224 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  22,  1898 
Masdevallia  muscosa. 
All  the  Masdevallias  are  interesting  plants,  and  this  uncommon 
species  is  especially  so.  It  is  only  a  small-growing  plant  with 
leaves  about  a  couple  of  inches  long,  from  the  base  of  -which  spring 
the  little  slender  flower  scapes.  These  are  covered  with  greyish 
mossy  hairs,  evidently  intended  by  Nature  to  prevent  the  access  of 
creeping  insects  to  the  sensitive  flowers.  Though  very  insignificant 
at  the  first  glance,  these  are  extremely  interesting  on  account  of  the 
labellum  being  so  sensitive  that  the  least  touch  causes  it  to  immediately 
close  up  to  the  column. 
The  colour  of  the  sepals  is  a  pale  creamy  ydlow,  the  lip  triangular, 
with  a  margin  of  deep  chestnut.  Like  other  species  it  likes  a  cool 
moist  atmospheie  all  the  year  round,  and  the  roots  must  not  be 
burdened  with  much  compost,  peat  fibre  and  sphagnum  moss  in 
equal  proportions  suiting  it  well.  Add  plenty  of  finely  broken  crocks 
and  give  ample  drainage,  stagnant  moisture  and  sour  compost  being 
the  worst  possible  conditions  for  the  roots.  Keep  the  foliage  clear  of 
insects  and  water  freely  while  growth  is  active;  not  even  in  winter 
should  the  roots  be  really  dry.  Light  spraying  may  be  given  in  hot 
weather,  but  must  be  discontinued  when  dull  or  cold. 
Dendrobiom  Aphrodite. 
There  are  not  many  Dendrobes  flowering  in  autumn,  and  this, 
though  a  small-flowering  species,  is  one  of  the  prettiest  and  most 
useful.  It  products  its  blossoms  not  only  upon  the  new  wood,  but 
also  on  the  stems  of  one  and  two-year-old,  a  bright  effect  being  the 
result.  It  likes  a  moderate  amount  of  compost  only,  and  fine  plants 
may  be  grown  in  flat  baskets  or  pans  with  about  an  inch  of  peat  and 
moss,  or  even  on  blocks  of  Tree  Fern  stem.  The  growths  are  usually 
about  8  inches  or  9  inches  in  length,  with  swollen  nodes,  very  like  those 
of  D.  Findleyanum.  This  circumstance  led  Dr.  Lindley  to  name  it 
D.  nodatum,  but  the  above  name  was  given  just  before  by  Professor 
Keichenbach,  and  has  therefore  priority. 
The  flowers  occur  usually  in  pairs,  are  individually  about  2  inches 
across ;  the  sepals  and  petals  are  creamy  white,  the  lip  pale  yellow, 
with  a  pair  of  deep  maroon  crimson  blotches.  The  plants  are  not 
quite  as  constant  in  their  habit  of  growth  and  rest  as  some,  but  with  a 
little  care  may  usually  be  kept  at  rest  during  winter,  grown  through 
the  spring  and  summer,  and  the  growth  ripened  by  the  waning  sun. 
It  must  be  treated  as  to  moisture  similar  to  others  in  the  same  section, 
and  especially  likes  a  light  airy  position. 
ONCiriUM  PULVINATUM. 
The  blossoms  of  this  species  are  not  large  individually,  but  the 
spikes  are  very  elegant,  and  altogether  it  is  one  of  the  most  useful. 
It  is  very  easy  of  cultivation,  growing  freely,  and  easily  propagated. 
All  that  is  necessary  is  a  compost  of  equal  parts  of  peat  fibre  and 
sphagnum  moss  over  good  drainage,  abundance  of  water  while  growing 
freely,  and  in  winter  just  sufficient  to  keep  the  large  fleshy  leaves  in 
good  condition.  The  flowers  are  yellow,  variously  marked  with 
brownish-red,  and  the  spikes  attain  a  height  of  about  6  feet  or  7  feet, 
so  that  the  small  side  branches  are  useful  for  cutting.  It  was 
introduced  from  Rio  about  1838,  and  does  well  in  an  intermediate 
house. — H.  R.  R. 
FRUIT  JUDGING  AT  STIRLING. 
At  the  Stirling  Horticultural  Society  Show,  on  i  hursday,  1st  Sep¬ 
tember,  there  was  a  grievous  blunder  made  in  the  class  for  four  bunches 
of  Grapes,  two  varieties.  Two  famous  Grape  growers  and  showers  acted 
as  Judges,  and  mistook  two  bunches  of  Muscat  Hamburgh  for  two  of 
Madresfield  Court,  and  all  the  consolation  held  out  by  them  to  the 
wronged  exhibitor  (after  telling  him,  had  his  Grapes  been  named  they 
would  have  been  a  close  first)  was  that  in  the  future  it  would  be  a  lesson 
to  him  to  name  his  fruit.  If  Grapes  are  to  be  judged  by  what  is  written 
on  the  boards,  it  is  quite  safe  now  to  show  Madresfield  Court  as  Muscat 
Hamburgh.  But  I  think  when  such  men  as  those  under  notice  can  do  the 
like  of  this,  the  quicker  show  committees  form  appeal  courts  the  better. 
In  this  case  the  Grapes  under  notice  were  placed  third.  Was  it  not 
possible  for  the  Judges  to  put  this  mistake  right,  seeing  it  was  brought 
before  their  notice  before  it  was  an  hour  old  ?  Or  has  an  exhibitor  to  lie 
quietly  down  to  a  careless  blunder  made  by  two  such  famous  Grape 
growers?— A  Son  of  the  Rock, 
EXTRAORDINARY  POTATO  CROPS. 
That  admirable  wiiter  of  a  past  decade,  “Single-handed,”  never 
began  a  trenchant  article  with  a  profounder  truth  than  that  which 
inaugurated  one  of  his  finest  contributions  to  the  Journal — “Men 
like  big  things.”  There  is  an  irresistible  fascination  in  bulk.  We 
glory  in  big  Grapes,  big  Chrysanthemums,  big  battles,  big  words. 
Perhaps  the  taste  is  a  rather  depraved  one,  certainly  it  is  when 
the  size  has  coarseness  for  its  accompaniment ;  but  it  is  an  eminently 
natural  one. 
Records  of  big  Potato  crops  never  fail  to  charm.  People  who  in 
the  ordinary  affairs  of  life  are  not  particularly  lemarkable  for  men¬ 
dacity  become  hopelessly  immoral  when  they  get  on  this  subject. 
Yet  I  am  -informed  on  independent  and  impartial  authority  that 
the  record  which  most  people  regard  as  the  biggest  “chestnut”  of 
them  all — namely,  6  cwt.  from  a  pound  of  seed,  credited  to  Mr.  Pink, 
of  Faversham — is  unquestionably  accurate.  After  many  inquiries  on 
the  subject  in  the  district,  all  of  which  failed  to  elicit  anything 
definite  (as  if  local  questioning  on  any  conceivable  subject  ever  did 
elicit  anything  except  head-shaking  !)  I  met  with  a  horticulturist  in 
the  ancient  town  of  Canterbury  who  knew  (or  professed  to  know)  all 
about  Pink’s  astonishing  feat.  Everything,  he  informed  me,  was- 
done  under  the  supervision  of  a  special  committee,  which  included  a. 
clergyman.  The  seed  was  weighed  and  prepared  in  their  presence,, 
the  ground  marked  off,  the  planting  done,  and  the  lifting  performed 
under  their  eyes.  My  informant  did  not  appear  to  possess  any 
powerful  affection  for  Pink,  and  this  is  putting  the  state  of  affairs  very 
mildly  ;  but  he  believes  that  he  fairly  won  the  prize. 
He  likewise  gave  me  seme  information  on  a  point  which  I  was- 
very  anxious  to  gain  knowledge  upon — namely,  the  method  of  prepar¬ 
ing  the  seed.  If  he  was  tight,  “A.  D.”  (page  206)  is  wrong.  The 
latter  says  that  the  tubers  were  started  in  warmth,  then  shoots  taken 
off,  rooted  as  cuttings,  and  grown  on  in  pots.  I  was  for  a  long  time- 
under  the  same  impression.  But  the  Canterbury  pilgrim  ruled 
otherwise.  Pink,  he  said,  had  a  small  instrument  with  which  he 
carefully  scooped  out  the  eyes  of  the  tubers,  and  these  were  then 
inserted  singly.  It  was  this  plan  he  resorted  to  when  he  broke  the 
record. 
That  the  other  plan  is  perfectly  feasible  1  have  proved.  I  have  put 
tubers  in  cutting  boxes  nearly  filled  with  leaf  mould,  and  placed  the 
boxes  on  a  shelf  in  a  warm  greenhouse,  carefully  drawing  off  the 
sprouts  when  an  inch  long,  pricking  them  off,  hardening  them,  and 
putting  back  the  tubers  to  break  again.  As  each  eye  will  push 
several  sprouts  it  seems  likely  that  anyone  carefully  following  out  this 
plan  could,  with  a  naturally  prolific  sort,  beat  the  Eureka  result.  I 
believed  I  easily  pulverised  it  in  the  experiment  referred  to,  but  the 
crop  was  so  colossal  that  we  lost  count.  I  could  give  figures,  but  I 
abstain,  for  the  world  is  so  suspicious,  and  perhaps  nobody  (except  the 
editorial  staff)  would  believe  me. 
When  all  is  said  and  done,  the  performance  of  a  Kentish  cottager 
is  as  meritorious  as  any.  This  excellent  man,  who  lives  at  the  village 
of  Four  Elms,  near  Edenbridge,  grew  117  lbs.  from  1  lb.  of  seed.  As 
he  had  only  the  limited  conveniences  of  the  average  cottager,  he  is 
entitled  to  high  rank.  The  variety  was  Magnum  Bonum,  of  which 
the  decline  is  spoken  of  by  another  correspondent.  I  wish  dividends 
“  declined  ”  in  the  same  comforting  ratio,  cent,  per  cent.,  and  a  bit 
over. — W.  Pea. 
[There  is  perhaps  even  a  limit  to  the  credulity  of  the  “  editorial 
staff.”] 
Doyenne  du  Comice  Pear.— This  is  without  doubt  the  king 
of  all  Pears  for  those  who  have  appreciative  tastes  and  prefer  soft  melting 
flesh  and  the  richest  of  flavour  to  the  tasteless  bulk  of  pulp  found  in  a 
giant  Pitmaston  Duchess.  Just  recently  I  have  had  opportunities  to 
not  ce  this  grand  Pear  under  diverse  conditions  of  culture,  and  the  results 
are  worthy  of  notice.  When  recently  at  St.  James’  Gardens,  Malvern, 
Mr.  Fielder  drew  my  attention  to  some  large,  somewhat  columnar,  trees 
in  pots  in  an  orchard  house  fruiting  very  well.  These  trees  were  in 
12-inch  pots,  one  half  being  on  the  Pear  stock,  the  other  on  the  Quince. 
The  unfitness  of  the  Pear  stock  for  pot  culture  was  shown  in  a 
remarkable  degree,  for  whilst  the  trees  were  rather  the  taller,  they 
were  less  finely  leaved,  and  the  fruits,  a  moderate  crop,  were  relatively 
small.  On  the  Quince  stock  the  product  was  far  superior,  the  woody 
growths  being  stouter  and  more  thickly  set  with  foliage,  which  was 
larger,  whilst  the  fruits  must  have  been  fully  three  times  as  large  as  were 
those  on  the  other  trees.  At  Madresfield  Court  on  the  same  day  I  saw  a 
moderate  sized  semi-pyramid  tree  of  the  same  variety  on  the  Quince 
growing  in  one  of  the  quarters  carrying  a  very  heavy  crop  of  nice  half¬ 
sized  fruits,  but  the  tree  growth  was  somewhat  stunted.  On  a  wall, 
however,  was  a  tree  horizontally  trained  on  the  Pear  stock,  carrying  a 
heavy  crop  of  very  fine  fruits  literally  perfect  samples.  How  much  I 
wished  to  have  had  snapshots  at  these  respective  trees,  as  showing 
pictorially  how  remarkable  were  the  differences  seen  on  the  two  stocks. 
Pears  are  generally  a  grand  crop  at  Madresfield. — A.  D. 
