:yiay  7,  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
d97 
Cyprlpedlum  I'Ansoni. 
Few  plants  of  this  very  liandsoaie  hybrid  are  yet  in  collec¬ 
tions.  Its  specific  name  was  given  in  recognition  of  Messrs. 
Hugh  Low  and  Co.’s  chief  Orchid  cultivator,  Mr.  I’Anson,  who  so 
well  manages  the  firm’s  collection  at  Bush  Hill  Park,  Enfield. 
C.  I’Ansoni  is  a  cross  between  C.  Rothschildianum  and 
C.  Morganite,  and  received  a  first-class  certificate  when  staged 
before  the  R.H.S.  Orchid  Committee  in  1898.  The  semi-droop¬ 
ing  petals  have  a  creamy  ground-colour  tinged  with  green,  almost 
hidden  by  large  and  very  numerous  dark  brown  spots.  The  fine 
dorsal  sepal  is  similar  in  basal  colour  to  the  petals,  and  has 
lines  and  rows  of  almost  continuous  crimson-black  spots.  The 
pouch  is  rosy-claret. 
Orchids  at  Highbury. 
The  Right  Hon.  Joseph  Chamberlain,  M.P.,  employs,  we 
believe,  fifteen  gardeners  in  his  plant  houses  alone,  besides  a 
number  of  others  in  the  outdoor  gardens  which  are  fittingly  ex¬ 
tensive.  The  main  range  of  houses  are  in  line  with  the  conserva¬ 
tory  attached  to  the  house,  and  from  which  runs  a  long  plant 
corridor.  A  dozen  span-roofed  houses  are  placed  at  right  angles 
to  this  corridor,  and 
lead  into  it  or  from  it. 
Passing  along  the 
corridor  one  can  view 
the  occupants  of  each 
compartment  without 
necessarily  having  to 
enter.  So  far  as  pos¬ 
sible,  one  house  is 
devoted  to  one  kind 
of  plant.  Thus,  for 
instance,  there  is  a 
house  filled  in  all  parts 
■ — both  the  sides  and 
the  far  end — with  Cine- 
r  a  r  i  a  s  in  variety. 
Another  house  contains 
a  massed  collection  of 
exceptionally  fine  Cycla¬ 
mens,  and  a  third  comes 
to  mind  in  which  there 
was  a  gorgeous  display 
of  flowers  from  bulbous 
plants,  including  Nar¬ 
cissi,  Tulips,  Hyacinths, 
Scillas,  Muscari,  and 
Lachenalias. 
Without  enlarging 
further  on  the  general 
variety’  of  subjects  under 
gla.ss.  our  few  notes  of 
the  Orchids  may  po.ssess 
a  special  interest  to 
lovers  of  this  great 
natural  order  of  plants. 
The  Orchid  show- 
house  is  one  of  these 
span-roofed  structures, 
and  is  specially  used  for 
flowering  jdants  from 
the  other  apartments' 
and  a  bright  display  is 
maintained.  Ficus  re¬ 
pens  clusters  along  the 
edges  of  the  .stages  in 
this  house,  and  also 
upon  the  walls  and  two 
rods,  that  runs  parallel 
wdth  the  roof  overhead, 
from  end  to  end,  the 
double  cordon  of  green¬ 
leaved  growths  affording 
an  overhead  foil-dressing  and  means  of  shade.  Hanging  speci¬ 
mens  of  Cattleya  citrina  (now  in  flower)  help  to  fill  up  the  inter¬ 
space  between  the  roof-glass  and  the  plants  on  the  stages,  while 
here  and  there  a  nobly  flowered  piece  of  Lajlia  or  Cattleya  is 
raised  on  a  tiny  pedestal,  to  throw  its  bloom.s  higher  than  those 
of  the  general  collection.  Sufficient  greenery  is  provided  by  the 
under  growth  of  small  Maidenhair  Ferns. 
Three  weeks  ago  there  were  then  in  flower  very  robust 
plants  of  Hendrobium  albo-sanguineum,  D.  Devonianum,  D.- 
fimbnatum,  and  D.  Madonna,  of  this  genus,  the  last-named 
being  a  vvhite  variety,  having  only  a  tinge  of  purple  on  the  lip. 
Lattleya  Schroderje  Highburyensis  is  a  magnificent  form  of  great 
sweetness.  It  has  a  rich  salmon-orange  lip  and  mauve-pink 
edgO’  the  petals  and  sepals  being  pale  pink.  One  spike  carried 
three  flowers.  C.  Schroderse  (type)  was  seen  with  seven  massive 
blooms,  and  G.  Lawrenceana  was  also  fine. 
IJridoubtedly  handsome  is  L.-c.  x  Highburyensis  superba, 
a  choice  hybrid  from  Cattleya  Lawrenceana  and  Lselia  cinna- 
barina.  The  lovely  plant  here  had  eleven  of  its  uncommon 
flowers  on  one  raceme.  The  lip  is  amaranth,  with  rich  amber- 
brownish  sepals,  and  bright  purple  amaranth  petals.  Cattleya 
bkinnen,  with  exactly  two  dozen  flowers  from  four  leads,  is 
shown  prominently,  while  overhead  was  a  great  Cymbidium 
Lowianum,^  also  with  four  inflorescences  and  twenty-seven 
flowers.  Cattleya  x  Claudian,  a  cro.ss  between  C.  specie  and  C. 
Schillenana,  poss.esses  a  flat  lip  of  amaranth  purple  shade,  and 
bright  ro.se-purple  sepals  and  petals.  L.  c.  x  Hilda,  thought  to 
be  from  C.  Lawrenceana  and  L.  Boothiana,  is  a  charming  flower. 
The  tip  of  the  fine  wavy-edged  lip  is  purple-mauve,  the  sepals 
and  petals  being  much  paler. 
Epidendrums  are  also  staged  here  during  their  flowering 
period,  and  we  saw  a  pretty  Epi-Cattleya  x,  the  resultant 
progeny  from  a  C.  Skinneri  and  E.  aurantiaca— a  natural  hybrid. 
The  pale  flowers  were  four  in  number. 
Passing  from  the  .show-house  to  one  of  hybrid  Orchids  of 
different  genera,  the  impress  of  health  appears  on  every  one  of 
them.  In  an  adjoining  section  there  was  a  Cypripedium 
niveum  with  twenty-five  flowers,  quite  a  number  of  the  stalks 
having  twin  blossoms. 
Many  of  the  pots  and 
pans  are  set  upon 
patent  wire  frames  of 
local  manufacture.  The 
collection  of  Angrse- 
cums  —  fastuosum,  ci¬ 
trina,  Sanderianum,  all 
in  flower,  were  .specially 
noteworthy,  and  no 
handsomer  pieces  of 
A.  sesquipedale  have 
been  seen  by  us  any¬ 
where.  The  latter  are 
in  9in  pots,  and  have 
2ft  of  stem  growth. 
Numbers  of  seedling 
Orchids  in  the  healthi¬ 
est  condition  were  seen. 
These  are  in  thimble 
pots,  half  a  dozen  of 
which  are  set  inside 
an  ordinary  teakwood 
basket  and  suspended 
from  the  roof.  Pots, 
with  pieces  of  flannel 
smoothly  covering  the 
surface  of  the  soil,  were 
devoted  to^  seedlings  on 
the  point  of  germin¬ 
ating,  the  tiny  green 
specks  just  being  dis¬ 
cernible.  These  pots 
are  simply  placed  ou 
the  ordinary  stage  in 
the  same  house  with 
the  Angraecums.  Seeds 
of  Cattleyas  and  Odon- 
toglossums  so.wn  on 
square  blocks  of  Pine 
wood  were  also  in  pro¬ 
cess  of  germinating. 
The  daj^  temperature  of 
the  house  was  70deg 
Fahrenheit. 
One  cannot  hope  to 
name  a  tithe  of  the  in¬ 
teresting  hybrids  or 
species  in  Mr.  Cham¬ 
berlain’s  houses.  In  his 
house  of  Cattleyas  there 
are  many  most  robust 
.specimen  plants  of  such 
as  C.  Mossiae  Wagneri,  Stattcriana,  Gaskelliana  (“growing  like 
weeds”),  Harrisonise,  Mantini  (very  .strong),  purimrata  (one 
with  a  dozen  leads),  Chamberlainiana,  this  being  a  tiny  plantlet 
twenty-one  ye^irs  old,  an  original  piece  of  the  hybrid  raised 
by  Messrs.  Veitch,  and  which  has  never  made  any  progress. 
Under  Mr.  J.  McKay’s  care,  however,  it  is  now  gaining  strength 
yearly.  Tlie  parents  of  it  are  C.  guttata  and  Dowiana  aurea. 
The  owner  of  Highbuiy  directs  his  own  hybridisation  of 
Orchids  (and  latterly  Hippeastrums),  and  we  were  shown  a 
