October  3,  1895. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
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does  not  require  a  great  deal  of  heat,  but  can  hardly  be  classed  as  a 
cool  species.  The  finest  growths  I  have  seen  were  on  plants  wired 
to  cork  blocks,  lightly  dressed  with  sphagnum,  hung  in  the  cool 
end  of  a  large  Cattleya  house  where  it  was  occasionally  syringed 
in  hot  weather.  Being  near  the  door  it  was  well  supplied  with  air, 
and  during  winter  it  was  kept  on  the  dry  side. 
The  popular  Oncidium  incurvum  with  its  long  elegant  racemes 
of  prettily  marked  flowers  is  another  most  useful  kind,  while  of  a 
totally  differing  type  of  beauty  is  the  Butterfly  Oiicid,  O.  Kramer- 
ianum  or  O.  papilio.  These  produce  a  long  succession  of  flowers 
one  at  a  time  on  the  apex  of  the  long  wiry  stems.  The  small 
shallow  Orchid  pans  or  dressed  blocks  may  be  used  for  these,  and 
the  partly  decayed  whitish  looking  sphagnum  moss  is  a  capital 
rooting  medium.  In  summer  the  green  points  may  be  allowed  to 
grow  freely  about  the  plants,  but  some  of  this  must  be  removed  on 
the  approach  of  winter. 
These  require  plenty  of  heat,  as  does  0.  Jonesianum,  a  singular 
species  of  a  very  distinct  habit  of  growth.  This  has  pseudo-bulbs, 
but  they  are  very  small  and  seemingly  part  of  the  long  rush-like 
foliage,  which  is  from  6  to  12  inches  in  length,  channelled  and 
This  Orchid,  as  represented  by  the  woodcut  (fig.  52),  is,  as  its 
name  implies,  a  form  of  the  well  known  C.  superba,  regarding 
which  the  London  correspondent  of  an  American  contemporary 
wrote:  —  “One  of  the  most  beautiful  and  distinct  of  tropical 
Cattleyasis  the  typical  C.  superba,  from  the  Northern  States  of  South 
America,  which  has  been  known  in  cultivation  here  about  fifty 
years.  Hitherto  it  has  shown  little  variation  in  the  colour  or  form 
of  its  flowers,  with  the  exception  of  the  white-flowered  form.  It 
was  discovered  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Para  by  Mr,  E.  S.  Rand  in 
1890,  when  it  was  introduced  into  England  and  named  by  Mr.  Rolfe. 
The  flowers  are  pure  white,  except  for 
a  stain  of  golden  yellow  towards  the  front 
of  the  lip.  The  only  drawback  C.  superba 
has  is  in  its  behaving  rather  badly  under 
cultivation  for  a  Cattleya.  It  is,  how- 
ewer,  easy  to  get,  being  abundant  in  a 
wild  state  and  a  good  traveller.” 
The  flower  shown  was  sketched  at 
the  Drill  Hall,  Westminster,  where,  when 
exhibited  by  Mr.  Johnson,  gardener  to 
T,  Statter,  Esq.,  Stand  Hall,  Manchester, 
the  Orchid  Committee  of  the  Royal 
Horticultural  Society  awarded  it  a  first- 
class  certificate. 
Notes  on  Oncidiums. 
The  number  of  species  in  this  fine 
old  genus  is  very  large,  and  they  play  an 
important  part  in  the  autumn  decoration 
of  our  Orchid  houses.  Not  that  they  are 
peculiarly  autumn  bloomers,  for  some  one 
or  other  of  the  kinds  may  always  be  seen, 
but  just  now  they  are  doubly  welcome 
on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  bloom.  A 
great  variety  of  shape  and  colour  exists 
in  the  genus,  yet  there  are  distinctive 
characteristics,  so  that  one  can  hardly 
fail  to  recognise  them  at  a  glance.  The 
majority  are  pseudo-bulbous  epiphytes 
from  South  America,  but  there  is  also  a 
section  as  represented  by  0.  Lanceanum 
and  O.  Cavendishianum  that  are  remark¬ 
able  for  the  absence  of  bulbs,  but  bearing 
large  handsome,  in  many  cases  spotted, 
foliage.  Most  of  them  possess  the  merit 
of  being  long  lasting,  and  all  are  useful 
garden  Orchids.  Their  culture  is  not 
usually  difficult,  but  as  they  are  found  at 
greatly  differing  altitudes  and  in  various  positions  they  cannot  be 
treated  collectively,  their  wants  varying  according  to  their  habit, 
manner  of  growth,  and  flowering. 
A  pretty  Brazilian  species  is  0  bifolium,  a  kind  that  not  many 
years  ago  was  plentiful  enough,  but  that  i,s  now  seldom  seen  in 
good  order.  It  is  now  rather  late  for  this  to  be  in  flower,  the 
usual  blooming  season  being  in  July  or  August.  The  flowers  are 
produced  on  slender  stalks,  and  each  of  these  bears  about  half  a 
dozen.  The  lip  of  O.  bifolium  is  its  chief  attraction,  being  a 
singularly  clear  bright  yellow  and  very  showy ;  the  sepals  and 
petals  are  very  small,  yellow  with  bands  and  spots  of  chestnut  brown. 
This  will  be  found  rather  a  difficult  plant  to  maintain  in  health 
unless  carefully  attended  to.  It  is  best  grown  in  a  suspended  pan 
or  basket  in  a  rough  and  open  compost  consisting  largely  of 
sphagnum  moss  and  charcoal.  If  much  peat  is  used  it  is  apt  to 
become  too  close.  Good  drainage  must  be  provided,  and  the 
plants  set  well  up  in  the  basket  or  pan.  It  should  be  grown  in  the 
intermediate  house  and  freely  watered  while  making  its  growth. 
The  old  O.  flexuosum  is  another  useful  free  blooming  kind  of 
which  one  can  hardly  have  too  much.  Id  is  readily  grown  under  the 
ordinary  cultural  routine,  and  its  graceful  branching  scapes  are 
always  welcome.  Not,  perhaps,  quite  so  easily  grown,  but  still 
quite  amenable  to  culture,  is  the  beautiful  O.  Gravesianum.  This 
produces  a  fine  branching  inflorescence  that  lasts  long  in  perfect 
condition.  The  flowers  are  large,  the  sepals  brown  and  yellow,  the 
lip  bright  yellow  with  a  few  brown  spots  near  the  column.  This 
FIG.  52. — CATTLEYA  SUPEKBA  ALBA. 
deep  green  in  colour.  Many  growers  have  failed  with  this  Oncidium 
owing  to  overburdening  the  roots  with  compost  and  keeping  it 
too  cool.  It  thrives  well  on  trellised  blocks  of  teak,  to  which  it 
must  be  securely  fastened,  and  a  little  moss  placed  about  the  roots. 
A  sunny  and  moist  house  such  as  suits  Dendrobiums  will  also 
be  found  suitable  for  this  Oncidium,  which  produces  elegant 
drooping  racemes  of  flowers  about  eight  or  ten  on  each.  The 
sepals  and  petals  are  greenish  yellow  with  brownish  and  crimson 
spots,  while  the  lip  is  white  marked  about  the  crest  with  crimson 
and  yellow.  0,  pulvinatum  is  one  of  the  freest  blooming  Orchids 
in  existence,  bearing  all  through  the  summer  and  autumn  months 
immense  panicles  of  prettily  marked  flowers.  I  have  frequently 
cut  spikes  6  feet  long,  leaving  about  a  foot  of  clear  stem  at  the 
bottom,  and  these  have  again  started  and  produced  very  useful 
secondary  spikes,  thus  making  a  display  over  a  very  long  season. 
The  flowers  are  about  an  inch  in  diameter,  light  yellow  with  a  few 
small  spots  of  red  at  the  base  of  the  segments  and  on  the  lip. 
It  is  of  the  easiest  culture,  thriving  well  in  the  Cattleya 
house  in  an  ordinary  description  of  compost.  There  are  many 
others  in  this  beautiful  family,  the  crispum  and  Forbesi  groups 
being  especially  valuable.  O.  tigrinum  again,  with  its  showy 
spikes  of  sweetly  scented  flowers,  is  a  migcificent  Orchid,  while 
0.  varicosum  Rogersi  is  one  of  the  most  showy  and  ornamental 
plants  imaginable.  The  superb  colour  of  the  lip  and  the  scores  of 
charming  flowers  on  the  great  branching  panicles  under  a  well 
flowered  specimen  of  this  Orchid  is  a  truly  noble  object. — H.  R.  R. 
Cattleya  superba  alba. 
