March  19,  1S03. 
245 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAUE 
O AiiDLR  i:jR> 
Dendrobium  Wiganiae  xanthochilum. 
The  illustration  of  this  beautiful  variety  of  D.  Wiganise  serves 
to  convey  an  impression  of  its  size  and  graceful  form.  The  variety 
flowers  most  freely  on  all  growths  of  the  previous  year.  These 
blossoms  are  soft  pale  yellow,  with  a  deeper  shade  of  colour  on  the 
lip,  and  are  distinguished  by  a  rich  purple-brown  throat  in  effec¬ 
tive  contrast  to  the  sepals  and  petals.  A  first-class  certificate 
was  awarded  to  Sir  Frederick  Wigan,  Bart,  (grower,  Mr.  W.  H. 
Young),  Clare  Lawn,  East  Sheen,  by  the  Orchid  Committee  of 
the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  at  the  meeting  on  February  10. 
The  Orchid  Review. 
This  illustrated  monthly  journal  of  Orchidology  contains  for 
March  calendarial  notes  and  numerous  separate  paragraphs  on 
species  and  hybrids.  It  is  obtainable  from  the  Editor,  Lawn 
Crescent,  Kew,  Surrey,  indce  6d. 
Use  of  Leaf  IJIouid  in  Orchid  Culture. 
M.  Lucien  Linden  writes  to  our  contemporary  as  follows  con¬ 
cerning  the  use  of  leaf  mould  for  Orchids.  He  says :  “  I  thought 
it  right  last  year  to  utter,  through  the  “  Gardeners’  Chronicle,” 
a  warning  against  the  employment  of  leaf  mould  in  the  cultiva¬ 
tion  of  Orchids.  I  have  since  had  still  further  occasion  tO'  notice 
how  prejudicial  the  material  is, for  these  plants,  which  at  first 
seem  improved,  but  afterwai’ds  are  killed  by  it.  -You  would 
render  a  service  to  Orchid  growers  by  repeating  this  caution, 
using  my  name  in  connection  with  it  if  you  wish  to  do  so.” 
One  peculiarity  observed  when  Cattleyas  are  grown  in  leaf 
mould  is  that  most  of  the  roots  are  outside  the  pots,  which  seems 
quite  natural ;  bizt  a  few  go  through  the  compost,  and  these 
roots  are  thicker  and  stronger  than  those  roots  usually  found 
in  our  ordinary  compost.  A  New  York  grower,  who  has  grown 
Orchids'  for  forty  years,  has  made  a  few  trials  on  a  small  scale, 
and  is  quite  satisfied  with  the  result.  He  does  not  water  his 
Orchids  in  the  usual  manner,  but  has  a  spray  fixed  to  the  hose 
and  only  syringes  them  between  the  jjots.  Orchids  grown  in  leaf 
mould,  and  watered  in  this  manner,  can  scarcely  get  too  wet, 
if  only  a  little  care  is  exercised. 
The  Week’s  Cultural  Notes. 
If  we  except  the  popular  C.  cristata,  the  genus  Ccelogyne  is 
singularly  neglected  by  Orchid  growers ;  yet  there  are  many  very 
charming  species  that  may  well  be  added  to  collections.  Take 
the  beautiful  C.  pandurata,  for  instance,  and  in  very  few  flowers 
can  we  see  it  really  well  done,  while  many  modern  growers  do  not 
know  it  at  all.  Its  somewhat  straggling  habit  renders  frequent 
attention  to  the  compost  necessary,  as,  whatever  the  size  of  the 
receptacle  in  which  it  is  placed,  the  long  rhizomes  soon  push  out 
over  the  edge.  Long  rafts  of  teak  form  an  excellent  rooting 
medium,  equal  parts  of  sphagnum  and  peat  being  thinly  wired 
on  these  for  the  roots  to  take  hold  of. 
When  possible,  the  new  growth  shonld  be  so  directed  by  tying 
that  they  do  not  reach  the  sides.  A  cushion  of  compost  may  be 
placed  underneath  the  forming  pseudo-bulb,  and  this  will  ensure 
the  roots  from  the  rhizome  entering  it.  As  a  rule,  this  plant  is 
in  growth  for  at  least  nine  montlis'  out  of  the  year,  and  conse¬ 
quently  requires  much  root  moisture,  the  present  being  the 
time  to  increase  the  rather  limited  winter  supply,  and  also'  to 
assist  it  in  the  matter  of  compost  as  noted  above.  But  the  fact 
of  so  much  water  being  needed  must  not  induce  the  cultivator  to 
give  a  thick  compost,  for  air  is  as  necessary  to  the  roots  as  water, 
and  this  they  cannot  get  in  full  supplies  if  buried  underneath 
inches  of  compressible  material. 
The  more  tufted  habited  species  of  course  need  less  pot  room, 
and  a  rather  deeper  compost;  but  even  here  anything  like  stag¬ 
nation  in  the  passage  of  air  is  to  be  deprecated.  It  is  better  to 
water  two  or  three  times  a  week,  and  allow  the  roots,  to  be  dry 
between  whiles,  than  to  water  once  a  zveek  and  have  them  always 
moist.  This,  then,  should  be  kept  in  mind  in  making  up  the 
compo,st.  As  a  general  rule,  Coelogynes  are  not  particularly  sub- 
ect  to  insect  attacks,  but  should  scale  or  other  pests  be  present 
ose  no  time  in  combating  their  attacks  by  the  usual  methods. 
Cattleyas  of  the  summer  and  autumn  flozvering  section  are 
moving,  but  there  is  no  need  to  hurry  them.  The  grozvth.s  zzdll 
be  stronger  and  moi’c  likely  to  flower  freely  in  a  mild,  airy  tem¬ 
perature  than  rushed  along  in  a  house  stifling  hot  and  reeking 
with  moisture,  and  although  the  spring  at  present  appears  for¬ 
ward  and  grozvthnnusually  active,  there  is  no  saying  hozv  soon 
wo  may  be  again  visited  zvith  cold  chilling  zvinds  or  frost;  conse¬ 
quently  the  old  adage,  “make  haste  slowly,”  may  be  kept  in 
mind  zz  ith  those  air  and  light  loving  Orchids. — H.  R.  R. 
Gesneras  from  Seeds. 
The  great  majority  of  grozvers  confine  themselves  to  the 
practice  of  increasing  their  stock  of  these  fine  zvinter-blooming 
plants  by  their  bulbous  or  rhizomatous  roots,  zvhich  in  some  kinds 
afford  ample  means,  because  of  their  freedom  of  formation. 
There  are  some,  however,  it  may  be  without  a  stock,  or,  having 
an  insufficient  number,  who  could  adopt  seed-raising  both  with 
interest  and  economy.  Interest  alzzays  centres  itself  in  seed¬ 
raising  because  of  the  possibilities  of  getting  something  fresh 
from  varieties  one  is  unaccustomed  to.  Sometimes,  too,  the 
stock  of  Gesneras  become  badly  infested  zvith  mealy  bug,  an 
insect  that  has  a  great  partiality  for  these  plants,  and  there  is 
always  a  difficulty  in  effectually  clearing  them  out  because  of 
the  delicate  nature  of  their  foliage.  They  secrete  themselves 
in  the  roots  in  their  dormant  state,  rendering  the  chances  of 
making  a  riddance  of  these  noxious  pests  still  more  uncertain. 
By  seed-raising  there  is  a  chance  of  procuring  an  untainted 
stock,  and  zvhich  can  be  maintained,  if  the  precaution  is  made 
of  keeping  them  free  from  infested  plants.  Many  are  accus¬ 
tomed  to  one  or  tzzm  varieties  only,  and  haz^e  no  knozvledge  of 
the  several  others  of  varied  colours  easily  available.  From  a 
mixed  packet  of  a  good  strain  it  may  be  pos.sible  to  get  half  a 
Dendrobium  Wiganiae  xanthochilum. 
dozen  colours  more  or  less  distinct.  In  this  zvay  zve  had  a 
beautiful  golden  yellozv  develop  among  a  batch  of  plants  last 
year,  while  of  the  Zebrina  type  there  were  a  distinct  variation 
in  flower  characters.  The  old  G.  discolor,  zvith  its  crimson 
velvet  foliage,  did  not  make  its  appearance  among  our  stock 
of  seeds;  but  this  we  can  obtain  easily  enough  from  rootstocks. 
Once  a  supply  of  plants  are  obtained  from  this  or  any  other 
source,  it  is  easy  enough  to  maintain  it  by  natural  reproduction. 
They  are  by  no  means  difficult  to  raise  from  seeds,  though 
as  is  the  case  zvith  all  that  are  small  and  dust-like,  some  care 
and  patience  is  needful  in  dealing  zvith  them  in  their  early 
stages  of  progress.  Peat,  leaf  mould,  and  loam  in  about  equal 
proportions  afford  a  medium  that  may  bo  said  to  suit  them  in 
their  seedling  and  adult  stage,  reducing  it  into  small  particles 
for  the  seed  pan,  and  allowing  a  progressive  coarsencs.s  in  the 
material  as  their  needful  advance  dictate.  A  little  dried  cozv 
manure  is  advantageous  in  their  later  pottings.  To  keep  them 
sturdy  of  habit  it  is  advisable  to  place  them  on  a  shelf  near 
the  glass,  but  shaded  from  bright  sunshine.  If  allozved  to 
become  leggy,  or  drazvn,  their  heauty  is  in  a  largo  measure 
destroyed,  ^le  seed  should  be  sozzn  (juito  thinly,  and  not 
too  much  at  a  time.  When  there  is  too  many  seeds  germinate, 
there  is  a  tendency  zvith  most  persons  to  choose  the  strongest 
and  leave  the  rest  often  to  take  their  clumce.  The  result  of 
this  probably  zvould  be  that  the  very  best  is  neglected,  if  not 
actually  lost. 
A  zvell-knozvn  and  respected  gardener  of  last  century,  zvho 
raised  plants  from  seeds  zvhich  still  occupy  a  foremost  place 
