178 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
.Murcli  3,  19C4. 
Association,  Mr.  Robert  Service,  of  Dumfries,  fnrni.shes  sugges¬ 
tions  whicli  de.serve  consideration.  To  begin  with  the  village 
shows,  it  is  perhaps  impossible  to  over-estimate  the  good  that  Ims 
b(>en  done  by  them.  Like  a  network  they  now  spread,  and  are 
still  spreading,  over  the  entire  country.  Their  field  of  opera¬ 
tions  is  sufficiently  varied,  as  we  all  know,  and  not  all  of  their 
work  is  to  be  seen  on  the  show  tables.  One  of  the  most  bene- 
ficent  things  they  perform  is  the  inducing  of  competition  for 
the  be.st  kept  gardens  within  defined  districts.  We  have  all  seen 
the  village  kailyard  with  its  unkempt  hedges,  its  dishevelled 
Potato  patch,  its  disorderly  ranks  of  Cabbage  and  Greens,  its 
ill-bounded  and  weed-encumbered  paths,  converted  within  a 
season  or  two  into  areas  of  neatne.ss  and  cleanness,  with  crops 
of  vegetables  and  borders  of  plants  and  flowers  that  would  do 
no  discredit  to  the  best  iirofessionals. 
Nor  does  such  a  change  begin  and  end  with  the  garden, 
the  man  himself  has  improved  morally,  and  his  life  has  been 
brightened  and  sweetened,  his  table  comforts  are  higher  and 
more  varied,  the  artistic  effect  is  distinct  and  visible  within 
the  cottage,  wife  and  children  are  cleaner,  tidier,  their  aspira¬ 
tions  rising  towards  more  refinement.  So  with  the  next-door 
neighbour,  and  house  after  house  throughout  the  village  and 
vicinity  A  Avhole  community  has  been  elevated  and  improved 
by  simple,  easily  applied,  and  perfectly  natural  means.  Is  there 
not  a  pregnant  les.son  here  for  our  politicians  ?  Rural  depopu¬ 
lation  IS  a  pressing  problem  that  is  calling  loudly  for  solution, 
t  may  be  that  our  village  horticultural  .societies  can  show  us  one 
direction  in  which  practical  spade  work  will  lead  with  certainty 
to  good  results. 
At  the  same  time,  those  who  have  it  in  their  power  mii^ht 
use  their  influence  to  alter  the  monotony  and  stereotyped  dis- 
country  .shows  by  gradually  eliminating  and  suggesting 
iScbsir^^^n^^*  orthodox  Geranium  and  the  everlasting 
;  f.u'  ?  ^  flowers  that  fostered  our  first 
floiicultuial  afloctions,  yet  fresh  forms  are  desirable,  and  good 
of  Similarly,  amongst  the  exhibftors 
of  vegetables,  there  is  a  mo.st  formidable  amount  of  preiudice  in 
favour  of  mere  size  and  bigness  to  be  overcome,  ere  the  rural 
Sal  testl'‘''"' 
Take,  now.  County  .shows.  In  their  origin,  these  as  we 
«ocletiel*^^^rLdr^‘^‘Y'''l’  old ’florists’ 
societies.  Goodly  plants  grew  from  the  seed  sown  in  these 
rather  remote  days,  and  although  many  have  matured  and  died 
other, s  are  growing  still.  Not  so  extensive,  nor  so  wealthy  nor 
so  ambitious,  and  not  looniing  so  large  in  the  public  eye,  'Is  the 
^tional  shon.s  do,  yet  these  county  gatherings  are  doing  true 
+  «•  arises,  How  best  may  shows  in  general  maiu- 
tfZ  IZ  ^^^re  are  not  fvanrtng  sfins 
that  flower  shows  are  approaclung  something  of  a  crisi^  The 
ordinary,  average  .show  has  an  unmistakable  difficulty  in  drawino- 
the  necas,sary  flttendance,  and  means  will  have  to  be  sought  aid 
found  for  attracting  the  public  and  sustaining  theii  Serelt 
A  complaint  orie  often  hears  is  in  reference  to  wha“  Jhersuy 
Entbus^I^r  recurring  monotony  of  the  exhibition  tnble.s 
anrf  ^or  every  plant  and  flower  is  a  new 
and  distinct  individual  to  the  trained  eye. 
But  the  general  public  see  only  a  stand  of  Ro.ses  or  of 
Stionrof  r  irrt  of  Grapes.  They  are  obliv’ious  of 
gradations  of  quality  or  points  of  excellence,  or  the  reverse 
Ir  at  kast  them,’ 
Iloreciltmn  T  Pf  with  a  sense  of 
trkd  lub iecrt  ZZf  'fr  ^oipetitions  in  new  and  un- 
rearraSr  *  fet  I  '®  classes  might  at  least  be  varied  and 
Trv  nmf  ^  away  from  the  well-trodden  paths, 
nmve  the^Imisk  PP  .classe.s— make  a  new  departure,  and  P  re- 
Iftli  year.  ^'eanness  at  sight  of  the  .same  things  year 
Another  practical  consideration  for  the  improvement  of 
our  shows  IS  the  proper  choice  of  judges.  On  thk  dPends 
much  more  than  is  imagined.  A  very  special  aptitude  Ion?  and 
VI  a  experience,  a  really  judicial  mind  (which  is  not  a  common 
StSTii  hv  I  of  our  .show  judges,  and  should  be 
4  ft  eel  on  by  all  societies  from  their  managing  committees 
ventollPPl^’^”  ^  all  young  and  untried  judges  should  be  pre- 
^  1-1  ^fPeriinenting  upon  the  exhibits  of  innocent  coin- 
tribunal  fflcniselves  been  judged  by  some  supreme 
Imrp  T+’o  p  ^ot  fle  a  good  and  de.sirable  system  to 
bl  fuclgS?^^*'^^  competence  issued  to  all  men  who ‘aspire  to 
GRASS  V.  TILLAGE  ORCHARDS.— This  subject  was  dis 
Mr'^'r  V'’ m  Chester  Paxton  Society  on  February  20,  ^by 
erlwin;xr;,  tlrcw  attention  to  the  disadvantage  of 
growing  young  fruit  trees  in  grass.  ° 
Cultural  Notes:  Dandrobiums. 
The  pruning  of  Denclrobiums  and  other  orchids  was  a  good 
deal  written  about  a  few  years  ago,  and  various  opinions  given 
as  to  its  effectiveness.  Soane  cultivators  went  so  far  with  many 
species  that  they  cut  off  evei'jdhing  in  the  way  of  stems,  simply 
leaving  the  basal  eyes  to  shoot,  treating  them,  in  short,  like  a 
herbaceous  plant  in  the  open  border.  Manifestly  this  must  be 
quite  unfair  to  the  plant.  Take  D.  nobile,  for  instance,  is  one  of 
the  worst  sufferers  at  the  hands  of  the  pruner.  The  stemk 
of  this  species  contain  all  the  necessary  nutriment  to  nourish 
the  young  shoots  that  occur  at  the  base  of  each,  and  it  surely 
must  tend  to  weaken  these  if  the  .stems  are  removed. 
Rational  pruning  would  consist  of  removing  all  old  and 
decayed  stems;  those  that  are  shrivelled  and  any  that  by  their 
position  would  retard  the  progress  of  the  young  shoots.  E.spe- 
cially  neces.sary  are  the  latter  with  such  plants  as  Odonto- 
glossum  grande,  that  sivell  considerably  at  the  base  rather  than 
elongate.  But  in  this  case  removal  of  the  bulb  that  has  pro¬ 
duced  the  young  growth  would  not  do  at  all,  as  decay  may  set 
in  and  ruin  the  latter ;  but  any  from  farther  back  on  the 
rhizome  may  be  taken,  and  as  the  new  p.seudo-bulb  develops 
it  will  elbow  the  other  array  to  make  room  for  it.self. 
For  propagating  purjioses  it  is  often  necessary  to  remove 
.stems  of  the  class  of  Dendrobiums  alluded  to  above.  Any  that 
have  recently  flowered,  but  that  are  not  shrivelled,  may  be  taken 
off  and  laid  out  on  pans, or  boxes  of  moss.  The.se  soon  break  into 
growth  at  the  nodes,  the  resultant  stems  making  nice  little 
plants  by  the  end  of  the  season,  rvhen  they  may  be  separately 
potted  or  massed  several  together  to  make  larger  specimens. 
D.  nobile,  D.  Bensonim,  D.  Devonianum,  D.  Pierardi,  D.  macro- 
phyllum,  and  D.  primulinum  are  a  few  only  that  I -have  been 
very  successful  with  in  this  way,  but  there  are  many  others, 
especially  the  nobile  hybrids,  that  may  just  as  ea.sily  be  pro¬ 
pagated. 
Plants  obtained  this  way  are  far  more  healthy  and  vigorous, 
as  a  rule,  than  are  others  produced  by  division  of  the  old  speci¬ 
mens,  and  they  soon  make  fine  plants.  It  may  be  recommended, 
then,  to  anyone  having  a  small  stock  only  of  a  rose  variety,  or 
hybrid,  as  a  means  of  rapidly  increasing  it,  while  an  old  or 
diseased  lot  may  be  thrown  away  and  entirely  replaced  by  these 
healthy  youngsters  in  a  very  few  years.  Thus  far  pruning  is 
right,  and  essential  to  the  health  of  the  plants;  but  beyond 
it  is  not  wise  to  go,  especially  by  amateur  cultivators,  who 
should  learn  to  cultivate  them  properly  before  rushing  to  rash 
and  possibly  fatal  experiments. — H.  R.  R. 
Orchids  and  Leaf  Mould. 
Pointing  to  a  plant  of  Odontoglossiim  crispum  on  his  exhibit 
at  the  recent  Drill  Hall  meeting  of  the  R.H.S.,  Mr.  S.  White- 
legg,  of  The  Grange,  Southgate,  said,  “Look  at  those  flowers;  ■ 
they  are  entirely  flushed  with  red.  That  iilant  used  to  be 
grown  in  peat  and  sphagnum,  and  produced  beautifully  spotted  ■ 
crispiims,  but  having  shifted  it  into  leaf  mould,  you  see  the 
result.”  One  had  to  admit  that  the  precious  “  spotted 
crispums  ”  were  not  there,  but  only  a  very  ordinary  red- 
flowered  form.  The  inflorescence  was  undoubtedly  strong;  but 
that  was  no  compen.sation. 
The  editor  of  “  American  Gardening,”  in  the  issue  for 
February  13,  asks,  “Is  leaf  mould  a  proper  .soil  for  orchids?  ” 
He  continues :  This  question  is  one  of  the  most  real  before  the 
horticultural  world  to-day ;  but,  despite  the  attention  given, 
we  are  apparently  as  far  as  ever  from  a  real  solution.  Before 
a  meeting  of  the  Horticultural  Society  of  New  York  two  skilful 
orchid  growers  stated  views  seemingly  diametrically  opposed. 
On  the  one  hand  it  was  told  that  the  domestic  leaf  mould  was 
not  .so  porous  as  that  known  as  Belgian,  and  on  which  the 
European  groivers  l  elied  ;  and  it  was  proposed  to  remedy  this  ,, 
condition  by  adding  sand  and  charcoal,  which,  of  course, 
provides  drainage.  It  was  argued  that  the  roots  of  orchids 
growing  in  leaf  mould  will  decay  as  the  leaf  .soil  itself  rots.  Are  • 
the.se  two  growers  so  very  far  apart  in  their  ideas?  It  may 
certainly  be  conceded  that  in  their  native  haunts  the  epiphytal 
orchids  will  be  found  with  various  dead  and  dying  leaves,  bits 
of  woody  twigs,  Ac.,  about  their  roots;  but  that  this  is  to  be 
taken  as  evidence  that  leaf  mould  dug  from  the  ground  is 
demanded  by  the  orchid  seems  to  ns  to  be  assuming  altogether 
too  much.  Debris  of  one  sort  and  another  will  naturally  collect 
about  the  roots  in  a  .state  of  Nature  ;  its  presence  is  accidental 
and  its  service,  if  any,  but  very  slight. 
Some  remarkable  successes  with  leaf  mould  are  reported  by 
European  growers;  so  far  our  cultivators  have  not  found  any 
