78 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  23,  1828. 
When  the  shoots  have  grown  to  about  a  couple  of  inches  length 
the  flower  spike  will  appear  in  the  centre,  and  will  push  up  with 
the  leaf.  At  the  same  time  roots  will  be  freely  emitted,  and  con¬ 
sequently  more  water  will  be  required,  the  plants  having  been  kept 
well  on  the  dry  side  so  far.  After  the  flowers  are  over  the  pseudo¬ 
bulbs  soon  finish  up,  and  the  water  supply  must  be  ample  right  up 
to  the  last,  almost  daily  supplies  being  needed.  When  quite  finished 
the  plants  are  best  in  the  open  air  or  a  light  sunny  frame  until 
dinger  from  early  autumn  frosts  necessitates  their  being  housed. 
The  cool  end  of  the  Cattleya  house,  or  any  structure  where  the 
temperature  is  rather  above  that  in  which  the  coolest  section  of 
Orchids  thrive,  is  the  best  position  for  this  species,  and  indeed  for 
all  the  Mexican  kinds,  including  L.  anceps,  L.  autumnalis,  and 
others.  The  colour  of  the  flowers  of  L.  majalis  is  a  pretty  bright 
rose,  the  lip  being  distinctly  marked  with  streaks  and  spots  of 
purple. 
Another  fine  kind  now  in  flower  is  L.  tenebrosa,  often  classed  as 
a  variety  of  L.  grandis,  but  really  much  more  distinct  than  many 
so  called  species.  It  is  a  native  of  Brazil,  and  has  the  habit  of  a 
strong  Cattleya  of  the  labiata  section.  The  blosioms  are  produced, 
leveral  on  a  spike  on  the  bulbs  of  the  preceding  season,  though  I  have 
known  it  flower  upon  the  new  growth  after  the  manner  of  Cattleya 
labiata  autumnalis,  and  in  company  with  this  species.  The  sepals 
and  petals  are  deep  chestnnt  in  the  best  forms  ;  in  others  they  are 
of  a  lighter  hue,  and  the  centre  of  the  lip  is  deep  velvety  purple, 
with  a  rosy  tinted  margin.  This  Laelia  delights  in  plenty  of  heat 
and  moisture  while  growing,  and  I  recently  saw  a  very  fine  batch 
of  it  in  a  house  where  the  beautiful  Cattleya  Dowiana  aurea  was 
flourishing.  Liberal  treatment,  in  fact,  both  at  the  root  and  in 
temperature,  is  needed,  the  pots  being  of  good  width  to  allow  the 
vigorous  roots  to  extend,  and  the  compost  used  in  a  rough  open 
condition.  So  treated  it  can  hardly  fail  to  be  satisfactory,  and  when 
well  flowered  it  is  sure  to  be  admired  by  all. 
L.  purpurata  is  much  too  well  known  to  need  describing,  and 
should  be  grown  in  quantity  where  room  can  be  found  for  its  full 
development.  Like  many  other  large  growing  Orchids  it  wants 
plenty  of  elbow  room,  and  will  seldom  be  really  satisfactory  in  low 
narrow  houses  hugging  the  glass.  Let  the  tops  be  a  good  yard  away 
from  the  roof,  in  the  usual  Cattleya  temperature,  keep  up  a  con¬ 
stant  circulation  of  air  about  it  summer  and  winter  whenever 
possible,  and  only  shade  sufficiently  to  prevent  the  foliage  being 
scorched.  Give  the  roots  a  good,  yet  free  and  open  run,  and  supply 
them  with  water  in  accordance  with  the  state  of  growth,  and  but 
little  trouble  will  be  found  in  its  culture. 
Somewhat  similar  treatment  is  lequired  by  L.  elegans  as  it  is 
usually  termed,  though  most  botanists  now  agree  that  it  is  a  natural 
hybrid  between  L.  purpurata  and  Cattleya  guttata,  and  therefore 
belongs  to  the  genus  Laelio-Cattleya.  All  of  these  Orchids  are 
found  growing  in  close  proximity  in  Brazil,  and  the  present  is  the 
flowering  season  of  this  bigeneric  hybrid.  The  varieties  are  so 
numerous  and  differ  so  widely  from  each  other  that  to  describe  any 
one  would  be  misleading,  but  all  are  fine  garden  Orchids  that  should 
be  included  in  every  collection. 
Where  both  light  and  dark  varieties  are  grown  in  any  quantity 
the  flowers  may  be  enjoyed  for  at  least  four  months,  including  two 
— August  and  September — when  there  is  often  a  lack  of  really 
good  Orchids  in  bloom.  This  doea  not  exhaust  the  list  of  Lselias 
now  in  flower  by  any  means,  but  anyone  possessing  the  best  forms 
of  those  named  only  will  not  be  inclined  to  fall  out  with  the  genus. 
— H.  R.  R. 
COMBATING  THE  DROUGHT, 
Amid  the  busy  turmoil  of  life  in  times  like  the  present,  when 
the  struggle  for  existence  rages  fiercely  around,  it  is  wise  for  us 
sometimes  to  remember  there  is  a  limit  to  our  powers.  Strength, 
intellect,  and  energy  are  given  us  to  unravel  the  mysteries  of 
Nature,  and  to  apply  her  laws.  In  doing  this  we  simply  use  to  our 
advantage  the  talents  that  are  given  us  ;  and  great  though  the 
strides  in  scientific  research  have  been  daring  the  last  half  century, 
our  greatest  scientists  acknowledge  there  is  a  limit  in  all  things 
bayond  which  human  knowledge  cannot  go.  Gardeners  and 
farmers,  perhaps,  more  than  any  other  class,  are  frequently 
reminded  how  dependent  we  are  upon  the  bounty  of  a  Creator. 
Sa  long  as  rain  falls  in  due  season,  and  the  sun  shines  with  needful 
warmth,  vegetation  progresses  by  leaps  and  bounds  ;  but  let  either 
of  these  be  absent  for  any  length  of  time  and  they  speedily  find 
how  little  they  can  do  to  make  up  for  the  deficiency. 
At  the  present  time  the  parched  soil  and  browned  pastures  show 
c'early  how  greatly  the  enriching  “  rain  from  Heaven  ”  is  needed. 
Day  after  day  as  the  cultivators  struggle  on  with  their  ceaseless 
round  of  watering,  the  more  thoughtful  among  them  must  often 
think  of  the  enormous  amount  of  labour  bestowed  upon  watering 
throughout  the  country,  and  of  the  meagre  collective  result  when 
compared  with  the  magical  effect  of  a  few  hours  steady  rain. 
Although  it  is  wise  to  think  of  these  things,  we  must  not  allow  our 
soliloquising  to  stay  our  hands  from  action,  but  must  continue  to 
do  the  best  we  can  to  avoid  disaster  till  the  rain  shall  fall. 
Dry  hot  weather  has  one  great  advantage,  as  it  enables  the 
cultivator  to  clear  the  ground  of  weeds,  and  by  keeping  the  hoe 
going  constantly  among  the  crops,  so  as  to  produce  a  loose  surface, 
not  only  prevent  successional  growths  of  weeds  from  establishing 
themselves,  but  also  does  much  to  mitigate  the  effect  of  drought,  as 
the  loose  surface  acts  as  a  “  mulch,”  and  prevents  rapid  evaporation, 
which  is  always  the  most  rapid  when  the  soil  “  cakes  ”  and  cracks. 
Those  cultivators  who  regularly  practise  deep  culture,  and  are  not 
sparing  with  manure,  are  much  less  affected  in  times  like  the 
present  than  those  whose  operations  are  conducted  upon  less 
thorough  lines.  Nor  does  it  require  any  very  deep  thinking  or 
philosophical  reasoning  to  show  the  cause  of  this  difference  in 
results.  Land  that  is  dug  and  thoroughly  manured  to  a  depth  of 
2  feet  insures  for  crops  double  the  amount  of  available  food  to 
draw  upon  than  does  soil  cultivated  to  only  half  that  depth,  hence 
in  times  of  drought  the  man  who  practises  deep  tilth  reaps  the 
“  golden  harvest,”  while  his  brother  who  is  only  a  surface  digger 
gets  nought  but  losses,  which  sometimes  amount  to  a  disaster. 
We  have  now  experienced  a  succession  of  dry  seasons,  and  each 
year  the  absence  of  rain  seems  to  show  itself  more  quickly  upon 
vegetation.  Under  such  circumstances  I  fancy  there  are  but  few 
who  have  not  noticed  the  great  benefits  plants,  crops,  and  shrubs 
derive  from  being  “  mulched .”  In  the  early  summer  months  wall 
trees  and  newly  planted  shrubs  receive  this  attention  as  a  matter  of 
routine  work,  but  during  the  last  few  weeks  the  practice  has  with 
advantage  been  extended  in  many  directions,  and  should  be 
continued  wherever  it  can  be  as  long  as  this  spell  of  drought  lasts. 
Where  frequent  waterings  have  washed  away  much  of  the  earlier 
mulchings  around  fruit  trees  an  additional  coating  may  now  with 
advantage  be  given.  Rows  of  Peas  and  Beans  ought  to  be  heavily 
mulched,  and  if  possible  receive  liberal  waterings.  Newly  planted 
Celery  and  Colewort  require  so  much  attention  in  the  way  of 
watering  to  keep  them  in  a  satisfactory  state  that  it  becomes  a 
matter  of  great  labour,  and  anything  that  can  be  done  to  prevent 
evaporation  is  of  immense  benefit.  During  some  seasons  we  have 
applied  a  coating  of  short  lawn  grass,  but  mowing  with  the 
machine  has  lately  been  discontinued  on  account  of  the  parched 
condition  of  lawns.  We  have,  however,  now  hit  upon  a  material 
even  better  than  grass  for  the  purpose,  this  is  leaf  soil  sufficiently 
decayed  to  crumble  to  pieces  freely. 
Fortunately,  we  have  an  unlimited  quantity  of  this,  as  a  large 
hollow  in  one  of  the  shrubberies  has  for  years  received  leaves 
during  autumn.  This  is  now  in  a  decaying  state,  and  we  find  it  of 
immense  service  at  the  present  time.  Crops,  trees,  shrubs  of  any 
kind  that  show  signs  of  distress  are  liberally  top-dressed  with  it, 
water  in  many  instances  being  given  as  well  ;  but  by  the  applica¬ 
tion  of  this  leaf  soil  alone  great  benefits  have  been  noted,  as  it 
contains  a  considerable  amount  of  moisture.  Yew  hedges  and 
other  shrubs  which  are  annually  clipped  into  shape  are  beginning 
to  show  signs  of  distress,  and  unless  something  is  done  gaps  and 
loss  of  bottom  branches  will  be  the  inevitable  result.  This  is  often 
a  serious  matter,  as  all  of  us  know  how  difficult  it  is  to  get  clipped 
hedges  into  a  presentable  condition  again  when  once  their  bottom 
branches  have  succumbed.  We  have  lately  been  mulching  such 
hedges  and  shrubs,  and  unless  rain  falls  shall  now  have  to  begin 
watering  them,  Although  manure  in  a  Rose  garden  is  to  a  great 
extent  unsightly  during  the  summer  months,  we  have  this  year 
waived  the  matter  of  appearance  for  the  benefit  of  the  Roses,  and 
right  glad  we  are  to  have  done  so,  for  with  the  help  of  one  watering 
their  broad,  shining  hard  leaves  are  even  now  a  picture  of  health, 
and  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  better  to  have  the 
surface  of  the  soil  a  little  less  trim,  when  by  so  doing  we  can  secure 
healthier  plant  and  finer  blooms.  However  tidy  the  appearance  of  a 
rosery  may  be,  if  weakly  plants  and  puny  blooms  predominate 
employers  fail  to  be  much  impressed  with  the  results. 
In  the  case  of  Calceolarias,  Violas,  and  Petunias  in  the  flower 
garden  we  have  this  season  resorted  to  the  plan  of  mulching  with 
horse  droppings  passed  through  the  half -inch  sieve,  and  as  our  soil 
is  light  and  poor  the  labour  has  been  well  repaid.  So  far,  I  have 
treated  principally  of  the  first  line  of  defence  in  connection  with 
“  Combating  the  Drought."  This  consists  of  preventing,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  evaporation  of  the  moisture  already  m  the  soil. 
I  will  now  deal  briefly  with  the  other  side  of  the  matter — 
viz.,  that  of  giving  additional  supplies  of  water.  Every  moment 
that  can  be  spared  for  such  work  at  such  times  as  these  is  well 
employed.  Fruit  trees,  kitchen  garden  crops,  and  flower  beds  are, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  attended  to  regularly,  and  where  sufficient 
labour  and  water  are  at  command  splendid  results  are  obtained 
during  hot  weather  ;  but  to  do  all  that  is  necessary  the  amount  of 
