April  13,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
20.3 
Mahdevalt.ia  Gei.eniaxa. 
Hybrid  'lasdevallias  are  now  fjettinj?  fairly  nuirierous,  and  very 
beautiful  are  some  of  them.  The  one  named  is  a  hybrid  raised,  it  is 
said,  by  .Messrs  .Sander  &  Co.  fnan  M.  Shuttleworthi  and  a  variety  of 
.M.  Cstradae.  As  may  be  expecte(i,  it  is  a  beautilid  little  plant,  witli 
bright  yellow  sepals,  each  elongated  into  a  deep  yellow  tail,  as  in 
-M.  Shuttleworthi  xanthocorys,  the  broader  portion  of  these  .seirments 
being  sprjtted  with  crimson  (fig.  70j.  It  has  been  frerjuently  exhibited, 
and  thoutth  not  exactly  one  of  the  greatest  rarities,  is  not  common, 
or  it  would  doubtless  soon  become  very  plentiful. 
SOHRALIA  XANTIIOX.EUCA. 
Many  have  been  the  plaints  that  the  lovely  blossoms  of  Sobralia 
do  not  last  longer  in  good  condition  ;  but  there  is  always  the  cornfortintr 
reflection  that  nuriiVrers  arc  produced  successively,  and  therefore  a 
display  kept  up  for  a  long  time.  This  species  is  no  better  than  its 
fellows  in  respect  of  its  evanescent  character,  but  it  is  a  lovely  form 
while  it  lasts,  the  large  flowers  being  of  two  distinct  shades  of  yellow, 
the  deeper  ejccurring  upon  the  lip.  Its  culture  may  be  summed  up 
very  briefly  ;  it  rer{uire8  large  pots  and  a  liberal  amount  of  compost, 
ample  moisftireall  the  year  round,  and  a  shady  position  in  the  cool  end 
of  the  intermediate  or  Cattleya  house. — H.  It.  It. 
BuLiiOi'HYi.nu.vr  Krticsoxi. 
This  striking  species,  having  just  pissed  out  of  flower,  enables  one 
to  speak  more  fully  of  its  char.icter  and  refiuirements.  It  is  of  rather 
straggling  habit,  the  bulbs  being  produced  some  3  or  4  inches  apart, 
on  a  creei'ing  rhizome,  and  is  therefore  best  grown  on  a  raft,  with 
a  very  little  compost  under  the  plant,  which  must  be  made  thoroughly 
secure  to  prevent  rocking.  The  flowers  are  amongst  the  largest 
of  the  whole  farndy,  some  7  or  H  inches  across,  and  are  produced 
seven  or  eight  together  on  a  slender  spjike.  The  ground  colour 
of  the  sepials  and  p  tals  is  .a  yellowish  green,  heavily  8[)OttKl  with 
rich  purplish  brown  ;  the  lip  is  bright  red  or  reddish  purple,  and  it 
has  a  curious  rocking  arrangement,  which  is  peculiar  to  some  other 
members  of  tliis  family.  B.  Kricsoni  requires  the  femfierature  of 
the  warmest  house  tlm  whole  year  round,  and  was  introduced  by 
lMe.S8r.s.  F.  Hander  A  O’,  t'ircuih  the  collector  whose  name  it  heais. 
It  gives  off  rather  a  foiiid  and  disagreeable  odour,  and  lasts  about 
a  week  in  flower. 
Cyi'HII'Ediu.vi  p.Er.nATur.u.M  albu.m. 
This  beautiful  albino  is  again  in  flower,  and  is  no  doubt  one  of  'he 
loveliest  of  Cypripediurns.  Bike  the  tyiacal  plant  it  is  in  many  hands 
a  bad  grower,  but  no  doubt  when  our  knowledge  of  its  requirements 
is  more  advanced  it  will  i/e  as  easy  to  grow  as  any.  Having  been 
successful  with  it,  I  would  advise  anyone  to  give  it  a  trial,  as  it  is 
worth  its  place  in  the  most  select  collection.  The  cause  of  failure  f 
believe  is  water  in  a  great  rnanv  cases.  It  must  never  he  watered 
above,  and  great  care  should  be  taken  that  the  plant  does  not  receive 
an  excess  of  water  at  any  time.  I  have  found  they  succeed  best  in 
pure  loam  fibre  from  a  limestone  district,  mixed  with  some  fine 
broken  crocks,  and  a  sprinkling  of  coarse  Bedfi  rdshire  sand.  They 
should  occupy  a  w.arrn  house,  and  during  the  winter  months  very  little 
water  will  be  required  ;  just  enough  to  jirevent  its  shrivelling,  as  it  is 
apt  to  damp  off  if  it  gets  at  all  wet.  It  was  introduced  by  .Messrs. 
(Jharlesworth  &  Ho.  of  Bradford,  through  Mr.  Moore,  from  the  Shan 
States,  and  was  first  flowered  by  Sir  F.  Wigan,  Bart.,  of  lOa^t  Sheen, 
who  received  a  first-class  certificate  from  the  lioyal  Horticultural 
Society  for  it. 
HEXIIKOUIUMS  INFU>’T)IlUJr.U.M  AMD  JA.ME.SIAMUM. 
These  two  members  of  the  nigro-hirsute  section  are  sometimes 
considered  refractory  suVijects,  ar.d  are  often  recommended  to  be 
grown  in  a  cool  h^use,  but  I  could  never  produce  a  specimen  to  my 
satisfaction  in  such  a  temperature.  Since  placing  it  in  a  shady  corijcr, 
however,  at  the  cooler  end  of  an  intermediate  house  the  growth  has 
been  luxuriant,  those  of  the  former  often  reaching  3G  inches  in  length, 
and  both  produce  flowers  in  abundance.  The  blooms  last  in  perhetion 
for  several  weeks  if  kept  from  the  damp,  ffreat  care  should  be  taken 
to  keep  in  check  the  white  scale  which  infest  them,  and  they  should 
be  placed  in  the  smallest  pots  possible,  as  sour  soil  will  do  immense 
harm.  The  compost  recommended  for  the  deciduous  section  will 
answer  their  requirements. — -L  Baukeu,  Ilcaje. 
-Mr.  W.  V.  Buhkinshaw’s  Hrchid.s,  He.shi.e. 
I  have  often  been  yiuzzled  to  know  where  ihe  immense  quantity 
of  imported  (Jrchidsget  to.  A  short  time  ago  I  had  an  opportunity  of 
inspecting  the  above  named  collection,  and  taking  it  as  a  fact  that  there 
arc  probably  hundreds  of  somewhat  similar  collections  in  the  three 
kingdoms,  one  gets  one’s  eyes  opened  somewhat  on  the  matter. 
S[;ecialism  in  some  form  or  other  seems  to  be  the  order  of  the  day  in 
most  trades  and  professions,  horticulture  not  excepted,  and  everyone 
must  be  pleased  to  see  this  development. 
Hrchid  lovers  who  know  the  collection  under  notice,  and  the 
excellent  manner  in  which  the  plants  are  tended  by  .Mr.  Barker  the 
gardener,  will  agree  with  me  in  saying  that  a  visit  must  be  profitable. 
There  are  six  span-roofed  houses,  with  ends  pointing  north  and  south, 
filled  with  Orchids.  The  four  hcu.ses  filled  with  Cattleyas,  Laelin  , 
Dendrobiums,  in  fact  all  the  species  and  varieties  that  require  warm 
temperatures,  are  about  18  feet  in  width ;  the  two  filled  with  cool 
house  Orchids  are  narrower,  having  stages  on  each  side  and  a  path  in 
the  centre.  4’he  internal  arrangements  of  the  former  are  quite  cifferent, 
from  any  I  have  hitherto  seen.  Instead  of  the  usual  stage  the  central 
space  is  open,  or  at  moat  is  occupied  with  a  group  of  small  Palms, 
Olivias,  or  any  other  free-growing  stove  plants  not  too  liable  to 
encourage  insect  peats.  There  are  the  usual  side  stages  all  around  on 
which  the  plants  of  the  longer  bulbed  Orchids,  such  as  Bselia  purpurata 
and  tall  Dendrobes,  are  grown.  The  bulk  of  the  shorter  bulbed  plants 
are  grown  suspended  from  the  roofs.  Small  iron  rods  are  fixed  at  right 
angles  to  the  sash  bars;  on  each  side  of  the  span-roof  stout  hooks  are 
frequent  on  the  bars.  As  will  be  seen,  it  is  necessary  to  have  the 
plants  growing  in  either  Orchid  baskets  or  pans.  Some  few  are  in 
ordinary  pots  with  holes  under  the  rim  to  put  the  wires  through  for 
hanging  them. 
The  general  appearance  of  this  arrangement  is  perhayis  not  so 
striking  as  is  the  more  familiar  way  ;  still,  anyone  who  will  think  out 
the  natural  conditions  under  which  the  bulk  of  epiphytal  Orchids  are 
grown,  will  at  once  see  there  is  much  in  its  favour.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  but  that  the  best  growing  atmosphere  in  the  general  run  of 
plant  houses  is  that  portion  distant,  say,  between  18  inches  and  3  feet 
from  the  glass  roof.  Mr.  Barker  tells  me  he  has  no  difficulty  in  getting 
such  varieties  as  Cattleya  gigas  and  Laelia  anceps  alba  in  variety,  to 
make  sheaths  and  flower  spikes  quite  freely  when  grown  in  the  way  I 
describe  ;  and,  as  will  be  known  to  many  Orchid  growers,  these 
varieties  do  not  do  this  freely  under  ordinary  treatment.  No  doubt 
there  is  a  little  more  trouble  in  watering  them,  though  judging  by  the 
expert  way  Mr,  Barker  reached  the  ydants  down  with  a  small  rod  with 
a  hook  at  its  end,  it  is  not  in  his  case  more  troublesome.  He  believes 
in  dipjiing  the  plants  in  a  movable  tub,  as  this  insures  a  thorough 
soaking  when  it  is  done.  On  an  average  this  is  not  required  more 
than  once  a  week  he  tells  me,  even  in  the  growing  season.  ^  Of  course 
there  is  daily  attention  as  to  damping  the  pots  with  the  syringe,  hence 
the  necessity  of  having  free-growing  plants  underneath,  so  that  they 
may  not  be  injured  by  too  much  moisture.  It  is  only  fair  to  say  that 
the  bulk  of  Mr.  Burkinshaw’s  Orchids  are  not  large  specimens  as  yet, 
otherwise  there  would  be  more  difficulty  in  growing  them  in  this  way. 
It  is  necessary  to  have  a  small  house  set  apart  for  exhibiting  them 
when  in  flower."  Speaking  broadly,  I  am  convinced  that  the  above 
mode  of  growing  many  species  and  varieties  is  the  right  one.  In  saying 
this  I  do  not  for  one  moment  lay  claim  to  any  special  knowledge  of 
Orchid  culture.  , 
Amongst  the  kinds  in  flower  was  a  healthy  plant  of  Lselio-Battley  i 
Bella,  with  one  spike  and  three  flowers  open.  It  is  most  beautilul. 
and  as  described  in  the  Journal  of  March  30th,  jiage  2q0,  is  ^  'y  5**^ 
between  Bmlia  puri-iirata  and  the  true  old  Cattleya  labiata.  ihe  side 
stage  on  which  it  was  growing  was  filled  with  healthy  plants  ol  all 
the  chcicest  of  Cattleyas  iu  cultivation,  and  so  far  as  1  could  see  there 
