600 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
December  26,  1896. 
Where  a  strong  heat  and  ample  atmospheric  moisture  can  be 
maintained,  Dendrobium  Deari  is  a  useful  Orchid  for  cutting,  but 
is  not  usually  so  cheap  or  readily  obtainable  as  the  last  named.  It 
has  the  recommendation  of  flowering  in  the  autumn  at  a  time  when 
Orchid  flowers  are  scarce,  and  it  is  not  unusual  for  a  second  lot, 
or  even  a  third,  to  be  produced  from  the  same  set  of  pseudo-bulbs 
or  stems.  The  racemes  occur  principally  near  the  tops  of  the 
latter,  and  each  carries  from  four  to  eight  flowers,  pure  white  with 
the  exception  of  a  light  green  centre. 
Turning  to  the  cool  house  there  are  severalfof  the  Odonto- 
glossums  that  rank  among  the  flnest  of  white  flowering  Orchids  for 
cutting,  notably  O.  crispum  and  O.  Pescatorei.  While  not  quite  so 
easily  grown  as  those  mentioned  above,  there  is  nothing  to  prevent 
anyone  who  has  had  a  little  experience  in  Orchid  culture  to  take 
them  up  with  every  prospect  of  success.  One  important  point  in 
their  management  is  to  see  that  they  are  not  overpotted,  this  being 
probably  a  more  frequent  cause  of  failure  than  any  other.  A  low 
temperature  in  the  winter,  combined  with  a  dry  and  draughty 
atmosphere,  is  another,  for  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  these 
beautiful  plants  grow  naturally  in  regions  where  the  winter  and 
summer  temperature  vary  but  little,  and  where  they  are  often 
enveloped  in  mist  for  weeks  together. 
Masdevallia  tovarensis,  with  its  many  flowered  panicles  of  snow- 
white  blossoms,  at  once  suggests  itself  in  this  category,  and  as  a 
free -blooming,  constant  kind,  ranks  as  first-rate.  A  constant  and 
unvarying  temperature  the  whole  year  through  is  what  this  species 
delights  in,  with  comfortable  shade  in  the  summer,  ample  light  in 
winter,  and  copious  supplies  of  atmospheric  moisture.  The  roots 
need  special  attention,  a  thin  layer  of  sweet  compost  over  abundant 
drainage  suiting  them  well. 
Calanthe  vestita  is  another  very  useful  species,  the  yellow-eyed 
variety  “  luteo  oculata  ”  being  generally  preferred  to  the  red.  Both 
are,  however,  of  great  utility  to  anyone  having  much  table  or  other 
decoration  during  the  dull  days  of  early  winter.  Plenty  of  room 
must  be  afforded  the  plants  while  growing,  the  leaves  must  be  kept 
free  of  insects,  and  the  pseudo-bulbs  when  at  rest  must  never  be  in 
a  lower  temperature  than  55° ;  then  with  ordinary  care  and 
attention  to  the  usual  cultural  details  they  are  as  easily  grown  as  a 
Zonal  Pelargoniums.  Many  others  could  be  named,  such  as  Pilumna 
fragrans,  Dendrobiums  formosum,  infundibulum  album,  and  others  ; 
also  several  of  the  Angrseeums. 
These  may  all  be  termed  white-flowering  Orchids,  though  the 
majority  have  a  little  colour,  usually  on  the  lips.  White  varieties 
of  well-known  coloured  species  are  oftentimes  rare,  and  high  in 
price,  and  frequently  fetch  more  than  a  dozen  times  as  much  as  the 
typical  form.  Lselia  anceps,  Lycaste  Sklnneri,  Cattleya  Triange, 
C.  Pereivaliana  and  C.  Eldorado  are  among  the  better  known 
instances  of  this,  and  yet  these  are  not  a  whit  more  beautiful  than 
the  cheap  and  popular  kinds  mentioned  above. 
Those  who  can  afford  to  pay  these  high  prices  will  doubtless 
continue  to  do  so,  and  rightly,  for  they  are  recompensed  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  connoisseur,  but  those  of  more  slender 
means  may  well  feel  content,  knowing  as  they  do  that  some  of 
the  most  chaste  kinds  in  the  whole  Orchid  family  are  within  their 
grasp. — H.  R.  R. 
Miltonia  Clowesi. 
Among  the  dainty  Orchids  known  as  Miltonias,  this  is,  perhaps, 
the  most  picturesquely  beautiful.  It  is  a  tropical  Brazilian  plant, 
and  should  be  grown  in  the  warmest  section  of  the  Orchid  house  in 
a  half-shady  position.  During  the  growing  season,  like  all  other 
Miltonias,  it  requires  plenty  of  water,  and  it  does  not  resent  a  little 
manure  water  now  and  then.  It  is  generally  grown  in  shallow  pans 
or  pots  in  peat  and  sphagnum,  preferably  with  an  addition  of 
charcoal.  The  flowers  are  borne  on  long  nodding  peduncles  in 
loose  racemes.  They  measure  3  inches  or  more  across.  The  petals 
and  sepals  are  spreading,  long,  linear  or  slightly  lanceolate,  with 
the  edges  turned  back  in  the  middle  ;  yellow,  barred  with  rich 
brown,  well-marked  blotches.  The  lip  is  entire,  cordate  ;  purple, 
with  a  conspicuous  white  apex.  The  leaves  are  long  and  graceful, 
produced  from  ovate,  smooth  pseudo-bulbs,  from  the  base  of  which 
a  number  of  white,  thread-like  aerial  roots  add,  in  their  way,  to 
the  beauty  of  the  plant.  It  flowers  during  the  autumn  months. 
— (“Garden  and  Forest.”) 
POETRY  AND  TRUTH. 
My  auld  acquaintance,  “  A.  D.,”  must  kindly  allow  me  to  disclaim 
anything  which  “  looks  like  anger  ”  or  anything  at  all  like  “  a  bitter 
attack  ”  on  his  really  very  mild  and  harmless  criticism.  In  my  remarks 
on  page  660  I  was  really  fighting  for  a  principle,  and  had  no  idea  of 
saying  one  word  personally  offensive  to  “A.  D.,”  though,  of  course,  I  1 
totally  disagreed  with  his  opinions,  and  still  do  so,  for  reasons  I  have 
already  stated. 
It  is  very  satisfying  to  hear  “  A.  D.”  confess  that  he  is  one  of  the 
“  severely  practical  sort,”  but  if  so  why  did  he  go  out,  of  his  severely 
practical  sort  of  a  way  in  order  to  criticise  Mr.  D.  T.  Fish’s  true  and 
beautiful,  and  poetical  paper  ?  By  what  authority  ii  “  A.  D.”  appointed 
critic  in  ordinary  and  irresponsible  scrutineer  of  the  literary  labours  of 
men  who  use  language  which  “  A.  D.”  himself  professes  he  does  not 
understand  ?  Were  it  a  case  of  Potatoes,  or  even  a  question  of  the 
“  severely  practical  sort,”  of  course  I  should  be  one  of  the  first  to  give 
credence  to  our  friend,  and  pay  all  due  respect  to  his  opinions ;  but 
when  he  speaks  of  poetry  and  chemistry,  of  which  it  is  quite  evident 
from  the  context  he  knows  but  little,  then  is  one’s  good  faith  shaken 
indeed.  A  man  who  talks  of  “  the  generation  of  water  through  leafage  ” 
is  not  to  be  trusted  as  knowing  much  of  vegetable  physics  or  of 
physiology  in  these  latter  days.  Transpiration  or  evaporation,  or  even 
regeneration  or  purification,  are  all  and  each  true  as  the  Scriptures  ;  but 
generation  itself  is  a  thing  quite  apart  from  all  these. 
Coal  is  coal,  jper  se,  of  course  ;  that  is  true  in  part,  but  coal  is 
carbon,  &c.  Coal  is  sun  energy  transformed  into  carbon ;  coal  is  in 
fact  a  sort  of  confined  or  “  fixed  ”  or  bottled  sunshine,  so  that  when 
“A.  D.”  calls  coal  simply  coal  he  states  the  name  only,  or  a  mere 
fragment  of  the  whole  knowledge  we  name  concerning  its  life  history 
and  character  ;  in  fact ‘‘the  severely  practical  man  ”  who  says,  “coal 
is  merely  coal,”  states  a  portion  of  the  nominal  portion  of  the  argument, 
and  neglects  higher  and  wider  and  more  important  matters  Connected 
with  the  product.  No  one  of  course  ever  den’es  that  coal  is  coal,  but 
most  of  us  know  of  it  in  other  phases  of  the  English  language  as  well. 
I  agree  with  “A.  D.”  about  the  coal  being  coal  just  as  I  am  sure 
“  A.  D.’’  is  “  A.  D.”— F.  W.  Burbidge. 
APPLES  ON  THE  PARADISE  STOCK  * 
Mr  experience  leads  me  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Apple  on  the 
Paradise  stock  is  the  most  profitable,  and  1  think  it  will  be  readily 
admitted  that  such  fruits  are  larger  and  more  regular  in  size  than  those 
from  trees  on  other  stocks.  The  trees,  too,  come  into  bearing  more 
quickly  and  offer  greater  facilities  for  gathering  the  fruit,  a  combination 
which  means  a  great  deal.  The  numerous  fibrous  roots  of  this  stock 
work  near  the  surface  and  receive  the  benefit  of  sun  heat,  which  is  of 
much  assistance  in  having  thoroughly  matured  wood.  It  is  adapted  to 
stiff  soils.  It  is  an  undoubted  fact  that  we  do  not  afford  half  enough 
manure  nor  produce  as  much  fruit  of  the  finest  quality  as  we  are 
capable  of  doing ;  a  mixture  of  farmyard  and  artificial  manure  being 
better  than  either  singly.  When  the  pruning  is  finished  we  lay  on 
perhaps  half  the  usual  quantity  of  ordinary  stable  manure  and  decayed 
leaves,  and  from  5  to  7  lbs.  of  chemical  manure  to  the  rod.  We  do  not 
dig  much  among  trees,  as  the  roots  require  to  be  kept  near  the  surface, 
and  digging  would  consequently  do  much  injury. 
Apples  on  the  Paradise  stock  should  be  planted  10  to  12  feet  apart. 
Lime  I  use  freely,  and  find  it  does  a  great  deal  of  good  in  rendering 
other  foods  available.  Trees  coming  into  bloom  require  a  thorough 
soaking  with  clear  water,  the  omission  of  which  causes  many  failures 
and  disappointments.  Trees  on  the  Paradise  stock  need  less  pruning 
than  those  worked  on  the  Crab.  It  is  sometimes  beneficial  to  take  off  a 
few  of  the  strongest  roots  to  induce  more  fibrous  ones  round  the  stems, 
which,  as  the  feeders,  supply  nutrition  to  the  top  growth.  According  to 
my  experience  fruit  ought  not  to  be  thinned  before  July.  In  bush¬ 
shaped  trees  keep  the  centres  quite  open,  and  the  branches  of  a  sufficient 
distance  apart  for  the  admission  of  light  and  air. 
The  names  of  Apples  are  legion,  some  seeming  local  in  their  fruitful¬ 
ness,  while  others  appear  universal.  I  put  down  Lord  Suffield  as  the 
best  Apple ;  Lord  Grosvenor  and  Dumelow’s  Seedling  are  good  ; 
Ecklinville  is  not  always  satisfactory  ;  Stirling  Castle  is  an  exception,  as 
it  does  not  do  well  on  the  Paradise  stock ;  Grenadier  does  remarkably 
well;  Frogmore  Prolific  does  not  grow  freely;  Duchess  of  Oldenburg 
rarely  fails  ;  Red  Calville  is  a  valuable  Apple ;  Warner’s  King  does  not 
bear  early;  Bismarck  is  a  modern  Apple  of  merit;  Small’s  Admirable 
bears  freely  ;  Eosehill  begins  to  fruit  at  once ;  Pioneer  and  Bramley’s 
Seedling  are  good  Apples  ;  Ribston  Pippin  and  Cox’s  Orange  do 
splendidly  ;  Worcester  Pearmain,  Lemon  Pippin,  and  Irish  Peach  are  all 
good. 
So  far  as  I  am  aware,  no  one  has  solved  the  problem  of  canker.  It 
often  appears  if  the  organic  system  of  the  tree  is  damaged  by  frost ;  but 
also  comes  from  other,  and  sometimes  unexplainable  causes.  American 
blight  is  one  of  the  worst  pests  to  destroy,  as  it  seems  to  get  into  every 
corner.  Softsoap  and  tobacco  water  are  useful  for  stopping  it,  while 
scattering  lime  and  soot  just  beneath  the  surface  soil  is  also  of  benefit. 
Caterpillars  sometimes  defoliate  the  trees,  and  to  prevent  this  Paris 
green  in  the  form  of  a  solution  should  be  syringed  on  before  tbe  trees 
come  into  bloom.  Scale  may  be  extirpated  by  washing  and  scrubbing 
with  soap  and  paraffin  before  the  swelling  of  the  buds. 
A  discussion  followed  the  reading  of  the  paper,  and  tbe  Paradise 
stock  was  not  recommended  for  the  locality,  having  been  tried  without 
success,  tbe  climate  and  soil  being  each  wet  and  cold,  especiaUy  in  the 
autumn  and  spring.  A  vote  of  thanks  was  given  Mr.  Harris  for  his 
valuable  paper,  and  the  meeting  terminated. 
♦  [Abridged  from  a  paper  read  by  Mr.  G.  Habris,  Alnwick  Oastle,  at  a  meeting  of  tbe 
Sunderland  Gardeners’  Mu'ual  Improvement  Society.] 
