June  9,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
477 
and  none  is  of  more  value  than  some  of  the  old  cottage  garden 
varieties  which  have  survived  years  of  neglect,  and  which  need  less 
care  than  many  more  sought  after.  Very  showy  and  very  beautiful 
as  well  is  the  old  Tulip  Golden  Crown  in  its  early  flowering 
stage  before  the  red  which  just  margins  its  segments  spreads  until  it 
flushes  over  almost  all  the  flower.  Less  pointed  in  shape,  hut  very 
beautiful,  is  the  one  named  Golden  Eagle,  with  its  large  self-coloured 
yellow  flowers.  Very  effective  is  York  and  Lancaster,  which  at  first 
is  yellow  and  red,  but  afterwards  passes  to  creamy  white  with  large 
deep  red  blotches.  Then  there  is  Sunset,  a  rich  coloured  red  and 
yellow  Tulip,  whose  tints  are  suflSciently  well  indicated  by  the  name 
it  bears.  All  of  these  are  good  hardy  sorts  likely  to  give  satisfaction 
in  many  gardens  where  the  more  formal  if  very  beautiful  English 
Tulips  are  not  much  cared  for. 
There  are  many  beautiful  plants  among  the  Eanunculi,  even  if  we 
leave  out  of  our  reckoning  those  which  in  past  days  were  so  popular 
as  florists’  flowers.  “  Past  days,”  one  says  advisedly,  for  the  florists’ 
Eanunculus  has  fallen  upon  evil  times,  and  the  coarse  flowers  which 
pass  muster  at  the  present  time  would  have  caused  pain  to  the  old 
growers  of  fifty  years  ago.  It  is  not  of  these,  however,  that  one 
would  like  to  speak  at  present,  but  of  an  old  favourite  of  the  hardy 
flower  grower — Eanunculus  bulbosus  fl.-pl.  Very  beautiful  are  its 
imbricated  double  flowers  of  the  finest  gold,  shining  with  a  lustre  as 
if  burnished.  Not  fastidious  as  to  soil,  although  preferring  a  moist  one, 
and  thriving  well  here  on  the  boggy  margin  of  a  pool  is  this  double 
Cuckoo  Bud  or  Gold  Cup.  It  is  only  aWit  6  or  8  inches  high,  and 
gives  no  trouble  to  grow. 
Eecently,  on  page  402,  the  Canadian  Viola  canadensis  -was  briefly 
mentioned.  Now  another  Violet  presents  itself — not  needlessly, 
because  there  are  many  of  the  race  which  have,  in  the  florist’s  hand, 
almost  driven  such  species  as  these  to  be  grown  only  by  a  few.  The 
one  now  under  notice  is  Viola  cucullata,  another  North  American 
species,  and  one  which  has  been  introduced  for  more  than  130  years. 
We  generally  associate  the  Violet  with  fragrance,  but  as  there  is 
hardly  a  rule  without  an  exceiition,  sweet  odours  are  not  always 
possessed  by  these  flowers.  Of  the  scentless  species,  V.  cucullata  is 
one,  and  its  claims  upon  us  rest  in  its  pretty  violet-blue,  purple,  or 
striped  flowers.  The  form  grown  in  my  garden  is  the  last  of  these,  and 
it  pleases  nearly  all  by  its  combination  of  white  and  deep  violet-blue 
striped  blooms.  It  did  not  flower  for  a  year  or  two  after  being 
planted  in  its  present  position  by  a  stone  edging  at  the  base  of  a 
rockery  with  an  east  exposure,  but  it  has  flowered  annually  and  freely 
since  that  time.  Its  rather  cordate  leaves  are  dark  green,  and  the 
flowers  are  produced  on  good  stalks,  besides  being  of  fair  size.  The 
Hooded  Violet  possesses  several  varieties,  one  of  which  was  figured  in 
Maund’s  “  Botanic  Garden  ”  as  V.  palmsensis. 
A  glance  at  the  garden  shows  us  golden  and  orange  Trolliuses, 
the  golden  Spanish  Whin — Genista  hispanica ;  the  crimson  and  gold 
Cytisus  scoparius  Andreanus  ;  the  beautiful  little  Cytisus  Ardoini,  and 
others  of  kindred  race.  The  tasselled  Lilacs  are  in  bloom,  though 
may  be  over  in  the  earlier  South ;  and  the  Laburnums  will  soon  be 
showers  of  gold.  Pyrus  Maulei  has  not  yet  lost  its  scarlet  flowers, 
while  the  buds  of  the  crimson  Eoses  begin  to  show  through  their 
green  envelopment.  The  orange  cylinders  of  Calampelis  scabra  have 
begun  to  brighten  the  trellis  on  the  outhouse  gable  ;  there  is  colour  in 
the  buds  of  Lathyrus  pubescens  by  its  side.  Honeysuckle  is  budded, 
and  the  Hay  blossom  is  bright  with  its  fragrant  blooms.  The  rock- 
garden  and  borders  are  gay  with  Sun  Eoses,  Candytufts,  Saxifrages, 
Aubrietias,  Alyssums,  Lychnises,  Spanish  Squills,  Honesty,  and  many 
more,  while  Columbines  hang  their  pretty  flowers  from  the  tops  of 
their  long  stalks,  and  wave  as  the  wind  goes  by.  Irises  grow  plentiful, 
too,  and  Pinks  are  in  bud,  telling  us  of  other  pleasures  yet  to  come. 
— S.  Arnott. 
Odontoglossuji  Andrians  vendstdm. 
Visitors  to  the  recent  Temple  Show  will  remember  with  delight 
the  beautiful  group  of  Odontoglossums  sent  from  Belgium  by  Mons. 
L.  Linden,  and  those  of  them  who  could  get  close  enough  would  see 
and  admire  the  handsome  Odontoglossum  venustum,  which  is  depicted 
in  the  engraving  (fig.  89).  One  flower  only  is  shown  from  the  long 
spike,  and  it  can  readily  be  seen  how  finely  this  Odontoglot  is  marked. 
The  ground  colour  of  the  flower  is  cream,  but  this  was  almost  obscured 
by  the  bright  brown  spots,  which  spread  in  the  greatest  profusion 
over  the  upper  sepal,  petals,  and  lip.  On  the  lower  sepals  the  same 
colour  took  the  form  of  bars  and  blotches  on  a  cream  base.  It  was 
very  much  admired,  and  the  memhers  of  the  Orchid  Committee 
expressed  their  appreciation  by  assigning  to  it  a  first-class  certificate. 
Thunia  jMarshalliana. 
The  earliest  flowers  of  this  pretty  species  are  now  open,  much 
earlier  than  usual.  The  plants  carrying  the  flowers  are  about  15  inches 
high,  have  been  grown  in  the  full  sun  in  pots  about  5  inches  across. 
1  hough  various  reasons  have  been  assigned  for  Thunias  not  flowerintr, 
there  is  not  the  least  doubt  that  the  most  frequent  fault  is  growing 
them  in  hot,  moist,  and  shady  houses,  and  not  taking  sufficient  care 
that  the  stems  are  well  ripened  in  autumn. 
It  is  our  practice,  after  the  flowers  are  past,  to  gradually  dry  the 
plants,  and  during  the  greater  part  of  the  summer  they  are  kept  out 
Fig.  89.— Odontoglossum  AndrianjE  venustum. 
of  doors  in  the  full  sun.  Sometimes  they  get  quite  blackened,  and 
are  to  all  appearances  dead,  but  the  more  thoroughly  they  are  baked  in 
summer  the  better  they  flower  the  next  season.  It  is  a  mistake,  too, 
to  allow  the  temperature  in  winter  to  drop  unduly,  and  anything 
below  50°  is  bad  for  the  plants.  The  stems  may  be  all  shaken  quite 
clear  of  the  compost,  and  tied  in  bundles  of  a  dozen  or  more,  these 
being  suspended  from  the  roof,  or  placed  in  any  out  of  the  way  corner 
of  a  warm  house,  so  that  no  great  amount  of  room  is  taken  up. 
As  soon  as  signs  of  growth  are  apparent  at  the  base  of  the  stems, 
they  should  be  potted  in  equal  parts  of  peat  fibre,  loam,  and 
chopped  sphagnum  moss.  Drain  the  pots  carefully,  and  plant  so 
that  the  base  of  the  old  stem  just  rests  on  the  top  of  the  compost, 
this  latter  being  finished  below  the  rim  rather  than  above  it.  A  neat 
stake  should  be  placed  to  each  stem,  and  the  plants  removed  to  their 
growing  quarters,  which  cannot  be  too  much  exposed  to  the  sun,  and 
must  be  hot  and  moist. 
When  first  potted  little  moisture  is  needed,  as  there  are  no 
roots  to  take  it  up,  but  directly  the  latter  begin  to  run  about  the 
compost  the  supply  must  be  sensibly  increased.  The  blossoms  occur 
on  drooping  spikes  at  the  apex  of  growth,  and  are  pure  white  with  a 
yellow  lip,  this  being  covered  with  long  shaggy  hairs.  When  the 
flowers  are  partly  expanded  take  the  plants  to  a  drier  rather  cooler 
house,  the  least  damp  settling  on  them  being  fatal  to  their  beauty,  and 
leading  to  spotting  and  disfigurement.  It  is  a  widely  distributed 
plant  in  the  Dendrobium  region  about  IMoulmein  and  Lower  Burmah, 
plentiful  enough  to  be  always  cheap. — H.  E.  E. 
OECHIDS  EOUND  LONDON. 
Eosefield — Sevenoaks. 
Not  many  months  ago — in  fact  early  in  the  new  year — the 
Eosefield  collection  of  Orchids  was  visited,  and  a  few  jottings  found 
a  place  in  the  Journal.  Then,  however,  the  state  of  affairs  was 
vastly  different  from  now,  for  with  few  exceptions  plants  only  were 
seen,  whereas  on  the  occasion  of  the  present  visit  there  was  a  wealth 
of  flowers  amongst  the  Odontoglossums.  As  was  noted  on  the 
occasion  of  the  previous  visit  to  Sevenoaks,  it  is  of  Odontoglossum 
crispum  that  Mr.  de  Barri  Crawshay  makes  a  speciality,  and  he  grows 
them  well.  There  is  no  forest  of  glass,  but  simply  a  few  houses  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  plants  the  owner  loves  so  much  and  knows 
so  well.  They  are  his  pets,  that  he  tends  with  loving  care,  visiting 
them  late  at  night  to  try  and  insure  the  precious  spikes  being  safe 
from  slugs,  which  even  then  occasionally  become  the  masters  of  the 
situation. 
