164 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
February  24,  1898. 
EARLY  GABBAdES. 
Crops  grow  apace  during  the  continuance  of  the  miid  weather  for 
which  this  winter  has  been  remarkable.  On  all  sides  we  see  evidences 
of  the  forward  state  of  vegetation  ;  even  the  Tiiorn  hedges  are  bursting 
into  leaf,  and  gardening  operations  are  being  pushed  on  with  all 
possible  speed.  I  do  not  remember  having  previously  seen  autumn- 
planted  Cabbage  in  so  forward  a  state  as  they  are  now ;  in  fact  I  saw 
an  amateur  wdio  possesses  a  warm  sheltered  garden  cutting  nice  heads 
of  Ellam’s  Early  a  fortnight  ago.  Such  heads  are,  no  doubt,  useful 
even  at  this  season,  but  they  do  not  possess  the  delicate  flavour  and 
crispness  for  which  young  Cabbage  are  noted  during  April  and  May, 
neither  is  it  desirable  to  have  them  ready  for  cuttinsr  thus  early, 
because  there  are  plenty  of  seasonable  Kales  and  other  Winter  Greens 
ready  for  use,  and  as  the  frosts  have  been  so  slight  Broccoli  have  for 
once  given  an  almost  continuous  supply  where  successional  varieties 
have  been  planted. 
Most  good  cultivators  are  too  cautious  to  place  “  all  their  eggs  in 
one  basket,”  and  they  act  upon  the  same  principle  in  regard  to 
Cabbages,  by  raising  early  and  late  plants  in  late  summer 
or  autumn.  The  latest  will  this  year  prove  invaluable,  as  they 
will  afford  good  heads  for  cutting  at  a  seasonable  time  when  pre¬ 
mature  crops  are  over.  Tf  such  young  plants  are  still  in  temporary 
beds  where  they  were  pricked  out  in  the  autumn  no  time  should  be 
lost  in  planting  them  in  their  permanent  quarters.  Rich  ground 
should  be  selected  for  them,  as  it  does  not  pay  to  grow  Cabbages  in 
poor  soil,  for  the  progress  made  under  such  conditions  is' too  slow,  and 
the  heads  lack  the  essential  tenderness  and  fine  colour  when  ready  to 
cut.  Heavy  land  which  was  dug  and  thoroughly  manured  in  November 
or  December  will  during  a  fine  day  be  in  the  right  condition  to  he 
worked  with  a  Canterbury  hoe,  which  is  an  excellent  implement  for 
reducing  lumps  to  a  finer  state  and  for  stirring  the  whole  without 
reducing  the  soil  to  such  a  fine  condition  as  to  cause  it  to  become  hard, 
close,  and  impervious  to  air.  There  is  no  necessity  to  draw  drills  for 
planting  in  when  the  soil  is  stiff,  indeed  it  would  often  be  a  troublesome 
business  to  do  so  in  early  spring,  and  there  would  be  no  compensating 
results. 
For  early  varieties,  if  the  rows  are  arranged  18  inches  apart,  and 
the  plants  set  15  inches  asunder  in  the  rows,  the  space  allowed  will 
be  found  ample,  as  we  possess  several  good  types  of  Cabbages  whose 
leaves  do  not  spread  greatly,  and  the  hearts  are  conical  rather  than 
round.  When  the  planting  is  done  on  light  soils,  the  digging  may 
with  advantage  be  left  till  planting  time,  when,  of  course,  a  heavy 
coating  of  manure  ought  to  be  given,  I  find  light  and  old  garden 
soils  are  often  teeming  with  grubs,  which  make  short  work  of  young 
plants.  The  remedy  at  the  time  is,  of  course,  to  dig  up  the  stumps 
left,  catch  and  kill  the  depredator,  and  dust  freely  with  slaked 
lime,  but  steps  ought  to  have  been  previously  taken  to  destroy  such 
pests  by  spreading  gas  lime  upon  the  land  in  the  autumn,  or  at 
least  three  weeks  before  it  is  dug,  30  lbs  to  a  rod  being  a  suitable 
quantity  to  apply  in  the  latter  case,  but  in  autumn  50  lbs.  may  be 
safely  used. 
The  usual  garden  plan  of  lifting  with  balls  of  earth  and  planting 
carefully  is  one  that  should  be  always  persevered  in,  as  plants  so 
treated  grow  away  without  receiving  a  perceptible  check,  and  in  the 
case  of  early  crops  a  gain  of  time  means  a  proportionate  gain  of  mone}' 
in  the  shape  of  better  prices.  It  is  encouraging  to  find  that  cottagers 
and  allotment  holders  are  in  many  instances  now  turning  their 
attention  to  this  important  detail,  yet  there  are  still  far  too  many  who 
pull  up  their  plants  ruthlessly,  and  then  thrust  them  far  too  deeply 
into  the  soil,  the  result  being  slow  progress  in  many  cases,  decay  at 
the  roots,  or  clubbing  in  others. 
As  all  autumn-raised  plants  are  likely  to  this  year  be  earlier  than 
usual,  a  sowing  should  now  be  made  to  afford  good  heads  in  June  and 
July,  a  time  when  Cabbages  are  by  no  means  to  be  despised,  especially 
when  large  demands  for  the  servants’  hall  have  to  be  satisfied.  Good 
varieties  to  sow  are  Dickson’s  Fitst  and  Best,  Sutton’s  Earliest,  Ellam’s 
Early,  and  Yeitch’s  Earliest  of  All.  I  have  grown  these  sorts 
repeatedly,  and  although  Ellam’s  IHrly  is  the  best  for  autumn  sowing, 
either  of  the  other  varieties  named  heart  slightly  quicker  when  sown 
in  spring  than  the  old  standard  variety.  When  growth  is  well 
advanced  frequent  stirring  of  the  soil  with  a  hoe  should  be  the  order 
of  the  day,  especially  during  bright  weather.  At  showery  times  a 
little  nitrate  of  soda  scattered  along  the  rows  will  give  great  impetus 
to  growth,  and  should  the  weather  prove  dry,  manure  w^ater  applied 
copiously  will  quickly  show"  its  effects  in  the  shape  of  glossy  vigorous 
leaves.  Under  all  these  favourable  conditions  the  plants  seem  to 
grow  by  leaps  and  bounds,  and  the  cultivator  feels  he  i?  getting  due 
return  for  his  labour,  for  be  it  noted  that  the  reward  of  the  gardener 
is  not  received  in  this  world’s  goods  alone,  but  also  in  the  instinctive 
sense  of  satisfaction  which  is  aw^akened  in  the  human  breast  when 
vegetation  is  developing  luxurious  growth.  Even  the  Cabbage  growler 
has  his  happy  moments ;  who  has  not  ? — H.  D. 
E^lia  anceps  waddonensis. 
The  dull  period  of  the  year  at  the  Drill  Hall  has,  this  season,  been 
wonderfully  brightened  by  the  many  superb  Lselias  that  have  been 
exhibited  by  different  growe<-s  at  the  several  meetings.  More  than  one 
of  the  varieties  have  received  recognition  at  the  hands  of  the  Orchid 
Committee,  and  in  every  case  the  honour  has  been  thoroughly  deserved. 
The  latest  to  receive  a  first  class  certificate  was  Laelia  anceps 
waddonensis,  staged  by  Phillip  Crowley,  Esq.,  Waddon  House, 
Croydon,  the  Chairman  of  the  Fruit  and  Vegetable  Committee  of  the 
R.II.S.  A  glance  at  the  woodcut  (fig.  24)  will  suffice  to 'show  the 
sfilendid  shai30  of  this  charming  variety  of  anceps,  which,  save  for  a 
blotch  of  yellow  and  purplish  veins  in  the  throat,  is  pure  white. 
From  tip  to  tip  of  the  petals  the  measurement  was  44  inches, 
with  a  depth  of  half  an  inch  less.  It  is  a  lovely  variety,  and*,  needless 
to  say,  was  much  admired. 
Orchid  Appliances. 
We  have  received  particulars  of  several  of  the  West’s  patent 
specialities  for  orchidists.  The  baskets  are  now  no  novelty,  and  have 
found  favour  with  many  well-known  Orchid  experts,  as  quoted  in  the 
circular.  Their  chief  merit  appears  to  us  to  be  in  the  level  top  and 
fixed  bottom,  the  former  rendering  the  plant  more  easily  fixed  in 
position,  the  latter  preventing  the  basket  from  tw'isting  out  of  shape  and 
so  snapping  the  roots.  They  are  offered  in  various  shapes  and  s’zes, 
some  made  to  hang  against  a  wall,  others  in  the  shape  of  a  pot,  and  a 
very  useful  contrivance  for  dwarf-growing  Orchids  of  the  Sophronitis 
class  or  small  Laelias  will  be  found  in  the  patent  raft.  There  can  be 
no  risk  in  purchasing  these  patent  baskets,  as  they  are  sold  at  as  low  a 
price  as  the  ordinary  style.  By  the  courtesy  of  the  makers  we  are  enabled 
to  give  illustrations  of  the  West’s  patent  pot  rim  (see  figs.  27  and  28, 
page  177).  This  serves  a  double  purpose.  The  rim  may  be  placed  In 
any  class  of  pot,  and  not  being  bevelled  so  sharply  as  the  pots,  makes 
a  chamber  all  round  the  inside  to  catch  any  surplus  water,  this  being 
carried  through  the  holes  to  the  compost.  I’he  holes  being  made  in 
the  form  of  an  inverted  triangle  the  water  drains  away  very  slowly, 
so  whatever  part  of  the  chamber  it  falls  into  it  is  bound  to  find  its 
way  to  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  holes,  and  therefrom  to  various  parts 
of  the  compost.  It  may  also  be  used  to  stand  Orchid  pots  on,  and  is 
a  great  deal  better  than  the  usual  inverted  pot,  as  air  reaches  the 
bottom  of  the  pot  through  the  pierced  sides.  Full  directions  for  its 
use  in  one  cr  two  other  ways  are  given  by  the  maker. 
The  West’s  patent  ivorine  labels  are  excellent  in  every  way — neat, 
inexpensive,  and  quite  harmless  to  the  plants,  which  many  are  not. 
The  ordinary  wood  label  is  a  great  nuisance  in  Orchid  houses,  always 
rotting,  and  when  made  of  some  kind  of  wood  always  covered  with  a 
troublesome  fungus.  They  are  apt  to  damage  the  roots  wdien  placed 
in  the  pots,  and  are  quite  unsuitable  fur  baskets ;  but  the  small  copper 
wire  shank  to  these  is  harmless  and  takes  up  no  room,  while  it  may 
easily  be  attached  to  pots,  baskets,  or  even  blocks. 
The  Quest  for  Rare  Orchids. 
Ashworth  v.  Wells.  —  This  was  the  defendant's  appeal  before 
Lords  Justices  A.  L.  Smith,  Chitty,  and  Collins,  by  which  he  sought 
to  prevent  a  new  tiial  of  the  action,  as  ordered  hy  a  Divisional  Court 
after  judgment  had  been  entered  for  him  in  the  INIanchester  County 
Court. 
fl'he  action  by  which  plaintiff  sought  to  recover  £50,  was  a  very 
interesting  one,  relating  to  the  culture  of  Orchids.  Mr.  Wells,  the 
defendant,  was  the  owner  of  an  extremely  valuable  collection  of  Orchids, 
which  in  1895  he  offered  for  sale  by  auction  in  London.  The  plaintiff, 
Mr.  Ashworth,  who  was  also  a  well  knowm  Orchid  grower,  possessing 
a  collection  valued  at  between  £15,000  and  £20,000,  attended  the  sale 
and  purchased  one  of  the  lots,  which  was  described  in  the  catah  gue 
as  a  “Cattleya  Aclandise  alba,  seven  bulbs,  three  leaves -the  only 
known  plant.”  A  white  variety  of  Cattleya  Aclandiae  is  perfectly 
unique — no  lover  of  Orchids  has  ever  been  fortunate  enough  to  find 
one — and  this  specimen  was  knocked  down  to  plaintiff  for  20  guineas. 
He  placed  it  among  his  other  Orchids  and  carefully  nurtured  it  for  two 
years,  and  when  at  the  end  of  that  period  it  blossomed,  its  flower  was 
not  white,  but  purple. 
Having  thus  demonstrated  itself  not  to  have  been  an  alba,  but  a 
rather  common  Cattleya  Aclandiae,  the  value  of  which  would  not  be 
more  than  10s.,  the  plaintiff  sought  to  recover  his  20  guineas,  and  also 
special  damages  for  false  warranty ;  and  he  limited  his  claim  to  £50, 
so  that  the  County  Court  might  have  jurisdiction.  It  was  not  dis¬ 
puted  that  the  description  in  the  catalogue  amounted  to  a  ■warranty  of 
