Supplement  to 
210 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
March  14,  1901. 
Odontoglossum  Adrian®  Mrs.  Robert  Benson. 
Our  illustration  ot  this  handsome  Odontoglossum  is  from  a  plant 
exhibited  at  the  Drill  Hall  meeting  of  February  26  h.  The  flowers 
are  of  large  size,  and  are  also  broad  and  stout.  The  creamy  white 
ground  is  thickly  spotted  with  light  brown,  while  the  edge  of  the 
petals  is  yellow.  The  variety  was  shown  by  Captain  Holford 
(gardener,  Mr.  A.  Chapman),  Westonbirt,  Tetbury,  and  received  an 
award  of  merit. 
Lselio-Cattleya  x  warnhamiensis. 
C.  J.  Lucas,  Esq.  (gardener,  Mr.  C.  Duncan),  the  well-known 
enthusias'ic  orchidist  of  Warnham  Court,  Horsham,  Sussex,  showed  a 
finely  flowered  example  of  this  hybrid  Orchid  before  the  Orchid  Com¬ 
mittee  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  at  the  meeting  of  February 
26th.  The  hybrid  was  shown  a 
couple  of  years  ago  at  the  Drill  Hall, 
when  an  award  of  merit  was 
assigned  to  it.  The  promises  of  the 
plant  have  been  amply  fulfilled  since 
then — so  much  so  indeed  that  the 
committee  aunulled  the  former  award 
in  favour  of  a  first-class  certificate  on 
this  occrsion.  The  flowers  are  ot  a 
fine  coi'pei -orange  colour,  with  rich 
purple  lip.  Several  handsome  plants 
were  exhibited  at  the  Drill  Hall. 
Platyclinis  glumacea. 
Several  well -flowered  pieces  of 
this  pretty  and  graceful  Orch  d  are 
to  be  seen  in  flower  in  the  Orchid 
houses  at  Kew,  where  th>  y  make  a 
distinct  feature  among  surrounding 
plan's  of  Dendiobium,  Phaius,  &c. 
It  is  a  native  of  the  Philippine-1,  and 
has  be  en  in  cultivation  for  half  a 
century.  It  is  of  very  neit  habit, 
making  a  deuse  mass  of  email  bulbs 
surmounted  with  medium-sized 
leaves,  the  bases  of  which  are 
shear  hed  with  light  brown  scales 
somet  mes  tinged  with  red.  The 
flowers  are  ivory-white,  small,  and 
very  fragrant.  Ti  ey  are  brrnfe  in 
dense,  pendulous  sp  kes,  surmounting 
wiry  stalks,  which  arise  irom  the 
apices  of  the  bulbs.  It  may  be  grown  in  either  shallow  pots  or 
baskets  in  a  warm,  fairly  moist,  atmosphere.  A  figure  may  be  seen 
in  the  ‘‘Botanical  Magazine”  at  t.  4853,  under  the  synonym  of 
Dendruchilum  glumaceum — D.  K. 
Dendrobium  Farmeri. 
The  evergreen  section  of  De  drobiums  contains  a  fine  lot  of  plants, 
but  few  better  than  this.  The  plant  is  free  flowering,  and  healthy 
in  growth ;  the  blossoms  are  rich  in  colour,  and  the  racemes  are 
extremely  elegant.  The  deciduous  section  as  a  rule  need  more  heat 
when  fii-ishii  g  their  growih  than  these.  There  is  such  a  thing  as 
overripening  D.  Farmeri  and  its  a  lies,  or  at  least  prematurely  ripening 
them.  When  the  pseudo-bulbs  are  quite  finished  and  swelled  to  their 
full  size  a  little  extra  sun  is  an  advantage,  but  it  continued  health 
and  a  beautiful  inflorescence  is  looked  for  the  growth  must  be  the  first 
consideration. 
I  have  known  many  cases  where,  owing  to  starvation  treatment, 
these  plants  have  been  induced  to  flower  themselves  almost  to  death, 
the  v'hole  energies  having  apnarently  been  concentrated  upon 
flowerii  g,  and  the  basal  buds  having  become  blind  in  consequence. 
This  is  n  t  culture,  and  it  is  far  better  to  be  content  with  a  moderate 
amount  of  flowers  and  to  keep  the  plants  in  health.  D.  Farmeri 
grows  well  in  the  intermediate  or  Gattieya  house.  If  it  is  placed  with 
the  deciduous  species  whde  growing  it  must  be  removed  as  soon  as 
the  growths  are  made  up,  and  placed  in  cooler  quarters.  The  growing 
season  only  lasts  about  six  weeks. 
Dendrobium  Wardianum. 
At  the  present  season  of  the  year  this  universal  favourite  amongst 
Orchids  flowers  with  remarkable  prolu-ion.  The  illustration  on 
page  211,  fro  u  a  plant  in  Mr.  Chamberlain’s  collection  at  Highbury, 
justifies  the  reference  to  its  flowering  capacity.  During  recent  years 
market  growers  have  initiated  themselves  in  its  culture,  for  the  strong 
and  remarkably  handsome  flowers  have  become  popular  with  “  the 
people.”  The  Burmese  form,  which  I  now  refer  to,  was  not  brought 
to  the  notice  of  cultivators  till  1875,  though  the  other  form  of  this 
species,  having  stouter  growths  and  smaller  but  richer  flowers,  had 
been  flowered  in  England  seventeen  years  previously  Messrs.  Low 
and  Co.  have  the  honour  of  introducing  this  splendid  Dendrobe.  It 
was  a  plant  of  the  Assam  form  that  Mr.  Warner,  the  author  of 
“  Select  Orchidaceous  Plants,”  first  described,  and  gave  to  it  the 
name  of  D.  Wardianum,  after  Dr.  Ward  of  Southampton,  in  whose 
stove  the  plant  first  flowered.  As  there  are  thus  the  two  forms  of 
D.  Wardianum  the  Assam  variety  is,  strictly  speaking,  the  true  species 
in  botanical  nomenclature.  The  Burmese  form  is  a  variety.  Of  the 
two  the  latter  is,  however,  most  popular,  and  is  most  easily  grown.  A 
second  variety,  but  truly  recognised  as  such  in  gardens,  named 
D.  W.  candidum,  also  finds  much  favour. 
Cymbidium  grandiflorum. 
It  is  rather  difficult  to  account  for  the  almost  total  neglect  of 
this  pretty  old  species  in  Orchid  collections.  I  was  very  pleased  to 
see  a  fine  sp  ke  exhibited  at  the  Drill 
Hall  on  February  26th.  Possibly  it 
is  owing  to  the  (act  that  a  con¬ 
siderable  portion  of  the  flower  is 
gieen,  a  colour  that  is  not  popular  as 
a  rule,  but  in  C.  grandiflorum  the 
green  of  the  sepals  aud  petals  is  a 
nice  foil  to  the  blighter  tinting  on 
the  lip,  though  when  the  spikes  are 
on  the  plant  it  must  be  allowed  that 
there  is  rather  too  much  green.  It  is 
as  a  cut  spike  that  the  beauty  of  the 
6pecies  is  best  seen. 
C.  grandifloium  is  a  native  of  the 
eas  ern  Himalayas,  where  it  grows  at 
a  great  elevation  ;  consequently,  the 
temperature  fur  this  need  not  be  as 
high  as  that  for  the  species  inhabit¬ 
ing  the  hotter  regions  in  the  Malay 
Peninsula  and  the  >  r  pics  generally. 
It  has,  in  fact,  been  very  well  grown 
in  quite  a  cool  hou  e  with  Mexican 
and  Peru  i  in  kinds.  It  delights  in 
a  Cop  ous  water  supply  to  the  roots 
and  in  the  atmospheie,  while  during 
the  hot  weather  tne  leavrs  may 
be  freely  s\ ringed  with  advantage. 
For  compost  use  two  parts  of  loam 
to  one  of  peat  and  a  little 
sphagnum,  adding  abundance  of 
rough  crocks  and  bailast,  and 
allowing  healthy  plants  plenty  of 
pot  room. — H.  R.  R. 
Odontoglossum  maculatum. 
Although  one  of  the  first  species  of  Odontoglossum  to  be 
introduerd,  having  been  put  into  commerce  as  long  ago  as  1838,  the 
plant  mentioned  above  is  often  met  with,  in  spite  of  the  fa^t  that 
s  me  of  the  more  rtcent  introductions  are  more  showy.  It  is  a 
Mexican  species,  making  thick  pseudo-bulbs  about  2  inches  in 
length.  From  the  apex  of  the  pseudo-buib  a  fairly  large  leaf  is 
produced,  one  only  springing  from  each.  Tne  flowers  are  borne  on 
stout  spikes,  and  last  in  g  iod  condition  lor  s'X  or  eight  weeks.  They 
are  yellow  in  colour,  spotted  and  barred  with  brown,  the  margins  of  the 
petals  being  more  or  less  crisped.  A  number  of  varieties  are  in 
cultivation,  differing  from  the  type  in  the  size  and  markings  of  the 
flowers.  The  flowers  of  the  type  are  about  3j  inches  across. — K.  D. 
Sophronitis  Rosslteriana. 
The  award  of  a  first  class  certificate  by  the  Orchid  Committee 
(R.H.S.),  at  the  meeting  of  F  bruary  26th,  to  such  an  Orchid  as  this 
is  to  my  mind  a  gieat  mistake.  Beyond  its  rarity  it  appears  to 
have  no  other  merit,  for  the  colour  is  not  by  any  means  attractive. 
Everyone  admires  the  old  S.  grandiflora,  with  its  glowing  scarlet  or 
crimson  flowers  ;  but  the  colour  of  the  newcomer,  as  far  as  I  can  see, 
is  neither  a  red  nor  a  yellow — not  even  a  good  orange,  but  a  dirty 
looking  indescribable  tint.  Had  this  been  the  original  colour  of  the 
plant,  and  S.  grandiflora  been  suddenly  introduced,  I  could  have 
imagined  ihis  high  award  being  given  ;  but  as  I  was  told  at  the 
meeting  referred  to,  it  is  simply  a  “  matter  of  taste.” — H.  R.  R. 
Odontoglossum  Adrians  Mrs.  Robert  Benson. 
