December  4,  1902. 
JOURXA  L  OF  HORTICULTURE  A  YD  COTTAGE  GARDEXER, 
511 
former  position,  the 
ave  been  given  plenty 
The  enthusiastic  and  ener- 
can  spare  from  his  onerous 
Odontcglcssum  grande. 
The  illustration  represents  a  very  compact  specimen  of 
AKiontoglossum  grande  with  nine  blooms  of  more  than  ordinary 
size  and  rich  markings,  upwards  of  6in  across.  The  owner 
—Mr.  G.  H.  Thompson,  Grove  House,  Walsall,  is  an  ardent 
amateur  Orchid  grower,  and  has  exhibited  the  specimen  in  ques¬ 
tion  on  more  than  one  occasion  at  the  Birmingham  Gardeners’ 
Mutual  Improvement  Association’s  meetings,  and  was  awarded  a 
certificate  of  merit.  In  the  culture  of  his  collection  of  Orchids, 
lie  commences  with  small  young  plants,  and  finds  more  pleasure 
and  interest  in  so  doing  than  in  procuring  established  plants. 
The  collection,  which  consists  of  cool  or  intermediate  species 
•chiefly,  are  grown  in  two  comparatively  small  structures — span- 
roofed — and  efficiently  heated  from  the  large  boiler  attached  to 
the  adjacent  electro-plate  works, 
gotic  owner  devotes  what  time  he 
business  duties  in  attending  to  the 
Orchids.  Mr.  Thompson  is  a  be¬ 
liever  in  leaf  mould,  especially  for 
the  culture  of  certain  Orchids 
when  they  require  a  fillip  in  th  > 
young  state  :  also  in  a  judicious  ad¬ 
mixture  of  leaf  mould,  peat,  and 
.sphagnum  for  general  purposes. 
The  collection  favourably  im¬ 
pressed  me,  an  impression  shared 
by  more  than  one  expert  in  Orchid 
culture,  and  Mr.  Thompson’s 
ability  and  success  is  accentuated 
by  the  fact  that  the  plants  are  ex¬ 
isting  under  otherwise  unfavour¬ 
able  conditions  when  it  is  consi¬ 
dered  that  the  site  is  closely  sur¬ 
rounded  by  at  least  half-a-dozen 
factory  chimneys  belonging  to 
other  firms. 
At  the  period  of  the  writer’s 
visit  but  few  plants  were  in  flower. 
It-  should  be  mentioned  that 
several  specimens  of  Dendrobium 
Wardianum  were  noted  for  their 
vigorous  and  well  ripened  pseudo¬ 
bulbs  ;  likewise  luxurious  and  fine 
plants  cf  Cymbidium  Lowianum  in 
particular — a  special  favourite 
with  the  owner — and  the  photo¬ 
graph  of  a  medium-sized  plant  of 
which  bearing  five  or  six  long 
racemes  of  well-developed  flowers, 
lies  upon  my  desk  as  if  courting 
re-inspection  of  its  charming 
coniourar/e.  In  concluding  these 
remarks,  mention  may  be  briefly 
made  of  the  remaining  plants 
which  are  chiefly  under  the 
management  of  Mr.  Thompson’s 
son  during  his  spare  time  from  the 
works,  and  who  is  also  an  expert 
uhotographer.  There  were  noted 
thriving  batches  of  such  as  Begonias,  Cyclamens.  Primulas,  and 
subjects  too  numerous  to  mention.  Orchids  and  greenhouse  plants, 
liowever,  do  not  altogether  enjoy  a  monopoly  at  Grove  House  if 
the  well  furnished  and  cropped  vegetable  and  fruit  gardens  are 
taken  into  consideration — a  feature  being  the  luxuriant  beds  of 
finely  curled  Parsley,  self-sown  amongst  the  Gooseberry  bushes, 
thus  evidencing  the  capability  of  the  natural  soil  to  produce 
such  an  indispensable  culinary  commodity. — W.  G. 
Cypripedium  insigne. 
Perhaps  these  few  notes  on  a  well  known  but  most  useful 
Orchid,  the  Lady’s  Slipper,  may  prove  of  benefit,  to  some  of  your 
readers,  as  I  aware  that  this  variety  does  not  always  flower  in  a 
satisfactory  manner.  When  I  took  charge  of  the  glass  depart¬ 
ment  in  my  present  place  there  were,  among  other  plants,  some 
two  dozen  plants  of  G.  insigne  in  8in  pots,  which,  judging  from 
appearances,  had  not  been  repotted  for  five  or  six  years ;  not¬ 
withstanding  this  there  was  an  abundance  of  good  blooms.  In 
the  spring  of  the  present  year  I  decided  to  divide  and  repot 
them,  using  a  compost  cf  two  parts  peat,  one  of  fibrous  loam, 
and  one  of  leaf  soil  from  Oak  leaves,  sphagnum  moss  and  coarse 
silver  sand.  Six  and  seven-inch  pots  were  used,  which  were  half 
OdontogI05sum  grande. 
filled  with  crocks  and  the  Fern  rhizomes  from  the  peat.  A  layer 
ot  sphagnum  moss  was  laid  over  the  crocks,  the  plants  were  then 
p  aced  m  the  pots,  and  the  compost  added,  being  made  moderately 
firm  with  the  hands.  J 
After  potting  they  were  placed  in  their 
north  side  of  an  intermediate  house,  and  ha 
of  ventilation  ever  since  by  the  top  and  side  ventilators.  No 
water  was  given  after  the  first  watering  in  till  the  plants  had 
rooted  well  into  the  new  compost,  but  overhead  sprayings  were 
given  morning  and  afternoon. 
The  two  dozen  old  plants  were  split  up  into  six  dozen,  most 
cf  which  are  now  in  flower,  and  have  had  a  total  of  250  good  sized 
blooms,  half  of  which  have  already  been  cut  for  house  decoration. 
I  am  sending  a  few  of  the  blooms  to  you  by  post,  and  hope  they 
will  prove  acceptable.  A  Foreman. 
[The  good-sized  blooms  were  much  admired,  and  betokened 
correct  treatment.] 
The  Week's  Cultural  Notes. 
The  beautiful  Odontoglossum  grande  is  now  in  full  flower, 
and  making  a  fine  show.  ^  ery  often  the  spikes  are  immensely 
large  in  comparison  with  the  size  of  the  bulbs,  and  consequently 
take  away  a  good  deal  of  the  nourishment  that  should  go  to1  swell 
up  the  latter.  Now,  as  the  pseudo-bulb  is  finishing  at  the  same 
time  the  flowers  are  developing,  it  stands  to  reason  that  the 
longer  the  plant  has  to  maintain  those  lovely  flowers  the  less 
nourishment  there  will  be  left  for 
the  bulb,  and  the  weaker  in  con¬ 
sequence  the  young  growths  will 
be  in  spring. 
It  is  better,  then,  to  remove 
the  spikes,  after  say  a  fortnight’s 
flowering,  than  to  keep  them  on 
longer.  They  will  still  last  a 
good  time  in  water,  and  the 
plants  will  be  benefited  by  their 
removal.  I  have  mentioned  O. 
grande  as  an  instance,  but  there 
are.  of  course,  many  others  to 
which  the  same  remarks  will 
apply.  The  grand  many-flowered 
spikes  of  Oncidium  tigrinum  that 
fill  the  house  with  fragrance  now, 
the  showy  On.  vari  cos-uni,  and 
many  others  may  be  noted.  It 
seems  a  shame  t o>  cut  them,  but 
one  has  to  look  forward  to 
another  season  as  well  as  this. 
The  present  is  a  bad  time  for 
the  Masdevallias,  these  showy  and 
beautiful  little  Orchids  sadly 
missing  the  light  that  is  so  bounti¬ 
fully  supplied  them  in  their 
habitats.  Keep  them  on  the  dry 
side  and  as  close  to  the  glass  as 
possible.  Remember,  too,  that 
a  thorough  cleaning,  now  that 
they  are  comparatively  at  rest, 
will  lessen  the  quantity  ot  thrips 
and  other  insects  that  prey  upon 
them  when  in  flower  in  spring. 
Fumigate  the  house  lightly  on 
two  successive  evenings  before 
commencing  to  sponge  the  plants, 
and  probably  fewer  of  the 
blossoms  will  be  disfigured  by  the 
white  footpaths  made  by  thrips. 
Some  varieties  of  Coelogyne 
cristate  keep  much  more  plump 
in  winter  than  others,  the  round  bulbed  varieties  a,s  a  rule  not 
shrivelling  as  much  as  the  long  bulbed  ones.  I  have  never  found 
any  great-  harm  accrue  to  the  plants  front  shrivelling,  but  it  is 
better  to  keep  them  front  it  if  possible.  Give  water  occasionally 
on  bright  days,  but  pour  it  on  carefully,  and  not  about  the  brown 
dusky  looking  flower  spikes,  for  although  these  are  pointed  and 
hard  looking,  and  apparently  well  able  to  take  care  of  themselves, 
there  is  always  a  danger  of  damping  at  this  dull  time. — H.  R.  R. 
A  Topsy-turvey  Year. 
Despite  alarmist  paragraphs  in  the  newspapers  reporting  hard 
weather,  the.  following  facts  are  still  coining  in.  The  station- 
master  of  Nassington,  Lines.  (Mr.  Randall),  had  a  Victoria  Plum 
tree  bearing  fifty  fruits  on  November  19.  St.  Joseph  Straw¬ 
berries  were  gathered  near  Stamford,  also  on  November  19.  At 
Towcester,  Northampton,  a  correspondent  picked  and  ate  a  fine 
dish  of  green  Peas  on  the  20th  inst.,  also  four  Peach  fruits  grown 
in  the  open  air.  In  his  garden  an  Apple  tree  is  in  full  bloom, 
and  several  others  have  bunches  of  flowers.  Bunches  of  wild 
flowers  and  Strawberries  were  gathered  on  the  16th  ult.  at 
Beaford,  North  Devon. 
