April  30,  1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
39  L 
As  to  the  munitions  of  war  that  can  be  made  available  for  the 
purpose,  it  would  be  as  impossible  as  it  is  unnecessary  to  compile  a 
list,  for  those  that  have  been  employed  comprise  all  things,  from 
blankets  to  heaps  of  dry  material  set  fuming  to  make  a  smoke 
envelope.  The  important  point  is  to  have  things  ready,  and  the 
little  time  devoted  to  that  purpose  it  would  be  an  unwise  policy  to 
grudge.  A  few  things  suggesting  themselves  are  heaps  of  light 
jitter,  kept  dry,  and  if  advantageously  disposed  will,  whether  called 
on  for  covering  or  not,  serve  after  as  mulching  for  the  Straw¬ 
berries.  Pea  stakes  may  be  lightly  laid  over  tender  seedlings  of 
Cauliflowers,  Broccolis,  or  what  not,  and  should  occasion  arise  a 
further  light  covering  of  Laurel  branches,  or  other  evergreens  laid 
on  these  will  secure  the  plants  from  harm.  In  many  places  a  few 
cartloads  of  evergreen  branches,  such  as  Laurel  or  Spruce,  are 
readily  obtainable,  and  few  things  will  better  commend  themselves 
to  a  variety  of  purposes  with  the  object  in  view,  whether  hung 
from  some  temporary  wire  S  hooks  over  the  wall  trees,  or  stuck 
slantwise  in  the  soil  between  lines  of  tender  things,  or,  again, 
lightly  laid  on  the  flat. 
It  would  perhaps  be  an  insult  to  general  intelligence  to  enter 
into  further  suggestions  of  the  kind,  which  must  be  regarded 
rather  as  extraordinary  means  to  the  end,  for  this  attack  on  our 
peace  and  welfare  is  to  be  looked  for  at  a  time  when  the  ordinary 
paraphernalia  of  covering  is  monopolised  by  a  host  of  things  lately 
transferred  from  the  houses  for  hardening.  The  season  may, 
indeed,  be  so  far  advanced  that  the  very  date — day  of  the  month — 
entails  a  false  feeling  of  safety.  But  recent  history  points  a  warn¬ 
ing  finger  at  those  who  would  be  beguiled  with  a  confidence  trick. 
For  this  somewhat  prolonged  rambling  my  excuse  must  be  that  as 
I  write,  thoughts  of  the  cruel  havoc  wrought  by  the  subtle  and 
silent  enemy  are  recalled  to  mind.  Smart  men,  too,  have  been 
caught  ;  but  prudent  men  will,  I  think,  be  as  far  as  possible 
prepared  for  the  enemy. — Staff  Officer. 
Orchids  at  Stamford  Hill. 
It  does  not  now  matter  in  what  direction  one  steers  out  of 
London,  one  is  sure  to  find  somewhere  or  another  a  number  of 
Orchids.  As  representative  of  the  northern  portion  of  the  metro¬ 
polis  mention  may  be  made  of  the  collection  of  H.  T.  Pitt,  Esq., 
Rosslyn,  Stamford  Hill,  and  of  which  Mr.  R.  Aldous  is  the  grower. 
Looking  at  the  house  from  the  main  thoroughfare,  no  stranger 
would  surmise  for  a  moment  that  there  were  such  gardens  in  the 
rear — gardens  where  flowers,  hardy  and  otherwise,  fruits  and  vege¬ 
tables  find  a  congenial  home.  Yet  such  is  the  case  at  Rosslyn,  and 
Orchids  of  all  things  are  the  prime  favourites. 
On  the  occasion  of  a  recent  visit  the  grower  acted  as  a  guide 
in  conducting  the  writer  through  the  fourteen  glass  structures 
that  are  needed  for  the  shelter  of  these  exotics.  The  houses 
vary  in  almost  every  respect  ;  some  are  lean-to,  with  one  aspect, 
others  with  another,  while  in  addition  there  are  several  having 
span  roofs,  both  high  and  low.  Here  are  found  Orchids  of  many 
kinds,  and  generally  speaking  in  very  good  health,  though,  as  is 
customary,  considerable  variations  in  this  respect  are  apparent.  To 
a  certain  extent  the  plants  are  handicapped  by  a  railway,  which 
runs  along  the  lower  portion  of  the  garden,  and  from  which,  as 
there  is  a  considerable  amount  of  shunting  done,  fumes  reach  the 
stock,  with  the  result  that  many  buds  fail  to  attain  maturity. 
Despite  this,  good  health  is,  as  has  been  said,  very  conspicuous, 
and  reflects  much  credit  on  both  the  owner  and  his  grower.  The 
growth  in  bulk  of  the  collection  is  persistent,  as  consignments  of 
fresh  plants  are  constantly  coming  to  hand.  To  a  certain  extent 
this  is  a  disadvantage,  as,  space  being  limited,  it  causes  a  tendency 
towards  crowding  in  one  or  two  of  the  houses,  which  one  would 
deem  anything  but  an  advantage  to  the  occupants.  This  is  unfor¬ 
tunate,  but  no  doubt  a  remedy  will  eventually  be  found  for  it, 
when  the  probabilities  are  that  all — owner,  grower,  and  plants — will 
reap  the  benefit.  _ 
On  the  occasion  of  the  visit,  about  seven  days  ago,  there  were 
not  a  great  many  flowers  to  be  seen,  though  buds  in  varying  stages 
of  development  were  very  abundant.  Such  being  the  case  it  is  not 
proposed  to  go  into  any  details  of  species  and  varieties,  but  rather 
to  take  a  cursory  survey  of  the  various  families  which  are  grown 
and  flowered  in  their  respective  seasons.  Cutting  is  very  closely 
followed  here,  so  it  is  possible  a  dozen  visits  might  be  made  without 
finding  such  a  number  of  flowers  as  is  seen  in  some  establishments, 
where  to  cut  the  blooms  is  looked  upon  as  almost  sacrilege. 
Notwithstanding  this  sparsity  that  there  are  good  varieties  is 
very  well  known,  and  that  depicted  in  the  woodcut  (fig.  65)  is  one 
of  them.  This  is  Odontoglossum  excellens,  Rosslyn  variety,  taken 
from  a  plant  that  was  staged  at  the  Drill  Hall  on  March  24th.  As 
a  glance  at  the  illustration  will  show,  the  flowers  are  of  perfect 
form,  and  the  substance  of  the  various  organs  is  remarkable.  But 
good  as  it  is  in  these  respects,  it  is  equally  so  in  colour,  or  rather 
colours.  The  prevailing  hue  of  the  sepals  and  petals  is  soft 
yellow,  the  latter  having  a  white  blotch  of  considerable  size  in  the 
centre.  Both  these  and  the  lip  have  numerous  chocolate  blotches. 
One  of  the  greatest  authorities  on  Orchids  considered  it  the  best 
FIG.  65. — ODONTOGLOSSUM  EXCELLENS  ROSSLYN  VAR. 
form  of  excellens  that  had  ever  been  shown.  The  Orchid  Com¬ 
mittee  of  the  Society  deservedly  accorded  the  variety  a  first-class 
certificate. 
The  majority  of  the  more  extensively  cultivated  Orchids  are 
seen  at  Rosslyn,  a  large  share  of  attention  being  given  to  Odonto- 
glossums,  which  are  decidedly  numerous.  The  growth  made  is  in 
all  ways  satisfactory,  and  fine  spikes  of  flowers  are  formed,  from 
which,  owing  to  the  cause  mentioned  above,  the  buds  are  somewhat 
prone  to  fall.  Cypripediums  thrive,  varieties  of  bellatulum  being 
conspicuous.  C&ttleyas  and  Laelias,  it  is  almost  superfluous  to  state, 
are  prominent  in  all  respects.  Masdevallias  with  many  Orchids  of 
botanical  interest  are  by  no  means  neglected,  any  more  than  are 
Oncidiums  and  the  several  others  of  which  no  mention  has 
been  made. 
Hundreds,  nay  thousands,  of  plants  are  grown,  and  it  was 
pleasing  to  notice  the  freedom  from  insect  pests  and  the  signs  of 
their  visitations.  This  is  as  it  should  be,  and  with  the  good  health 
shows  the  great  adaptability  of  Orchids  for  cultivation  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  towns,  though  of  course  there  is  a  freshness 
about  country-grown  specimens  that  cannot  be  found  amongst 
the  denizens  of  our  large  manufacturing  centres. — H.  W. 
Cypripedium  bellatulum. 
This  pretty  and  interesting  Orchid  is  now  in  flower,  and  makes 
a  pleasing  change  from  the  other  species,  being  quite  distinct  from 
any  others  that  flower  at  this  season.  The  foliage  alone,  when  the 
plants  are  healthy,  is  very  beautiful ;  the  ground  colour  a  dark 
glossy  green  with  tesselation  of  a  lighter  hue,  the  upper  surface 
looking  like  a  thin  coating  of  ice,  the  reverse  of  the  leaves  deep 
reddish  purple.  The  blossoms  vary  considerably  in  colour,  the 
most  usual  tint  being  a  clouded  or  creamy  white,  densely  spotted 
with  blackish  purple.  The  outer  segments  of  the  flowers  are 
roundish,  and  the  dorsal  sepal  is  concave,  the  labellum  being  small, 
white  spotted  with  purple.  The  scapes  rise  to  a  height  of  about 
4  inches,  and  each  bears  a  solitary  flower  about  3  inches  across. 
It  is  by  far  the  freest  flowering,  most  easily  grown,  and 
