March  2,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  OARDEEE^: 
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Tiikre  are  few  more  beautiful  species  in  the  genus  than  this,  and 
perhaps  its  strongest  claim  to  favour  is  the  fact  tliat  for  at  least  half 
the  year,  and  generally  more,  the  fine  racemes  of  flowers  are  op ’U, 
filling  the  house  wherein  it  is  grown  with  their  delicate  musk-like 
fragrance.  Only  recently,  in  visiting  a  neighbouring  Orchid  collection, 
I  found  this  Mpidendrum  growing,  not  in  the  Cattleya  house,  as  usual, 
but  in  a  glazed  corridor  kept  very  little  warmer  than  the  Odontoglossum 
house  in  winter.  Yet  it  looked  well,  and  was  flowering  very  freely, 
and  while  not  exactly  advising  this  treatment,  I  mention  it  to  show 
how  accommodating  this  beautiful  species  is. 
I  like  to  keep  It  in  the  Cattleya  house,  and  where  there  are  central 
as  well  as  side  stages,  it  should  be  on  the  former,  so  that  the  stems 
have  plenty  of  head-room.  Though  usually  seen  some  It  or  3  feet 
high,  these  will  grow  as  much  as  0  feet,  and  when  strong,  produce  the 
flower  racemes  not  only  from  the  apex,  as  is  u.sual  with  this  class,  but 
also  from  the  sides  of  the  upper  joints.  The  flowers  are  individually 
about  2  inches  across,  the  sepals  and  petals  straw  yellow  with  more  or 
less  abundant  crimson  spots,  while  the  lip  is  usually  white  or  cream  in 
ground  colour,  the  crimson  being  disposed  in  flaky  feathery  lines. 
They  vary  a  little  in  colouring,  and  if  not  spotted  by  damp,  last 
upwards  of  live  weeks  in  excellent  condition. 
During  the  time  growth  is  most  active  it  is  advisable  to  keep  a 
very  moist  atmosphere,  and  if  it  can  be  done  conveniently  without 
damaging  other  plants  the  stems  should  be  lightly  syringed  at  least 
once  daily  in  bright  weather ;  this  will  keep  away  thrip.s,  these 
insects,  if  allowed  to  do  so,  soon  disfiguring  the  foliage.  The  root 
moisture,  too,  must  be  ample,  for  at  no  period  can  the  plants  really  be 
said  to  rest,  while  at  times  the  demand  on  the  roots  is  very  great  by 
reason  of  the  rapidly  advancing  stem.s.  Least  of  all  is  required,  of 
course,  during  dull  weather  in  winter,  as  it  is  then  that  evaporation 
goes  on  most  slowly,  and  the  plants  are  at  their  quietest  time. 
The  roots  are  not  difficult  to  manage.  Like  the  tall  growing 
section  of  Dendrobium — their  old  world  compeers — they  like  a  make-up 
of  compost  through  which  air  and  water  filter  rapidly,  and  nothing 
approaching  stagnation  need  be  feared.  The  pots  should  be  fairly 
large  and  must  be  well  drained,  the  crocks  being  covered  with  a  thin 
layer  of  rough  sphagnum  moss.  Equal  parts  of  peat  and  moss,  with 
a  good  sprinkling  of  rough  nodules  of  charcoal  or  ballast,  will  make  a 
good  rooting  medium,  and  the  basis  of  the  stems  may  be  kept  a  little 
above  the  rim  of  the  |)ot.  Trim  the  surface  neatly  after  securing 
the  strongest  growths  to  stakes,  which  will  be  necessary  until  the 
roots  regain  a  hold  on  the  compost.  E.  Wallisi  is  a  native  of  New 
Grenada,  introduced  in  1874. 
Dhchids  on  Blocks. 
While  not  recommending  the  use  of  blocks  for  Orchids  in  a  general 
way,  there  is  no  doubt  that  some  species  at  least  like  this  method  of 
treatment,  and  these,  too,  are  kinds  that  are  very  difficult  to  grow  in 
any  other  way.  In  a  small  collection  of  Orchids  grown  by  an  amateur 
not  far  from  the  breezy  Newmarket  Heath  I  recently  noticed  a  very 
beautiful  specimen  of  Aganisia  coerulea,  an  Orchid  that  has  worried 
many  skilled  cultivators  more  than  most,  yet  here  it  was  with  no 
skilled  attention  beyond  that  of  the  owner,  and  growing  away 
merrily. 
Not  that  the  use  of  blocks  will  always  bring  this  peculiar 
Orchid  into  a  healthy  state,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
freedom  enjoyed  by  the  roots  went  a  long  way  towards  making  it  a 
.success,  ff'he  chief  point  to  be  remembered  in  this  way  of  growing 
Orchids  is  that  they  are  entirely  dependent  on  the  atmospheric 
moisture  for  their  requirements,  and  no  slackening  of  this  must  bo 
allowed.  Blocks  may  be  of  various  kinds,  but  the  most  useful  of  all 
are  made  from  stems  of  Tree  Ferns  cut  into  suitable  lengths,  according 
to  the  size  and  habit  of  the  j>lant.  Cork,  apple,  and  teak  blocks  are 
all  useful  for  various  kinds,  and  I  never  had  such  a  fine  stock  of  imjwrted 
Dendrobiums  of  the  Devonianum  class  than  some  that  were  fastened  to 
small  rough  blocks  of  apple  wood,  these  in  their  turn  being  sunk  in 
pans  of  clean  crocks  until  the  roots  were  sufficiently  advanced  to  allow 
of  the  addition  of  a  little  compost. 
The  distinct  and  beautiful  Coelogyne  i)andurata,  again,  is  another 
Orchid  that  does  well  on  a  long  block.  The  pseudo-bulbs  are  distant 
from  each  other,  and  soon  grow  out  of  the  ordinary  pot  or  ])an ;  but 
on  a  long  piece  of  Tree  Fern  stem  the  rhizomes  can  lengthen  and  spread 
laterally,  and  will  soon  make  a  large  and  handsome  plant.  Many 
others  could  easily  be  named  that  like  the  block  treatment,  and  surely 
some  of  our  Orchid  growing  readers  have  tried  it,  and  cou'd  give 
instances  of  successful  treatment  or  the  reverse.  Both  would  bo 
interesting. 
DkXDROBIUM  NOI'.ILK  W.VLIJCUIANU.’VT. 
This  is  a  grand  form  of  the  old  species,  and  an  excellent  one  for 
retarding  so  as  to  bring  it  in  for  spring  shows.  When  showing  in 
classes  for  stove  and  greenhouse  cut  blooms  I  could  usually  krep  this 
back  for  the  spring  show  at  Bath,  when  it  was  a  welcome  one  of  twelve 
at  that  season.  Its  habit  of  flowering  upon  the  last  matured  stems 
instead  of  those  two  years  old  is  in  its  favour,  especially  when,  as 
is  often  the  case,  flowers  and  fresh  foliage  are  produced  upon  the 
same  steins.  The  plant  makes  very  long  stems  (pseudo-bulbs),  and 
for  this  reason  should — especially  when  flowering  later — go  at  once 
into  strong  heat  in  order  that  the  growth  may  be  in  time  for  ripening 
with  the  waning  sun  in  autumn. 
L.'ELIA  ANCEI'S. 
When  this  species  has  taken  a  brief  rest  after  flowering  there  is 
generally  a  number  of  young  roots  that  begin  to  push  from  the  base  of 
the  old  bulbs.  Sometimes,  indeed,  they  appear  before  the  flowering 
season  is  really  over,  but  whenever  they  are  seen  the  plants  should  be 
gone  through  carefully,  and  any  that  need  it  repotted  or  top-dressed. 
As  a  general  rule  it  is  treated  to  too  much  compost,  for  though  the 
roots  am  strong  individually  they  do  not  care  to  pu>h  through  a  great 
thickness  of  material,  preferring  rather  to  ramble  about  over  the  face 
of  a  rough  block  or  a  few  lumps  of  ballast  or  charcoal. 
Baskets  and  trellised  rafts  often  take  the  place  of  pots  for  this 
reason,  the  amount  of  air  that  filters  through  these  being  of  great 
assistince  to  the  roots.  Ilegarding  the  details  of  culture  requiied  for 
this  lovely  plant  they  have  been  frequently  given  in  the  Journal  of 
Horticulture,  so  wo  will  merely  say  keep  it  in  a  light,  fairly  cool  house, 
hardly  shaded  even  in  summer,  water  the  roots  well,  and  keep  the 
plants  clean.  This  will  insure  a  magnificent  winter  display,  and  when 
the  varieties  are  good  few  plapts  .are  more  beautiful.  Take  Mr. 
Crawshay’s  lovely  variety  of  L.  anceps  Amesiana,  and  few  will  fall 
out  with  you  for  calling  it  a  thing  of  beauty,  while  .among  those  less 
rare  and  valuable  there  is  a  large  number  of  splendid  garden  Orchids 
that  will  always  be  popular. 
COLAX  .JUUOSUS, 
Those  cultivators  who  only  like  large  showy  flowered  Orchids 
will  probably  care  little  for  this,  but  it  is  an  interesting  and  prett}^ 
species  well  worth  growing  by  those  who  like  such.  Imported  many 
years  ago  by  the  then  famous  nursery  firm  of  Hackney,  Messrs. 
Loddidge,  the  treatment  at  that  time  thought  necessary  for  Orchids 
was  not  at  all  to  its  taste,  and  in  all  probability  it  was  lost  to  cultiva¬ 
tion  for  a  time.  If  not  absolutely  extinct  it  was  extremely  rare,  and 
until  more  ra'donal  methods  came  in  vogue  it  was  lixely  to  remain  so. 
Heat  to  Orchids  of  this  class  should  always  be  moderate  and* 
tempered  by  abundance  of  atmospheric  moisture.  If  dry  and  hot 
conditions  prevail  the  plants  will  be  overrun  with  thrips  in  a  very 
short  time.  Even  a  dozen  years  ago  C.  jugosus  was  rarely  seen  in  the 
condition  our  best  growers  exhibit  it  nowadays,  and  in  place  of  the 
pretty  green  soft-looking  foliage,  this  was  covered  with  blacx  fines 
formed  by  insects.  Improved  methods  of  fumigating  have  helped 
towards  this  desirable  end,  as  well  as  a  better  armosph  're.  fl’he 
flowers  occur  on  three-flowered  scapss,  and  are  individual!}  about 
3  inches  across  ;  the  sepals  and  petals  white,  the  latter  prettily 
marked  with  violet  purple.  The  lip  is  three-lohed,  the  front  one 
deep  violet,  the  side  lobes  lighter;  a  very  pretty  combination  of 
.  colour. — 11.  R.  K. 
Charcoal  for  Orchids, 
In  response  to  the  note  (page  103),  in  which  I  am  askuu  wiry  I 
discontintied  the  use  of  charcoal,  I  now  propose  giving  my  ideas.  I  am 
well  aware  that  good  Orchids  have  been  grown  by  its  aid.  But  do  we 
take  the  trouble  to  find  the  reason  why  we  do  a  great  many  things  in 
connection  with  gardening  ?  You  rightly  say  it  cannot  do  harm  if  of 
the  right  quality ;  but  does  it  do  any  good  ?  When  it  is  not  of  proper 
quality,  I  think  it  distinctly  does  harm,  as  I  have  found,  when  potting 
plants  which  have  been  in  the  same  pot  or  pan  for  four  or  five  years, 
the  charcoal  ([uite  rotten,  and  resembling  a  piece  of  black  chalk,  and 
every  root  that  was  near  it  dead.  I  have  found  live  roots  conging  to 
charcoal  where  it  has  been  exposed  to  the  atmosphere  on  the  -^uriace  of 
a  pan,  or  at  the  bottom  of  a  basket,  and  therefore  I  consider  where  it  is 
used,  it  should  bo  so  placed. 
Charcoal,  if  used  at  all  for  Orchids,  should  be  made  from  Oak,  and 
even  then,  from  the  sap[iy  portions  of  the  wood  it  is  not  ol  voi_y  long 
duration.  The  heart  of  the  wood  is  the  portion  that  should  bo  used, 
and  this  is  very  rarely  to  be  obtained.  The  lightness  of  it  may  some- 
,  times  be  a  disadvantage  when  a  ])lant  is  at  rest  and  its  roots  h  ive  not 
a  thorough  hold,  as  when  water  is  required  the  plant  is  apt  to  be,  when 
dipped,  floated  out  of  the  receptacle.  I  trust  other  growers  will  give 
their  ideas  respecting  this  interesting  question,  as  the  more  wo  investi¬ 
gate  these  matters,  the  better  it  is  for  gardeners  and  gardens,  as  it  is 
on  these  small  matters  which  a  great  many  of  our  hopes  are  shattered. 
