September  li,  1902.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
237 
Dendrobium  nobile  album. 
Oil  several  occasions  during  last  spring  plants  of  this 
exquisitely  beautiful  small  flowered  Dendrobium  were  exhibited 
in  the  Drill  Hall.  The  variety  first  received  a  First  Class 
certificate  on  March  27,  1900,  when  shown  by  Mr.  J.  Davis, 
gardener  to  J.  Gurney  Fowler,  Esq.,  treasurer  of  the  Royal 
Horticultural  Society,  and  whose  residence  is  The  Glebelands, 
South  Woodford,  S.E.  Our  illustration  shows  the  form  and  size 
of  the  variety  very  exactly. 
The  Week’s  Cultural  Notes. 
The  present  may  be  described  as  a  halting  time  between  the 
two  seasons  in  Orchids.  Most  of  the  summer  flowering  sorts  are 
gone,  and  the  showiest  of  the  autumn  ones  are  not  yet.  Still 
there  is  plenty  of  interest  in  the  houses  and  plenty  to  do.  Re¬ 
potting  will  be  in  full  swing  in  the  cool  house,  and  re-arrangement 
Dendrobium  nobile  album. 
in  the  warm  and  intermediate  sections.  I  am  not  an  advocate  of 
shifting  Orchids  about  unnecessarily,  and  when  the  best  place  for 
a  certain  species  is  found  I  like  to  leave  it  there  ;  but  independent 
of  all  this,  there  are  times  when  a  move  is  necessary. 
Cattleya  Harrisonise  is  going  out  of  bloom,  and  may  be  kept 
a  little  on  the  dry  side,  but  allowed  sufficient  moisture  to  prevent 
shrivelling.  A  light  position  close  to  the  glass  is  needed  by  this 
pretty  species  now,  and  it  does  not  require  any  great  amount  of 
heat.  C.  superba  on  the  other  hand  is  just  coming  in,  and  the 
plants  like  ample  heat  and  moisture  right  up  to  the  time  when 
the  blossoms  commence  to  unfold,  a  drier  atmosphere  being  then 
needed  to  conserve  the  latter.  C.  Gaskelliana  is  busily  rooting, 
and  if  the  plants  are  in  need  of  it  there  is  no  reason  why  they 
should  not  be  repotted. 
One  of  the  most  singular  Orchids  I  know  as  regards  culture  is 
Lselia  lobata,  or  Bootliiana,  as  it  is  sometimes  called.  Pot  it 
regularly  ;  treat  it  well  in  all  respects  of  heat  and  moisture,  and 
other  cultural  details,  and  as  a  result  it  will  grow  everlastingly, 
but  as  for  a  flower  you  will  never  see  one.  Starve  it  by  letting  it 
grow  out  over  the  sides  of  the  pot  or  basket,  bake  it  in  the 
summer  sun,  and  be  not  too  particular  about  its  winter  treat¬ 
ment,  and  most  likely  you  will  be  rewarded  by  its  lovely  flowers 
in  plenty.  And  they  are  very  beautiful  in  their  rich  rose  and 
purple  tints,  refined  and  delicate,  yet  making  a  brave  show. 
Among  the  Dendrobiums  there  will  be  some  plants  and  species 
to  remove  from  the  growing  quarters  every  week.  The  earlier 
plants  of  D.  nobile  and  D.  Ainsworthi,  D.  crassinode,  D.  Wardi- 
anurn,  D.  Bensoniae,  and  D.  Pierardi  are  amongst  those  now  ready, 
while  the  majority  of  the  evergreen  section  have  by  now  finished 
their  growth  for  the  season.  As  soon  as  the  last  leaf  is  complete, 
and  the  apex  of  the  new  stem  can  be  seen,  take  them  at  once  to 
drier  quarters,  as  a  secondary  growth  starting  now  breaks  the 
proper  cycle  of  annual  growth  and  rest. — H.  R.  R. 
Lilies  of  the  World. 
The  height  given  to  each  Lily  must  be  accepted  as  com¬ 
parative.  In  some  moist  soils  the  Lilies  may  grow  higher,  while 
in  dry  soils  they  may  not  attain  the  height  named.  For  example, 
established  clumps  of  L.  auratum,  L.  pardalinum,  L.  superbum, 
L.  Canadense,  L.  testaceum,  Ac.,  in  moist  soils  may  reach  a 
height  of  8ft  or  more.  And  so  on  with  all  the  other  Lilies. 
In  the  Municipal  Gardens  L.  longiflorum  eximium  attains  a 
height  approaching  5ft.  I  have  never  seen  it  before  so  tall, 
except  when  grown  under  glass.  I  have  seen  L.  speciosum 
grown  under  glass  attain  a  height  of  10ft.  Out  of  doors  in 
England  its  extreme  height  is  seldom  over  4ft.  Everything 
depends  on  the  quality  of  the  soil  and  the  surroundings.  If 
Mr.  Arderne  takes  to  cultivating  Lilies  amongst  his  Rhododen¬ 
drons  the  maximum  height  will1  be  attained  there_,  and  an  effect 
as  a  floral  display  exceeding  that  of  his  grand  show  of  Rhododen¬ 
drons.  You  all  know  how  superb  this  is. 
European  Lilies  (genus  Lilium),  of  which  there  are  upwards 
of  forty,  mostly  wild  species : — Davuricum  erectum  (colour,  rich 
cerise-scarlet,  shading  to'  yellow),  height  2^ft.  Davuricum  In¬ 
comparable  (colour,  intense  rich  crimson,  freely  spotted),  height 
2ft.  Davuricum  Sappho  (colour,  scarlet,  shading  to  orange, 
moderately  spotted),  height  2ft.  Candidum  (the  snow-wlnte 
Madonna  Lily),  height  4ft.  Chalcedonicum  (the  Scarlet  Turk’s- 
cap  Lily),  height  3ft.  Croeeum  (the  cottager’s  Orange  Lily), 
height  4ft.  Martagon  album  (the  White  Turk’s-cap  Lily),  height 
4ft.  Martagon  dalmaticum  (the  rich  dark  purple  Turk’s-cap 
Lily  of  Dalmatia),  height  5ft.  Pomponium  (the  graceful  Scarlet 
Turk’s-cap  Lily  of  the  Maritime  Alps),  height  3ft.  Testaceum 
(the  noble  apricot-coloured  hybrid  Lily),  height  5ft. 
I  notice  in  “  Thompson’s  Gardener’s  Assistant  ”  (last  edition) 
that  Mr.  Van  Houtte,  of  Ghent,  Belgium,  gets  the  credit  of 
having  raised  this  valuable  Lily.  I  do  not  know  where  the 
editor  got  his  data  from,  and  very  much  doubt  its  correctness. 
Mr.  Max  Leichtlin,  of  Baden-Baden,  a  former  student  of  Mr. 
Van  Houtte’s,  made  a  careful  investigation  as  to  the  origin  of 
this  Lily,  and  after  much  research,  found  it  came  originally  from 
the  nursery  of  Mr.  Matthews,  of  Berlin,  Germany.  When 
questioned,  Mr.  Matthews  could  give  no  account  of  how  it  came 
into  his  possession,  but  was  aware  it  got  into  circulation  from 
his  nursery.  That  it  is  a  hybrid  has  been  proved  by  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Clark,  F.R.H.S.,  having  succeeded  in  producing  it  by 
crossing  L.  candidum  with  L.  chalcedonicum.  I  am  particular  on 
this  point,  as  some  works  mention  it  as  a  Japanese  Lily,  and 
others  state  it  is  the  Chinese  Lily.  I  may  further  state  it  is  the 
only  really  good  hybrid  Lily  raised  up  to  this  time,  as  far  as  is 
known. 
Japanese  Lilies  (genus  Lilium)  of  which  there  are  upwards 
of  fifty  species,  mostly  wild  species  (nearly  all  Lilies  are  used 
in  Japan  as  an  article  of  food),  and  I  may  add  from  what  I  saw 
on  the  hills  and  in  the  woods  of  Japan,  there  are  still  varieties 
of  Elegans  not  yet  in  culture:  —  Auratum  (the  golden-rayed, 
crimson  spotted  hill  Lily)  type,  height  5ft.  Auratum  pictum 
(colour, white,  beautifully  spotted  crimson,  petals  tipped  red), 
height  5ft.  Auratum  platyphyllum  (enormous  lvhite  flowers, 
spotted  crimson,  height  7ft.  Auratum  rubro-vittatum  (colour, 
pure  white,  with  a  broad  crimson  band  down  the  centre  of  each 
petal),  height  4ft.  Auratum  virginale  (large  pure  white  flowers, 
with  a  golden  band  down  the  centre  of  each  petal),  height  6ft. 
In  the  early  days  of  the  trade  with  Japan  the  hills  around 
Yokohama  were  covered  with  this  species,  only  a  few  are  now  to 
be  seen,  so  that  collectors  have  to  go  further  afield,  as  the  type 
is  found  wild  all  over  the  southern  island.  It  is  not  yet  fully 
known  what  Lilies  are  wild  in  the  northern  island  of  Japan. 
Some  of  the  varieties  of  L.  auratum  offered  by  name  are  selec¬ 
tions  from  the  type,  but  in  the  case  of  platyphyllum,  rubro- 
vittatum,  and  virginale,  these  are  said  to  be  found  apart  from  the 
type.  My  informant  told  me  they  grew  on  islands  off  the  coast. 
The  three  latter  are  propagated  around  Tokio  from  scales,  while 
the  large  quantities  of  the  type  exported  are  collected  in  their 
wild  habitats,  and  grown  on  and  fattened  up  for  the  market. 
The  wild  bulbs  are  sized  and  cultivated  from  one  to  three  years 
before  they  are  marketable.  Whether  this  fattening  up  lias  any¬ 
thing  to  do  with  their  short  life  in  our  gardens  is  a  question  of 
which  I  am  very  much  inclined  to  doubt.  My  opinion  is  that  the 
short  life  of  the  bulb  arises  from  their  surroundings,  which  in 
most  gardens  may  be  attributable  to  uncongenial  soil  and  climate, 
and  perhaps  too  shallow  planting,  which  does  not  give  the  stalk- 
roots  a  fair  chance,  and  the  bulb-roots  an  opportunity  to  play 
their  part  in  the  economy  of  Nature,  and  being  so  very  cheap 
most  people  prefer  to  buy  them  annually  as  they  do  Hyacinths. 
I  remember  in  early  days  that  the  gardeners  were  frequently 
blamed  for  the  bulbs  disappearing.  I  have  myself  lost  thousands 
of  this  Lily  when  I  made  an  attempt  to  class  them  into  a  few 
good,  distinct  varieties.  I  planted  largely  and  made  descrip¬ 
tions  up  to  1200,  but  finding  each  year  my  stock  almost  disappear, 
*  A  descriptive  list  of  Lilies  (genus  Lilium)  likely  to  succeed  in  the  Cape 
Peninsula  and  South  Africa  generally,  with  historical  notes,  and,  when  necessary, 
special  cultural  directions.  Read  at  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Sea  Point 
Horticultural  Society,  November  29,  1901.  By  Peter  Barr,  V.M.H.,  London. 
