearly  all  the  adjacent 
islands. 
0  wing  to  this  wide  distribution,  it  is  not  possible  to  give  a  method 
of  culture  that  will  suit  all  the  species  ;  but,  as  a  general  rule,  it 
may  be  conceded  that  all  species  having  the  Cattleya  habit,  such  as 
E  fragrans,  E.  cochleatum,  and  E.  ciliare,  may  be  grown  in  an 
intermediate  temperature,  such  as  suits  Brazilian  plants  generally. 
The  dwarfer  kinds,  as  E.  vitellinum,  do  with  less  heat,  thriving 
with  the  Odontoglossums  or  Masdevallias,  or  better  still  with  the 
Mexictn  section  of  Lae'ia.  One  well-known  exception  may  be 
noted  in  the  lovely  E.  bicornutum,  a  species  hailing  from  the  West 
Indies,  and  requiring  great  heat  to  do  it  well 
It  must  be  confessed  that  this  plant  is  difficult  to  grow  for  many 
years  under  our  artificial  treatment,  but  it  is  worth  obtaining  if 
only  for  the  sake  of  a  couple  of  years’  inflorescence.  The  best  of 
all  places  to  grow  it  is  an  almost  unshaded  part  of  the  East  Indian 
house,  the  plants  being  grown  in  pots  close  to  the  light  or  suspended 
from  the  roof  in  baskets.  Peat  fibre  is  not  to  be  recommended  for 
this  plant,  or  at  all  events  only  a  little.  Sphagnum  moss  is  a  much 
better  material,  and  a  thin  layer  only  of  this  must  be  placed  over 
abundant  drainage.  Keep  the  plant  on  the  dry  side  while  at  rest 
and  until  new  shoots  have  started,  but  after  this  they  may  be 
treated  very  liberally  as  regards  moisture,  both  at  the  roots  add 
atmospherically.  Close  the  house  early  during  the  growing  season, 
with  plenty  of  moisture  and  the  sun  shining  fully  upon  the  plants, 
and  you  have  just  the  kind  of  atmosphere  that  E.  bicornutum 
delights  in. 
It  is  a  very  singular  fact  about  this  Orchid  that  the  base  of  the 
bulb  splits  vertically  for  a  short  distance,  and  being  quite  hollow 
forms  a  home  for  swarms  of  ants.  These  insects  should  if  possible 
be  kept  away  from  the  plants,  as  they  can  do  no  good,,  and  are  very 
unsightly.  Thrips,  too,  are  fond  of  the  succulent  young  growths, 
and  must  be  kept  at  bay  if  possible  by  sponging  The  fl  >wers  of 
E.  bicornutum  are  produced  on  erect  scapes  from  the  apex  of  the 
pseudo-bulbs,  and  are  pure  white  in  ground  colour,  the  lip,  and  in 
some  varieties  the  sepals  and  petals,  dotted  with  purple,  and  pro¬ 
vided  with  two  horn-like  processes,  from  which  it  takes  its  specific 
name. 
E.  ciliare  is  a  very  pretty  plant,  worthy  of  a  far  greater  share  of 
attention  than  it  receives  at  the  hands  of  cultivators.  The  flowers 
occur  on  erect  scapes  of  about  five  or  six, and  are  greenish  white  on 
the  narrow  sepals  and  petals,  the  beautifully  fringed  lip  being  pure 
white.  It  is  <an  old  species,  having  been  introduced  to  British 
gardens  as  far  back  as  1790  ;  it  is  widely  distributed  in  S  mth  and 
Central  America,  and  often  arrives  amongst  importations  of 
Cattleyas.  E.  cochleatum  and  E.  fragrans  are  similar  habited  kinds, 
the  flowers  of  both  occurring  on  upright  spikes,  and  having  in  each 
case  the  lips  uppermost,  this  organ  being  almost  shell -like  in 
appearance.  Both  are  old  specie*,  having  been  in  cultivation  over 
a  century,  and  they  are  natives  of  various  of  the  West  Indian 
islandp.  B^ckao] 
The  section  with  tall  reed  like  stems,  such  as  E.  evectum, 
E.  radicans,  E  Parkinsonianum,  E.  xanthinum,  and  many  others,  ' 
are  an  interesting  free-blooming  class  of  plant,  which  cannot  here 
be  discussed  in  detail.  The  blossoms  usually  occur  in  globose  heads 
from  the  end  of  the  stems,  the  last  named,  for  instanoe,  producing 
large  golden  yellow  balls  of  flower,  that  lighten  up  many  a  house 
during  the  early  spring  months.  They  all  like  a  fairly  liberal 
mode  of  culture — a  good  root  run,  plenty  of  moisture,  and  a  position 
not  too  much  shaded.  E.  vitellinum  is  one  of  the  most  useful  of 
all  cool  Orchids,  free  and  constant  in  blooming,  and  of  bright 
effective  colour.  It  is  very  easy  to  grow  in  a  cool  moist  house,  and 
is  a  native  of  various  parts  of  Mexico.  It  first  flowered  in’England 
in  1839. — H.  R.  R. 
COOMBE  WOOD. 
The  neighbourhood  of  Kingston  Hill  has  long  been  celebrated 
for  its  many  horticultural  features,  and  amongst  them  the  Coombe 
Wood  Nurseries  have  not  been  the  least  famous.  For  years 
travellers  on  the  road  to  Kingston  cm  remember  the  splendid 
shrubs  that  are  growing  there,  and  many  will  have  noted  the  hand¬ 
some  avenue  of  Wellingtonia  gigantea,  alternated  with  Araucaria 
imbricata,  that  runs  down  the  centre  of  the  ground  into  the  valley 
beyond.  Now  there  is  a  change,  for  the  Wellingtonias  have  been 
removed,  and  perhaps  the  Araucarias  will  some  day  have  to  follow 
in  their  footsteps.  When  they  are  gone  passers-by  will  miss  a 
landmark  that  had  long  been  familiar,  but  there  will  still  remain 
the  thousands  of  coniferous  and  other  trees  that  proclaim  the 
Coombe  Wood  Nursery  of  Messrs.  Jas.  Yeitch  &  Sons,  Ltd.,  whose 
reputation  as  horticulturists  is  world-wide. 
Visits  almost  numberless  have  been  paid  by  the  writer  to  the 
firm’s  head-quarters  at  Chelsea,  with  its  great  area  of  glass  houses  ;  to 
Southfields,  Fulham,  where  trained  fruit  trees  are  at  home  ;  and  to 
Langley,  near  Slough,  where  hardy  fruit  trees  of  all  shapes  and 
kinds,  hardy  herbaceous  flowers  and  Roses  combine  to  interest  the 
visitor,  but  until  Friday  last  Coombe  Wood  in  all  its  beauty  had 
not  been  seen.  Many  times  it  was  almost  reached  ;  failure  suc¬ 
ceeded  failure  until  now,  when  it  was  fully  realised  what  had  been 
missed.  For  this  is  one  of  tin  most  charming  and  interesting 
nurseries  in  the  United  Kingdom.  Occupying  three  sides  of  a 
valley,  one  may  from  vantage  points  on  each  side  get  views  that 
would  never  be  dreamed  about  when  on  the  level  of  the  hill-top. 
One  picture  presents  flowers,  shrubs,  with  Wimbledon  Common 
in  the  background  ;  another  similar  vegetation' terminating  in  the 
deep  crimson  of  some  Acers  ;  and  a  thjrd,  looking  from  the  last- 
named  plants,  shows  Rhododendrons  of  many  sizes  and  shapes, 
which,  though  past  their  best,  were  still  a  blaze  of  colour. 
Starting  from  the  main  entrance  we  (Mr.  Jas  H.  Veitch,  Mr. 
Howard,  and  the  writer)  first  made  our  way  to  the  several  houses 
containing  many  thousands  of  Roses  in  pots.  These  are  arranged 
m  long,  low,  span-roofed  pits,  and  the  number  of  plants  is  nothing 
■ihort  of  surprising.  Their  condition  as  regards  health  and  cleanli¬ 
ness  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the 
hundreds  more  that  are  stood  outside.  House  after  house  contains 
nothing  but  these,  while  others  are  occupied  with  plants  that  are 
rarely  seen  in  gardens — some,  indeed,  that  have  never  been  seen  at 
all,  for  they  have  been  imported  by  this  enterprising  firm,  and  are 
uow  under  trial.  And  very  severely  are  they  tested  ere  they 
are  allowed  to  be  put  into  commerce.  Then  there  are  in  a  warmer 
house  plants  that  are  being  forced  into  flower  for  the  Jubilee,  all 
of  which  give  abundant  promise  of  future  beauty. 
Though  there  are  many  rare  plants  within  these  structures, 
others  find  a  home  on  their  wall  outside.  These  include  Ivies, 
Olearias,  Escallonias,  Hollies,  and  scores  of  others.  Mention  may 
also  be  made  of  Rosa  Wichuriana  (Luciae),  which  is  such  a 
favourite  plant  in  America,  where  it  is  said  to  ramble  over  banks, 
»nd  appear  nothing  but  a  mass  of  bloom  in  its  flowering  season. 
Considering  its  beauty,  it  is  somewhat  surprising  that  we  do  not 
see  more  of  it  in  places  in  this  country.  Perhaps  when  it  becomes 
better  known  it  will  be  more  appreciated.  Many  of  the  plants 
represented  here  and  in  other  portions  of  uhe  nursery  would 
probably  not  be  met  with  elsewhere  except  in  botanical  gardens, 
and  not  always  in  those.  This  cultivation  of  plants  that  are  rarely 
asked  for  reflects  much  credit  on  the  firm. 
Passing  from  the  houses  we  enter  almost  immediately  upon  a 
path  flanked  by  two  broad  borders  planted  with  all  kinds  of  shrubs 
and  trees  as  specimens.  Little  plants  of  Olearia  stellulata,  about 
2  feet  high,  are  smothered  with  their  white  Daisy-like  flowers,  and 
