May  30,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
451 
should  keep  a  look  out  in  autumn  for  the  clouding  over  of  the 
points  of  the  roots,  this  being  a  sign  that  the  plants  are  going  to  rest 
for  the  season.  L9ss'Jwater  must  then  be  given,  and  more  light 
admitted  to  consolidate  the  growth  and  prepare  the  plant  for  the 
winter  rest.  Clean  sphagnum  and  charcoal  is  the  best  compost. 
— H.  R.  R. 
Orchids  at  Barford  Hill. 
The  choice  collection  which  C.  A.  Smith-Rylands,  Esq.,  has 
gathered  together  at  his  Warwickshire  home  is  always  interesting, 
Sander’s  Orchid  Guide. 
The  aim  of  Messrs.  Sander’s  Orchid  catalogue  (which  has  now 
been  issued,  price  10s.  6d.)  is  to  present  a  comprehensive  and  briefly 
descriptive  list,  arranged  in  alphabetical  order,  of  the  best,  most  useful, 
and  showiest  kinds  of  Orchids  known  in  commerce.  The  descriptions 
are  necessarily  brief,  but  give  the  most  conspicuous  features  of  the 
flowers  and  plants,  rendering  them  easily  recognisable.  The  time  of 
flowering,  country  of  origin,  methods  of  culture,  and  every  particular 
has  been  rendered  as  complete  as  it  is  possible  within  the  limits  of  a 
PHAL2ENOPSIS 
SCHILLERIANA. 
and  one  is  sure  to  find  a  few  “gems”  in  flower  at  any 
season  of  the  year.  During  a  recent  visit  I  noticed 
many  striking  flowers.  Among  Cypripediums  were 
two  particularly  handsome  varieties  of  bellatulum. 
C.  cauda turn  was  also  extremely  striking,  the  tail-like 
petals  being  especially  well  marked,  and  it  was  de¬ 
cidedly  a  superior  form  of  this  species.  Although  the 
bulk  of  the  Dendrobes  had  finished  flowering,  a  few 
attractive  blooms  were  still  in  evidence,  notably  those 
of  Bensoniae,  Parishi,  and  atro-vlolaceum ;  among 
Cattleyas,  Schroederiana,  Skinneri,  quadricolor,  and 
Veitchiana  were  flowering  well. 
Cool  house  Orchids  are  always  a  strong  feature 
at  Birford,  and  some  particularly  choice  forms  of 
Odontoglossums  have  there  been  brought  together, 
foremost  among  them  being  0.  excellens,  a  small  plant 
in  the  best  of  health,  worth  at  least  24  guineas.  I 
was  fortunate  in  seeing  it  in  full  beauty,  and  by 
reason  of  its  quaint  yellow  groundwork  and  peculiar 
markings  it  stands  out  as  an  attractive  novelty. 
In  the  same  house  there  were  still  many  flowers  of 
Sophronitis  coccinea  and  S.  cemua ;  gems  indeed  they  are  for 
buttonhole  work.  Masdevallias  were  also  flowering  well,  and  several 
plants  of  Dendrobium  infundibulum,  grown  on  blocks,  were  simply 
smothered  with  blossoms.  A  valuable  and  distinct  variety  of  Laalia 
grandis  was  also  in  full  beauty.  The  whole  collection  was  in  a 
clean  healthy  condition,  and  being  under  the  charge  of  so  able 
a  cultivator  as  Mr.  R.  Jones,  it  evidently  increases  in  interest  each 
year. — Visitor. 
catalogue.  The  publication  should  be  found  useful  to  all  Orchid 
specialists,  or  to  those  forming  a  collection.  The  Sanders  have  had  a 
long  and  very  extensive  experience  with  this  aristocratio  order  of 
plants,  and  the  information  given  may  be  accepted  as  reliable  and 
sufficiently  embracive  to  suit  the  needs  of  any  grower.  The  paper  is 
good,  and  so  is  the  printing  and  general  plan  of  arrangement.  Though 
running  to  330  pages,  the  volume  is  light  and  not  too  bulky  for  au 
overcoat  pocket. 
