536 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  11,  1902. 
The  Week's  Cultural  Notes. 
In  many  collections  the  blinds  used  for  shading  in  summer 
are  left  up  and  used  for  covering  the  glass  during  sharp  spells 
of  frost.  Covering  is  an  excellent  protection,  a  couple  of  thick¬ 
nesses  of  canvas  or  tiffany  keeping  out-  a  lot  of  frost  and  pre¬ 
venting  the  need  of  sharp  firing,  and  this  is  the  reason  for 
leaving  the  blinds  in  position.  But  often  in  frosty  weather  the 
pulleys  and  ropes  get  tightly  frozen  after  the  blinds  are  let  down, 
and,  in  consequence,  the  latter  cannot  be  raised  in  the  morning, 
but  remain  on  the  glass,  keeping  out  the  sun  and  light  for 
hours. 
This  is  the  one  reason  for  not  recommending  their  use  for 
winter  as  well  as  summer,  for  there  is  a  vast  difference  in  the 
feel  of  a  house  that  has  been  covered  all  night  and  one  where 
hard  firing  has  been  resorted  to  when  you  enter  it  in  the  morn¬ 
ing.  But  the  days  are  all  too  short  now,  and  it  will  not  do  to 
shut  out  what  little  sun  we  get ;  consequently,  some  other  method 
of  covering  has  to  be  resorted  to.  On  the  roofs  of  small  houses 
garden  mats  answer  well,  or  a  piece  of  the  white  garden  netting 
nailed  at  each  end  to  a  roller,  and  laid  on  every  night  and  rolled 
up  in  the  morning. 
The  Dendrobiums  are  already  starting  their  flower  buds, 
the  nodes  on  D.  Wardianum  being  already  prominent.  Forcing 
is  not  usually  necessary  or  advisable,  but  there  are  some  species 
that  may  be  hastened  when  required.  D.  nobile,  for  instance, 
may  be  placed  in  strong  heat  after  its  winter’s  rest,  and  if  not 
kept  too  moist  flowers  will  be  produced  in  a  month  or  thereabout. 
In  the  presence  of  strong  heat  and  moisture  the  flower  buds  are 
conspicuously  absent,  and  growth  buds  take  their  place. 
D.  aureum  is  also  one  of  the  first  to  show  flower,  and  may 
often  be  seen  at  Christmas.  I  never  keep  this  species  very  cool 
in  winter,  as  I  find  that  after  the  rest  the  pseudo-bulbs  are  apt 
to  decay  at  the  base.  D.  crassinode,  again,  has  the  same  habit, 
the  base  of  the  stems  being  very  slender  in  comparison  with 
the  swollen  and  thickened  upper  portion.  All  these  deciduous 
species  must  be  kept  dry  still  at  the  roots.  Well  ripened  plants 
have  plenty  of  substance  in  them,  and  can  easily  keep  going. 
Even  should  the  bulbs  shrivel  a  little  no-  harm  will  be  done,  as 
they  will  soon  freshen  up  when  water  is  applied  and  the  growing 
season  again  commences. — H.  R.  R. 
Orchid  Hunting. 
A  gentleman,  just  returned  from  Colombia,  where  he  has  been 
Orchid  hunting  in  the  difficult  mountain  region,  has  given  an 
interesting  account  of  how  the  precious  plants  are  obtained. 
He  says  that  the  mountains  are  most  difficult  to  ascend.  To 
reach  an  altitude  of  9,000ft  or  10,000ft  is  in  itself  a  day’s  work. 
Here,  as  in  plain  and  plateau,  there  is  true  forest  growth — dense 
brushwood  next  Palms  and  Fern  trees,  and  then,  towering  above 
these  to  100ft-  or  more,  huge  forest  trees.  A  road  is  cut  into 
the  interior — often  a  long  and  tedious  process — and  eventually 
an  encampment  or  central  receiving  depot  is  made.  The  party 
is  divided  into  sections,  and  each  has  a  particular  area  to  explore 
—generally  sufficient  work  to  occupy  a  week.  They  are  well 
fortified  with  axes  and  guns,  and  carry  big  baskets,  made  of 
dried  leaves,  in  which  to  put  the  plants.  The  result  of  the 
search  is  largely  a  matter  of  luck.  In  a  good  district  each  man’s 
findings  will  average  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  plants  weekly. 
They  are  of  all  kinds,  but  largely  Odontoglossums  and  Cattleyas, 
and  are  on  the  branches  of  the  tallest  trees.  It  is  next  to 
impossible  to  say  from  below  whether  they  exist  above  the  timber 
line.  They  cannot  be  seen,  but  the  natives  are  said  to  possess 
a  remarkable  instinct  in  being  able  to  say  where  the  flower  is 
likely  to  be  found.  They  seem  to  recognise  the  type  of  tree 
mostly  favoured  by  the  plant,  and  it  is  seldom  that  their  calcula¬ 
tions  are  at  fault.  The  plants  are  immediately  stripped  of  their 
leaves  and  the  bulbs  dried.  These  are  then  fastened  separately 
on  cross-pieces  of  wood  in  large  well-ventilated  cases,  and  sent 
to  the  coast  town  for  shipment.  The  bulbs,  on  arrival,  look 
withered  and  unsightly,  not  unlike  dried  sticks  without  any 
value. 
- o*o - 
Carnation  Mrs.  T.  W.  Lawson. 
When  this  Carnation  first  cam©  over  from  America  there 
were  some  who  said  it  had  been  boomed  too  much,  and  others 
who,  on  seeing  the  first  flowers  open,  felt  more  than  disappoint  eel, 
as  they  were  small  and  insignificant,  and  of  a  washy  colour. 
This  was  only  to  be  wondered  at,  considering  the  tremendous 
amount  of  orders  sent  to  America  when  it  was  announced  for 
distribution,  consequently  the  rapid  rate  of  propagation  had  a 
most  serious  effect  on  the  constitution  of  the  plants.  Now  that 
we  have  mastered  its  requirements,  we  can  value  it  in  its  true 
light.  Quite  by  itself  in  its  lovely  shade  of  colour,  it  has  also 
splendid  long  stems,  and  lasts  long  when  cut.  The  Liverpool 
florists’  windows  have  certainly  contained  nothing  more  beauti¬ 
ful.  It  is  a  good  grower,  and  if  one  only  takes  the  precaution 
to  shade  from  strong  sunshine  the  colour  is  intense  and 
attractive. — R.  P.  R. 
As  was  to  be  expected  with  an  unfavourable  summer  and  at 
late  autumn,  the  early  shows  suffered  somewhat  in  point  of 
quality  and  quantity  of  exhibits.  I  predicted  the  midseason 
meetings  and  the  later  shows  to  get  the  best  support  and  the 
finest  exhibits,  and  so-  it  turned  out.  Almost  any  show  held 
during  the  second  or  third  week  of  the  show  season  was  the 
better  supplied  with  good  material.  No  matter  how  skilful  the 
cultivator,  without  favourable  weather  it  is  not  possible  to. 
obtain  desirable  results  in  Chrysanthemum  culture  ;  still,  on 
the  other  hand,  knowledge,  care,  attention,  and  energy  to  push 
such  attributes  will  do  much  to  overcome  what  others  may  look 
upon  as-  obstacles  of  an  insuperable  character.  This  is  a  season 
when  all  attention  to  minute  items  has  stood  growers  in  stead, 
and  should  be  a  lesson  for  those  of  less  experience  not  to  ignore 
all  apparently  to  them  too  minute  details  in  culture. 
Speaking  broadly,  the  season  now  brought  to  a  close  has  not 
produced  anything  of  a  sensational  character,  either  in  exhibits 
or  new  varieties,  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  we  have  had  average 
quality  and  certainly  numbers,  and  not-  a  few  new  exhibitors. 
Here  and  there  shows  have  exceeded  former  years  in  point  of 
quality  of  their  exhibits,  notably  Sheffield  and  York,  which,  of 
course,  to  these  societies  is  very  encouraging.  Speaking 
generally,  there  has  been  a  much  superior  display  of  incurved 
blooms  than  was  at  one  time  expected.  This  section  is  not  yet 
as  near  its  death’s  door  as  some  would  have  us  believe.  As  is 
usually  the  case,  there  has  been  even  a  greater  tendency  to  stage 
blooms  of  enormous  size-  in  preference-  to  those  of  less  dimensions 
but  more  in  keeping  with  the  ideal  of  an  incurved  flower. 
At  northern  shows  this  has  been  more  apparent  than  in  the 
south  of  England.  Cultivators  there  pay  more  attention  to  mere 
size  than  individual  form.  This,  I  think,  has  been  an  undisputed 
fact  for  the  last,  twenty-five  years;  certainly  my  experience  of 
shows  in  all  parts  of  the  United  Kingdom  gives  no  other  oppor¬ 
tunity  but  to  express  this  opinion.  Cultivators  are  not  entirely 
to  blame  for  this,  what  I  call  a  defect,  in  placing  size-  before 
quality.  If  the  powers  that-  be  will  admit  these  mongrel  bred 
varieties  into  what  should  be  a  more  select  list,  then  exhibitors 
have  the-  right  to  include  such,  although  it  is  not  always  to  their 
advantage  to  do  so.  Some  exhibitors  of  incurved  blooms  do-  not 
pay  sufficient  attention  to  preparing  them,  not  only  on  the  show 
day,  but  previously ;  the  consequence  is  many  more  “  rough  ’’ 
blooms  are  to  be  seen.  This  is  to  be  accounted  for  by  tlie  fact 
that  less  general  interest  is  taken  in  this  section  than  formerly. 
Staging  undressed  blooms  may  coincide  with  the  views  of  those 
who  are  not  exhibitors,  but  if  this  section  is  to  be  retained  in 
the  exhibition  building  let  us  have  them  as  near  perfection  as 
it  is  possible.  The  form  of  a  globe  is  the  ideal  in  an  incurved 
flower  to  aim  at. 
The  difficulty  exhibitors  find  nowadays  is  to  get  young  men  to 
take  an  interest  in  preparing  the  blooms  of  incurved  varieties, 
and  thus  we  see  so  many  immature  specimens.  If  beginners 
would  copy  the  standard  of  a  Higgs,  a  Mease,  a  Hunt,  a  Crook^, 
a  Neville,  or  a  Goodacre,  we  should  quickly  find  a  general  im¬ 
provement  in  the  blooms  presented,  and  an  increasing  desire 
for  their  retention  in  the  prize  schedules,  and  a  general  wish  for 
an  extension  of  this  section  in  other  methods  of  production. 
Japanese  varieties  have,  of  course,  been  the  more  numerous  ; 
the  competition  in  many  instances  has  been  unusually  severe. 
In  some  classes  from  ten  to  fifteen  competitors  have  taken  part, 
which  is  a  strong  proof  of  the  popularity  of  this  section.  I  have 
noticed  a  greater  tendency  throughout  to  select  blooms  more  for 
their  all-round  quality  than  merely  for  size  in  diameter,  greater 
depth  of  individual  flowers  with  fulness  in  the  centre,  and  a 
deeper  regard  for  freshness  and  quality  of  petal  has  appeared  to 
be  the  aim  more  of  exhibitors — points  of  excellence  that  would 
commend  themselves  to  all  true  lovers  of  an  exhibition  Chrys¬ 
anthemum.  The  reflexed,  semi-drooping  style  of  flower  which 
displays  so  much  more  of  its  surface  colour,  has  been  the  aim. 
Surely  this  is  a  step  in  the  right  direction.  What  we  require 
is  flowers  of  a  pronounced  character,  those  that  are  neither  dis¬ 
tinctly  incurved  nor  the  opposite  have  not  the  same  individual 
charm  as  those  that  are  typical  examples  of  reflexed  or  incurving 
varieties. 
I  notice  a  much  greater  tendency  to  manipulate  the  petals, 
