July  10,  1902. 
JOURNAL  CF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
25 
i 
Lselio-Cattleya  x  Nysa. 
This  splendid  acquisition  lias  been  shown  by  the  raisers, 
Messrs.  James  Veitch  and  Sons.  Limited,  Chelsea,  for  a  number 
of  years  now,  and  its  merits  are  more  than  ever  appreciated.  The 
plants  are  of  robust  habit,  with  stems  6  inches  long,  and  stiffish 
leathery  leaves,  almost  as  long  again  as  the  stems.  The  parents 
Were  Lselia  crispa  and  Cattleya  Warscewiczi  (C.  gigas),  and  the 
flowers  approach  in  form,  size,  and  colour  those  of  the  cross 
C.  x  exoniensis. 
The  sepals  and 
petals  are  soft 
lilac  -  pink,  the 
side  lobes  of  the 
lip  being  yellow 
externally,  and 
have  a  dee  p 
purple  blotch  at 
the  apex  on  the 
inner  side.'  The 
front  lobe  is  rich 
crimson  purple, 
shaded  with 
maroon,  and  with 
a  paler  crisped 
edge.  It  received 
an  Award  of 
Merit  from  the 
Royal  Horticul¬ 
tural  Society. 
The  Week’s 
Cultural  Notes. 
Most  of  the 
stems  of  Tliunia 
Marshalliana.  and 
similar  sorts  that 
are  going  to 
flower  this  year 
will  have  done  so 
by  now,  and  it  is 
no  use  keeping 
them  any  longer 
in  heat,  the 
flowerless  stems 
elongating  un¬ 
necessarily. 
They  should  go 
at  once  into  a 
sunny  and  com¬ 
paratively  d  r  y 
house,  and  water 
at  the  roots 
must  be  gradu¬ 
ally  withheld  as 
the  foliage-ripens 
and  falls.  In 
winter  these 
plants  are  abso¬ 
lutely  dormant, 
and  if  room  is  scarce  they  may  be  turned  out  of  the  pots,  the 
most  of  the  dead  roots  cut  off,  and  the  stems  tied  up  in  bundles. 
They  may  then  be  suspended  in  any  warn,  dry  house  or  shed, 
where  the  temperature  in  winter  does  not  fall  below  oOdeg. 
C’alanthes  are  growing  now’  very  freely,  and  must  be  seen 
to  in  the  matter  of  room,  so  that  every  portion  of  leaf  gets  its 
full  share  of  light.  As  a  rule  the  plants  will  need  moving,  say 
once  a  fortnight,  this  preventing  overlapping  of  the  leaves,  and 
consequent  damping.  The  roots  are  very  active,  and  must  be 
afforded  copious  supplies  of  water.  In  some  cases,  where  grown 
in  small  pots,  a  little  manure  water  may  be  necessary,  but  it  is 
easily  overdone,  and  the  large  plethoric  pseudo-bulbs  obtained  by 
liberal  feeding  do  not  as  a  rule  flower  any  more  freely  than 
smaller,  well  ripened  specimens.  The  former,  too,  are  more  likely 
to  be  attacked  by  spot,  that  inveterate  foe  to  Calanthes. 
That  lovely  Orchid  Miltonia  vexillaria  will  soon  have  finished 
its  growth,  many  plants  having  already  done  so.  This  will  mean 
a  slight  slackening  of  the  root  moisture,  but  nothing  like  a  dry 
regime  must  be  practised  or  the  result  will  be  apparent  in 
shrivelled  growths.  But  this  is,  perhaps,  the  quietest  season  for 
them,  and  may  be  taken  advantage  of  for  a  thorough  overhauling 
and  cleaning.  Thrips  are  very  apt  to  attack  this  beautiful 
species,  and  careful  sponging  and  dipping  in  tobacco  water  and 
softsoap  are  to  be  recommended  whether  insects  are  visible  or  not. 
Plants  of  Lselia  purpurata  that  have  flowered  should  be 
assisted  by  ample  root  moisture  to  finish  up  their  growth  w  here 
this  is  not  quite  done.  Where  the  pseudo-bulbs  are  complete 
endeavour  to  keep  the  plants  quite  dormant  by  giving  plenty  of 
air  and  light  and  not  pushing  the  heat  unduly.  Plants  that  are 
growing  sluggishly  all  through  the  winter  never  flower  freely  or 
well,  but  those  on  the  other  hand  that  are  kept  dormant  grow  and 
eventually  flower  much  more  strongly  for  it. — H.  R.  R. 
Two  Cypripediums. 
Cypripedium  Svend  Brun,  which  is  a  cross  between  Lowi  and 
Curtisi,  is  of  recent  introduction.  The  petals  and  pouch  are  a 
nr  o  s  t  intense 
wine  colour,  the 
former  beauti¬ 
fully  spotted 
with  dark  brown. 
The  dorsal  sepal 
is  very  much  like 
that  of  Curtisi. 
The  leaves  are 
leathery  a.  n  d 
slightly  tessel¬ 
lated.  '  Cypri¬ 
pedium  Lebaudy- 
anunr  is  one  of 
the  finest  of  this 
interesting 
genus,  and  was 
raised  in  the  col¬ 
lection  of  Robert 
L  e  b  a  u  d  y,  of 
Bougival, 
Belgium.  The 
seed  was  sown  in 
1890,  and  the 
first  flower  ap¬ 
peared  in  1895. 
It  is  a  cross  be¬ 
tween  Hayialdy- 
anurn  and  Philip- 
pinense.  While 
b  o  t  h  of  its 
parents  are  of 
extremely  slow 
growth,  their 
progeny  develops 
nr  ucli  nr  ore 
r  a  p  i  d  1  y,  the 
growths  usually 
being  completed 
within  a  year  and 
flowering  freely. 
I  have  flowered 
this  plant,  writes 
J.  E.  Rothw’ell  in 
“  A  merica  n 
Gardening,”  each 
year  for  the  past 
riiree  years,  and 
the  new  growth 
now  developing 
seems  to  be  the 
strongest  it  has 
ever  had.  The  peduncle,  usually  about  2ft  in  length, 
generally  bears  four  flowers,  although  sometimes  it  carries 
five.  The  blooms  are  almost  exactly  intermediate  between 
these  parents,  and  are  larger  than  either.  Pouch  is  a  beautiful 
soft  yellow,  the  sepal  white  and  pale  green,  with  stripes  and 
spots  of  crimson,  and  the  mauve-tipped  petals  are  also  beautifully 
spotted.  The  flowers  last  a  long  time,  all  remaining  perfect  to 
about  six  weeks.  Altogether  it  is  a  thoroughly 
Cypripedium. 
Laelio= Cattleya  X  Nysa. 
first-class 
The  Persian  Lilac. 
In  fragrance  and  general  beauty  the  Persian  Lilac  may  be 
considered  the  equal  of  the  ordinary  garden  varieties ;  but  it  13 
not  so  well  adapted  for  cut-flower  purposes— one  of  the  clnet 
charms  of  the  old-fashioned  Lilac.  Cut  and  placed  promptly  in 
water,  the  Persians  last  but  a  short  time.  The  white  Persian 
Lilac  is  not  considered  as  pretty  as  the  purple.  Occasionally  it 
runs  back  to  the  purple.  Both  make  handsome,  symmetrical 
bushes,  and  are  very  floriferous. 
