26 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
matter,  as  the  eyes  at  the  bases  of  the  old  pseudo-bulbs  would  pro¬ 
bably  never  break.  When  the  plant  is  at  the  right  height,  so  that 
the  last-made  growths  just  sit  on  the  compost  when  finished,  fill 
up  to  within  a  couple  of  inches  of  the  rim  with  large  crocks,  but 
lace  these  firmly  enough  not  to  rock  about  when  the  plants  are 
eing  moved.  Cover  every  part  with  a  layer  quite  half  an  inch 
thick  with  the  rougher  parts  of  the  sphagnum  moss,  and  then 
having  the  compost  ready  beforehand,  fill  up  to  the  required  level, 
using  abundance  of  rough  burnt  clay. 
There  is  no  need  of  much  trimming  off  with  large  plants  of 
this  description,  as  the  compost  may  be  laid  evenly  enough  with  a 
blunt  dibbler.  This  is  all  of  so  light  and  porous  a  nature  that  it 
allows  of  annual  top-dressings  for  an  almost  unlimited  period, 
until  the  plants  grow  out  of  their  pots  as  a  matter  of  fact. 
L.  Buperbiens  commences  to  grow  very  early  in  the  season  if  kept 
in  a  full  Cattleya  temperature,  so  that  no  resting  season,  as  usually 
understood,  is  needed.  It  requires  most  water  in  the  autumn, 
when  more  sustenance  than  can  be  afforded  by  the  old  bulbs  is 
needed. 
At  this  time,  if  the  plants  are  potted  on  the  above  lines,  daily 
soakings  are  necessary,  the  additional  sunlight  required  drying 
the  compost  very  quickly.  The  spikes  are  then  forming,  and  a 
wise  precaution  of  Nature  against  insects  may  be  noticed  in  the 
exudation  of  a  singular  glucose  matter  at  the  base  of  the  leading 
pseudo-bulbs  that  no  insect  can  pass  to  get  at  the  tender  young 
spikes.  As  the  latter  harden  and  become  more  woody  this 
gradually  dries  up,  often  with  small  insects  and  the  legs  of  larger 
ones  firmly  adhering  to  it.  The  spikes  take  a  long  time  to  come 
to  perfection,  and  each  one  carries  from  ten  to  twenty  large 
flowers,  the  best  forms  being  upwards  of  6  inches  across. 
The  sepals  and  petals  are  of  a  pretty  shade  of  rose,  and  the 
lip  is  similar  in  ground  colour  with  a  suffusion  of  a  deeper  hue 
and  several  stripes  of  rich  yellow  leading  to  the  throat.  The  long 
naked  stem  to  a  certain  extent  detracts  from  the  beauty  of  this 
plant,  but  this  is,  of  course,  not  so  noticeable  when  grouped  with 
other  Orchids.  From  this  circumstance  the  natives  of  Guatemala 
and  the  locality  call  it  the  Wand  of  St.  Joseph,  and  we  are  told 
by  its  discoverer,  Mr.  G.  Ure  Skinner,  that  the  flower  stems  in  a 
state  of  nature  attain  a  length  of  4  yards,  a  considerable  advance 
on  anything  ever  seen  under  cultivation,  and  perhaps  not  altogether 
a  recommendation. — H.  It.  It. 
L^elia  anceps. 
This  beautiful  Orchid,  so  rich  in  variety  of  colour,  is  one  of  the 
very  best  for  the  Christmas  season.  The  firmness  and  lasting 
quality  of  its  flowers,  their  moderate  size  and  delicate  texture,  make 
this  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  winter-flowering  plants.  The 
colour  ranges  widely  from  pure  white  in  the  rarer  and  more 
expensive  varieties  to  flesh  colour,  rosy  purple,  pale  purple,  rose 
and  lilac,  with  more  or  less  deeply  coloured  crimson  purple,  deep 
purple  or  maroon  in  the  lip.  The  plants  succeed  well  in  cool  and 
airy  positions  during  summer,  their  growing  season.  They  do  well 
on  blocks  of  wood  or  in  baskets,  the  former  mode  beiDg  preferable, 
as  the  plants  take  no  nutriment  except  from  air  and  water.  Well- 
diluted  manure  water  once  a  week  is  excellent  for  this  as  well  as 
for  most  Lselias  and  Cattleyas.  The  large  growers  nowadays  use 
very  little  fibrous  peat  and  moss,  if  any  at  all,  as  it  is  not  essential  ; 
it  is  rather  an  obstacle  to  the  free  development  of  the  numerous 
long  and  fleshy  aerial  roots. — N.  F.  R.  (in  “Garden  and  Forest.”) 
KENTISH  NUTS. 
Cobs  and  Filberts  Green  and  Stored. 
This  is  a  very  important  trade  so  far  as  it  affects  the  grower, 
and  a  few  words  may  be  useful  from  a  salesman’s  point  of  view. 
I  have  no  means  of  gaugeing  the  general  crop  from  year  to  year. 
It  is  very  uncertain.  The  last  three  years’  crops  have  been  abnormal. 
Such  a  fact  as  three  years  consecutively  being  above  the  average  is 
extraordinary.  Beginning  with  1893,  140  tons  passed  through  our 
hands  ;  in  1894,  120  tons,  and  this  year  we  reckon  there  will  be 
about  70,  as  against  an  average  of  50. 
I  have  for  years  been  instilling  into  the  minds  of  growers  that 
the  taste  for  stored  Nuts  has  passed  away — gone  with  the  port 
wine  drinkers.  The  public  now  go  in  for  the  green  fruit,  and  what 
is  the  result  ? 
1,  The  crop  is  extended  over  five  months  instead  of  three, 
thereby  increasing  the  demand.  We  have  August,  September, 
October,  November,  and  December,  instead  of  the  last  three 
months  as  formerly. 
2,  The  weight  comes  down  heavier.  Green  Nuts  by  storing 
lose  one-seventh  of  their  weight — 14  lbs.  in  every  100. 
3,  The  value  is  increased  by  these  two  means.  I  find  by  my 
books  that  in  1893  (the  heaviest  year)  a  ton  of  Nuts,  worth 
Jaliuary  9,  1896. 
£27  10s.  to  £30  green,  realised  only  £35  when  stored.  In  1894 
there  was  absolutely  no  difference  from  beginning  to  end  of  the 
season,  the  price  kept  very  regular,  but  the  grower  threw  away  his 
weight  and  lost  the  equivalent  of  value.  In  1895  the  price  in 
December  was  less  than  in  the  early  months.  These  results  have 
been  gained  by  three-quarters  of  the  crop  being  marketed  green. 
What  would  have  been  the  result  to  growers  if  sent  the  old  way — 
viz.,  stored  ?  To  every  ton  of  Nuts  sold  the  last  two  months  of 
the  season  we  should  have  had  nearly  3J  tons  on  the  market.  I 
leave  you  to  judge  the  result  to  the  grower.  I  think  I  have  shown 
that  the  results  for  the  past  three  years  prove  that  the  demand  for 
stored  Nuts  is  gradually  falling  away. — James  Webber  ( read  at 
the  Horticultural  Club). 
EPACRIS  CULTURE. 
At  a  time  when  the  rich  feast  of  the  Queen  of  Autumn  flowers 
has  passed  its  meridian  a  good  deal  of  forethought  is  necessary  to 
keep  a  sufficient  quantity  of  other  plants  advancing  into  flower  in 
order  to  prevent  a  galaxy  of  floral  splendour  being  followed  by  a 
dearth  of  flowers.  If  the  convenience  at  command  is  commensu¬ 
rate  with  the  requirements  of  the  establishment,  with  good  manage¬ 
ment  the  end  in  view  can  invariably  be  attained,  but  unfortunately 
these  two  vital  matters — supply  and  demand — are  often  altogether 
disproportionate  to  each  other.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  great  craze 
for  novelties  in  plant  life  is  gradually  pushing  out  of  our  gardens 
many  sterling  old  plants  which  ought  to  be  largely  grown,  especially 
in  those  instances  where  the  unfavourable  circumstances  above 
indicated  are  the  order  of  the  day.  For  flowering  at  Christmas 
time  and  during  succeeding  months,  what  class  of  plants  can  be 
more  useful  and  beautiful  than  the  various  species  and  varieties  of 
Epacris?  For  use  as  pot  plants  and  for  supplying  cut  flowers,  we 
must  describe  them  as  gems  indeed. 
At  no  season  of  the  year  does  the  floral  decorator  find  a  plethora 
of  flowers  borne  on  long  slender  stems  adapted  for  giving  lightness 
to  arrangements  in  which  bolder  flowers  are  freely  used,  and  I  know 
of  but  few  flowers  which  serve  this  purpose  better  than  do  some 
of  the  strong-growing  varieties  of  Epacris.  I  have  still  a  vivid 
recollection  of  a  delightful  and  truly  artistic  example  of  dinner- 
table  decoration  carried  out  some  years  ago,  in  which  long  spikes  of 
these  old  favourites  were  associated  with  Primulas  and  a  few 
single  Camellias,  those  having  rose  shades  of  colour  being  exclu¬ 
sively  used.  For  lightness  and  finish  in  arrangement  and  skilful 
blending  of  the  various  shades  of  rose  I  have  seen  nothing  to  sur¬ 
pass  it  since.  It  is  a  pity  that  plants  with  such  good  qualities 
should  be  neglected,  and  I  trust  this  note  will  have  the  effect  of 
again  installing  them  in  many  a  garden  from  which  they  have 
vanished. 
Cool  houses  lately  occupied  by  Chrysanthemums  are  excellent 
positions  for  flowering  the  plants,  and  from  the  time  they  require 
protection  from  frost  till  such  houses  are  cleared  of  Chrysanthe¬ 
mums  they  succeed  admirably  in  cold  pits  so  long  as  the  precaution 
of  giving  abundance  of  air  on  all  favourable  occasions  is  taken. 
Should  it  be  necessary  at  any  time  to  hasten  them  into  flower,  a 
little  heat  may  be  kept  in  the  hot-water  pipes  constantly,  and  a 
fresh,  brisk  atmosphere  maintained  by  a  regular  circulation  of  air 
except  during  the  prevalence  of  sharp  frosts.  With  this  treatment 
it  will  be  necessary  to  damp  the  floors  and  stages  of  the  house 
occasionally,  but  only  when  the  atmosphere  feels  uncomfortably 
dry.  This  kind  of  gentle  forcing  into  flower  Epacris  will  bear 
with  impunity,  but  they  should  not  be  subjected  to  a  close  moist 
atmosphere  at  this  stage,  or  the  flowers  will  become  pale  in  colour 
and  wanting  in  lasting  qualities. 
When  good  sized  specimens  are  in  flower  they  are  exceedingly 
effective  if  dotted  about  at  intervals  among  the  other  occupants  of 
the  conservatory,  and  plants  in  5  and  6-inch  pots  will  be  found 
invaluable  for  house  decorations.  After  flowering  the  erect  grow¬ 
ing  varieties  should  have  the  strong  shoots  pruned  hard  back, 
and  the  plants  arranged  in  a  position  where  they  can  have  a 
little  extra  heat  and  moisture.  I  have  found  the  front  stage  in  a 
vinery,  started  a  few  weeks  previously,  a  capital  place  for  them. 
Gentle  syringing  ought  to  be  given  during  bright  weather,  and  the 
watering  be  carefully  performed,  as  a  sodden  state  of  the  soil  is 
fatal  to  them  at  this  stage,  when  growth  has  scarcely  begun.  Any 
that  require  potting  ought  to  be  done  when  the  young  shoots  are 
about  half  an  inch  in  length,  ample  drainage,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
being  given,  and  pots  two  sizes  larger  generally  suffice. 
A  compost  consisting  of  fibrous  peat  with  a  little  broken  charcoal 
and  a  sixth  of  sharp  sand  is  suitable.  This  should  be  rammed 
very  firmly,  taking  especial  care  that  only  a  thin  layer  is  added 
between  each  ramming.  Just  enough  soil  ought  to  be  placed  over 
the  old  ball  to  cover  the  surface,  and  if  this  is  left  level  and  firm,  in 
my  opinion  it  answers  better  than  having  the  centre  of  the  ball 
