JutG  2o,  189fi. 
m 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
The  prevailing  feature  on  getting  amongst  the  plants  is  their 
excellent  health.  Etch  pseudo-bulb  and  leaf  is  of  the  peculiar  hue 
which  is  generally  taken  as  synonymous  with  splendid  condition. 
Each  section  is  represented,  the  flowers  open  being  largely  on  plants 
of  the  Mossite  type.  First  might  be  seen  one  with  a  superblip,  then 
one  with  magnificent  sepals  and  petals,  yet  another  in  which  every 
portion  is  good,  and  so  one  might  continue  did  time  permit,  but  as 
it  does  not  we  must  sum  up  briefly  with  the  assertion  that  amongst 
the  several  in  flower  not  a  bad  variety  could  be  seen,  though 
obviously  some  were  better  than  others.  Then  there  were  the 
Scbroderms,  the  labiatas,  the  gigas,  the  aureas,  the  Mendelis,  the 
Gaskellianas,  the — stay,  no  more  names — excellent  health  and 
cleanliness.  Of  the  Laelias  there  were  several  beautiful  forms  of 
purpurata  in  bloom,  other  sections  being  strongly  in  evidence  by 
their  growth  rather  than  by  their  flowers.  These  again  were  of 
high  quality,  and  some  of  the  plants  were  of  considerable  size.  It 
behoves  us,  however,  to  spend  no  more  time  amongst  these,  or 
mention  will  not  be  made  of  the  many  other  plants  seen  at  Elstead. 
It  is  not  every  day  that  Dendrobiums  can  be  found  in  such 
health  as  they  are  here  in  an  old  lean-to  that  for  years  did  duty  as 
a  fruit-forcing  house.  There  are  little  plants  in  “  thimbles,”  larger 
in  pots,  others  in  baskets,  on  the  stages,  hanging  from  the  sides 
and  roof,  and  even  standing  on  the  edges  of  the  water-tanks. 
Though  only  one  or  two  are  in  flower  there  are  abundant  evidences 
of  splendid  culture  everywhere.  The  growths  are  strong,  healthy, 
and  perfectly  clean,  as  also  is  every  leaf  in  the  house.  Some  time 
the  writer  hopes  to  see  them  in  flower,  for  the  spectacle  must  be 
magnificent.  “  What  is  the  secret  of  such  successful  cultivation  ?  ” 
Mr.  Bond  was  asked.  “  Water,  heat  and  light,”  was  the  reply, 
given  with  incisive  promptitude,  and  certainly  if  those  are  the  only 
essentials  to  first-class  Dendrobium  growing  then  no  one  ought  to 
have  very  much  difficulty  with  them.  The  collection  is  very  strong 
in  varieties  of  nobile,  though  of  course  scores  of  other  species  are 
grown. 
The  collection  of  Cypripediums  is  an  extensive,  and  at  the  same 
time  an  extremely  interesting  one  by  reason  of  the  numerous 
crosses  that  have  been  made  from  time  to  time,  and  of  which  some 
of  the  resulting  plants  are  constantly  flowering.  Of  these  there 
are  several  hundreds  in  various  stages  of  growth,  but  in  all  excellent 
health  is  particularly  conspicuous.  In  hybridising  the  grower  has 
■o  far  as  possible  taken  new  lines,  and  the  results  are  therefore 
looked  forward  to  with  intensified  interest.  Taking  into  considera¬ 
tion  the  fact  that  almost  all  the  leading  species  and  hybrids  are 
represented  it  would  serve  no  useful  purpose  to  enumerate  them 
here,  especially  when  it  is  borne  in  mind  how  well  the  names  are 
known  to  the  majority  of  the  readers  of  the  Journal  of  Horti¬ 
culture. 
No  less  attractive  are  the  Orchids,  represented  in  lesser  numbers. 
Of  these  the  Phalaenopsis  are  excellent,  for  amongst  the  plants  are 
noticeable  some  of  the  best  kinds  and  varieties  in  cultivation, 
almost  every  one  of  which  is  in  capital  health.  The  graceful  spikes 
of  the  Oncidiums,  the  elegant  Odontoglossums,  the  handsome 
Vandas,  all  combine  in  forming  a  complete  collection,  as  do  others 
of  which  particular  mention  cannot  be  made  in  these  brief  notes. 
Suffice  it  then  to  say  that  the  robust  looking  plants  create  the 
impression  that  at  Elstead  their  cultivation  is  equally  as  well  known 
as  are  the  requirements  of  those  to  which  attention  has  already 
been  called.  Of  these,  again,  there  are  many  seedlings,  though 
they  are  not  perhaps  so  numerous  as  those  of  Dendrobiums 
(which  apparently  come  up  anywhere  and  everywhere)  or  of 
Cypripediums.  _ 
Of  all  the  structures  visited,  the  one  that  will  probably  prove 
the  most  attractive  to  the  ardent  orchidist  is  that  containing 
the  Cattleya  seedlings,  of  which  there  are  records  of  close  on  2000 
in  the  “stud”  book,  while  there  must  be  hundreds  of  otheis  that 
have  not  yet  been  completely  entered.  There  are  hybrids  and 
bigeneric  hybrids  iD,  at  the  first  glance,  almost  endless  numbers, 
and  that  some  at  any  rate  of  them  are  good  is  proved  by  the  fact 
that  Lselio-Cattleya  Pytho,  which  is  represented  by  the  woodcut 
(fig.  102,  page  588),  received  an  award  of  merit  at  the  meeting  of 
the  Royal  Horticultural  Society,  held  at  the  Drill  Hall  on  June  9th. 
As  the  illustration  proves  the  flower  is  of  striking  form,  showing 
evidences  of  Laelia  elegans  Turneri  and  also  of  Cattleya  Loddigesi, 
from  a  crossing  of  which  it  was  obtained .  The  prevailing  colour 
is  rosy  purple,  deepening  on  the  lip.  This  is  only  one  of  the  many 
in  flower  in  this  house,  whence  Mr.  Bond  has  every  justification 
for  expecting  to  secure  some  decided  acquisitions,  though  numbers 
of  the  young  ones  will  not  be  in  flower  for  a  considerable  period. 
It  was  mentioned  in  the  third  paragraph  that  several  of  the 
pots  were  stood  on  others,  and  it  is  remarkable  the  way  the  roots 
of  the  plants  cling  to  these  and  pass  down  through  the  open 
staging.  Stooping  to  look  beneath  this  the  sight  seen  was  nothing 
less  than  a  perfect  network  of  healthv  roots,  with  which  plants 
could  scarcely  be  in  other  than  fine  condition.  Pleasantly  the  time 
sped  awaj — all  too  quickly,  in  fact — and  soon  the  time  arrived  for 
departure,  though  enough  was  snatched  from  the  Orchids  to  look 
at  the  vegetables,  the  fruit,  and  the  flowers,  also  for  a  climb  to  a 
hill  top  for  a  view  of  some  of  the  most  delightful  scenery  in  Surrey. 
The  few  minutes  to  spare  prior  to  the  arrival  of  the  train  was  well 
spent  in  looking  again  at  the  station  garden  ere  we  were  carried 
away  to  London  and  the  smoke. — H.  W. 
ROYAL  HORTICULTURAL  SOCIETY. 
Drill  Hall,  June  23rd, 
The  exhibition  held  in  the  Drill  Hall  on  the  above  date  was  com¬ 
paratively  small,  the  Orchids  especially  being  very  limited  in  numbers. 
Hardy  flowers  were  numerous,  and  made  a  pleasingly  bright  display. 
Vegetables  and  fruit  were  sparsely  staged,  Strawberries  and  Melons 
being  most  in  evidence.  With  this  scarcity  of  plants  and  flowers  there 
was  also  a  scarcity  of  visitors. 
Fruit  Committee. — Present:  P.  Crowley,  Esq.  (in  the  chair); 
with  Rev.  W.  Wilks,  H.  J.  Pearson,  T.  F.  Rivers,  G.  Bunyard,  J.  Cheal, 
G.  Norman,  A.  F.  Barron,  T.  J.  Saltmarsb,  J.  Smith,  T,  Fife,  F.  Q.  Lane, 
G.  Wythes,  J.  H.  Veitch,  G.  Sage,  T.  Glen,  T.  H.  Crasp,  C.  Herrin, 
A.  Dean,  and  J.  Wright. 
Messrs.  Laxton  Bros,  sent  boxes  of  Monarch  Strawberries  ;  very 
handsome  fruits  (vote  of  thanks)  ;  the  variety  having  been  previously 
certificated. 
Mr.  Owen  Thomas  sent  from  Windsor  beautiful  fruits  of  Tomato 
Royal  Windsor,  resembling  the  Blenheim  Orange.  To  be  tried  at 
Chiswick.  Mr.  Thomas  also  sent  a  fine  collection  of  Strawberries, 
including  three  seedlings — Baron  Schroder,  a  very  dark  roundish  fruit  ; 
Dr.  Masters,  a  President-shaped  fruit  ;  and  Sir  Trevor  Lawrence,  large, 
conical  and  wedge  shape  ;  under-ripe.  In  addition  were  twenty  other 
dishes  of  splendid  fruits,  also  twenty  dishes  of  Cherries,  and  a  box  of 
Frogmore  Prolific  Cucumbers  (silver  Banksian  medalj. 
Mr.  J.  H.  Fraser,  13,  Scots  Street,  Annan,  sent  a  seedling  Straw¬ 
berry,  Thomas  Carlile,  a  very  abundant  bearer  of  large  fruits.  Passed. 
Mr.  P.  Blair  sent  from  Trentham  grand  fruits  of  Lord  Napier 
Nectarine,  and  a  cultural  commendation  was  promptly  awarded. 
Several  Melons  were  exhibited  and  conscientiously  tasted  ;  several 
were  bad,  a  few  fair,  one  or  two  nearly  good,  but  not  one  obtained 
any  award. 
Messrs.  James  Veitch  &  Sons  sent  seventeen  varieties  of  Peas 
(vote  of  thanks). 
Mr.  T.  H.  Crasp,  Ojberton  Manor  Gardens,  staged  fourteen  hand¬ 
some  Queen  Pines  and  a  number  of  Melons  (silver  Knightian  medal). 
Floral  Committee. — Present :  W.  Marshall,  Esq.  (in  the  chair)  ; 
with  the  Rev.  H.  H.  D’Ombrain,  the  Rev.  G.  H.  Engleheart,  and  Messrs. 
H.  B.  May,  R.  Dean,  H.  Selfe  Leonard,  J.  F.  McLeod,  R.  B.  Lowe, 
C.  E.  Pearson,  W.  Bain,  T.  Peed,  G.  Gordon,  J.  W.  Barr,  J.  T.  Bennett 
Poe,  H.  Herbst,  J.  Walker,  and  J.  Jennings. 
Mr.  Hazelby,  Hampton,  gent  plants  of  a  dwarf  growing  Ivy-leaved 
Pelargonium  with  compact  habit  and  very  floriferous.  From  Messrs. 
Young  &  Dobinson,  Stevenage,  came  a  collection  of  hardy  flowers,  com¬ 
prising  Delphiniums,  Campanulas,  Sweet  Williams,  Iceland  and  Shirley 
Poppies,  Gaillardias,  Antirrhinums,  and  Roses  (bronze  Banksian  medal). 
Mr.  H.  B.  May,  Upper  Edmonton,  sent  plants  of  a  new  dwarf  white 
Marguerite  nivalis  compacta  of  floriferous  habit.  Mr.  Geo.  Abbey, 
gardener  to  Mrs.  North,  Eltham,  sent  a  collection  of  a  seedling  Pansy, 
Col.  J.  T.  North.  A  group  of  seedling  Coleuses  came  from  Messrs.  E.  J, 
Sargent  &  Co.,  Worthing,  the  foliage  of  which  in  many  cases  was  large 
and  elegantly  marked.  A  few  border  Carnations  were  shown  by  Mr.  Jas. 
Douglas,  Bookham,  including  Exile,  Constancy,  and  Mrs.  Colley  Sharpin. 
Mr.  E.  Jackson,  Stroud,  also  sent  a  Beedling  Carnation. 
Messrs.  Ivery  &  Son,  Dorking,  showed  plants  of  Clematis  Lady  Ash- 
combe,  a  large  flowering  blue  variety.  Several  fine  boxes  of  Roses  were 
shown  by  H.  V.  Machin,  Esq  ,  Worksop,  the  best  flowers  being  Mrs. 
John  Laing,  Louis  Van  Houtte,  Fisher  Holmes,  Anna  Ollivier,  Madame 
Gabriel  Luizet,  Catherine  Mermet,  A.  K.  Williams,  Camille  Bernardin, 
Charles  Lefebvre,  and  Jeannie  Dickson  (silver  Flora  medal).  Arnold 
Moss,  Esq.,  King  William  Street,  E.C.,  sent  flowers  of  a  white  Iris 
anglica  Mont  Blanc.  Several  spikes  of  Alstrcemeria  splendens  were 
shown  by  C.  F.  Thompson,  Esq.,  Swansea.  Messrs.  R.  Wallace  &  Co., 
Colchester,  sent  a  pleasing  collection  of  flowers,  in  which  Calochorti 
were  conspicuous,  comprising  such  varieties  as  C.  luteus,  venustus, 
venustus  oculatus,  venustus  roseus,  venustus  vesta,  and  venustus 
citrinus.  Liliums,  Brodiseas,  and  Irises  were  also  included,  the  whole 
making  up  an  effective  display  (silver  Flora  medal).  Mr.  Henry 
Eckford,  Wem,  staged  a  large  collection  of  Sweet  Peas,  amongst  which 
were  included  many  charming  varieties,  such  as  Emily  Eckford,  Lovely, 
Countess  of  Radnor,  Royal  Rose,  Dorothy  Tennant,  Her  Majesty,  Mrs. 
Eckford,  Princess  of  Wales,  Chancellor,  Venus,  Little  Dorritt,  Duchess 
of  York,  Duke  of  York,  Blushing  Beauty,  ana  Triumph  (silver  Flora 
