May  2,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
363 
Spades. 
Adrian*  Crawsliayanum. 
exceedingly  handsome 
Odontoglossnm  x 
This  moderate  sized  but  exceedingly  handsome  variety  of  the 
popular  0.  x  Adrian®,  was  presented  before  the  Orchid  Committee 
(R.H.S.)  at  their  sitting  on  Tuesday,  the  23rd  ultimo,  by  de  Barri 
O  awshay,  Esq.  (gardener,  Mr.  Stables),  of  Sevenoaks.  The  flowers 
were  of  great  substance,  perfect  in  form,  and  with  a  well-pronounced 
crimpled  lip.  The  edges  of  the  petals  are  yellow,  the  inner  halves 
b-ing  white,  while  purple-brown  spots  bedeck  the  whole  surface. 
Mr.  Crawshay  s  plant  was  bloomed  from  an  importation  of  Mr.  Boshell’s, 
to  whom  Mr.  H.  A.  Tracy  is  agent.  It  received  an  award  of  merit. 
Laelia  lobata. 
In  habit  and  manner  of  flowering  this  Laelia  is  a  good  deal  like 
L.  crispa,  but  the  colour  is  quite  different — a  pretty  rosy  purple  with 
deeper  venations  on  the  sepals  and  petals,  the  lip  a  bright  amethyst. 
The  plant  has  one  great  fault,  and  that  is  its  very  shy  flowering  habit. 
It  is  not  at  all  unusual  for  plants  that 
are  really  well  and  vigorously  grown 
to  go  on  year  after  year  without  pro¬ 
ducing  a  flower,  and  then  without  any 
apparent  cause  to  flower  freely  for  a 
year  or  two.  It  is  not  well  to  grow  it 
too  strongly  or  repot  very  often.  In 
several  cases  that  have  come  under  my 
notice  this  has  led  to  fine  healthy  look¬ 
ing  growth  and  bulbs,  but  no  flowers. 
I  had  some  plants  of  it  years  ago 
in  baskets,  and  these  were  left  alone,  as 
they  did  not  flower  until  they  grew 
quite  out  of  the  baskets, and  hung  with 
their  bulbs  and  roots  bare.  Although 
the  growths  were  shorter  and  weaker 
it  had  the  desired  effect,  and  almost 
every  leading  bulb  prod  ced  a  flowet 
spike.  This  seems  a  clear  case  for  the 
let-alone  principle,  but  of  course  this 
would  not  be  satisfactory  over  a  number 
of  years.  Starvation  is  not  good  for 
any  Orchids,  and  if  followed  up  the 
treatment  would  result  in  their  getting 
weaker  every  year  until  they  ceased  to 
be  of  any  value. 
This  uncertainty  of  flowering  has 
led  to  the  species  being  neglected,  but 
as  it  is  so  very  distinct  and  pretty  it  is  worth  being  at  a  little 
trouble  to  induce  it  to  do  well.  Tne  plan  most  likely  to  succeed  is  to 
p'ace  the  plants  in  the  smallest-sized  receptacles  they  can  be  got  into 
conveniently,  and  to  endeavour  by  frequent  top-dressing  to  maintain  a 
reasonable  amount  of  vigour  in  the  plants  without  unduly  disturbing 
the  roots  ;  then,  when  the  increased  s  ze  of  the  plants  necessitates  a 
removal  to  a  larger  basket  or  pot,  let  the  shift  be  sufficiently  large  to 
obviate  the  necessity  of  doing  so  again  for  some  years,  not  filling  the 
whole  of  the  new  space  with  compost,  but  using  plenty  of  crocks  and 
charcoal,  simply  surfacing  this  with  the  peat  and  moss. 
By  giving  this  large  shift  it  will  generally  be  possible  to  place  the 
old  basket  or  pot  inside  the  new  one,  but,  of  course,  this  must  not  be 
done  if  the  former  is  decayed.  A  little  manipulation  with  the  fingers 
may  remove  some  of  the  decayed  portions,  but  it  is  better  to  shake 
the  plant  right  out  than  to  leave  anything  in  likely  to  contaminate  the 
new  material.  Constant  exposure  to  light,  and  as  much  sun  as 
possible,  is  also  an  inducement  to  the  plants  to  flower,  and  they 
should,  it  possible,  be  suspended  as  near  the  roof  glass  and  ventilators 
as  possible.  L.  lobata  is  also  known  as  L.  Boothiana,  and  is  a 
native  of  the  coast  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  growing  on  cliffs  fully  exposed 
to  the  sun  and  sea. 
Cymbidium  eburneo-Lowianum. 
This  is  a  very  tine  hybrid,  and  I  have  just  seen  a  fine  spike  of  it 
carrying  three  flowers  of  unusual  size.  The  sepals  and  petals  are  white, 
with  a  slight  reddish  suffusion;  the  lip  white,  with  a  yellow  centre, 
and  a  double  blotch  of  crimson  in  front.  It  is  becoming  fairly  well 
distributed  among  Orchid  collections, havingjbeen  raised  in  several  places. 
It  has  occurred,  I  believe,  as  a  natural  hybrid,  a  plaat  having  flowered 
some  three  years  since  from  an  importation  ;  but  it  must  be  very  rare 
in  a  wild  state,  or  more  would  probably  have  been  heard  of  it. — H.  R.  R 
Odontoklossum  x  Adrians  Cranvshayanum. 
Unprofitable  spades  are  such  as  those  measuring  in  the  blade 
from  13  to  22  inches  in  length,  as  well  as  those  that  weigh  from  7  to 
10  lbs.,  all  of  which  are  either  too  long  or  heavy  to  be  profitably  used. 
The  long  drain  spade  requires,  owing  to  its  extra  length  of  blade,  to 
be  wrought  in  a  slanting  direction,  and  therefore  the  digger  cannot 
apply  his  whole  weight  to  force  it  speedily  into  the  ground.  Its  extra 
length  of  10  inches  produces  a  leverage  weight  when  being  used  ; 
this,  with  the  additional  weight  of  the  long  iron  straps  upon  the 
handles,  as  well  as  that  of  the  soil  that  usually  adheres  to  the  spade, 
owing  to  its  circular  form  and  careless  keeping  by  some,  often  make  it 
about  6  lbs.  heavier  than  the  garden  spade  No.  2.  All  the  other 
spades  referred  to  are  also  too  long  and  heavy,  many  of  which  will  also 
be  about  6  lbs.  more  in  weight  than  the  spade  No.  2.  Suppos  ng  that 
two  men  lift  each  six  spadefuls  in  a  minute,  they  would  at  the  same 
rate  in  a  day  of  nine  hours  lift  each  3260.  The  one  using  the  heavy 
spade  would  lift  over  8  tons  more  than  the  other  using  the  lighter  one, 
the  spade  of  the  former  being  6  lbs.  heavier  than  that  of  the  latter. 
It  has  been  amply  proved  beyond  all  doubt,  that  a  spade  when  worn 
to  10  or  11  inches  in  length  becomes  by  the  wear  a  better  tool  than 
when  new,  owing  to  its  having  been  made  smoother,  lighter,  and 
shorter,  whereby  the  digger  with  his  foot  upon  it  is  able  to  use  all  his 
weight  to  force  it  quickly  into  the  ground,  hence  the  advantage  of 
using  light  sharp  spades  of  a  moderate 
length.  Tne  author,  thirty-five  years 
ago,  while  superintending  the  draining 
of  several  farms  in  Renfrewshire,  advo¬ 
cated  the  disuse  of  the  heavy  tools,  and 
the  use  of  lighter  ones  ;  and  even  more 
than  once  tested  their  comparative 
merits  in  a  drain,  and  on  each  occasion 
the  party  using  the  lighter  ones  beat 
his  rival  by  doing  nearly  as  much  again. 
The  extra  straps  put  upon  the  handles 
are  not  required  if  the  latter  are  made 
of  good  straight  wood,  5  in.  in  circum¬ 
ference,  free  of  knots  or  other  de'ecta. 
Spades  should  not  be  used  in  raising 
heavy  stones,  further  than  clearing 
away  the  soil  from  them,  so  that  they 
rnay  be  lifted  by  a  pick  or  crowbar.  In 
digging  hard  ground, such  as  that  trodden 
by  horses  in  the  corners  of  fields,  that 
cannot  be  ploughed,  take  thin  spadefuls, 
nut  exceeding  4  inches  thick,  so  that 
they  may  be  easily  turned  over  and 
broken  down,  as  large  spadefuls  are 
difficult  to  raise  and  pulverise,  and 
are  likely  to  injure  the  spade,  which 
should  not  be  dashed  into  the  soil, 
as  it  often  happens  to  strike  a  stone 
below  the  surface,  and  consequently  gets  either  bruised  or  broken, 
and  thus  rendered  difficult  to  use.  When  such  occurs,  the  best 
thing  to  do  is  to  have  it  at  once  repaired  ;  this  may  often  be  done 
by  grinding  or  rubbing  it  upon  a  large  stone,  or  by  dressing  it  with 
a  file. 
Handy  tools  are  more  valued  than  cumbersome  ones,  therefore  mure 
care  is  taken  of  them,  so  that  they  last  often  as  long  as  the  latter  ;  but 
even  supposing  these  lasted  twenty  years  longer,  there  would  still  be 
a  great  financial  less  by  the  use  of  the  heavy  tools  compared  with 
the  gain  realised  by  the  lighter.  Generally  agricultural  implements 
are  too  heavy,  such  as  large  carts,  which  even  when  empty  are 
sometimes  enough  for  the  poor  beast  to  pull,  being  frequently 
waterlogged,  owing  perhaps  to  the  careless  carter  leaving  it  exposed  to 
the  weather.  Wheelbarrows,  like  the  carts,  are  usually  too  big  and 
heavy  to  be  used  advantageously.  If  carts  and  birrows  were  m  ide 
lighter,  with  good  material,  and  kept  from  rusting  when  out  of  use, 
they  would  last  many  years  longer  than  they  usually  do.  These 
hints  apply  to  reaping  and  other  machines,  as  well  as  to  all  imple¬ 
ments  used  in  agriculture  and  horticulture.  Societies  might  do  well 
to  deal  with  the  subject,  perhaps  in  the  way  of  giving  premiums  for 
the  best  made  and  kept  implements. 
The  writer  has  used  light  spades  without  the  long  straps,  male 
by  Mr.  Thomas  Black,  for  all  sorts  of  spade  work,  over  sixty-five 
years,  and  has  not  as  yet  broken  a  handle.  He  now  recommends 
a  new  make  of  lignt  smooth  spade,  numbered  1  and  2,  and  made  of 
solid  cast  steel,  polished  all  bright.  Tne  blade  of  No.  1  measures 
114  by  inches,  No.  2  Ilf  by  ;  also  that  the  blade  of  the  narrow 
drain  spade  be  only  12  inches  instead  of  22  in  length.  Notwith¬ 
standing  all  that  has  been  said  regarding  the  burdensome  long  spade, 
it  is  often  taken  to  the  smithy,  when  worn  to  12  inches  long,  to  have 
8  or  10  added  to  its  length. — James  Dobbie. 
