November  29,  1900.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
483 
Keep  the  foliage  clean,  and  give  ample  moisture  at  the  roots 
in  the  atmosphere. 
and 
Cattleya  H.  S.  Leon. 
It  is  only  on  comparatively  rare  ccc'sions  that  Mr.  A.  Hislop, 
gardener  to  H.  S.  Leon,  Esq.,  Bletchley  Park,  Bletchley,  brings  ex¬ 
hibits  to  the  Drill 
Hall,  but  when 
he  does  the  plants 
are  invariably 
worthy  of  inspec¬ 
tion.  On  Tuesday, 
November  20th,  he 
placed  before  the 
Orchid  Committee 
Cattleya  H.  S.  Leon 
(fig.  125),  which 
resulted  from  a 
cross  between 
C.  Schroderse  and 
C.  gigas  Sanderi- 
ana,  and  the  pre¬ 
sence  of  the  first 
named  is  clearly 
indicated  by  the 
fragrance  of  the 
flowers.  The  colour 
of  the  sepals  and 
petals  is  (as  far  as 
could  be  seen  on 
such  a  dull  day) 
rich  rose  with  a 
delicate  purple 
suffusion;  the  su¬ 
perb  lip  is  brilliant 
velvety  crimson. 
C.  H.  S.  Leon 
is  a  magnificent 
Cattleya  that  tho¬ 
roughly  deserved 
the  first-class  cer¬ 
tificate  recom¬ 
mended  by  the 
Orchid  Committee 
of  the  Boyal  Horti¬ 
cultural  Society. 
Cyprlpedium 
Parishi. 
During  his 
active  life  and 
travels  the  late 
Eev.  0.  S.  Parish 
•enriched  our  col¬ 
lections  with  many 
fine  Orchids,  and 
the  Cypripedium 
that  bears  his 
name  is  not  the 
least  beautiful  of 
them  by  any  means.  It  is  especially  interesting  as  forming  a  kind 
of  connecting  link  between  the  Asiatic  species,  of  which  0.  barbatum 
and  C.  insigne  are  examples,  and  the  South  American  Selenipedium. 
Of  the  two  it  resembles  the  latter  section  the  more  closely,  though 
its  habitat  is  in  Moulmein. 
C.  Parishi  is  a  very  delightful  species  when  seen  at  its  best,  and 
is  not  more  difficult  to  grow  than  scores  of  others  that  are  freely 
represented  in  almost  every  collection.  It  flowers  at  a  rather  dull 
season  of  the  year  too,  yet  it  is  not  by  any  means  a  popular  plant 
for  some  reason  or  another.  To  grow  it  well  the  heat  of  the  East 
Indian  house  is  essential,  and  for  preference  a  shady  position 
should  be  chosen,  at  least  during  thej  summer  month-’.  In  winter, 
of  course,  like  all  other  exotics,  it  often  pines  for  light,  especially 
in  smoky  town  districts.  The  compost  may  consi-t  of  equal 
parts  of  peat  fibre,  sphagnum  moss,  and  fibrous  loam,  to  which 
plenty  of  rough  charcoal  or  crocks  have  been  added.  It  dislikes 
^ery  large  pots,  but  those  used  must  be  clean  and  well  drained. 
their  proper 
and  growers 
temperatures 
speci  8  than 
be  tried  in 
Fig,  125.— Cattleya  H.  S.  Leon. 
Small  Collections  of  Orchids. 
The  grouping  of  various  species  of  Orchids  in 
temperatures  is  an  important  point  in  their  culture, 
who  have  a  number  of  houses  heated  to  various 
stand  a  far  better  chance  of  success  with  difficult 
do  others  without  such  conveniences — the  plants  can 
the  different  houses  until  the  correct  place  is  found  for  them. 
But  allowing  all  this,  it  is  remarkable  what  a  number  of  really 
good  and  desirable  Orchids  can  be  grown  in  a  single  structure 
provided  they  are  judiciously  arranged  and  carefully  tended. 
A  very  useful 
adjunct  to  such  a 
house  is  a  roomy 
frame  or  pit  in  a 
shady,  cool  part  of 
the  garden.  Here 
the  cooler  section 
can  be  grown  in 
the  summer,  while 
the  warmer  sorts 
c.m  be  safely  given 
proper  conditions 
and  ample  room 
after  the  former 
havebeen  removed. 
In  winter  .  ihe 
house  will  natur¬ 
ally  be  rather  full, 
but  many  plants 
will  be  at  rest,  or 
partially  so,  and 
although  ample 
light  is  a  desidera¬ 
tum,  yet  they  are 
le.«s  likely  to  feel 
the  loss  of  it  at 
such  a  time  than 
when  growing 
freely.  And  when 
a  considerable 
stock  of  such 
things  as  Thunias 
iVid  deciduous 
Dendrobiums  are 
grown  the  room 
1  hey  need  in  winter 
is  very  little  com¬ 
pared  with  that 
they  take  up  in 
summer  when  they 
are  in  full  leaf 
growth. 
For  the  winter 
months  it  is  best 
to  strike  the  happy 
medium  with  re¬ 
gard  to  tempera¬ 
ture.  Cattleyasand 
Lielias,  evergreen 
Dendrobiums,  and 
usual  run  of 
.  '  '  pseudo  -  bulbous 
'  "■  O.chids  are  quite 
happy  in  a  mini¬ 
mum  night  temperature  of,  say,  53° ;  and  although  this  is 
slightly  too  high  for  Odontoglossums  and  cool  Orchids  generally,  yet 
a  high  winter  reading  is  not  nearly  so  injurious  to  them  as  too  much 
heat  in  summer.  As  to  the  warm-growing  set  that  usually  inhabit 
the  East  Indian  house,  these,  it  is  true,  will  be  a  little  incommoded, 
but  not  so  much  as  may  be  imagined,  provided  they  are  kept  well  on 
the  dry  side  at  the  roots. 
dhe  time  when  these  must  be  specially  considered  is  in  autumn, 
ample  light  and  heat  being  allowed  to  encourage  them  to  finish  and 
ripen  their  growth,  rendering  the  latter  less  susceptible  to  sudden 
checks  or  an  utuformly  low  temperature.  Great  care  is  then  necessary 
with  the  Cattleyas  and  Lselias  to  prevent  unseasonable  growth,  while 
the  freedom  with  which  they  are  exposed  to  the  waning  sun  in 
autumn  necessitates  their  being  placed  in  that  part  of  the  house  where 
most  air  reaches  them  ;  this  to  avoid  scorching  of  the  foliage.  Many 
mi'cr  matters  will  need  attention,  according  to  the  species  that  are 
grown,  but  the  interest  of  such  varied  collections  is  great. — 11.  R.  R. 
