February  24,  1898. 
JOTTEXAL  of  hofttculture  and  cottage 
GA  RDEXER. 
the  Orchid  as  being  an  “alba,”  but  a  question  argued  was  whether 
the  disappointed  plaintiff  could  be,  entitled  to  special  damans  on 
wril?  "'a’-ranty  having  proved  false,  or  should  merely  receive 
frmibli  1  ga'neas,  plus  a  small  sum  for  his  loss  of  time^and  for 
useless  cultivation.  The  County  Court 
Judge  took  the  latter  view,  and  held  that  plaintiff  was  entftled  to 
20  guineas  and  £2  compensation  ;  and  as  defendant  had  paid  thoL 
sums  into  Court,  judgment  was  for  him.  ^ 
.1  •a'j  .^PPualing  to  a  Divisional  Court,  their  Lordshins 
decided  that  the  County  Court  Judge  ought  not  to  have  restricted  the 
damages  to  the  sum  actually  paid,  but  ought  to  have  taVen  into 
account  the  value  which  the  Orchid  would  have  reached  on  declarino- 
Itself  a  white  Cattleya  Aclandi*.  They  sent  the  case  back  to  have  the 
damages  assessed  on  the  wider  basis  upon  a  re-trial.  Afrainst  that 
order  defendant  appealed.  ^oftinst  tiiat 
Having  heard  counsel  on  both  sides,  Lord  Justice  Smith  in’ 'the 
course  of  a  long  judgment,  said  the  warranty  was  that  this  plant 
when  It  bloomed— if,  m  fact,  it  ever  did  bloom— would  "produce  a 
white  blossom  It  was  not  a  warranty  that  the  plant  would  blossom 
or  even  that  it  would  live.  The  plaintiff  bouf^ht  it  ’ 
knowing  that  he  would  have  to  keep  it  a  considerable 
time  in  the  ordinary  course  of  events,  before  there 
would  be  a  flower.  It  was  not  suggested  that  if  the 
cultivation  had  been  different  the  plant  would  have 
produced  a  white  instead  of  a  purple  flower.  The 
County  Court  Judge  was  wrong  in  deciding  that  l\rr. 
Ashworth  was  only  entitled  to  have  his  money  back* 
and  was  not  entitled  to  claim  anything  more  by  way 
of  special^  damages.  Evidence  was  given  to  show 
that  a  white  Cattleya  Aclandiae,  if  one  was  ever  found 
to  exist,  would  be  worth  at  least  £50.  The  Court 
would  order  judgment  to  be  entered  for  plaintiff’ 
for  £50  with  costs,  and  the  defendant’s  appeal  would 
be  disallowed.  Lord  Justice  Chitty  and  Lord  Justice 
Collins  substantially  agreed.  The  appeal  was 
accordingly  dismissed. — (“  Daily  Mail.”) 
Dendrobium  Brymertanum. 
This^  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  interesting 
Dendrobiums  in  flower  at  this  season,  and  one  of 
the  showiest  if  well  grown  and  flowered.  The 
stems  are  fusiform,  upwards  of  18  inches  in  length, 
and  the  flowers  appear  in  small  racemes  of  two  or 
three,  chiefly  about  the  upper  nodes.  These  are 
about  3  inches  across,  the  sepals  and  petals  of  the 
usual  form,  as  seen  in  the  genus,  but  instead  of 
the  usual  lip  this  segment  is  cut  up  into  many  fine 
filaments,  forming  a  bright  golden  yellow  fringe  about 
an  inch  in  depth.  The  species  is  strictly  evergreen, 
but,  as  will  be  noted,  requires  a  mode  of  treatment 
more  resembling  that  of  the  deciduous  section. 
It  is  easily  and  freely  propagated  by  taking  off 
and  either  potting  singly  or  massing  the  young 
growing  shoots  that  usually  appear  in  planting  about 
the  upper  parts  of  the  stems  or  pseudo-bulbs.  The 
safest  time  to  remove  them  is  after  they  are 
finished  growing,  but  before  they  commence  a 
second  season.  If  potted  singly  they  must  not  be 
placed  in  pots  larger  than  the  3  -  inch  size,  but  several  disposed 
around  the  edge  of  a  6-inch  pot  soon  make  a  well-furnished  plant. 
The  compost  for  these  and  also  for  established  specimens  may  consist 
of  equal  parts  of  peat  fibre  and  sphagnum  moss,  but  the  root  being 
larger  and  more  fleshy  than  usual  in  the  genus,  plenty  of  large  rough 
lumps  of  charcoal  and  crocks  or  potter’s  ballast  may  be  mixed  with 
it,  and  the  drainage  should  come  in  for  special  care. 
The  best  time  to  repot  established  specimens  is  soon  after  the 
flowers  are  past,  but  before  the  young  basal  shoots  commence  to  root 
on  their  own  account.  Disturb  the  roots  as  little  as  possible,  but  take 
care  that  nothing  in  the  way  of  decayed  roots  or  sour  potting  material 
is  left  behind,  as  this  makes  the  new  compost  close  and  heavy  at  the 
start,  and  is  bad  for  the  new  roots.  All  such  then  must  be  cleared  off, 
and  the  j^lants  put  into  clean  pots  and  new  sweet  material.  'Then 
when  new  roots  areq)roduced  they  push  freely  into  this,  and  are  able 
to  carry  plenty  of  sustenance  to  the  forming  bulbs.  This  is  rather  an 
important  point  in  Orchid  culture,  or,  rather,  in  the  culture  of  this 
class  of  Orchid,  for  if  disturbed  at  the  wrong  time  the  jiseudo-bulbs  are 
deprived  of  the  nourishment  that  they  require  by  cutting  off  the  roots 
that  should  supiffy  it. 
The  base  of  the  stems  should  not  be  buried,  but  sit  on  the  top  of 
the  compost,  this  being  brought  to  a  convex  line  from  the  rim  of  the 
pot.  All  ragged  ends  of  peat  and  moss  ought  to  be  carefully  tucked  in 
with  a  blunt-pointed  dibber,  as  if  left  hanging  loose  it  is  very  difficult 
to  say  whether  or  not  a  plant  is  dry  at  the  roots.  And  this,  by  the 
way,  leads  me  to  say  that  no  Orchid  should  be  repotted,  if  it  can 
possibly  be  avoided,  when  the  pseudo-bulbs  are  in  the  least  dry  or 
fpl’ to  wiLik  to  « 
'Phe  plants  being  repotted  should  be  returned  at  once  to  the 
growing  quarters,  and  being  a  native  of  Burmah  the  East  Indian 
house  is  the  proper  place  for  D.  Brymerianum.  Blenty  of  li<^ht 
must  be  allowed,  and  after  the  young  shoots  commence  rooting'on 
their  own  account  they  will  bear  almost  full  exposure  to  the  sun. 
It  would  not  do,  of  course,  to  let  the  sun  shine  on  the  plants  in  a  dry 
house,  but  the  damp  atmosphere  causes  a  film  of  moisture  to  settle  on 
the  glass  at  closing  time,  and  though  the  sun  may  be  full  upon  the 
plants  no  harm  will  be  done  to  them— in  fact,  it  causes  just  that 
j  atmosphere  that  is  the  life  of  all  heat-loving  Orchids 
and  Dendrobiums  m  particular.  °  ’ 
.  ?•  B^yi^orianum  requires  a  rather  long  season  of  growth,  and  this 
is  often  m  full  swing  quite  at  the  end  of  summer.  The  advantage, 
then,  of  letting  the  sun  get  at  the  forming  growths  is  twofold.  It 
helps  them  along  at  a  good  pace,  and  hardens  them  as  they  arc 
produced,  and  here  the  chief  difference  between  this  and  the  deciduous 
Fig.  24.— L^lia  anceps  waddonex.sis. 
group  is  shown.  The  latter  may  be  quickly  grown,  in  most  instances, 
and  well  ripened  by  exposure  afterwards,  but  the  longer  season  needed 
by  D.  Brymerianum  renders  this  impossible,  hence  the  need  of 
ripening  the  growth  as  it  is  made. 
Jhe  water  supply  must  be  free  all  through  the  glowing  season, 
and  until  the  pseudo-bulbs  are  fully  developed.  From  this  time  it 
may  be  gradually  reduced,  until  by  midwinter  little  more  is  needed 
by  this  kind  than  by  the  D.  Wardianum,  D.  crassinode,  and  other 
divisions  of  the  deciduous  set.  With  regard  to  the  small  pieces 
referred  to  above,  it  is  not  advisable  to  dry  these  much  during  the 
first  season  or  two,  during  which  time  flowers  are  not  usually  looked 
for.  The  more  growth  that  can  be  got  into  these  the  better,  so  give 
thein  a  good  long  season  by  starting  early,  and  watering  as  freely  as 
possible  as  long  as  there  are  any  signs  of  growth. 
The  old  jJants  will  not,  of  course,  be  allowed  to  shrivel,  but  the 
less  moisture  they  get,  so  that  this  is  prevented,  the  better.  Overhead 
moisture  is  permissible  in  the  growing  season  after  the  new  growths 
lose  the  characteristic  cup  shape  until  they  aie  fully  develqped,  but  it 
is  no  advantage  during  dull  or  wet  weather,  or  at  any  other  period  of  the 
plant’s  growth,  than  that  mentiondfi.  Insects  are  not  usually  trouble¬ 
some,  and  should  they  ajrpear  are  easily  kept  in  check  by  the  usual 
means.  As  mentioned  above,  D.  Brymerianum  is  a  native  of  Burmah. 
It  was  introduced  to  this  country  by  IMessrs,  Hugh  Low  &  Co.  in 
1874,  and  was  dedicated  by  Professor  Pieichenbach  to  Mr,  W.  Brymer, 
of  Dorchester,  in  whose  collection  it  first  flowered,  soon  after  its 
introduction. — H.  B.  11. 
