556 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  10,  1896. 
it  it  only  needed  once.  A  syringing  at  noon,  while  the  blinds  are 
down,  should  always  be  given  in  bright  weather,  and  plants  that 
stand  near  the  hot- water  pipes  ought,  during  spring  and  tummer  to 
be  syringed  at  night,  whenever  the  temperature  of  the  house  is 
rather  high. 
Important  though  watering  is,  little  need  be  said  about  it 
here,  because  a  trained  cultivator  knows  intuitively  by  the 
appearance  of  the  plants  whether  a  greater  or  less  quantity 
under  various  circumstances  is  necessary.  It  will,  however, 
be  obvious  to  them  that  with  soil  thickly  interlaced  with 
roots  which  have  a  large  leafage  to  support  copious  supplies 
during  the  growing  season  are  necessary.  Tapping  the  pots  as 
a  test  will  not  do  with  these  large  plants,  as  the  soil  should 
seldom  become  dry  enough  for  the  pot  to  give  out  a  sharp 
ringing  sound  when  struck  before  water  is  given.  Close  observa¬ 
tion  will  soon  show  the  cultivator  when  to  give  water  and  when  to 
withhold  it.  When,  however,  it  is  applied  make  sure  that  every 
particle  of  the  soil  is  moistened.  After  repotting,  of  course  great 
care  must  be  exercised,  and  the  tapping  test  may  then  be  generally 
relied  upon. 
Before  commencing  training  it  must  be  definitely  determined 
what  shape  the  plants  shall  be  gradually  moulded  into.  Crotons 
naturally  assume  a  bushy  form,  and  except  in  the  case  of  a  few 
varieties,  such  as  Johannis,  with  its  long  arching  leaves,  the  bush 
form  is  usually  adopted  by  exhibitors,  although  pyramidal-shaped 
specimens  of  some  varieties  are  noble  in  appearance  ;  but  bush 
plants,  on  the  other  hand,  are  more  easily  kept  in  shape  as 
they  get  old.  After  potting  the  selected  plants  as  previously 
advised  every  shoot  should  be  tied  out  as  far  as  possible.  A  few 
stakes  may  be  necessary,  but  at  this  early  stage  few  will  be  re¬ 
quired,  as  a  ring  of  wire  fastened  under  the  rim  of  the  pot  will 
serve  to  fasten  the  shoots  to  by  means  of  green  thread. 
Pains  must  be  taken  to  arrange  the  shoots  in  such  a  way  as  to 
lay  the  foundation  for  a  shapely  specimen.  This  tying  out  will 
allow  a  thorough  exposure  of  leaves  and  branches,  and  will  cause 
the  wood  to  send  out  abundance  of  young  shoots  so  that  there 
is  no  difficulty  in  filling  up  blank  spaces,  but  it  is  often  necessary 
to  remove  some  of  the  young  growths  to  give  others  room  for 
full  development.  Any  shoots  that  show  a  tendency  to  grow  very 
strongly  so  as  to  destroy  the  balance  of  the  plant  ought  to  be  pinched, 
and  when  once  uniformity  of  growth  is  secured,  there  is  little 
difficulty  in  maintaining  it.  Throughout  the  spring  and  summer 
mouths  the  young  growths  should  be  constantly  tied  out  so  that 
they  stand  quite  clear  of  each  other.  Heat,  moisture,  and  strong 
light  will  then  do  their  part  toward  the  production  of  brilliantly 
coloured  leaves.  Two  or  three  weeks  before  the  plants  are  wanted 
for  exhibition  the  final  tying  may  be  given,  this  time  arranging 
them  somewhat  closer  together  so  that  every  shoot  is  seen  and  yet 
no  blank  spaces  noticed.  A  little  practice  will  soon  make  a  lover 
of  this  work  an  expert  trainer,  as  the  shoots  may  easily  be  twisted 
in  various  directions  to  give  the  plant  a  symmetrical  form. 
When  the  plants  have  done  duty  at  the  various  shows  any 
damaged  or  fading  leaves  should  be  removed,  and  a  rather  cooler 
t'^mperature  be  maintained  by  a  free  circulation  of  air  till  the  end  of 
October.  During  November  and  December  very  little  air  will  be 
required,  and  only  sufficient  fire  heat  to  keep  the  temperature  about 
60®  at  night,  with  a  rise  of  5®  or  10®  during  the  daytime,  according 
to  the  state  of  the  weather  ;  and  throughout  the  winter  the  plants 
should  be  thoroughly  sponged  whenever  there  is  a  trace  of  insects 
upon  the  leaves.  In  January  the  heat  may  be  gradually  increased, 
especially  during  the  day.  Those  plants  that  require  it  must  be 
placed  in  larger  pots,  and  others  have  the  surface  soil  removed  and 
be  given  a  top-dressing  with  good  turfy  loam.  As  growth  proceeds 
more  water  will  be  required,  and  tying  out  attended  to.  Each 
plant  should  also  stand  quite  clear  of  others,  so  as  to  get  the 
benefit  of  the  light.  By  doing  this,  keeping  them  near  the 
glass  and  attending  to  other  details  of  culture  as  given  above, 
anyone  in  earnest  with  the  work,  provided  they  have  the  necessary 
facilities,  may,  I  am  sure,  succeed  in  growing  Crotons  which  will 
make  their  mark  in  the  show  tent,  for  I  take  it  that  anyone  who 
has  the  ambition  to  excel  in  the  growth  of  the  grand  specimens 
which  receive  so  much  admiration  at  our  best  shows,  will  have 
energy  enough  to  give  the  amount  of  hard  work  and  attention  to 
detail  which  is  absolutely  necessary.  They  will  not  be  wanting 
in  that  wealth  of  resource  for  which  Britons  are  famed,  and  which 
enables  them  to  overcome  the  many  little  difficulties  which  con¬ 
tinually  arise,  and  which  must  be  dealt  with  according  to  the  exact 
circumstances  of  each  case.  Let  a  plant  grower  tackle  a  “  great 
opponent,”  and  he  will  soon  learn  to  press  that  opponent  hard. 
The  following  are  a  dozen  of  the  best  thoroughly  tested 
varieties.  Aigburthiensis,  Andreanus,  angustifolius.  Lady  Zet¬ 
land,  Chelsoni,  majesticus,  Johannis,  Williamsi,  Queen  Victoria, 
Morti,  Warreni,  and  Baroness  James  de  Rothschild. — Old 
Exhibitor. 
Hybrid  Oypripbdiums. 
With  no  other  genus  in  the  order  have  hybridists  been  so 
successful  as  with  Cypripediums,  the  immense  number  of  crosses 
effected  having  brought  them  more  prominently  into  notice  than 
could  possibly  have  been  the  case  had  we  to  depend  only  upon 
the  species.  It  is  more  than  thirty  years  since  the  late  Mr. 
Dominy  crossed  0.  villosum  and  C.  barbatum  in  Messrs.  Veitch’s 
nursery,  and  raised  the  now  well-known  and  appreciated 
C.  Harrisianum,  This  was,  I  believe,  the  first  hybrid  Cypripedium 
ever  raised,  though  not  the  first  hybrid  Orchid  ;  but  the  adapta¬ 
bility  of  the  genus  for  cross-fertilisation  soon  became  apparent, 
until  now  it  probably  contains  more  artificially  raised  hybrids  than 
all  other  genera  pot  together. 
It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  a  genus  so  easily  manipulated  by 
the  hybridiser  should  not  contain  any  well  marked  natural  hybrids. 
The  genital  organs  appear  admirably  adapted  for  crosi-fertilisation 
by  insects,  and  that  they  are  impregnated  in  this  manner  there  can 
be  not  the  least  doubt ;  yet  there  is  not,  as  far  as  I  am  aware,  a 
single  species  that  shows  distinctly  its  hybrid  origin,  to  speak 
rather  paradoxically.  The  only  evidence  of  insect  agency  lies  in 
the  fact  of  many  seedling  plants  having  been  imported,  and  in  the 
fact  of  so  many  varieties  being  in  existence  of  one  species. 
When  we  turn  to  the  two  great  divisions  of  the  family — ^namely, 
the  true  Cypripediums  and  the  section  with  many-flowered  spikes 
grouped  under  Selenipediums,  we  find  that  though  crosses  innumer¬ 
able  have  been  raised  in  each  section,  the  success  when  crossing 
Cypripediums  with  Selenipediums  has  not  been  very  brilliant. 
Plants  have  been  raised  in  one  or  two  instances,  and  these  have 
grown  well,  but  their  flowering  so  far  has  been  quite  the  reverse  of 
satisfactory.  To  my  mind  this  forms  a  stronger  reason  than  any 
other  that  could  be  adduced  for  keeping  these  two  sections  apart  in 
all  classifications,  but  the  names  are  now  so  well  known  and 
generally  used  that  for  gardening  purposes  it  will  be  almost 
impossible  to  separate  them . 
They  certainly  are  not  more  nearly  related  than  Cattleya  and 
Lselia,  Pleione  and  Coelogyne,  or  many  others  that  may  be  men¬ 
tioned  that  are  now  kept  distinct.  Certain  also  it  is  that  if 
crosses  could  really  be  effected  between  them  we  might  expect  some 
marvellous  progeny.  Infuse  some  of  the  superbiens  and  Stonei 
blood,  for  instance,  into  the  seedlings  of  Roezli  and  longifolium,  or 
cross  C.  caudatum  with  any  of  the  barbatum  or  Lawrenceanum 
sets,  and  a  wide  field  would  at  once  be  opened  up.  This,  however, 
is  as  yet  far  out  of  the  range  of  probabilities,  but  there  was  a  time 
when  a  hybrid  Orchid  of  any  kind  would  have  been  considered  in 
the  same  light. 
Many  beautiful  hybrids  have  been  raised  between  the  bella- 
tulum  section  and  others,  the  foliage  of  these  being  very  orna¬ 
mental  in  addition  to  the  lovely  blossoms.  Apparently,  too,  the 
vigour  which  in  the  species  comprising  this  group  is  somewhat 
lacking,  is  transmitted  from  the  other  parent,  for  most  of  these  hybrids 
are  of  free  and  vigorous  growth,  and  when  well  treated  move  very 
quickly.  This  vigorous  growth  is  in  fact  a  characteristic  of  nearly 
all  hybrid  Orchids,  and  it  is  a  good  omen  for  future  culturists. 
How  much  easier,  for  instance,  it  is  to  grow  C.  Sedeni  than  C. 
Schlimi,  one  of  its  parents.  The  one  grows  freely  under  the  most 
ordinary  conditions  of  culture,  small  bits  soon  growing  into  good 
specimens,  while  many  people  cannot  grow  the  other,  do  what  they 
will. 
It  is  a  somewhat  significant  sign  of  the  times  that  some  of  our 
skilled  Orchid  raisers  are  turning  their  attention  not  only  to  the 
raising  of  new  forms,  but  also  to  the  perpetuation  by  seed  of  some 
of  the  more  rare  and  expensive  species,  while  many  of  the  more 
select  hybrids  have  been  duplicated  again  and  again  by  those  who 
wish  to  possess  what  are  now  practically  unique  sorts.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  this  raising  of  rare  kinds  from  seed  will  be  successful, 
and  that  the  plants  produced,  if  not  so  vigorous  as  hybrids,  will  at 
least  be  as  vigorous  as  the  parent  plants  from  which  they  spring, 
though  possibly  fertilisation  by  pollen  of  the  same  flowers  will 
hardly  conduce  to  this. 
In  almost  direct  ratio  with  the  hybrids  has  the  number  of 
hybridists  advanced,  but  the  number  is  still  small  in  comparison 
with  that  of  Orchid  lovers  and  amateur  growers.  This  will  always 
be  so,  no  doubt  owing  to  the  mistaken  notion  that  a  lot  of  skill  is 
required  in  the  operation.  What  is  really  needed  is  close  attention, 
application,  and  patience,  and  given  these  no  one  who  is  sufficiently 
