January  3,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
D 
Lycaste  Notes. 
All  the  members  of  the  genus  to  which  this  well-known  plant 
belongs  are  essentially  Orchids  for  beginners,  being  very  free 
blooming,  varied  and  beautiful  in  colour,  easily  procurable,  and  of 
the  simplest  culture.  L.  Skinneri  may  be  grown  in  the  cool  house 
with  Odontoglots  and  similar  Orchids,  this  being,  in  fact,  the  most 
suitable  place  for  it,  but  it  is  by  no  means  hard  to  please  in  respect 
of  temperature.  It  may  be  accommodated *in  a  shady  frame  during 
the  summer  months,  removing  it  in  the 
winter  to  a  cool  house,  and  if  the  tem¬ 
perature  does  not  go  below  40°  it  is 
quite  safe,  though  probably  the  flowers 
will  be  rather  later  ;  or,  if  care  be  taken 
to  keep  it  free  of  insects,  it  may  be 
grown  in  an  intermediate  or  Cattleya 
house,  though  cooler  treatment  is  pre¬ 
ferable. 
In  any  case  a  shady  moist  position 
must  be  found  for  it,  the  somewhat  thin 
and  tender  foliage  being  easily  injured 
by  bright  sunlight,  and  also  falling  a 
prey  to  red  spider  if  the  atmosphere  is 
kept  too  dry  about  it.  The  cleaning  of 
the  foliage  is  an  important  item  in  the 
culture  of  this  Orchid,  for  on  the  health 
of  this  depends  to  a  great  extent  that  of 
the  plant.  If  scale  or  red  spider  are 
seen  to  be  getting  a  foothold  no  time 
must  be  lost  in  setting  about  it.  Tepid, 
soapy  water,  in  which  a  little  strong 
shag  tobacco  has  been  steeped,  or  to 
which  a  little  tobacco  water  has  been 
added,  should  be  used,  mixing  enough  to 
fill  a  vessel  in  which  the  plant  may  be 
entirely  immersed.  Dip  each  one  sepa¬ 
rately  and  lay  them  on  their  sides,  so 
that  the  liquid  does  not  run  down  into 
the  compost,  and  before  it  has  time  to 
dry  each  one  must  be  carefully  and 
thoroughly  sponged  leaf  by  leaf.  After¬ 
wards  a  good  syringing  with  clear  water 
will  complete  the  business  and  wash  off 
any  chance  insect  that  may  remain. 
The  roots  of  L.  Skinneri  are  capable 
of  pusning  into  a  more  substantial  com¬ 
post  than  many  of  the  pseudo-bulbous 
•kinds,  but  they  must  not  have  so  heavy 
a  medium  as  the  truly  terrestrial  species. 
About  equal  parts  of  peat  fibre,  chopped- 
sphagnum,  and  mellow  loam  will  answer 
well  as  the  basis  of  the  compost,  but 
a  lew  pieces  of  charcoal,  crocks,  or  both, 
must  be  mixed  with  it  to  lighten  the  bulk 
and  to  insure  a  supply  of  air  to  the  roots,  without  which  no  Orchid 
'will  be  satisfactory.  Large  plants  will  not  need  to  be  repotted  very 
often,  so  when  this  is  done  it  is  well  to  give  thorough  drainage  and 
protect  it,  so  that  the  peat  does  not  silt  downwards.  The  plants  being 
shaken  out  of  the  old  soil,  reserving  all  the  roots  that  are  healthy  and 
cutting  out  all  the  decayed  parts,  they  must  be  placed  in  position  with 
the  base  of  the  pseudo- bulbs  just  below  the  level  of  the  rim  of  the  pot. 
Spread  the  roots  out  thinly,  and  fill  up  to  the  bulbs  with  the  compost, 
adding  more  potsherds  if  it  is  seen  that  the  peat  and  other  materials 
are  likely  to  run  too  closely  together.  Frequent  sprinklings  will 
obviate  the  necessity  of  much  root  watering  at  first  ;  but  if  the 
repotting  takes  place  in  spring  the  roots  will  soon  again  be  on  the 
move,  and  an  increased  supply  will  be  needed. 
Tne  plants  are  growing  all  through  the  summer  months,  and 
generally  finish  up  their  pseudo-bulbs  in  late  autumn,  and  though 
they  usually  rest  awhile  they  must  never  be  dried  at  the  root.  The 
flower  spikes  push  up  in  early  winter,  and  if  the  bulbs  are  strong  it  is 
remarkable  what  a  quantity  of  flower  they  produce.  Each  spike 
emits  a  single  blossom  ;  these  in  the  typical  plant  are  nearly  white  on 
the  sepals  and  petals,  the  lip  shaded  with  rose  and  profusely  spotted 
with  crimson.  There  are  varieties  innumerable,  no  two  plants 
producing  flowers  alike  in  every  particular. 
This  fact  makes  the  species  one  of  the  most  useful  Orchids  for 
house  decoration,  but  unfortunately  the  plants  are  often  kept  in  far 
too  long,  this  being  detrimental  to  them.  Still,  they  are  long- 
suflering  in  this  respect  also,  and  if  kept  fairly  well  watered  at  the 
root  and  the  foliage  sponged  occasionally  they  soon  pick  up  again 
when  placed  in  more  congenial  quarters.  As  hinted  above,  the 
temperature  in  which  they  are  grown  has  a  marked  effect  on 
their  flowering  season,  and  this  may  be  considerably  prolonged 
if  sufficient  plants  are  grown  by  keeping  them  in  various  tempe¬ 
ratures  and  by  starting  them  at  different  times.  All  the  varieties 
are  natives  of  Guatemala,  whence  the  typical  form  was  introduced 
in  1842. 
Though  I  have  thus  far  referred  only  to  the  handsome  L.  Skinneri 
I  should  like  to  make  very  brief  reference  to  another  member  of  the 
genus.  This  is  Lycaste  costata,  which  is  not  nearly  as  extensively 
grown  as  are  some  kinds,  and  which  is  decidedly  worthy  of  greater 
attention  than  is  accorded  to  it  at  the  present  time.  The  colouring  of 
the  bloom  is  very  peculiar.  The  sepals 
and  petals  are  greenish,  while  the  lip 
is  white  or  yellow  tinted.  It  was 
received  from  the  Cordilleras  several 
years  ago. — Orchidist. 
Cattleya  Dowiana  Rosita. 
No  one  who  saw  this  fine  variety  at 
the  Drill  Hall  on  December  18th  could 
fail  to  have  been  struck  by  its  beauty, 
the  fine  rosy  red  suffusion  on  the  petals 
being  remarkable,  while  the  lip  was  very 
good  in  shape  and  colour.  But  while 
acknowledging  it  as  quite  distinct  I 
could  not  help  thinking  that  it  was 
remarkably  like  some  forms  of  C.  Har- 
dyana  I  have  seen,  both  in  the  contour 
of  its  blossoms  and  in  the  colour.  As 
home-raised  plants  of  C.  Hardyana 
flower  it  will  be  interesting  to  note  if 
any  of  them  show  a  likeness  in  their 
markings  to  these  varieties  of  C.  Dowiana, 
for  this  variety  is  equally  as  distinct  from 
the  type  as  C.  D.  aurea — parent  of 
C.  Hardyana — this  latter  being  often 
labelled  C.  aurea  as  if  it  were  a 
species. 
The  typical  C.  Dowiana  was  first 
discovered  in  a  region  many  miles  from 
that  in  which  C.  D.  aurea  grows,  and 
it  would  be  very  interesting  to  know 
where  this  individual  plant  was  gathered 
and  whether  there  is  any  possibility  of 
its  being  a  hybrid  between  C.  Dowiana 
and  C.  gigas,  and,  therefore,  a  varietal 
form  of  C.  Hardyana.  It  is  a  very  lovely 
plant  in  any  case,  and  well  deserved  the 
first-classTcertificate  awarded  it  by  the 
Orchid  Committee.  The  plant  wa3  stroDg 
and  evidently  well  grown,  the  flowering 
bulb  being  stronger  than  those  imme¬ 
diately  preceding  it.  This  valuable 
form  was  shown  by  M.  Chas.  Maron,  of 
Brunoy,  France. 
Oncidium  pectorale. 
All  or  nearly  all  the  South  American  Oncidiums  are  showy 
-Orchids,  and  this  is  no  exception.  The  flowers  are  of  that  fine 
combination  of  chestnut  brown  and  yellow .  that  is  seen  .  in  such 
perfection  in  no  other  genus  of  Orchids,  and  it  is  quite  distinct  from 
any  other  Oncidium.  It  does  not  appear  to  be  very  fully  repre¬ 
sented  in  collections  ;  at  all  events  it  is  teld^m  seen.  Like  most 
others  from  the  Rio  district,  0.  pectorale  likes  a  moderately  warm 
house  and  not  very  much  compost.  But  it  is  a  great  help  if  each  of 
the  young  leads  can  have  access  to  a  little  raw  material,  as  the  roots 
enter  this  very  freely  to  the  benefit  of  the  plant. 
Frequent  additions  of  this  class  are,  however,  apt  to  make  the  bulk 
too  thick,  and  to  cause  souring,  and  this  fact  must  not  be  lost  sight 
of.  By  removing  a  little  of  the  old  material  and  introducing  a  tew 
small  lumps  of  charcoal  and  potsherds  with  the  new,  the.  risk  will  be 
in  a  manner  small,  but  to  keep  on  piling  on  top-dressings  without 
this  care  is  not  reasonable.  The  atmospheric  conditions  need  careful 
watching,  on  the  one  hand  to  prevent  an  overdry  state,  and  on  the  otaer 
to  avoid  saturation,  especially  at  midday.  A  very  moist  atmosphere 
without  due  regard  to  a  proper  balance  of  air  causes  a  softness  in  the 
growth  that  no  subsequent  care  can  alter,  and  in  consequence  the 
flowers  produced  are  few  and  not  of  the  best  quality.  II.  R.  R. 
Lycaste  costata. 
