507 
June  12,  1S02. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COrTAGE  GARDENER. 
Odontoglossum  crlspum  ardentissimum. 
A  plant  of  this  variety — bearing  a  raceme  of  five  strong, 
large-sized,  and  well-shaped  flowers,  coloured  rich  maroon-purple 
over  white — was  shown  by  M.  C.  Vuylsteke,  Loochristy,  near 
Ghent,  at  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Show,  in  the  Inner 
Temple  Gardens,  on  May  28,  29,  and  30,  and  received  a  First 
Class  Certificate.  It  is  one  of  the  O.  c.  Frantz  Masereel  class, 
and  was,  indeed,  one  of  the  finest  Odontoglossums  at  the  Temple 
Show,  £425  being  paid  for  it  by  an  amateur. 
The  Week's  Cultural  Notes. 
Although  up  to  the  present  we  have  had  no  great  amount 
of  heat,  in  all  probability  it  will  not  much  longer  be  delayed, 
and  a  great  deal  of  shading  and  damping  will  have  to  bo  done 
in  the  cool  house.  This  department  in  summer  causes  more 
anxiety  to  the  grower  than  the  house.s  containing  the  more 
tropical  subjects.  These  latter  revel  in  ample  heat  and  mois¬ 
ture,  but  the  Odontoglossums  from  the  purely  Alpine  heights 
Odontoglossum  crispum  var.  ardentissimum. 
in  Central  and  South  America,  the  Cape  Disas,  the  Masdevallias, 
and  the  lovely  little  cool  Oncidiums  cannot  live  in  it. 
Air  they  must  have,  and  in  plenty  ;  but  to  open  the  house 
wide  in  the  middle  of  a  summer’s  day  would  be  to  court  failure, 
the  atmosphere  drying  much  too  quickly  under  such  conditions. 
The  house  should  be  heavily  shaded  at  such  times,  the  ordinary 
blinds  being  supplemented  by  mats  laid  on  the  roof,  and  kept 
constantly  moist  by  syringing  or  turning  the  hose  on  them. 
Early  in  the  morning  and  late  at  night  the  house  should  be 
opened  widely,  doors  and  ventilators,  while  plenty  of  water 
should  be  used  frequently;  for  damping  all  available  surfaces, 
such  as  the  stages,  walls,  and  floors. 
The  plants  themselves  do  not  care  for  a  lot  of  overhead 
moisture;  just  a  slight  syringing  is  all  right,  and  very  refresh¬ 
ing,  but  if  the  atmosphere  about  them  can  be  kept  moist 
without  it,  a  heavy  douche  of  water  should  never  be  given  cool 
Orchids.  As  midday  approaches,  and  the  sun  gains  more  power, 
the  house  should  be  gradually  closed  again,  and  The  atmospheric 
moisture  still  kept  up.  By  these  means  the  inside  of  the 
house  will  always  feel  pleasantly  cool  and  moist  on  entering 
from  the  external  air,  and  this  will  ensure  the  well-being  of 
the  plants. 
The  latter  must  be  brought  well  up  to  the  light,  the  ordi¬ 
nary  method  of  staging  high  at  the  back  and  low  at  the  front 
being  about  the  worst  possible  for  them.  Let  the  plants  follow 
the  slope  of  the  roof,  not  go  opposite  to  it,  and  then  each  gets 
its  fair  share  of  light.  This  is  a  little  more  trouble,  but  it  is 
well  repaid  by  the  increased  vigour  of  the  plants.  It  will  be 
almost  impossible  now  to  prevent  the  green  slime  from  growing 
upon  the  pots  and  stages,  owing  to  the  great  amount  of 
moisture  required.  But  do  not  let  it  go  too  far,  as  it  tends  to 
clog  the  pores  of  the  pots  and  prevents  that  free  access  of  air 
to  the  roots  that  is  so  desirable. — H.  R.  R. 
On  Componnding  Pot-pourri. 
When  taken  as  a  youngster  intO'  a  drawing  room  of  a  friend’s 
house,  my  eye  fell  upon  twO'  large  handso'ine  jars,  and,  with 
natural  curiosity  I  inquired  what  these  had  in  them.  I  was  told 
they  were  pot-pourri  jars,  and  also'  what  the  article  was.  Of 
course  I  wanted  to  see  and  smell  pot-pourri,  so,  when  in  the  room 
again,  I  took  a  chance  of  lifting  the  lid  of  one.  To  my  surprise,  I 
saw  scraps  of  paper,  burnt  matches,  bits  of  string,  and  other  odds 
and  ends — the  jar  that  should  have  been  sacred  to  fragrance, 
people  had  turned  to  base  uses.  Doubtless,  this  was  not  a  solitary 
instance.  Pot-pourri  was  for  a  time  out  of  fasliion ;  its  name  would 
indicate  that  the  compound  was  a  favourite  in  France,  thence 
introduced  to  us.  But  centuries  before  that,  probably,  our  village 
dailies  had  bunches  of  some  wild  flowers  brought  into  the  cottages, 
which  they  dried,  and  hung  up  to  perfume  their  rooms.  The 
French  name  is  peculiar,  being  applied  to  dishes  of  a  compound 
nature,  or  to  any  sort  of  medley,  besides  a  mixture  of  flowers  ;  the 
second  half  of  the  word  comes  from  a  verb  meaning  “  to  rot.”  Very 
often,  unless  properly  dealt  with,  an  assortment  of  flowers,  stalks, 
and  leaves  speedily  become  rotten  or  decayed. 
Indeed,  we  gather  from  history  that  the  old  Greeks  and 
Romans,  also  some  Oriental  nations  of  antiquity,  selected  fragrant 
flowers  which,  carefully  dried,  would  retain  their  scent  a  good 
while.  The  Greeks,  it  is  said,  placed  these  upon  the  altars,  in 
baskets,  or  little  heaps;  by  the  Romans  such  dried  flowers  were 
scattered  along  halls  and  laid,  inches  deep,  in  reception  rooms. 
We  have  no  list  of  the  flowers  used,  but  the  Rose  is  specified  as 
one,  and  our  pot-pourri  would  be  of  little  value  without  this 
flower,  which  has  always  been  an  important  item. 
Unquestionably,  at  least  in  modern  times,  this  compound  was 
prepared  not  only  for  its  perfume,  but  because  it  had  the  reputa¬ 
tion  of  warding  off  diseases.  Miss  Jekyll,  in  her  “Home  and 
Garden,”  has  given  us  some  of  her  experiences  in  making  pot¬ 
pourri,  and  has  also  brought  together  several  notable  recipes. 
We  quote  a  sample — here  is  one  presumed  to  be  of  old  date 
and  rather  vague  :  “  Put  into  a  large  jar  Damask  and  other  single 
Roses,  buds,  and  blown  flowers.  Add  to  every  peck  a  large 
handful  of  Jasmine  blossom,  one  of  Violets,  one  of  Orange  flowers, 
loz  sliced  Orris  root,  the  same  of  Benjamin  (Benzoin),  and  Styrax; 
two  or  three  handfuls  of  Clove  Gilliflowers,  allspice,  pilled 
Marjoram,  and  Lemon  Thyme,  and  of  Lemon,  Balm  of  Gilead,  and 
a  few  Bay  leaves.  Chop  all  these,  and  mix  them  with  bay  salt, 
covering  the  jar,  also  stirring  occasionally.”  This  is  a  rather 
elaborate  compound,  and,  as  Miss  Jekyll  remarks.  Rosebuds  are 
of  little  value,  the  aroma  being  slight  before',  expansion.  Chop¬ 
ping,  too,  with  such  an  assortment,  would  hardly  be  effective,  and 
to  get  a  good  re.sult  must  be  followed  by  bruising  or  pounding. 
Spices,  of  course,  appear  in  most  recipes,  and  the  dried  Sweet 
Flag  is  a  favourite.  Musk  and  oil  of  Rhodium  figure  in  some. 
The  addition  of  pepper  to  a  few'  might  be  to  give  pungency,  or  to 
act  as  a  preservative.  Miss  Jekyll  objects  to  this,  and  to  a  great 
variety  of  spices.  Here  is  a  simpler  recipe,  probably  of  the 
eighteenth  century  :  “  Pick  your  Roses  when  they  are  quite  dry  ; 
it  ought  to  be  the  red  single  Apothecary  Rose.  Strip  thean,  being 
sure  to  utilise  the  little  seeds  from  the  centre,  and  have  a  large 
earthenware  jar.  Between  each  layer  of  Rose  leaves  shake  in 
two  or  three  handfuls  of  bay  salt  and  of  powdered  spice.  Cinnamon: 
and  Cloves ;  upon  the  top  pour  some  Lavender  water.  Add  more 
as  it  .sinks.”  But  what  is  the  Apothecary  Rose  ?  An  able  botanist 
told  Miss  Jekyll  he  was  unable  to  say,  lint  Dr.  Christi.son  averred 
that  the  original  Rose  of  pharmacy  was  R.  Gallica,  wdiich  scarcely 
agrees  with  the  description.  Several  recipes  give  preference  to 
the  Damascus  Rose,  but  Miss  Jekyll  considers  petals  of  any 
fragrant  Rose  in  good  condition  answer  well.  Then  the  authori¬ 
ties  do  not  agree  about  the  drying,  whether  it  .should  be  done  in 
the  sun  or  the  shade — the  advantage  of  the  latter  is  the  petals  are 
dried  more  evenly. 
Concerning  her  own  operations,  Mi.ss  Jekyll  gives  us  ample 
and  intere.sting  details.  The  greater  part  consists  of  Rose  petals 
and  Sweet  Geranium  leaves,  the  les.ser  quantity  being  Lavender, 
leaves  of  Sweet  Verbena,  Bay,  and  Rosemary,  with  some  Orange 
peel ;  Orris  powder  and  various  spices  being  added  as  a  finish.  Of 
the  two  kinds,  dry  and  moist,  the  former  is  more  easily  made,  but 
from  experience  the  latter  is  to  be  recommended  ;  it  is  sweeter  and 
lasts  longer.  The  grand  point  is  to  have  the  materials  in  a  par¬ 
ticular  condition,  “  limp  and  leathery,”  this  lady  calls  it,  which  is 
discov'ered  by  practice.  Preparing  pot-pourri  on  a  somewhat  ex¬ 
tensive  scale,  it  is  found  convenient  to  place  the  fresh  ingredients 
in  separate  jars,  though  this  is  not  nece.ssary  if  the  quantity  be 
small.  Salt  is  added  to  each  article,  a  mixture  of  bay  and  kitchen 
.salt,  after  it  has  been  sufficiently  dried.  This  .salt  combines  with 
any  moisture  that  may  remain,  while  it  preseiwes  the  mass  from 
decay  or  mould.  Packed  tightly  in  the  jars,  the  ingredient.s. 
obtained  as  the  gi'owth  of  the  plants  and  the  season  permits,  are 
allowed  to  remain  till  near  the  end  of  October,  before  the  final 
mixing  process  is  accomplished. 
A  beginning  is  made  as  early  as  February  or  March,  when 
Seville  Oranges  in  good  condition  are  peeled,  and  the  strips  stuck 
closely  with  Cloves;  these  arc  plac,'’d  firmly,  but  lightly,  in  a  jar. 
