January  29,  1903. 
91 
JOUnXAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Cattleya  Mossiae  Arnoldiana,  Low's  variety. 
If  we  accept  Kew  as  our  authority  for  plant  nomenclature,  we 
find  that  Cattleya  Mossiae  is  given  as  a  form — in  other  words  a 
variety — of  C.  labiata.  Therefore  C.  labiata  Mossiae  Arnoldiana, 
Low’s  variety,  is  a  flower  that  has  advanced  a  goodly  way  on  the 
road  of  change.  Such  names  are  in  themselves  a  history  of  the 
form.  The  variety  we  figure  is  indeed  a  magnificent  one,  and  an 
undoubted  improvement  on  the  type.  The  sepals  are  somewhat 
narrow,  and  clear  white,  while  the  petals  are  broad  and  fimbriated. 
The  colour  is  white,  save  for  a  suffusion  of  rose  through  the 
way  stinted  for  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  the  watering  pot  and 
syringe  are  used  far  too  freely.  I  would  ask  such  to  consider  the 
nature  of  the  plants  a  moment  before  watering,  and  to  look  care¬ 
fully  at  each  before  giving  it.  Take  the  case  of  a  deciduous 
Calanthe  as  an  instance.  No  one  would  think  of  watering  such 
as  this  until  new  roots  are  .seen  issuing  from  the  base  of  the  new 
growths,  as  the  old  roots  are  all  dead,  and  there  is  ample  nutri¬ 
ment  stored  in  the  old  pseudo-bulb  for  the  need  of  the  plant. 
Now  take  a  Lycaste,  a  Ccelogyne,  or  a  Brassia  ;  any  pseudo- 
bulbous  plant,  in  fact,  just  now  commencing  to  gi’ow.  Although 
these  have  not  lo.st  their  last  year’s  roots  as  the  Calanthe 
had,  yet  if  the  bulbs  were  properly  developed  and  ripened  last 
autumn  the  nutriment  is  in  them  just  the  same,  and  the  roots, 
though  alive,  are  practically  at  re.st.  If  the  compost,  then,  is 
saturated  with  water  now,  what  follows?  It  is  rendered  close 
and  quite  unsuitable  for  the  reception  of  the  new  roots  when  they 
do  come,  con.sequently  these  die  off  and  fail  to  carry  nutriment  to 
the  new  leads  at  the  time  when  the  supply  is  failing  from  the  old 
bulb,  for  naturally  a  thriving  youngster  of  a  pseudo-bulb  must 
Cattleya  Mossiae  Arnoldiana,  Low’s  variety. 
centre.  The  beautiful,  heavily  fimbriated  lip  is  white,  veined  with 
maroon,  while  the  throat  is  clear  yellow.  Messrs.  Hugh  Low  and 
Co.,  of  Bush  Hill  Park,  Enfield,  Middlesex,  secured  a  First  Class 
Certificate  for  it  in  July,  189(). 
The  Week's  Cultural  Notes. 
Perhaps  at  no  time  of  year  is  there  greater  danger  of  over- 
watering  Orchids  than  just  as  they  are  commencing  to  grow. 
Cultivators  who  have  not  had  much  experience,  seeing  signs  of 
new  growth,, are  anxious  that  their  pet  plants  shall  not  be  in  any 
sooner  or  later  become  self-supporting,  and  not  dependent  upon 
the  parent  that  produced  it.  .  .  ,  ,  •  t 
Watch  carefully,  then,  for  signs  of  either  shrivelling  in  the 
parent  pseudo-bulbs  or  new  root  action  before  greatly  increasing 
the  water  supply.  In  some  species  the  first  signs  of  new  life  are 
seen  in  the  softening  or  greening  of  the  tips  of  the  old  roots  ;  in 
others  a  flush  of  new  roots  is  produced  at  the  base  of  the  new 
leads;  while  in  a  few  cases  the  old  roots  attain  activity  befon* 
any  signs  of  young  leads  appear.  But  remember  in  all  cases  that 
roots  are  not  formed  by  moisture;  they  are  put  forth  by  the 
