104 
JOURNAL  ()F  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
February  3,  1898. 
SOBRALIA  LUCASIANUM. 
The  tribute  paid  to  Sobralias  by  Mr.  S.  11.  Jones,  in  writing 
for  information  on  S.  Lucasianum,  is  thoroughly  deserved.  When 
well  grown  they  are  exceedingly  handsome  Orchids,  for  although  the 
individual  flowers  do  not  as  a  rule  last  in  a  good  condition  for  a  long 
period,  fresh  blooms  are  freely  produced,  and  so  a  succession  is  kept 
up.  Most  of  the  species  have  brilliantly  coloured  blossoms,  and 
amongst  the  best  S.  Lucasianum  (fig.  16)  must  be  given  a  prominent 
place.  A  specimen  of  this  was  exhibited  by  C.  T.  Lucas,  Esq., 
Warnham  Court,  Horsham,  before  the  Orchid  Committee  of  the 
Hoyal  Horticultural  Society  on  June  2l8t,  1892,  when  a  first-class 
certificate  was  awarded  for  it.  This  is  a  splendid  form,  the  flowers 
being  of  large  size.  The  lip  is  broad  and  somewhat  flattened,  soft 
rosy  mauve  in  colour,  the  throat  being  light  yellow.  The  sepals  and 
petals  are  w'hite,  faintly  suffused  with  rose,  the  whole  making  a 
charming  combination. 
Saccolabiums. 
Though  not  so  popular  now  as  they  were  some  years  ago,  the 
species  comprised  in  this  genus  are  very  beautiful  and  free-floAvering 
Orchids,  and  no  collection  of  East  Indian  kinds  is  complete  wdthout  a 
few  at  all  events  of  the  better  known  kinds.  As  a  rule-  the  flowers 
are  small,  but  they  are  produced  on  long  showy  racemes  in  many 
cases — in  others  they  are  smaller,  containing  fewer  but  larger  flowers, 
such  for  instance  as  the  beautiful  S.  bellinum.  Most  of  the  known 
kinds  come  from  India  and  the  islands  about  the  Malay  Peninsula. 
Naturally,  then,  they  require  very  hot  and  moist  treatment  the 
whole  year  round,  but  especially  when  growth  is  most  active.  In  the 
majority  of  the  kinds  this  is  from  February  or  March  until  late  in 
aulumn,  and  some  of  the  winter-flowering  kinds,  as  S.  giganteum,  may 
be  almost  said  to  never  rest.  Not  only  do  they  require  beat  and 
moisture,  but  an  abundance  of  light,  plants  heavily  shaded  never 
flowering  so  freely  as  others  kept  in  a  good  light  the  whole  year  round, 
and  only  shaded  sufficiently  to  prevent  injury  to  the  foliage.  Some 
do  best  in  large  pots,  such  as  old  heavy  specimens  of  S.  Blumei, 
S.  retusum,  or  S.  guttatum,  but  the  majority  are  most  satisfactory  in 
baskets  suspended  from  the  roof,  this,  too,  being  most  suitable  for 
smaller  plants  of  the  above  mentioned  kinds. 
With  regard  to  potting  or  basketing,  this  was  referred  to  somewhat 
in  detail  recently,  and  it  only  remains  to  say  that  the  smaller  the 
plant  the  narrower  the  receptacle  should  be  for  it.  The  best  time 
either  for  repotting  or  surface  dressings  is  in  early  spring  just  when 
the  tips  of  the  roots  are  seen  to  be  starting  into  growth,  and  it  may 
be  noted  in  passing  that  towards  the  end  of  the  season’s  growth  these 
will  be  seen  to  cloud  over,  and  when  this  is  noticed  a  slight  reduction 
in  the  water  supply  should  be  made.  At  other  times  the  sphagnum 
about  the  roots  should  never  be  allowed  to  get  really  dry,  and  when  root 
and  top  growth  are  both  active  a  very  free  supply  should  be  alloAved. 
This  necessitates  very  free  drainage,  and  the  more  open  the 
material  about  the  roots  the  better.  During  the  Avinter  months  a 
minimum  temperature  of  60°  is  ample  ;  on  cold  nights  even  a  feAv 
degrees  less  will  do  no  harm,  provided  it  is  not  aecompanied  AAuth  too 
much  atmospheric  moisture.  The  only  other  cultural  requirements 
are  to  give  ample  ventilation  on  all  possible  occasions  winter  and 
summer,  and  to  see  that  the  foliage  does  not  get  overrun  Avith  insects. 
Green  fly  sometimes  appears  on  the  flower  spikes,  but  the  worst  enemy 
is  a  small  scale  that  clings  very  tightly  to  the  foliage  and  stems. 
Frequent  sponging  Avith  clean  tepid  Avater  is  a  better  plan  than  using 
strong  insecticides. 
Of  the  dwarfer  growing  kinds,  S.  ampullaceum  is  one  of  the 
prettiest.  It  seldom  exceeds  9  inches  in  height,  and  from  the  base  of 
the  leaves  throws  up  a  spike  of  rosy  magenta  flowers  about  6  inches  in 
height.  It  lasts  well  in  good  condition,  and  usually  flowers  about 
April  or  IMay.  Though  known  to  botanists  many  years  previously, 
this  was  not  cultivated  in  England  until  about  1837,  when  Gibson 
brought  it  home  to  the  Duke  of  Devonshire’s  collection.  It  is  a  native 
of  the  lower  pa'-ts  of  the  Khasia  Hills  and  Burmah.  Another  beautiful 
Burmese  kind  is  S.  bellinum,  and  this  is  a  much  more  recent  intro¬ 
duction,  throwing  fewer  but  larger-flowered  racemes.  The  sejAals  and 
petals  are  yelloAvish  green  Avith  blotches  of  brown  ;  the  prettily  fringed 
lip  is  white,  with  a  yelloAv  centre. 
S.  Blumei,  S.  retusum,  and  S.  guttatum  are  all  better  known  as 
Saccolabiums,  but  by  botanists  generally  are  referred  to  Blume’s  genus 
Khynchostylis.  They  are  noble  plants  Avhen  well  grown,  the  hand¬ 
some  foliage  alone  being  very  ornamental,  while  the  long  cylindrical 
racemes  are  second  to  none  for  beauty.  Perhaps  the  most  correct 
plan  is  to  group  them  as  varieties  of  one  species ;  but  they  are  quite 
distinct,  and  there  are  also  many  sub-varieties,  such  as  the  large 
flowered  Blumei  Russelianum  or  the  rare  and  valuable  B.  Heatbi,  a 
pure  Avhite  form  of  S.  Blumei.  The  usual  colour  of  the  floAvers  is 
whitish,  more  or  less  spotted  Avith  rose. 
S.  coeleste  is  also  grouped  under  Rhynchostylis  by  Reichenbach,  and 
is  a  remarkable  and  beautiful  plant.  The  name  would  indicate  that 
the  floAvers  are  blue,  but  this  tint  is  chiefly  confined  to  the  tips  of  the 
outer  segments  and  the  lips,  the  rest  of  the  flower  being  white.  It  is 
a  native  of  Siam,  and  its  usual  flowering  season  is  late  summer. 
S.  curvifolium  is  a  bright  and  effective  plant  when  in  flower,  the 
colour  being  a  bright  red,  the  racemes  being  erect  and  very  freely 
produced.  Dr.  Walhch  discovered  this  plant  many  years  ago,  but 
only  within  the  last  thirty  or  thirty-five  years  has  it  been  in  cultivation  in 
England.  A  similar  kind  is  S.  miniatum  (fig.  17,  p.  109),  introduced 
from  Java  by  Messrs.  Veitch  about  1846.  It  flowers  in  early  spring. 
S.  giganteum  is  a  very  beautiful  large  groAving  species  now  in 
flower.  It  is,  perhaps,  as  difficult  a  kind  as  any  in  the  genus  to 
cultivate  over  a  long  series  of  years,  but  for  a  time  after  being 
imported  groAvs  and  flowers  freely  enough.  It  is  in  floAver  here  noAv, 
about  half  a  dozen  of  the  long  pendulous  racemes  filling  the  house 
Avith  its  delicious  aromatic  fragrance.  Disturbance  at  the  root  is 
distinctly  harmful  to  this  kind,  and  the  fact  of  its  floAvering  at 
midwinter  goes  against  it.  When  imported  it  should  be  placed  in 
medium-sized  baskets  or  pots,  and  suspended  from  the  roof.  There 
are  several  varieties  .or  nearly  related  kinds,  such  as  S.  violaceum, 
S.  violaceum  Harrisonianum,  and  S.  giganteum  illustre. — II.  R.  R. 
SIMILARITY  OF  LIFE  IN  THE  VEGETABLE 
•  AND  ANIMAL  KINGDOMS. 
iContimied  from  page  54.) 
Elementary  Construction. 
The  organic  structures  of  plant  life  are  invariably  bounded  by 
curved  lines,  and  have  their  parts  balanced  with  great  synunetry ;  and, 
says  Dr.  Lindley,  “in  these  respects  they  agree  with  the  animal,  and 
differ  from  the  mineral  kingdom.”  Rome  de  Lisle,  in  his  observations 
upon  this  characteristic  in  the  two  kingdoms  of  life,  speaks  of  it  as 
“  resulting  from  that  central  power  of  life  which  dilates  the  internal 
organs  in  all  directions.”  In  both  kingdoms  is  equally  noticeable  this 
mysterious  effort  of  Nature  to  have  and  to  maintain  these  symmetrical 
arrangements,  and  even  in  those  cases  which  appear  to  be  exceptions 
to  a  natural  law  a  closer  investigation  will  reveal  the  presence  of 
compensating  influences. 
This  is  fully  admitted,  in  fact  insisted  upon  by  the  eminent 
authority  quoted  above.  This  points  to  some  inherent  poAver  which 
is  as  yet  but  partly  revealed,  although  Messrs.  Chatin  and  Moquin 
Tandon  have  studied  it  sufficiently  to  assume,  Avhat  has  not  been 
generally  accepted  as  positively  conclusiA'^e,  “  that  there  are  in  the 
vegetable,  as  in  the  animal,  kingdom  both  a  centripetal  and  centrifugal 
force  of  development  ”  (“  Clomptes  rendus,”  v.  691).  Sufficient  proof, 
however,  has  been  adduced  from  the  observations  of  various  scientists 
that  plants  possess  a  vital  force  very  similar  to  that  found  in  some 
species  of  animals,  and  further  researches  by  M.  Schultz  confirm  this ; 
for  although  there  is  no  heart  or  fixed  centre  of  circulation,  as  in 
animals,  there  are  certain  foci  from  Avhich  proceed  cyclosis,  a  pheno¬ 
menon  analogous  to  the  motion  of  the  blood  in  the  lower  forms  of 
animal  life. 
In  relation  to  this  Cuvier,  in  treating  upon  respiration,  says: — 
“  No  animals  respire  by  a  particular  organ  except  such  as  have  a  real 
circulation,  and  animals  Avhich  are  unprovided  with  a  regular 
circulating  system  respire  like  plants  over  the  whole  of  their  surface.” 
The  amount  of  time  necessary  to  carry  these  extremely  delicate 
observations  to  tangible  conclusions  is  AA'ell  attested  by  the  labours  of 
the  celebrated  Duhamel,  who  devoted  thirty  years  to  the  study  of 
vegetable  physiology  before  publishing  tlie  principal  results  obtained 
by  him.  And  how  feAv  of  such  results  are  accepted  until  others  have 
been  to  almost  as  much  pains  and  labour  to  obtain  proofs. 
Mimicry. 
In  the  case  of  those  plants,  chiefly,  if  not  Avhofly,  consisting  of 
various  members  of  the  Orchid  family,  accredited  with  mimieking 
certain  animal  forms,  more  on  less  imagination  is  required  to  complete 
the  resemblance.  Selecting  the  well-known  Oncidium  papilio  as  an 
illustration,  and  which  is,  perhaps,  as  good  as  can  be  found  for  tbe 
purpose,  we  cannot,  I  think,  but  regard  it  as  one  of  tbo.«e  coincidences 
which  could  not  but  occur  in  tbe  vast  range  of  life,  hence  it  appears  to 
me  of  but  little  or  no  importance.  Sucb,  hoAvever,  is  not  the  case 
Avhere  the  animal  kingdom  is  the  primary  factor,  for  here  we  find 
Nature  employing  a  subtlety  of  design  difficult  to  comprehend. 
Among  some  prominent  examples  to  be  found  is  the  walking  stick 
insect,  Ceroxylus  laceratus,  and  Mr.  Wallace  recounts  an  instance  in 
which  the  resemblance  was  so  close  to  a  stick  groAvn  over  with  moss 
that  a  native  Dyak  maintained  such  to  he  the  case. 
