Juno  5,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
4S5 
Notes  from  Ireland. 
Dlsa  X  liuna. 
The  parentage  liere  was  Disa  racemosa,  the  mother  plant, 
and  D.  Veit  chi,  the  male  parent.  The  form  is  that  of 
D.  racemosa,  and  the  colour  a  most  pleasing  shade  of  bright  rosy 
purple  or  rose-mauve.  The  hybrid  was  exhibited,  and  received 
an  Award  of  Merit,  when  staged  before  the  Orchid  Committee 
of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society,  on  May  G,  by  Messrs.  James 
Veiteh  and  Sons,  Limited,  Chelsea. 
The  Week’s  Cultural  Notes. 
section  of  Cymbidium — such 
The  large  growing  section  of  Cymbidium — such  as  C. 
Lowianum,  C.  giganteum,  and  C.  Traceyanum — will  be  very 
active  now,  both  at  the  roots  and  leads.  They  are  thirsty 
subjects,  and  must  not  be  allowed  to  suffer  from  want  of  water; 
few,  indeed,  among  the 
Orchids  need  more  just 
now.  The  only  excep¬ 
tion  to  this  rule  is  just 
,  after  the  plants  have 
been  repotted.  The 
roots  having  been  dis¬ 
turbed,  and,  as  it 
were,  removed  from 
their  source  of  nutri- 
inent  by  the  breaking 
of  the  spongiole,  no 
good,  but  evil,  will  bo 
done  by  pouring  water 
on  the  new  compost, 
souring  it,  and  render¬ 
ing  it  unfit  for  the  re¬ 
ception  of  the  roots 
when  they  again  make 
a  start. 
Watch  these  then, 
and  endeavour  to  coax 
the  roots  by  damping 
the  pots  and  stages, 
but  only  very  lightly 
moistening  the  com¬ 
post  until  they  show 
by  the  fresh  green 
points  that  they  are 
again  becoming  active. 
Then,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  the  new  com¬ 
post  dries  much  more 
quickly  than  the  old, 
very  frequent  water¬ 
ings  will  be  necessary. 
The  best  of  all  posi¬ 
tions  for  these  Cypri- 
pediums  is  a  cool,  moist, 
and  shady  corner  of  a 
house  such  as  suits 
greenhouse  Ferns  and 
cool  Orchids  generally, 
the  old  idea  that 
these  species  needed  strong  heat  being  by  now  quite  dispelled. 
Stanhopeas  are  beautiful  Orchids,  a  good  deal  neglected  by 
growers  nowadays,  and  the  usual  stock  of  these  consists  of  a  few 
shabby  old  specimens  hung  up  and  half  dried  in  a  hot  corner  of 
the  stove  or  East  Indian  house.  Heat  they  do  like,  but  the  heat 
must  be  tempered  by  abundant  atmospheric  moisture ;  the  roots 
must  be  well  looked  after  in  the  matter  of  proper  compost,  and 
the  leaves  kept  free  of  insects.  This  done  and  the  flowering  time 
arrived,  no  one  will  fall  out  with  calling  the  majority  of  Stan¬ 
hopeas  very  lovely  Orchids. 
In  the  cool  house  the  sphagnum  should  if  possible  be  kept 
growing  about  the  bases  of  the  plants.  It  keeps  them  cool  and 
moist,  and  to  the  watchful  cultivator  is  a  good  index  to  the 
condition  of  the  compost  as  to  moisture.  There  will  probably  be 
more  repotting  to  do  here  too — any  plants  of  Odontoglossum  that 
for  any  reason  were  left  out  last  year,  for  instance;  also  the 
Maxillarias  and  many  of  the  Lycastes.  These  are  all  of 
moderately  strong  rooting  tendencies,  consequently  the  compost 
may  consist  of  a  little  good  loam  mixed  with  the  usual  peat,  moss, 
and  charcoal  or  crocks. — H.  R.  R. 
Disa  X  Luna. 
Flowers  bright  rose-purple. 
The  lingering  days  of  May  were  softened  with  moisture,  and 
plenty  of  it,  which  was  a  pleasant  introduction  to  June,  besides 
allaying  fears,  as  a  parched  appearance  was  discernible, and  not  only 
a  probable  but  an  absolute  failure  would  have'  had  to  be  recorded. 
The  losses  due  to  insect  attack  appear  to  be  very  slight  as 
yet;  the  reports  of  any  serious  depredations  in  the  country  are 
scarce.  _  A  dearth  of  news  in  this  matter  is  no  cause  for  grumble. 
Spring  has  gone,  bequeathing  a  floral  harvest.  Our  Tulips 
have  crept  into  the  halls  of  rest  for  repose,  and  in  all  our 
establishments  busy  preparations  for  another  festive  display  are 
being  made,  and  “  Onward”  is  the  motto. 
On  a  visit  to  Trinity  College  Botanic  Gardens,  the  old-time 
Camassias  arrested  attention.  When  grown  in  clumps,  their 
erect  racemes  suggest  an  Eremurus  arrested  in  growth ;  besides, 
they  are  a  desirable  acquisition  for  the  hardy  border.  Their 
bold  foliage  and  handsome  spike  is  invaluable,  but  their  blooming 
period  is  short.  Though  natives  of  North  America,  they  have  a 
fairly  wide  distribution  throughout  that  continent.  They  are 
closely  allied  to  the  Squill  (Scillas).  Of  the  many  varieties 
offered,  the  following  comprise  the  most  valuable  sorts:  — 
Cusicki,  a  native  of  California,  the  flower  spike  a  good  purple; 
esculenta,  another  purple  hued  variety,  a  native  of  Columbia; 
and  esculenta  flore-albo,  although  it  is  often  labelled  Scilla 
esculenta  var.  flore- 
albo,  is  a  fairly  good 
white,  and  a  native  of 
Columbia ;  whilst  Era¬ 
ser!,  a  pale  blue,  comes 
from  Ohio  and  Texas, 
and  is  commonly 
termed  the  Mis.souri 
Squill.  •  The  North 
American  Indians,  who 
eat  the  bulbs  of  this 
kind  and  probably 
others,  give  it  the 
appellation  of  Quamash. 
As  regards  cultivation, 
these  bulbs  will  thrive 
luxuriantly  in  any  good 
garden  soil. 
In  the  same  gardens 
one  of  the  best  features 
is  the  Irises  growing  on 
a  roof.  The  unique 
position  really  shows 
the  hardy  constitution 
of  these  members  of 
Iridese,  as  the  quantity 
of  soil  permissible  is 
very  limited ;  in  fact, 
although  I  am  not 
sure,  the  roof  was 
covered  with  extra 
thick  turves,  the  bulbs 
or  rhizomes  being 
planted  therein,  and 
they  have  succeeded 
admirably.  At  pre¬ 
sent,  several  masses  of 
flowers  can  be  observed 
from  the  many  walks 
that  intersect  this  syl¬ 
van  retreat. 
The  utility  of  early 
Peas  for  culinary  pur¬ 
poses  is  self  evident, 
was  brought  home  forcibly 
to  me,  "^although  the  method  may  have  a  wider  practice  than  I 
am  cognisant  of,  yet  it  is  one  not  favoured  by  the  fraternity  in 
this  isle.  The  manner  in  which  Mr.  Brown,  gardener  to  Mrs. 
Henshaw,  of  St.  Philips,  Milltown,  raises  his,  is  as  follows.  On 
February  20  of  this  year  he  planted  several  seeds  in  a  lOin  pot 
and  grew  them  in  a  greenhouse.  The  plants  grew  famously, 
were  fit  to  use  before  the  end  of  May.  The  variety  favoured 
was  William  the  First.  Considering  that  the  late  spring  has 
been  an  unfavourable  one  for  several  years  past,  the  above 
method  commends  itself.  Taking  for  example  the  present  year 
I  do  not  think  I  will  be  far  out  in  estimating  that  the  general 
pulling  of  Peas  will  be  a  fortnight  at  least  later  than  the  corre¬ 
sponding  period  for  last  year,  so  that  the  method  of  Mr.  Brown 
or  others  is  an  easy  remedy  to  have  early  Peas  at  the  norinal 
period  when  desired,  despite  the  unfavourable  circumstance  of  tlie 
weather.  Of  course,  there  may  be  exceptions,  due  to  favourabb' 
situations,  &c.  Eliminating  the  favoured  sites,  the  method  as 
described  has  the  advantage  of  being  inexpensive,  and  is  ^^sy* 
Amidst  the  rural  simplicity  of  Glasnevin  (although  the 
An  easy  mode  of  raising  the  same 
