July  18,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER , 
49 
Cypripedium  bellatulum. 
It  must  be  conceded  that,  though  the  members  of  this  section  ar® 
among  the  most  beautiful  and  interesting  of  the  Orchids,  they  ar 
yet  difficult  to  cultivate,  especially  to  cultivate  them  to  perfection.  They 
have  thick  succulent  leaves,  which  are  apt  to  damp  if  water  lodges 
in  them  when  the  house  is  cool  or  evaporation  slow.  The  present  is 
j  ust  the  time  when  Cypripedium 
bellatulum  should  be  potted,  and 
root  action  will  soon  occur.  They 
are  best  grown  in  suspended  pans 
without  side  perforation,  and  not 
deep ;  lime-mortar  or  limestone  may 
be  used  to  half-fill  the  pans,  and  it 
is  advisable  to  mix  some  with  the 
compost,  consisting  of  two  parts 
peat,  one  part  fibrous  yellow  loam, 
and  a  little  moss  and  sand.  Keep 
the  base  of  the  plants  just  above 
the  compost,  so  that  when  the  pans 
are  dipped  there  need  be  no  fear  of 
wetting  the  leaves.  They  enjoy  a 
fairly  light  position,  say  in  a  Cattleya 
■(or  Phalaenopsis)  house,  suspended 
from  the  glass  ;  water  very  sparingly, 
except  when  root-action  is  brisk  and 
the  weather  propitious.  During 
winter  occasional  waterings  should 
be  given,  and  much  care  should  be 
exercised  to  avoid  any  damping.  The 
lovely  C.  b.  album  requires  exactly 
the  same  treatment.  C.  bellatulum 
has  thick,  fleshy  flowers,  creamy- 
white  in  colour,  with  crimson-maroon 
markings. 
Cypripedium  Druryi. 
This  is  a  quaint  and  interesting 
species,  not  large  or  showy  enough 
to  attain  to  any  degree  of  popularity, 
but  entirely  distinct  from  all  other 
kinds.  The  spikes  are  nearly  a  foot 
in  height  ;  the  flowers  are  yellowish 
in  ground  colour,  with  a  dark,  almost 
black,  line  through  the  centre  of  the 
dorsal  sepal.  In  habit  it  is  like 
C.  insigne,  but  I  have  noticed  in 
many  of  the  plants  a  tendency  to 
push  one  growth  above  the  other, 
this  making  it  necessary  to  pot  the 
plants  rather  low  at  first,  and  gradu¬ 
ally  add  to  the  compost  as  the  plants 
develop.  A  native  of  India,  it  was 
discovered  some  thirty-five  years 
ago,  but  not  introduced  into  this 
country  for  some  years  afterwards. 
The  Week’s  Cultural  Notes. 
Though  not  exactly  a  busy 
season  there  is  still  plenty  to  do  in 
the  Orchid  houses.  Cleaning  is  a 
perennial  business,  aud  now  that  the  weather  is  hot  the  plants  may 
be,  if  necessary,  removed  from  house  to  house  in  the  process  of 
cleaning  without  any  danger.  Superficial  cleansing  is  worse  than 
useless,  and  wastes  time  rather  than  saves  it.  Stages,  floors,  and 
roofs  should  have  attention  as  well  as  the  pots  and  plants.  Plenty 
of  clean  soft  water  is  a  grand  institution  in  an  Orchid  house,  but 
too  much  soap  is  apt  to  lead  to  fungoid  attacks,  especially  on 
woodwork.  Always  follow  cleansing  a  house  by  a  gentle  fumigation 
on  two  successive  evenings  with  one  of  the  excellent  fumigating 
compounds  now  sold.  This  will  finish  off  any  chance  insect  that 
may  remain. 
Watch  Cattleya  gigas  and  its  varieties  as  they  go  out  of  bloom, 
and  renot  them  before  the  new  growth  begins  to  root.  The  young 
roots  will  not  then  be  disturbed,  and,  by  pushing  freely  into  the  new 
compost,  will  soon  re-establish  the  plants.  Give  Cattleya  Mossise 
Cypripedium  bellatulum. 
every  attention  now  that  growth  is  free,  and  place  all  in  flower,  such 
as  C.  Gaskelliana,  in  a  corner  by  themselves,  damping  down  less  in 
their  immediate  vicinity  in  order  to  keep  the  flowers  from  spotting. 
See  that  all  plants  in  flower  are  kept  properly  moist  at  the  roots,  as 
a  dry  tate  and  the  strain  of  flowering  may  lead  to  shrivelling  of 
the  bulbs. 
Most  cool  house  Orchids  will  by  now  be  rooting  very  freely, 
especially  such  as  Anguloas  and  others  recently  potted.  A  full 
moisture  supply  will  therefore  be  necessary,  and,  as  long  as  the 
weather  is  hot  and  bright,  frequent  dewings  overhead.  Never 
neglect  early  morning  ventilation  in  this  house.  Supposing  the  day 
to  be  as  hot  as  the  average  for  this  season,  it  is  useless  putting  on 
a  lot  of  air  at  mid-day,  as  the  outside  temperature  will  be  above 
what  the  inside  should  be,  and  the  upward  rush  through  the 
ventilators  will  suck  out  all  the  atmospheric  moisture.  Air  early 
and  late,  and  shade  heavily  in  the 
middle  of  the  day,  is  the  best  advice 
for  the  present. 
In  the  warm  house  watch  the 
finishing  growths  of  Dendrobium 
aureum  and  early  maturing  species 
generally,  giving  all  such  as  are 
made  up  the  full  advantage  of  all 
the  sunlight  available.  This  will 
ripen  the  stems,  and  freedom  of 
flowering  will  be  the  result.  The 
Australian  and  New  Guinea  section, 
as  D.  Phalsenopsis,  D.  bigibbura,  as 
well  as  the  late  growing  deciduous 
kinds  from  Burmah,  as  D.  Wardi- 
anum  and  its  allies,  will  be  in  full 
growth,  and  must  be  assisted  by 
a  quick  hot  temperature,  moderate 
supplies  of  moisture  at  the  root, 
and  frequent  syringing  on  bright 
days. — H.  R.  R. 
Orchids  at  Wellesbourne  House. 
'  pThe  cultivation  of  these  “  aristo¬ 
cratic  ”  flowers  is  evidently  continu¬ 
ally  extending,  and  when  revisiting 
gardens  it  is  satisfactory  to  note  in 
how  many  instances  one  finds  that 
a  range  of  Orchid  houses  has  been 
added  to  the  other  attractions.  A 
few  years  ago  Orchid  growing  was 
taken  up  at  the  above  place,  the 
Warwickshire  residence  of  W.  M. 
Low,  Esq.  Two  ranges  of  houses 
were  then  built,  and  during  a  recent 
visit  I  found  another  had  been 
added  for  the  cool  house  species. 
Nearly  all  the  plants  in  this  structure 
were  newly  imported  when  pur¬ 
chased,  less  than  a  year  ago,  but 
they  are  now  growing  vigorously, 
and  reflect  great  credit  upon  Mr. 
H.  Liney,  the  head  gardener.  Sime 
of  the  varieties,  too,  have  proved 
to  be  of  exceptional  merit,  and  one 
plant  alone  would  at  the  present 
time  realise  as  much  as  was  paid  for 
the  whole  collection. 
In  the  Cattleya  and  Dendrobium 
houses  there  wire  many  fine  plants, 
notably  one  of  Lselia  purpurata, 
which  would  delight  the  eye  of  an 
exhibitor  on  account  of  its  size, 
vigour,  and  perfect  freedom  from 
insects.  L.  Digbyana  and  Cattleya  Leopoldi  were  flowering  freely, 
but  the  flowers  of  the  majority  of  other  species  were  over.  A  grand 
form  of  Thunia  Bensonim  was  in  full  beauty.  There  were  two 
racemes,  each  having  six  flowers  of  a  deep  violet  purple  colour.  A 
nice  batch  of  the  showy  Anguloa  Clowesi  also  proved  quite  an 
attraction.  Gncidium  Rogersi  is  a  special  favourite,  and  a  large  stock 
of  plants  is  being  worked  up. 
I  have  only  attempted  to  deal  with  a  few  of  the  many  features  of 
the  collection  which  struck  my  eye  in  passing  through ;  but  noting 
how  healthy  they  all  appeared,  and  how  strong  the  young  growths 
were,  I  elicited  from  Mr.  Liney  the  fact  that  he  is  entirely  discarding 
peat  as  a  potting  material  for  Orchids,  and  is  using  good,  sweet  Oajf 
leaf  s  il  instead,  as  he  finds  the  plants  potted  in  it  produce  more 
roots  than  when  peat  is  used,  and  the  growth*  are  consequently 
stronger. — H.  D. 
