March  24,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
257 
Cattleya  Miranda, 
light  stage  where  the  sun  reaches  every  part  of  them.  The  most 
frequent  mistake  made  with  this  deciduous  class  of  Orchids  is  allowing 
the  roots  to  get  dry  too  quickly,  thereby  starving  the  bulbs  just  as 
they  need  the  most  support.  Ripen  them  thoroughly  first,  then  rest 
them  by  withholding  both  heat  and  moisture  to  a  certain  extent. 
The  pseudo-bulbs  will  then  keep  plump  all  through  the  winter  and 
early  spring,  though  they  get  scarcely  a  drop  of  water,  and  the  young 
growths  resulting  will  be  all  the  stronger  and  more  vigorous  for  the 
long  rest. 
Prominent  among  the  many  beautiful  Orchids  that  were  staged 
at  the  Drill  TIall  on  March  8th  was  Cattleya  Miranda,  which  was 
shown  by  Messrs.  J.  Veitch  &  Sons,  Ltd.  It  is  a  hybrid  resulting 
from  a  cross  between  C.  guttata  Prinzi  and  0.  Trianse.  The  flower  is 
very  handsome  in  both  form  and  shape,  and  was  much  admired.  The 
prevailing  colour  of  the  sepals  and  petals  is  soft  rose,  but  the  broad 
petals  are  splashed  with  crimson.  The  fimbriated  lip  is  deep  velvety 
crimson  with  a  peculiar  suffusion  of  violet.  The  woodcut  (fig.  .54), 
depicts  this  beautiful  hybrid,  which  received  an 
award  of  merit  from  the  Orchid  Committee  of  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society. 
^  C.  aureum^  is  one  of  Mr.  G.  Ure  Skinner’s  introductions  from 
Central  America,  and  bears  pendulous  racemes  of  pale  yellow  flowers. 
It  is  not  so  well  known  as  C.  chlorochilon,  which  is  without  a  doubt 
one  of  the  finest  in  the  genus.  The  pseudo-bulbs  are  about  a  foot 
high,  and  bear  many  -  flowered  racemes,  the  blossoms  varying  con¬ 
siderably  in  size.  The  largest  are  more  than  6  inches  across,  but 
the  smaller  the  individual  flowers  the  more  of  them  are  produced 
on  the  racemes.  The  ground  colour  of  the  flower  is  a  pale  yellow 
Cycnoches, 
The  Swan-neck  Orchids,  as  they  are  generally 
called,  are  not  very  popular ;  indeed,  if  we  except 
one  species,  C.  chlorochilon,  it  is  unusual  to  see 
any  of  them  in  collections.  This  is  a  great  pity, 
for  few  Orchids  are  more  interesting,  and  they 
possess  a  good  deal  of  beauty.  The  genus  takes 
its  popular  name  from  the  gracefully  curved  column, 
which  is  more  marked  in  some  kinds  than  others, 
but  peculiar  to  them  all.  Although  of  very  rare 
occurrence,  under  cultivation  most  of  the 
Cycnoches  have  the  habit  of  producing  two  binds 
of  flowers  upon  a  plant,  the  male  and  female. 
So  different  in  appearance  are  these,  that  at 
one  time  they  were  thought  to  belong  to  separate 
species,  but  when  a  plant  flowered  under  cultivation 
bearing  the  different  flowers  it  was  evident  that 
they  belonged  to  one  and  the  same  kind.  The 
culture  of  Cycnoches  does  not  present  any  great 
difficulty,  and  success  or  failure  depends  more  upon 
careful  attention  to  details  than  to  any  peculiarity 
of  the  plant.  When  these  are  newly  imported 
they  have  the  appearance  of  a  thick  mass  of  half- 
dry  sticks,  no  green  foliage  being  apparent,  and  tie 
colour  of  the  bulbs  being  almost  hidden  by  the 
whitish  scaly  remains  of  the  old  foliage.  To  look 
at  these  one  would  say  that  they  possessed  little 
value,  but  a  short  time  in  a  warm  moist  atmo¬ 
sphere  soon  plumps  them  up,  and  apparently  brings 
them  back  to  life. 
When  all  traces  of  shrivelling  are  gone,  and 
young  shoots  begin  to  appear  at  the  base,  the  bulbs 
may  be  potted  or  basketed  principally  in  clean 
crocks  ;  but  established  specimens  like  a  fairly 
substantial  compost,  a  little  loam  fibre  mixed  with 
the  peat  and  moss  being  useful  for  the]  stronger 
plants.  Good  drainage  is  essential  in  all  cases,  and 
this  must  be  protected  by  placing  thereon  a  little 
of  the  rougher  part  ot  the  sphagnum  or  peat  fibre. 
Let  the  leading  pseudo-bulbs  just  rest  on  the  top 
of  the  compost,  but  avoid  burying  them.  Then 
when  the  large,  fleshy  roots  appear  they  enter  the  new  material  at 
once,  to  the  advantage  of  the  forming  flowers  and  pseudo-bulbs. 
The  safest  time  to  repot  is  when  the  young  growths  are  starting, 
but  none  of  the  species  likes  disturbance,  and  should  be  returned  to 
their  growing  quarters  without  delay.  This  should  be  a  well-heated, 
moist,  and  light  house,  where  the  plants  can  be  exposed  to  the  full  sun 
in  winter,  but  sufficiently  shaded  in  summer  to  prevent  injury  to  the 
somewhat  tender  foliage.  But  for  this  being  so  easily  scorched,  the 
plants  would  do  Dr  better  in  baskets  suspended  from  the  roof  than  in 
pots  a  yard  or  more  away  on  the  stage. 
Water  sparingly  at  first,  but  when  the  new  roots  are  running 
freely  in  the  compost  a  full  supply  is  required.  The  foliage  would  be 
all  the  better  for  frequent  light  dewings  from  the  syringe,  but  the 
water  is  apt  to  collect  in  the  centre  of  the  growth  and  cause  this  to 
decay.  In  summer,  when  moisture  is  freely  used  about  the  house, 
it  is  a  good  plan  to  turn  each  plant  upside  down  for  a  few  seconds  in 
the  morning,  this  allowing  any  water  that  has  collected  to  escape. 
Towards  the  end  of  the  summer  the  new  pseudo-bulbs  will  be  fully 
made  up,  and  soon  after  this  the  root  moisture  may  be  somewhat 
lessened. 
The  foliage  soon  after  begins  to  lose  its  colour  preparatory  to  the 
plants  going  to  rest,  and  they  may  then  be  hung  up  or  placed  on  a 
FiCr.  54.— Cattleya  Miranda. 
i  with  just  a  suspicion  of  green,  and  there  is  a  large  dark  blotch  under 
i  the  column.  It  was  introduced  to  this  country  by  IMessrs.  Loddiges 
j  of  Hackney,  who  imported  it  from  Demerara  in  1836. 
i  C.  maculatum  is  a  rare  but  distinct  species,  a  native  of  IMexico, 
i  and  sent  by  its  discoverer,  Mr.  Ross,  to  Mr.  Barker  of  Birmingham, 
j  A  fine  plant  I  noted  recently  had  a  flower  spike  about  15  inches  in 
I  length,  closely  covered  with  the  yellowish  flowers,  spotted  with 
I  crimson  and  purple.  It  first  flowered  in  this  country  in  1839. 
I  C.  pentadactylon  is  a  fine  species  introduced  by  IMessi's.  Veitch  when 
at  Exeter,  in  1841.  It  comes  from  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and  was  discovered 
by  their  collector,  Mr.  W.  Lobb.  The  blossoms  are  produced  on  many- 
flowered  racemes,  and  are  prettily  spotted  with  reddish  brown  on  a 
yellow  ground.  It  is  one  of  the  brightest  of  all  the  known  kinds. 
. — H.  R.  R. 
The  Crocus  Season.  —  The  displays  of  Crocuses  this  season 
appear  to  have  been  good,  lasting  over  a  longer  period  than  usual.  The 
mild  weather  in  early  February  brought  the  bulbs  into  bloom,  after  which 
cooler  weather  and  the  absence  of  strong  sunshine  prevented  them 
expanding  fully,  causing  the  flowers  to  be  preserved  in  excellent  condition 
up  to  the  present  time.  Unfortunately,  birds  attack  the  yellow  flowers 
often  strewing  the  ground  with  detached  petals. — E. 
