January  30,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AJSD  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
101 
Cypripedium  x  Mrs.  W.  Mostyn. 
At  the  Drill  Hall,  on  Tuesday,  January  14th,  before  the 
Orchid  Committee  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society,  this 
superb  novelty  was  presented  by  F.  W.  Wellesley,  Esq. 
(gardener,  Mr.  J.  Gilbert,  Westfield,  near  Woking),  and  received 
the  highest  award,  namely,  a  First  Class  Certificate.  Un¬ 
doubtedly  this  is  one  of  the  finest  hybrid  Cypripediums  of  late 
years,  and  combines  a  more  varied  display  of  pleasing  and  dis¬ 
tinct  colours  than  is  shown  by  the  great  majority  of  the 
members  of  this  genus.  As  will  be  seen  on  looking  at  the  illus¬ 
tration  on  this  page,  the 
form  is  “  smart  ”  and  very 
beautiful.  The  dorsal  sepal 
is  bold  and  large,  being 
green  at  the  base,  and  this 
colour  gives  place  upwards 
on  the  body-face  of  the 
sepal  to  a  rose-purple  shade, 
very  distinctive  and  well 
defined,  the  edge  merging 
off  to  pure  white.  The 
middle  of  the  sepal  is  very 
rich  and  deeply  coloured. 
The  forward  curving  petals 
are  pale  yellow,  barred  and 
spotted  with  purple,  the  lip 
being  shaded  with  the  same 
colour.  The  whole  surface 
of  sepals,  petals,  and  lip  is 
highly  polished  and  glossy¬ 
like.  Parentage :  Calypso  x 
Leeanum  var. 
Cattleya  x  Maronl. 
This  was  raised  by  the 
French  hybridist,  Chas. 
Maron,  and  is  one  of  the 
finest  Cattleya  hybrids  yet 
produced.  It  comes  from 
crossing  C.  velutina  with 
the  pollen  of  C.  aurea. 
The  petals  are  nankeen  yel¬ 
low,  and  the  lip  a  most 
beautiful  pale  orange  suf¬ 
fused  with  rose  and  deepen¬ 
ing  in  colour  at  the  throat. 
The  lip  is  beautifully  veined 
with  crimson  throughout. 
The  plant  is  a  vigorous 
grower,  making  two  bulbs 
annually. — J.  E.  Rothwell 
(in  “American  Gardening  ”). 
Orchids  at  Home. 
Writing  in  his  interest¬ 
ing  book,  entitled  “  The 
Travels  and  Adventures  of 
an  Orchid  Hunter,”  Mr. 
Albert  Millican  furnishes 
the  following  interesting 
notes ;  “  On  the  top  of  one 
of  the  high  mountains  on 
the  way  near  a  village 
called  Cachiri,  near  Bogota 
in  Colombia,  at  a  height  of 
10,000ft  above  the  sea 
level,  I  passed  on  the  side 
of  the  track  thousands  of 
Masdevallias,  chiefly  of  the 
Harry  ana  variety.  On 
another  hill,  two  days’ 
journey  further  along,  but 
much  lower,  the  trees  are 
hung  to  crowding  with  the 
dainty  little  Oncidium 
cucullatum.  Any  future 
novice  Orchid  hunter  in 
search  of  Odontoglossum 
Pescatorei,  will  find  it  by 
leaving  the  town  of  Ocana, 
passing  across  the  magni¬ 
ficent  plains  called  La 
Savanna  de  la  Cruz,  and 
entering  the  chain  of  the 
Andes  on  the  western  side. 
Here,  amongst  the  matted, 
moss-grown  vegetation, 
Pescatorei  is  growing  side 
by  side  with  Odontoglossmn 
triumphans,  while  the 
creeping  rhizomes  of 
Odontoglossum  coronarium 
cover  the  roots  of  the  same 
trees.  I  have  seen  the 
curious  Anguloa  Clowesi 
and  the  pretty  Ada  auran- 
tiaca  here  as  well,  while  in 
the  cooler  parts  that  choice  little  Odontoglossum  blandum  grows 
in  profusion  in  a  peculiar  mist  which  reminds  one  of  a  con¬ 
tinual  Turkish  bath.  It  is  all  very  well  to  see  this  fastidious  little 
Orchid  in  its  natural  beauty,  but  it  is  quite  another  thing  to 
succeed  in  bringing  it  home  to  England  alive.  Many  of  the 
plants  die  before  they  leave  the  coast,  many  more  before  they 
pass  the  West  Indies  •  a  few  reach  the  Azores,  and  fewer  still 
arrive  in  England  .safely.” 
Cumulus  Clouds. 
The  typical  cumulus  clouds — those  great  white  masses  in  the 
air,  suggesting  masses  of  cotton  from  a  picker  piled  up  on  a  mill 
floor,  and  showing  dazzling  white  against  darker  masses  in  the 
background,  indicate  that  the  clouds  are  forming  around  a  central 
ascending  column  of  warm  air,  and  that  local  rains  or  thunder¬ 
storms  will  surely  follow  in  a  few  hours.  Cirro-cumulus  clouds, 
which  perhaps  most  resemble  wool  on  a  sheep’s  back,  and  incline 
to  dispose  themselves  in  wide  bands  across  the  sky,  are  distinctly 
fair  weather  clouds. 
The  Week’s  Cultural  Notes. 
The  dullest  season  of  the 
year  for  Orchid  flowers  has 
now  passed,  and  with  the 
lengthening  days  the  in-  Cypripedium  x  Mrs.  W.  Mostyn. 
terest  in  the  flowering 
house  increases.  I  should 
be  sorry  to  damp  the  ardour  of  those  who  like  to  keep  up  a 
fine  display  of  flowers,  but  I  think  I  may  say  without  any  fear 
of  contradiction  that  more  Orchids  are  killed  by  over-flowering, 
or  by  carrying  their  flowers  too  long  now,  than  at  any  other 
time  of  the  year.  We  have  passed  the  dullest  period,  and  have 
not  as  yet  reached  the  time  of  plenty,  so  every  plant  is  made 
to  carry  its  flowers  as  long  as  possible,  often  to  its  own  detriment. 
As  an  instance,  perhaps  a  new  plant  of  Odontoglossum  that 
one  has  been  watching  for  a  year  or  two  has  flowered ;  it  turns 
out  to  be  a  good  form,  worthy  of  the  greatest  care.  But  we 
are  expecting  a  visit  from  a  friend  who  is  interested  in  Orchids, 
or  a  call  from  the  nurseryman  or  his  representative,  and  would 
like  the  house  to  look  as  gay  as  possible.  We  know  the  flowers 
are  weakening  the  plant,  and  that  the  latter  is  already  showing 
signs  of  exhaustion,  perhaps  by  a  slight  shrivelling  of  the  bulbs; 
but  a  day  or  two  can  make  no  difference,  so  we  allow  the  large 
raceme  to  remain,  drawing  the  very  life  out  of  the  plant  and 
diminishing  its  chances  of  future  usefulness. 
Well,  we  have  only  ourselves  to  blame,  of  course,  but  that 
is  rather  poor  comfort  when  next  season  comes  round  and  no 
flowers  are  forthcoming.  The  cutting  of  Orchid  flowers  after  a 
certain  period  has  been  described  as  unnatural.  If  the  plants 
were  growing  wild,  we  are  told,  they  would  carry  the  flowers 
until  the  latter  fade,  and  the  plants  would  be  none  the  worse. 
Possibly  so,  but  the  air  of  the  flowering  house  is  artificially 
dry  in  order  to  conserve  the  flowers  as  long  as  possible.  In  a 
state  of  Nature  the  flowers  would  not  probably  last  nearly  as 
long,  insects,  moisture,  and  wind  making  short  work  of  them. 
The  plants,  too,  would  be  in  an  atmosphere  quite  congenial  to 
them,  instead  of  exactly  opposite  to  what  they  need. 
This,  then,  must  be  my  argument  again.st  leaving  choioe 
specimens  to  flower  themselves  to  death.  A  plant  may  be  over- 
dried  for  weeks.  It  may  be  shrivelled  up  almo.st  to  vanishing 
point  by  a  long  journey  by  sea  and  land  after  collecting.  But, 
given  moisture  and  heat  in  plenty,  it  recovers  itself ;  the  innate 
vigour  is  still  there,  only  waiting  for  these  quickening  conditions. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  you  allow  the  flowers  to  drain  the  tissues 
and  suck  the  very  nature  out  of  the  pseudo-bulbs  and  leaves,  no 
amount  of  careful  treatment  afterwards  will  restore  it.  The 
hint  is  worth  taking  by  all  who  have  choice  Orchids  in  flower — 
do  not  spoil  their  future 
usefulness  for  the  sake 
of  a  few  days’  pre.sent  dis¬ 
play. — H.  R.  R. 
