October  15,  19C3, 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
347 
Cattleya  Dowiana  Rosita. 
All  wlio  appreciate  the  richly  coloured  and  elegant  C. 
Dowiana  will  the  better  value  a  variety  from  it.  In  C.  D. 
Rosita  we  have  one  of  the  best  of  its  forms,  and  this  came 
from  M.  Cliarles  Maron,  of  Brunoy,  France,  some  years  ago, 
obtaining  recognition  at  Westminster,  when  shown  there,  in  the 
shape  of  a  F.C.C.  The  stout  sepals  are  soft  cream,  with  a 
pronounced  suffusion  of  rosy  red  at  the  tips;  the  broad,  wavy, 
and  somewhat  fimbriated  petals  have  a  similar  basal  colour,  but 
the  rosy  red  is  of  a  brighter  shade,  and  is  far  more  abundant. 
The  superb  lip  is  velvety  crimson,  while  the  golden  lined  throat 
has  all  the  beauty  of  the  typical  plant. 
The  Week’s  Cultural  Notes. 
Dendrobium  cambridgeanum,  or  ochreatum,  as  it  is  also 
known,  is  a  puzzling  species  to  many  who  are  growing  it  for  the 
first  time.  It  is  never  a  very  strong  grower,  and  when  the 
blossoms  are  past  the  pseudo-bulbs,  or  s^tems,  often  begin  to 
wither  rapidly  in  a  manner  very  disconcerting  to  those  in  charge. 
But  really  there  is  nothing  to  be  alarmed  at  in  this,  as  when 
new  growths  push,  the  plant  is  in  the  habit  of  renewing  itself 
rapidly.  It  is  very  erratic  in  its  time  of  flowering,  and  I  have 
seen  a  nice  plant  of  it  during  the  present  week  in  full  flower, 
quite  four  months  behind  its  usual  time.  As  with  D.  chrys- 
anthum  noted  last  week,  the  plants  must  be  kept  growing 
gently  during  Avinter, 
not  rushed  on  in  the 
insufficient  light  then 
prevailing. 
Considering  the 
dull  season  the  popu¬ 
lar  D.  Phalsenopsis 
has  done  remarkably 
well,  though  in  many 
instances  I  h  a  v  e 
noticed  a  falling  off 
in  colour,  due  to  lack 
of  light  to  consolidate 
the  growths.  The 
winter’s  rest  in  a 
warm  and  moderatelv 
dry  atmosphere  will 
put  things  right,  and 
we  must  hope  for  a 
better  season  next 
year.  D.  bigibbum 
has  fared  worse  than 
its  stouter  growing 
compeer.  Many  of  the 
spring  flowering 
species  are  quite 
ready  for  the  resting 
quarters,  all  the  leaves 
having  fallen  and  the 
stems  being  well 
ripened.  Light, 
plenty  of  air,  and  a 
cool,  dry  atmosphere 
are  now  required. 
In  the  cool  house 
the  pretty  Oncidium 
cheirophorum  is  grow¬ 
ing  freely,  and  must 
not  be  allowed  to  be¬ 
come  dry  at  the  roots, 
though  it  is  never  a 
thirsty  plant,  liking  a 
thin  compost  and 
plenty  of  air  about  its 
roots.  Small  wood 
baskets  or  pans  for 
suspending  suit  it 
best,  and  all  the  year 
round  a  moist,  mild, 
and  airy  temperature 
is  desirable.  Should 
the  plant  be  in  need  of  fresh  compost  it  may  be  given  at  this 
time,  taking  care  not  to  disturb  the  older  roots  much.  It  is  one 
of  the  brightest  and  prettiest  of  winter  flowering  Orchids,  and 
should  be  in  all  collections. 
Cattleya  Dowiana  Rosita. 
O.  conoolor,  another  small  flowering  beautiful  plant,  has 
finished  growing,  or  nearly  so,  and  will  need  less  moisture  at  the 
roots,  but  not  this  or  any  of  the  spring  bloomers  must  have  so 
little  that  the  p^udo-bulbs  shrivel.  The  O.  macranthum  section 
comprising,  besides  the  type  O.  serratum,  O.  undulatum,  O. 
superbiens,  O.  hastiferum,  O.  lamelligerum,  and  others,  must 
never  be  dried,  as  they  require  sustenance  winter  and  summer, 
and  are  more  likely  to  shrivel  than  almost  any  other  species. 
Owing  to  their  liabit  of  growth,  viz.,  one  pseudo^bulb  occurring 
a  good  deal  higher  than  its  parent,  the  new  roots  are  exposed 
to  insect  attacks,  and  if  any  doubt  about  slugs  or  cockroaches 
exists  a  little  peat  and  moss  should  be  laid  over  them  for 
protection.— H.  R.  R. 
Orchids  and  Symbiosis. 
It  is  now  well  known  to  many  that  Orchids,  for  their  success¬ 
ful  rearing  from  seeds,  do  best  when  grown  in  association  with 
older  plants  of  the  same  family.  Before  this  fact  was  recognised 
(says  the  “Gardening  World”)  thousands,  and  probably  millions 
of  seeds  were  annually  lost  by  sowing  them  on  the  surface  of 
pots,  like  the  seeds  of  annuals  or  perennials  of  more  common 
kinds.  M.  Bernard  has  recently  laid  before  the  French  Academy 
of  Sciences  the  result  of  some  of  his  experiments,  by  which  he 
demonstrates  that  Orchids  are  unable  to  live  unless  certain 
microbes  are  present  in  association  with  the  roots  of  the  plants. 
Particularly  is  this  the  case  with  seedling  Orchids  making  a 
.start  in  life.  We  have  seen, large  numbers  of  them  successfully 
raised  from  seeds  until  the  green  was  quite  visible  to  the  ,  naked 
eye,  after  which  they  went  off  rapidly,  when  merely  grown  on 
pans  of  soil. 
M.  Bernard  cultivated  those  microscopic  fungi  by  themselves, 
and  also  Orchids  apart  from  them,  but  the  latter  did  not  thrive 
until  brought  in  contact  with  the  former,  after  which  the  growth 
of  the  plants  became 
quite  normal.  Po.s- 
sibly,  however,  if  all 
cultivators  would  take 
care  to  inoculate  the 
soil  in  which  they  at¬ 
tempt  to  raise  seed¬ 
lings  with  some  of 
that  taken  from  pots 
of  growing  Orchids, 
success  might  become 
perfectly  certain,  even 
with  seedling  Orchids. 
Some  of  our  expert 
Orchid  raisers,  how¬ 
ever,  succeed  by 
slightly  different  me¬ 
thods,  such  asi  by  sow¬ 
ing  the  seeds  on  a 
coarse  kind  of  cloth 
on  the  top  of  pots  or 
pans. 
Cypripedlum  niveum 
at  Highbury. 
This  gem  of  Cypri- 
pediums  (botanically 
Paphiopedilum)  is 
grown  very  successfully 
in  Mr.  Chamberlain’s 
garden.  A  note  as 
follows,  appears  in  this 
month’s  “  Orchid  Re¬ 
view  ”  ;  “  The  plant 
came  here  as  newly- 
imported  some  four 
years  ago,  and  is 
grown  in  the  warm 
house,  where  it  occu¬ 
pies  a  position  at  the 
w'armest  end,  some 
2ft  from  the  glass  roof. 
Two  years  ago  it  was 
placed  in  a  lOin  pan, 
well  drained,  in  a  com¬ 
post  of  fibrous  loam, 
sphagnum  moss,  and 
limestone,  in  equal 
parts.  It  is  given 
abundance  of  water 
during  the  summer  months,  and  never  allowed  to  become  really 
dry  in  winter.  With  this  treatment  growth  1-5  luxuriant,  the 
plant  retains  every  leaf,  and  is  the  envy  of  every  Orchid  enthu¬ 
siast.”— J.  Mackay.  "  ■ 
