M  rch  6,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
201 
I 
The  Bothy. 
Dendrobium  Apollo  grandiflorum. 
One  of  the  handsomest  Dendrobium  hybrids  of  recent  years  is 
undoubtedly  the  one  illustrated  on  this  page,  which  come.s  from 
the  parentage  D.  nobile  pulcherrimum  x  splendidissimum.  Ihe 
■size  of  the  flowers  is  very  remarkable,  and  they  possess,  moreover, 
■extraordinary  substance.  The  sepals  and  petals  are  waxy-white, 
bright  rose-purple  at  the  tips.  The  expansive  lip  is  also  white, 
but  has  a  large  blotch  of  deep  violet-crimson  in  front.  This  fine 
Dendrobe  is  very  moderate  in  price,  and  is  one  to  be  commended 
to  lovers  of  the  genus.  The  late  Mr.  J.  Cypher,  of  Cheltenham, 
obtained  a  First  Class  Certificate  for  this  variety  in  1895. 
The  Week’s  Cultural  Notes. 
Hybrid  Cattleyas  and  Lilias,  and  members  of  the  genus 
Lselio-Cattleya  are  getting  fairly  well  distributed  among  collec¬ 
tions,  and  although  these  cultural  notes  are  intended  primarily 
for  those  who  have  small  collections,  and  therefore  few  of  these 
.  among  them,  yet  a  -word  may  not  be  out  of  place.  There  is  always 
a  feeling  of  uncertainty  about  the  treatment  of  a  new  plant 
when  it  is  added  to  ont’s  collection,  even  when  the  ruling  spirit 
•  is  an  experienced  cultivator,  and  much  more  when  a  tyro  is  con¬ 
fronted  with  an  unknown  kind. 
When  hybrids  of  known  parentage  have  come  nto  my  hands  I 
have  invariably 
watched  them  closely 
for  signs  of  likeness  in 
habit  to  one  or  other  of 
their  parents.  When 
both  parents  are  com-  . 
paratively  alike  in  their 
way  of  growing  and 
flowering,  as,  for  in¬ 
stance,  with  that  choice 
natural  hybrid  C. 
Hardyana  (C.  aurea  x 
C.  gigas),  then  the 
matter  is  simple 
enough,  for  one  has 
only  to  follow  the 
treatment  suitable  to 
■either  of  its  parents ; 
but  Avhen  the  hybrid 
has  been  raised  from 
parents  widely  d  ffer- 
ing  in  habit,  then  one 
ibas  to  watch  the  plant, 
note  its  peculiarities 
and  anticipate  its 
wants. 
To  give  separate  in¬ 
structions  for  each 
hybrid  or  set  of  hybrids  would  take  up  far  too  much  space,  but  if 
readers  cultivate  the  faculty  of  observation  as  indicated  above, 
they  would  find  little  trouble  in  getting  the  proper  treatment  for 
each.  When,  for  instance,  a  plant  appears  restless  in  late 
summer,  it  is  quite  useless  to  attempt  to  keep  it  at  rest.  Let 
it  take  its  own  way;  encourage  it,  in  fact,  to  finish  up  its  growth 
before  winter  if  possible,  for  the  quieter  all  classes  of  Orchids 
■are  at  this  latter  season  the  better.  The  plants  themselves  are,  in 
short,  the  best  teachers,  and  to  anyone  who  studies  them  closely 
their  wants  will  quickly  be  apparent.  ^ 
This  reminds  me  of  a  difference  in  the  habits  of  the  distichou.s- 
deaved  Orchids,  such  as  Aerides  and  Vandas,  and  the  pseudo- 
bulbous  kinds  like  Dfendrobiums,  Thunias,  Calanthes,  and  others. 
The  latter  push  out  young  growths,  and  after  very  considerable 
progress  has  been  made  these  growths  begin  to  root.  The 
former,  on  the  other  hand,  usually  have  their  roots  active  long 
before  the  growth.  They  have  no  stoi'ed-up  nutriment  as  in  the 
pseudo-bulbous  species,  consequently  the  roots  have  to  forage  for 
moisture  before  the  new  growths  appear.  The  pseudo-bulbs,  on 
the  other  hand,  keep  the  young  growths  going  for  the  first  part 
of  their  existence,  and  only  when  the  nutriment  begins  to  fail 
do  they  look  for  it  themselves  by  putting  out  a  new  tier  of  roots. 
I  need  hardly  point  the  moral  in  this  case ;  it  must  be  obvious  to 
■anyone,  and  the  watering-pot  must  be  used  accordingly. — • 
H.  R.  R. 
£200  for  an  Odontoglossum. 
Through  the  “  Leamington  Spa  Courier,”  wo  learn  ihat 
Odontoglossum  crispum  var.  Mabel  Whately,  which  received  an 
Award  of  Merit  at  the  R.H.S.  meeting  in  the  Drill  Hall,  on 
February  25,  and  was  described  on  page  190  of  the  Journal,  kas 
T)een  sold  by  the  owner  for  £200. 
Dendrobium  Apollo  grandiflorum. 
io  the  younger  and  intelligent  section  of  the  garden  staff  the 
bothy  has  attraction,  varying  in  degree  accordhig  to  the  dignity 
of  its  surroundings.  There  are  bothies  and  bothies — some  home 
like,  .some  otherwise.  Instances  do  frequently  occur  where  they 
have  but  scant  recognition  from  owners  and  those  to  whose  charge 
they  are  entrusted.  Circumstances  are  varied  accounting  for 
this,  though  sometimes  lack  of  accommodation  or  comfort  is  due 
not  so  much  to  the  owner  or  his  deputy,  as  to  the  young  men 
themselves.  Some  appreciate  home  comforts  more  than  others, 
while  some  abuse  those  which  are  provided.  Items  of  small, 
though  of  paramount  impoidance,  could  often  be  had  if  asked 
for  or  brought  forward  in  a  fitting  manner  before  their  superiors. 
A  little  discussion  on  the  bothy  and  its  equipment  might  use-- 
fully  form  a  subject  for  j’oung  men  themselves  in  the  region  of 
the  “Young  Gardeners’  Domain.”  The  Journal  has  done  much 
to  encourage  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  future  gardeners  by 
devoting  this  space  to  their  absolute  purpose,  and  it  seems  to 
ine  there  are  many  hints  that  the  occupants  of  the  bothy  could 
give  vdiicli  would  be  helpful  to  their  chief  towards  thedx 
betterment. 
There  are,  from  my  own  experience,  many  bothies  scattered 
over  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land  which  might  be  made 
infinitely  better  by  the  addition  of  trifling  aids  towards  con¬ 
venience  and  comforts,  and  no  one,  it  may  be  said,  can  be  better 
informed  than  the  occupants  themselves  as  to  the  modifications 
needed.  I  ^vould,  however,  advise  restraint  in  the  tone  of  those 
in  quest  of  improved  bothy  equipment,  for  while  small  matters 
may  ofttimes  be  amicably  agreed  upon,  sweeping  alterations 
and  demands  remain 
unnoticed.  They  are 
passed  in  silence,  and 
reforms  go  unheeded. 
As  with  everything  else 
in  garden  and  domestic 
life,  so  in  bothydom ; 
there  are  two  sides 
open  to  debate.  The 
young  gardener  may 
pile  up  his  grievances 
to  unknown  regions, 
only  to  be  razed  to  the 
ground  when  brought 
under  the  weight  of  a 
little  reasonable  argu¬ 
ment  by  those  in 
authority,  and  many  a 
gardener  has,  I  am 
sure,  boon  abused  in 
bothyland  by  his  fail¬ 
ure  to  provide  all  and 
everything  which  may, 
or  may  not,  be  neces¬ 
sary,  when,  as  is  often 
the  case  he  has  not 
tlie  means  of  doing  so 
afforded  him.  I  am 
absolutely  in  agreement  with  the  fact  that  anything  that  can 
be  furnished  by  authorised  persons  to  better  the  home-life  of 
the  bothy  ought  to  a  reasonable  extent  be  done.  While  this  is 
admitted,  it  is  not  too  much  for  an  employer  or  his  gardener  to 
expect  that  a  proper  care  and  purpose  is  placed  upon  the  better 
conditions  afforded. 
Abuse  of  the  bothy  and  its  equipment,  which  is  not  by  any 
means  uncommon,  brings  with  it  a  feeling  of  resentment,  if  not 
contempt,  and  it  is  a  fact  that  many  a  deserving  man  has  had  to 
suffer  for  the  errors  of  others,  whose  method  and  character  has 
not  been  of  the  higher  order.  Cleanliness  and  order  often  is  not 
made  a  sufficiently  high  point  in  the  bothy  home.  Many  a  com¬ 
plaint  has  been  raised  on  this  item,  and  the  negligence  of  such 
a  desirable  trait  has  brought  the  bothy  and  its  occupants  into 
contemptuous  conflict,  even  when  a  willingness  is  disiilayed  by 
owner  and  gardener  to  provide  every  comfort. 
Bothy  life  is  often  made  unpleasant  by  the  inefficient  attend¬ 
ance  of  the  garden  woman,  or  the  person  to  whom  the  work  of 
cooking  and  cleaning  is  entrusted.  A  considerate,  agreeable,  and 
thrifty  woman  for  the  bothy  is  a  factotum  of  some  considerable 
value — a  jewel  much  in  request,  but,  unhappily,  not  always  so 
easy  to  find.  Even  admitting  all  the  ills  pertaining  to  the  bothy, 
it  affords  a  means  of  independence  on  the  part  of  its  occupants 
not  found  even  in  the  best  of  lodgings,  and  there  is  many  a 
man  with  an  experience  of  lodgings  w  ho  would  willingly  forego 
what  pleasantries  the  latter  might  afford  for  the  more  independent 
life  of  the  bothy.  Accommodation  on  the  place  is  extending  to 
gardens  hitherto  similarly  unequipped,  and  the  advantages  thus 
provided  add  to  the  owmers’  interests  on  the  one  hand  and  the 
attractiveness  of  the  Avork  to  the  rising  race  of  gardeners  on 
the  other,  thus  to  the  mutual  advantage  of  all. 
