420 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  1,  1898. 
Cyperorchis. 
This  is  a  small  genus  founded  by  Blume  on  the  Himalayan 
species  C.  elegans,  which  was  known  previously,  and  still  is  labelled 
Cymbidium  elegans.  Besides  this  there  are  one  or  two  other  species, 
the  best  known  being  C.  Mastersi.  The  clever  Dutch  botanist 
separated  these  kinds  because  of  the  very  distinct  fappearance  of 
their  flowers,  these  being  produced  in  dense  racemes  and  opening 
only  half  way.  They  are  distinct  and  pretty  plants,  of  a  noble 
habit,  and  worthy  a  place  in  all  collections.  The  former  has  blossoms 
of  a  light  creamy  yellow,  those  of  the  latter  are  white,  with  usually  a 
few  purple  spots  about  the  column  and  lip. 
The  culture  of  Cyperorchis  does  not  differ  in  any  material  par¬ 
ticular  from  that  of  Cymbidium  of  the  giganteum  and  Lowianum 
class.  The  growth  and  roots  both  being  strong  and  vigorous  render  a 
free  and  open  yet  very  substantial  compost  necessary,  and  a  suitable 
mixture  for  them  will  be  found  in  equal  parts  of  peat  fibre,  loam,  and 
chopped  sphagnum  moss,  all  being  kept  in  good  mechanical  order  by 
the  addition  of  rough  lumps  of  charcoal  and  potting  ballast,  this  latter 
material  suiting  the  roots  much  better  than  the  sharp  edged  broken 
crocks  in  general  use.  Large  pots  are  necessary,  as  they  soon  fill 
small  ones  with  roots,  and  in  consequence  suffer  from  starvation. 
When  repotting  takes  place  it  is  usually  impossible  to  get  the 
roots  apart  and  relay  them  in  new  compost,  for  they  enwrap  the  old 
material  so  firmly  as  to  form  a  complete  hard  ball.  A  larger  pot  must 
be  given,  and  the  vacant  place  filled  with  the  new  compost.  First  set 
the  plant  at  its  proper  level  on  a  bed  of  drainage  material,  this  level 
being  a  little  above  the  rim  of  the  pot.  Put  a  little  ballast  in  before 
the  compost,  and  see  that  it  gets  well  to  the  bottom.  Use  a  thin 
potting  stick,  and  well  firm  the  new  material  as  it  is  placed,  finishing 
with  a  mound  to  reach  the  base  of  the  bulbs.  Cover  the  old  material 
slightly,  and  if  a  little  of  it  can  be  previously  removed  all  the  better. 
The  roots  are  so  strong  that  one  good  soaking  of  water  may 
immediately  follow  repotting.  After  this  let  the  roots  make  a  move, 
when  ihey  must  be  kept  very  moist  all  the  summer,  oniy  reducing 
the  supply  a  little  in  winter.  Syringe  the  plants  daily  in  hot  weather, 
and  keep  in  a  cool,  moist,  and  shady  house  all  the  year  round.  One 
of  the  worst  pests  possible  to  these  Orchids  is  a  very  small  brown 
scale — a  good  deal  like  it  that  infests  Palms.  This  insect  holds 
very  firmly,  and  a  good  deal  of  force  has  to  be  used  to  dislodge  it. 
Insecticides  are  no  use,  and  only  repeated  sponging  is  of  any  avail. 
Again  and  again  the  plants  have  to  be  gone  over  if  they  are  badly 
infested,  using  tepid  soapy  water,  and  rubbing  very  gently  to  prevent 
puncture. — II.  R.  R. 
GOOD  GRAPE  GROWING 
IN  ENGLAND,  WALES,  AND  SCOTLAND. 
No ;  it  is  not  to  pit  the  work  in  one  country  against  the  other,  and 
claim  the  best  for  either,  but  to  recognise  worthy  achievements  in  all, 
though  each  in  a  different  way,  that  the  triple  sub-heading  is  given  to 
these  notes.  We  shall  be  equally  ready  to  register  notable  accomplish¬ 
ments  in  Ireland  when  the  facts  are  received  for  that  purpose,  for  we 
know  magnificent  Grapes  have  been  grown,  and  no  doubt  are  still 
grown,  in  the  Emerald  Isle. 
On  page  249,  September  29th,  we  illustrated  a  remarkably  fine  crop 
of  Grapes  produced  by  young  Vines,  as  grown  by  Mr.  W.  K.  Petti¬ 
grew  at  Ilewell  Grange,  Worcestershire.  They  were  finishing  well  a 
crop  of  30  lhs.  per  rod  of  10  feet,  after  a  nearly  equal  crop  the  preced¬ 
ing  year— the  first  year  of  bearing. 
In  the  same  issue,  on  page  252,  we  recorded  a  cultural  achieve¬ 
ment  not  less  worthy  by  Mr.  A.  Pettigrew  at  Cardiff  Castle,  in  grow¬ 
ing  and  fruiting  Vines  in  pots.  Mr.  W.  Iggulden,  after  inspecting 
these  Vines,  told  us  on  the  page  cited  that  they  were  raised  from  eyes 
early  last  year,  and  were  this  year  fruiting  in  pots,  the  canes  carrying 
from  25  lbs.  to  35  lbs.  of  Grapes  each,  according  to  his  estimate,  and 
few  men  can  be  more  capable  of  judging  than  this  experienced  grower 
of  Grapes  for  home  use  and  market  purposes. 
Then  on  October  20th,  page  302,  Mr.  E.  Molyneux  described  an 
admirable  example  of  Grape  cultivation  by  Mr.  W.  Shingler  at 
Melton  Constable.  Planted  in  1895  the  Vines  finished  twelve  to 
fourteen  fine  bunches  in  1896;  last  year  (1897)  they  finished  equally  well 
twenty-five  bunches,  and  this  year  (1898)  they  matured  in  the  best 
manner  forty  bunches  each,  “  many  of  them  weighing  5  lbs.  and 
several  7  lbs.”  With  the  article  was  given  an  illustration  of  an 
imposing  new  Grape  raised  by  Mr.  Shingler.  So  much  for  England 
and  Wales.  Now  for  Scotland. 
Shortly  after  this  year’s  autumn  show  in  Edinburgh,  at  which 
competitors  know  very  well  it  is  the  reverse  of  easv  to  win  a  foremost 
place  in  the  Grape  classes,  we  received  the  following  letter; — 
I  am  sending  you  a  photo  of  Mr.  Lunt’s  (Iveir)  first  prize  six  bunches 
of  Grapes  shown  at  the  exhibition  of  the  Royal  Caledonian  Horticultural 
Society  held  in  Edinburgh  on  14th  and  15th  of  September.  If  the  photo 
is  worth  a  place  in  the  Journal ,  ns  I  hope  it  is,  I  should  be  pleased  to  see 
it  reproduced.  The  Grapes  were  of  the  finest  quality,  and  admired  by  all 
who  saw  them. 
I  have  obtained  the  following  details  of  the  weights  ofj  the 
bunches,  not  taken  before  staging  but  after  the  show  was  over,1}  and^ 
as  you  know,  Grapes  do  not  gain  weight  by  exposure. 
Muscat  of  Alexandria  ... 
M  ••• 
>1 
Black  Hamburgh 
,,  ,,  ••• 
Alnwick  Seedling 
3  lbs.  1  i  ozs. 
3 
3 
5 
4 
3 
» 
V 
»» 
» 
12 
51 
2 
10 
8 
M 
n 
Mr.  Lunt  has  shown  his  undoubted  ability  as  a  gardener  in  many 
ways,  and  at  this  last  September  show  displayed  his  prowess  as  a  first-rate 
cultivator  of  the  Vine.  It  was  a  treat  to  see  such  perfect  specimens  of 
cultural  skill  exhibited,  and  Mr.  Lunt  was  heartily  congratulated  on  hia 
success  by  many  persons  who  saw  his  splendid  Grapes. 
The  writer  of  the  above  letter  may  safely  be  described  as  one  of 
the  best  juderes  of  Grapes  in  the  kingdom,  and  we  may  therefore  con¬ 
clude  that  it  was  not  for  size  alone,  but  size  combined  with  superior 
finish,  that  the  Keir  Grapes  met  his  high  approval.  We  are  not  in 
the  least  surprised  by  Mr.  Lunt’s  success  in  other  classes  and  at  other 
shows  as  well  as  in  the  instance  in  question. 
After  a  visit  to  Keir  a  little  more  than  two  years  ago,  we  wrote 
of  the  Vines  as  follows,  in  the  issue  of  December  10th,  1896,  page  564 : — 
“Young  Vines  are  taking  the  place  of  old  ones,  and  in  a  very  few 
years  it  may  be  expected  that  Keir  will  be  as  famed  for  its  Grapes  as 
it  is  for  its  beauty.  February  (of  the  same  year)  raised  Vines  were 
maturing  (in  September)  canes  as  thick  as  the  gardener’s  thumb  and 
20  feet  long.  Vines  raised  the  preceding  February,  trained  up  the 
back  wall,  and  as  supernumeraries,  bearing  eight  to  ten  fine  bunches, 
and  the  permanents  each  two  bunches,  or  an  average  of  eleven  heavy 
bunches  to  a  rafter,  in  that  short  time,  is  excellent  work,  though 
Mr.  Lunt  will  not  tell  you  so  ■  he  will  let  you  see  and  judge  for 
yourselves.  Black  Hamburghs,  Muscats,  Mrs.  Pince — indeed  all — 
were  all  alike  splendid.” 
It  will  be  seen  that,  unlike  the  skilful  growers  before  mentioned 
who  work  in  different  ways  on  what  is  known  as  the  “express” 
system,  or  obtaining  the  greatest  abundance  of  good  Grapes  in  the 
least  possible  time,  Mr.  Lunt  acts  on  the  principle  of  cropping  his 
permanent  Vines  lightly  when  young,  with  the  object  of  enabling  them 
to  produce  a  supply  of  first-class  Grapes  over  many  years. 
We  Should  be  sorry  to  suggest  that  Mr.  W.  K.  Pettigrew  will  not 
be  able  to  do  this  with  his  fertile  young  Vines,  .as  it  would  be  pre¬ 
sumptive  to  place  a  limit  to  the  attainments  of  a  skilful  man  ;  but  we 
think  Mr.  Shingler  has  the  better  chance  of  a  long  continuance  of 
heavy  crops  under  the  much  greater  extension  system  that  he 
apparently  prefers ;  and  it  is  under  this  system  that  splendid,  not  to 
say  wonderful,  crops  have  been  secured  for  a  number  of  years  at 
Cardiff;  thouzh,  also  for  many  years,  and  in  many  gardens,  highly 
satisfactory  results  have  been  attained  under  the  ordinary  restrictive 
methods  of  one  rod  to  each  Vine,  especially  with  a  long  rafter,  though 
not  a  few  cultivators  prefer  two  rods. 
We  do  not  remember  finer  Black  Hamburghs  than  Mr.  Denning 
used  to  grow  for  Lord  Londesborough  at  Norbiton  on  the  single-rod 
system  in  a  border  certainly  not  more  than  4  feet  wide.  Whether 
there  was  any  escape  of  roots  from  it  we  are  not  able  to  say,  but  we 
do  know  it  was  as  full  of  fibres  as  are  the  pots  of  Chrysanthemums,  the 
plants  of  which  afford  exhibition  blooms.  Mr.  Lunt  evidently 
believes  in  the  advantage  of  a  mass  of  roots,  and  does  what  all 
gardeners  dare  not  do — chops  some  off  to  produce  more,  as  may  be  seen 
by  the  following  letter  with  which  we  have  been  favoured : — 
I  have  pleasure  in  giving  the  salient  points  desired  as  regards  the 
culture  of  the  Keir  Vines.  The  Muscats  were  the  first  I  started  with  in 
1894.  I  inserted  eyes,  in  February,  of  the  old  Muscat  that  was  here,  in 
turves  6  inches  square.  When  roots  showed  through  the  sides  I  cut  the 
points  off  each  of  them  and  put  the  small  turves  on  larger,  18  inches 
square,  and  thence  into  planting  boxes  that  I  had  made  for  the  purpose, 
2  feet  by  18  inches  and  9  inches  deep,  and  planted  the  Vines  during  the  first 
week  in  May  in  5  feet  of  border  (3  feet  inside  and  2  feet  outside),  which 
was  all  I  made  up  for  the  first  year.  As  our  soil  is  of  a  heavy  cold 
nature  I  used  a  liberal  supply  of  lime  plaster,  broken  up  so  as  to  pass 
through  a  three-quarter  inch  sieve,  also  half-inch  bones,  along  with  a 
heavy  supply  of  wood  ashes,  for  18  inches  deep  ;  the  other,  12  inches, 
was  made  up  similarly,  only  quarter-inch  bones  were  used  instead  of 
half-inch.  All  the  turf  was  chopped  up  roughly  and  wheeled  in,  and  thenr* 
