September  25,  1902.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
283 
Cattleya  Luddemanniana  alba. 
This  chastely  beautiful  variety  of  the  handsome  Cattleya  Lud¬ 
demanniana  was  first  exhibited  at  a  meeting  of  the  Royal 
Horticultural  Society  on  September  12,  1899,  from  E.  Duckworth, 
Esq.  (gardener,  Mr.  W.  H.  Tindale),  Shaw  Hall,  Flixton,  when 
the  First  Class  Certificate  of  the  Orchid  Committee  was  accorded. 
It  is  a  true  albino,  inasmuch  as  it  is  wholly  glistening  white, 
save  for  a  touch  of  soft  yellow  on  the  side  lobes  of  "the  throat. 
Our  illustration  shows  a  flower  of  the  natural  size.  The  variety 
does  not  seem  to  be  yet  in  commerce. 
Dendrobiums :  Their  Growth  and  Culture. 
(Continued  from  page  193.) 
The  Australian  section  contains  some  truly  grand 
species.  What  would  our  Orchid  houses  be  in  autumn  without 
the  many  gorgeous 
varieties  of  D.  Pha- 
lsenopsis?  So  indis¬ 
pensable  has  this  be¬ 
come  that  we  wonder 
how  we  got  along 
without  it  some  few 
years  ago  before  its 
reintroduction.  And 
there  are  many 
others  almost  equally 
beautiful.  All  like  a 
hot,  moist,  and  light 
house,  with  hardly 
any  shading,  and  they 
must  be  allowed  to 
take  their  own  way 
with  regard  to  rest. 
If  a  plant  commences 
to  grow,  even  if  it  is 
in  the  depth  of  win¬ 
ter,  it  will  be  useless 
to  try  and  prevent  it, 
for  such  a  proceeding 
will  only  weaken  the 
plant.  But  when  they 
start  away  in  bright 
summer  weather  and 
rapidly  swell  up  they 
are  sure  to  be  more 
satisfactory.  En¬ 
deavour,  then,  by  all 
reasonable  means  to 
keep  them  dormant 
until  the  conditions 
are  suitable,  and  then 
let  them  grow  as 
rapidly  as  possible. 
In  the  following  list 
many  fine  species  are 
included,  but  others 
are  left  out  for  rea- 
sons  that  are  obvious. 
These  will  make  an 
extremely  interesting 
collection. 
D.  aggregatum  is  a  close  growing  little  evergreen  species, 
bearing  loose  racemes  of  pretty  primrose  yellow  flowers  that 
change  with  age  to  a  deeper  tint.  I  have  had  nice  specimens 
of  this  on  rough  blocks  of  Apple  or  Pear  wood,  where  they  have 
a  pretty  and  natural  effect,  while  the  roughness  of  the  bark 
suits  the  roots  better  than  any  description  of  made-up  compost. 
It  is  an  old  inhabitant  of  our  houses,  having  flowered  in  this 
country  as  far  back  as  1834.  It  is  a  native  of  India  and  China. 
D.  albo-sanguineum  is  a  larger  and  far  more  showy  plant,  intro¬ 
duced  in  1851  from  Moulmein.  It  has  short  erect  leafy  pseudo¬ 
bulbs,  from  near  the  tops  of  which  the  two  or  three-flowered 
peduncles  issue.  The  flowers  are  very  pale  yellow,  with  two  large 
crimson  purple  blotches  in  the  centre  of  each,  and  nearly  3in 
across,  so  that  a.  well  flowered  specimen  makes  a  very  fine 
display.  Basket  treatment  should  be  given  it  in  the  warmest 
house. 
D.  aureum  is  a  well  known  and  very  beautiful  species,  some¬ 
times  met  with  under  the  name  of  D.  heterocarpum.  It  has 
erect  shortish  stems  and  bears  pretty  creamy  yellow  flowers,  w7ith 
a  few  streaks  of  purple  about  the  lip.  Although  this  species  is 
Cattleya  Luddemanniana  alba. 
not  especially  showy,  it  is  one  of  the  parents  of  many  fine  hybrids. 
Being  widely  distributed,  naturally  the  flowers  vary  a  good  deal 
in  colour,  and  several  varieties  are  described.  One  of  the  best 
of  these  is  aurantiacum,  having  flowers  of  a  rich  orange  yellow. 
The  treatment  advised  for  the  deciduous  species  will  suit  this  wrell. 
D.  barbatulum  is  not  a  showy  plant,  but  bears  pretty  white 
flowers  in  crowded  racemes;  it  is  a  native  of  southern  Hindostan. 
D.  Bensonise  is  a  very  beautiful  member  of  the  deciduous  group, 
having  tallish  erect  stems,  that  in  their  season  are  wreathed  with 
the  pretty  white  flowers,  spotted  with  maroon  and  orange.  It 
is  a  native  of  British  Burmah,  where  it  was  discovered  by  Colonel 
Benson,  and  sent  home  to  Messrs.  Veitch,  of  Chelsea,  in  1806. 
D.  bigibbutn,  a  member  of  the  Australian  section,  is  one  of 
the  finest  species  in  the  genus.  It  has  tall,  cylindrical  stems, 
from  the  upper  portions  of  which  proceed  the  beautiful  racemes 
of  bright  magenta  purple  flowers.  It  was  discovered  in  the 
early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  having  flowered  at  Kew  in 
1824,  but  it  did  not  come  into  general  cultivation  until  many 
years  afterwards.  It  flowers  in  autumn.  D.  Boxalli  is  a  very 
beautiful  species  sent  home  by  the  energetic  collector  whose  name 
it  bears  in  1873,  when  he  was  collecting  for  Messrs.  Hugh  Low 
and  Co.  It  has  slender  pendulous  pseudo-bulbs  or  stems,  along 
which  the  flowers  occur  in  racemes  of  two  or  three,  making  a 
delighted  show  when  in  full  flower.  It  must  be  treated  as 
advised  for  the  deciduous  section,  and  is  a  native  of  Burmah. 
A  very  striking 
species,  quite  distinct 
from  all  others,  is 
D.  Brymerianum,  the 
flowers  of  which  are 
deep  golden  yellow, 
the  front  of  the  lip 
being  cut  up  into  a 
deep  hairy  fringe. 
This  remarkable 
species  is  a  native  of 
Burmah,  and  al¬ 
though  of  almost  ever¬ 
green  character,  re¬ 
quires  a  thorough  rest 
in  winter,  with  only 
sufficient  moisture  to 
keep  the  stems  from 
shrivelling.  D.  capil- 
lipes  is  a  small  grow¬ 
ing  plant,  bearing 
short  racemes  of 
bright  yellow  blossom, 
something  after  the 
manner  of  D.  aggre¬ 
gatum,  and  it  thrives 
under  the  same  con¬ 
ditions— H.  R.  R. 
(To  be  continued.) 
Week’s  Cultural  Notes 
The  cool  house  is  a 
very  interesting 
structure  just  now, 
not  on  account  of  the 
number  of  flowers, 
but  the  growth  that 
the  plants  are  mak¬ 
ing.  As  I  noted  re¬ 
cently,  the  autumn  is 
the  time  for  giving 
new  material  to 
many  of  the  Odonto- 
glossums,  Oneidiums, 
and  some  of  the  Mas- 
devallias,  all  denizens 
of  the  cool  house,  and  where  much  of  this  repotting  has  been 
done  it  will  be  wise  to  allow  a  slightly  closer  atmosphere  to 
enable  the  plants  to'  take  a  fresh  hold  on  the  compost  without 
difficulty.  It  must  not  be  overdone,  for  no  Orchid,  and  especi¬ 
ally  no  Odontoglossum,  can  live  for  long  in  a  close  structure. 
The  air  they  are  so  bountifully  supplied  with  in  their  mountain 
homes  must  always  be  allowed  in  their  confinement  to  the  glass 
structures  in  which  we  grow  them,  but  moister  and  closer  con¬ 
ditions  for  a  week  or  two  after  disturbance  can  do  no  harm. 
On  occasion  the  fact  of  disturbing  the  roots  will  cause  a  flower 
spike  to  appear  in  the  centre  of  the  new  growth,  and  allowing  this 
to  develop  and  carry  its  flowers  till  they  fade  has  been  the  ruin  of 
many  semi-established  specimens.  If  the  roots  are  running 
freely,  and  the  plant  shows  no  sign  of  distress,  then  by  all  means 
let  it  flower;  but  if,  on  the  other  hand,  as  often  happens,  the 
plant  already  shows  signs  of  shrivelling  when  the  tip  of  the  flower 
spike  appears,  then  nip  that  spike  before  it  reaches  the  bud,  or 
probably  you  will  have  to  bemoan  the  loss  of  your  plant. 
Other  plants  come  away  with  very  large  healthy  growths,  the 
roots  revelling  in  the  new  compost,  greedily  sucking  up  frequently 
