244 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  9,  1897. 
L;elio-Cattleya  Digbyana  Trian.e. 
In  the  spring  of  this  year  one  of  the  most  beautiful  bigeneric 
hybrids  that  has  ever  been  seen  was  shown  at  the  Drill  llall  by 
Messrs.  J.  Veitch  &  Sons,  Ltd.,  Chelsea.  In  general  appearance  and 
in  attractiveness  it  much  resembles  L.-C.  Digbyana  Mossise  that 
emanated  from  the  same  source  about  eight  years  ago,  and  which 
created  quite  a  furore  when  it  was  exhibited  at  the  Drill  Hall.  There 
is  no  need  for  us  to  say  how  closely  it  has  followed  Lfelia  (Brassavola) 
Digbyana,  for  that  may  be  seen  by  glancing  at  the  woodcut  (fig.  34). 
Both  parents  are  specified  in  the  name  that  has  been  given  to  it. 
There  were  several  fine  Orchids  shown  on  the  same  date,  but  none  of 
them  approached  the  one  under  notice  for  chaste  beauty.  The  lip  was 
unquestionably  the  finest  feature  of  the  flower,  and  was  superbly 
lovely.  It  was  of  great  breadth,  and  magnificent  fringing  with  rose 
purple.  Within  the  frilling  the  colour  was  yellow,  extending  to  the 
throat,  at  the  base  of  which  were  some  chocolate  veins.  Both  the 
sepals  and  petals  were  delicate  purplish  I’ose,  but  while  the  sepals 
were  only  about  an  inch  Avide  the  waving  petals  were  upwards  of 
2  inches.  The  Orchid  Committee  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society 
adjudged  a  first-class  certificate.  The  plant  was  subsequently 
purchased  by  Sir  Frederick  Wigan,  Clare  Lawn,  East  Sheen,  and  is 
now  there  in  the  charge  of  Mr.  W.  H.  Young. 
Orchid  Specimens. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  large  specimen  Orchids  are  in  a 
measure  old-fashioned,  and  present-day  growers  think  far  more  of  a  puny 
bit  of  some)Rose  or  unicpie  Cypripedium  than  they  would  do  of  one 
of  the  grand  old  specimen  Saccolabiums  or  Vandas  that  at  one  time 
graced  our  collections  and  exhibition  tents.  It  is  a  pity  in  many 
ways  that  it  is  so,  and  for  one  reason  especially  that  must  soon  stiike 
anyone  in  the  habit  of  visiting  many  large  trade  or  private  collections. 
That  is  the  fact  that  wherever  you  go  you  see  in  place  after  place  the 
same  stamp  of  plants,  saleroom-sized  plants  one  might  almost  call 
them. 
We  expect  this  kind  of  thing  at  a  nursery  as  a  matter  of  course, 
as  when  a  large  old  plant  comes  into  a  nurseryman’s  hands  in  nine 
cases  out  of  ten  it  is  cut  up  for  propagating  purposes.  But  perhaps 
the  principal  reason  for  the  change  Avill  be  found  in  the  modern  style 
of  building  Orchid  houses.  In  place  of  the  lofty  spacious  houses  once 
in  vogue  we  have  narrow  low  span-roofed  structures,  and  excellent  they 
are  for  most  purposes.  For  all  dwarf  growing  Alpine  Orchids,  such  as 
INIasdevallias,  cool  Oncidiums,  many  Odontoglossums,  and  others,  the 
10  or  12-feet  houses,  Avith  a  centre  walk  and  side  stages,  leave 
nothing  to  be  desired. 
Large  plants  of  a  grosser  habit  of  groAvth  must  have  more  room 
for  their  full  development.  They  must  not  be  cramped,  with 
their  heads  about  6  inches  aAA'ay  from  the  glass,  and  other  plants 
hustling  them  on  either  side.  In  such  places  they  can  never  be 
satisfactory,  no  matter  how  carefully  their  Avants  are  attended  to  in 
other  Avays.  There  is  something,  too,  in  the  atmosphere  of  these 
small  houses  that  does  not  suit  large  plants  ;  the  temperature  is  not  so 
steady,  and  moisture  cannot  be  so  regularly  maintained. 
In  many  places  where  these  large  plants  are  groAvn  there  are 
large  successional  vineries  where  they  may  be  placed  during  the 
summer  months,  at  any  rate  with  no  detriment  to  the  Vines,  and  a 
great  deal  of  benefit  both  to  them  and  the  plants  left  behind  in  the 
Orchid  house.  The  one  Avould  be  getting  the  proper  atmosphere  it 
needs,  the  other  Avould  be  better  for  the  additional  room  ;  and  in  spite  of 
all  prejudiced  fruit  groAvers  may  say  to  the  contrary,  many  beautiful 
Orchids  may  be  grown  and  capital  crops  of  Grapes  finished  in  the 
same  house.  It  has  been  done  time  after  time,  and  with  a  little  care 
and  judgment  in  arranging,  and  judicious  after  treatment,  there  need 
be  not  the  least  fear  of  injuring  the  Vines  in  any  Avay. 
Where  successional  vineries  exist  there  is  even  greater  facility,  as 
the  plants  may,  by  being  started  Avith  the  earlier  Vines  and  kept 
groAving  Avith  the  later  ones,  have  a  longer  season  of  growth — an 
advantage  for  many  species.  Take  the  long-bulbed,  erect-groAving 
Dendrobiuni  moschatum  as  an  instance,  or  even  D.  Dalhousianum.  Both 
these  must  haA'e  a  long  season  of  growth  and  be  thoroughly  ripened 
aftei-Avards,  and  I  knoAv  of  no  better  jilace  for  them  than  a  large 
spacious  vinery.  As  long  as  the  Ibliage  is  on  the  Vines  it  provides 
enough  shade  for  them,  and  afterAA'ards,  when  the  fruit  has  been  cut 
and  the  laterals  half  pruned,  the  sun  reaches  the  plants  and  insures 
the  consolidation  of  the  stems. 
In  early  spring,  when  the  Vines  are  started,  considerable  attention 
has  to  be  paid  to  early  morning  ventilation,  and  here  again  we  suit 
the  Orchid  admirably,  for  if  there  is  one  thing  more  than  another  that 
militates  against  the  successful  cultivation  of  these  lovely  plants  it  is 
the  close  stuffy  atmosphere  they  are  often  exposed  to.  Let  anyone, 
then,  who  has  those  large  old  specimens  croAvded  in  their  Orchid 
houses  and  stoA^es  give  them  a  chance  to  recoup  their  vigour  in  any  of 
the  class  of  houses  indicated,  and  if  they  have  not  previously  seen 
them  in  such  position  the  rate  of  progress  they  make  will  be  a  revela¬ 
tion  to  them. 
Some  of  the  finest  Aerides  I  ever  met  Avith  Avere  groAving 
in  a  large  conservatory,  kept  at  an  intermediate  temperature,  to 
accommodate  a  large  plant  of  Stephanotis  that  greAv  on  the  roof,  and 
to  maintain  in  health  a  collection  of  large  Kentias.  A.  suavissi- 
mum  Avas  in  a  basket  over  2  feet  across,  and  carrying  eleven  beautiful 
spikes;  and  the  Fox-brush  Aerides,  A.  Fieldingi,  Avas  equally  satis¬ 
factory.  I  am  sure  I  may  say  tliat  such  plants  Avould  elicit  un¬ 
stinted  praise  from  those  Avho  are  loudest  noAv  in  deprecating — and 
rightly — the  lanky  starvelings  that  one  often  sees  exhibited  as 
specimen  Orcliids. 
Such  plants  must  be  associated  with  Ferns  and  other  foliage  plants 
to  look  even  passable,  but  a  well-grown  distichous-leaved  or  pseudo- 
bulbous  Orchid  requires  no  dre.ssing.  The  quaint  forms  of  groAvth 
of  the  latter,  and  the  noble  contour  of  the  foliage  of  the  former,  are 
beautiful  in  themselves,  and  show  in  many  cases  how  carefully 
considered  culture  assists  Nature.  Perhaps  the  day  for  these  is  gone. 
If  so,  more’s  the  pity ;  but  that  does  not  alter  the  fact  that  ttiey  can  be 
grown  to  give  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  to  lovers  of  well-grown  Orchids. 
— H.  E.  R. 
ROYAL  HORTICULTURAL  SOCIETY. 
DRILL  HALL. — September  7th. 
The  Drill  Hall  was  not  overcrowded  with  produce  on  the  above  date, 
but  there  were  many  exhibits  of  more  than  average  interest.  Messrs. 
.1.  Veitch  &  Sons  contributed  handsomely  to  the  display  with  Orchids 
and  I’itcher  Wants.  Mr.  Chapman’s  Sarracenias  and  Cephalotus  were 
attractive,  and  Mr.  Farr’s  Crotons  imposing.  Dahlias  of  course  made 
a  fine  display,  as  did  the  collections  of  fruit  from  the  Royal  Gardens 
at  Windsor  and  from  Syon  House. 
Fruit  Committee. — Present :  P.  Crowley,  Esq.  (in  the  chair)  ;  with 
Rev.  W.  Wilks,  and  Messrs.  G.  Bunyard,  A.  II.  Pearson,  H.  W.  Ward, 
G.  W.  Cummins,  T.  ,T,  Saltmarsh,  G.  Reynolds,  J.  Willard,  J.  Smith, 
H.  BMderson,  G.  Wythes,  G.  Sage,  W.  Bates,  W.  Farr,  C.  Herrin,  W.  J. 
Empson,  and  J.  Wright. 
Mr.  AV.  J.  Coles,  The  Gardens,  Higher  Balcombe,  sent  remarkably 
fine  specimens  of  the  Exquisite  Peach.  It  is  a  yellow-fleshed  American 
variety,  of  which  its  fine  appearance  is  its  greatest  merit.  The  fruits 
were  excellently  grown,  and  a  cultural  commendation  was  awarded.  A 
similar  mark  of  recognition  was  accorded  to  Mr.  W.  Howe,  gardener  to 
Henry  Tate,  Esq.,  Streatham,  for  extremely  fine  fruits  of  Stirling  Castle 
Peach  grown  in  the  open  air.  Mr.  J.  Miller  sent  from  Ruxley  Lodge, 
Esher,  fifteen  fine  Princess  of  Wales  Peaches,  and  a  bronze  Knightian 
medal  was  awarded ;  but  the  triumph  in  this  direction  was  left  to  Mr. 
Owen  Thomas,  who  sent  from  the  Royal  Gardens  a  splendid  collection 
of  Peaches  and  Nectarines  groAvn  against  open  walls,  twenty-two  dishes 
of  the  former,  and  fifteen  dishes  of  the  latter,  also  two  fine  dishes  of  the 
Golden  J  ubilee  Tomato,  and  a  silver-gilt  medal  was  unanimously  awarded. 
Open  air  Peach  culture  is  evidently  not  yet  a  lost  art. 
Mr.  C.  Martin,  Clarence  House,  East  Cowes,  sent  a  handsome,  well- 
netted  Melon,  named  Sixtieth  Reign,  raised  from  seeds  sown  7  th  May  this 
year,  and  the  plants  gi’own  in  an  unheated  pit.  The  variety  is  the 
result  of  a  cross  between  Royal  Favourite  and  Blenheim  Orange.  The 
quality,  though  good,  was  hot  considered  quite  good  enough  for  an 
award,  and  it  might  be  better  with  the  fruits  ripened  under  more 
favourable  circumstances.  Mr.  C.  Herrin  sent  two  seedling  Melons,  to 
one  of  Avhich,  named  Mrs.  Herrin,  large  netted,  thick,  nearly  white, 
fleshed  fruit,  an  award  of  merit  was  granted.  La  Favourite,  raised  by 
Mr.  Herrin  about  a  dozen  years  ago,  was  one  of  the  parents  of  the  new 
variety.  Several  other  Alelons  were  shoAvn,  more  or  less  unripe,  and 
passed,  except  twenty-four  fine  fruits  from  hlr.  W.  Kemp,  The  Gunyah, 
Barnes,  for  which  a  silver  Banksian  medal  was  granted. 
Sprays  of  a  seedling  Nut  were  sent  by  Mr.  W.  Mitchell,  Farnham 
Royal,  similar  to  the  Frizzled  Filbert  ;  also  sprays  of  an  improved  Black¬ 
berry,  Mitchell's  Seedling,  raised  from  the  common  Bramble.  Both  the 
trusses  and  individual  fruits  are  very  large,  and  an  aAvard  of  merit  was 
accorded. 
Mr.  W.  AV.  Taylor,  Forest  Hill,  sent  three  excellent  bunches  of 
Madresfield  Court  Grapes,  for  which  a  cultural  commendation  was 
unanimously  granted. 
Mr.  AV.  Farr  exhibited  a  plant  of  a  Tomato  wreathed  with  fruit  to  a 
length  of  6  feet  (cultural  commendation).  AVonderfully  prolific  Tomato 
plants  of  Campbell’s  Prolific  were  exhibited  by  Mr.  .John  Russell, 
Richmond,  and  the  variety  is  to  be  tried  at  Chiswick. 
Air.  AV.  Miles,  Down,  Kent,  sent  fine  clusters  of  a  dark  blue  seeded 
Scarlet  Runner  Bean.  Referred  to  Chiswick  for  trial.  Mr.  W.  .1.  Empson 
sent  splendid  Scarlet  Runners,  Hill’s  Prize  (Bunyard),  which  was 
honoured  at  Chiswick  a  few  years  ago. 
