November  26,  19C3.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
4B3 
Cypripedium  Godefroyae  leuchochilum. 
The  section  of  Cypripedinms  to  wliicli  this,  and  bellatnlnin, 
iiivemn,  concolor  and  others  belong,  displays  sonte  of  the  choicest 
flowers  in  the  genus.  They  agree  in  requiring  special  treatment 
— an  intermediate  temperature,  a  compost  of  broken  pieces  of 
lime  rubble  and  tufa  stone,  and  plenty  of  dayliglit.  It  is  there¬ 
fore  necessaiw  to  have  them  near  to  the  glass.  Place  them  on  a 
shelf  at  end  of  an  intermediate  or  warm  house,  away  from  the 
possibility  of  draughts.  They  are  best  kept  almost  perfectly 
dry  all  winter,  but  must  have  an  abundant  water  supply  when 
in  growth.  A  genial,  circnlating  air  around  them  is  desirable. 
They  may  be  grown  in  hanging  pots.  C’.  Godefroyae  is  a  natural 
liyb'rid  from  Siam,  the  parents  being  nivenm  and  bellatnlnin. 
Its  variety  (which  we  figui-e)  differs  in  having  an  unspotted  lip. 
the  hybrid  type  being  purple-spotted  on  lip  and  segments,  over 
wliite.  They  flower  during  the  early  part  of  summer.  Anyone 
desirous  of  more  exact  cultural  hints  with  regard  to  the  .section 
must  watch  the  calendarial  notes  weekly,  and  on  page  347  of 
our  issue  for  October  15,  1903.  there  appeared  a  note  taken 
from  the  "Orchid  Review.”  which  explained  the  methods  prac¬ 
tised  so  successfully  for  C.  niveuin  by  Mr.  Mackay,  grower  to 
Mr.  Chamberlain  at  Highbury. 
Cypripedium  insigne  in  Small  Pots. 
Speaking  of  plants,  he  has  seen  flowering  freely  in  small  irots, 
“  E.  M.,”  p.  458,  notes  how  useful  they  are,  and  I  can 
thoroughly  agree  with  him.  It  is  a  wonder  that  such  pilants 
are  not  more  commonly  grown,  as  they  are  certainly  much  more 
profitable  than  the  Targe,  ungainly,  and  often  unhealthy, 
.specimens.  What  “  E.  M.  ”  does  not  appear  to  have  noticed, 
however,  is  the  fact  that  the  plants,  with  their  roots  crowded 
tightly  together  in  small  pots,  are  really  the  mo.st  free  flowering. 
It  is  quite  a  mistake  to  allow  this  old  and  useful  plant  too  much 
pot  room,  as  this  causes  a  free  growth,-  but  few  flowers.  The 
.same  tiring  applies  to  all  the  varieties  of  C.  insigne,  as  well  as 
C.  Leeanum,  and  other  of  the  hybrids  having  C.  insigne  as  one 
parent. — H.  R.  R. 
The  Week’s  Notes— “  Firing”  and  Ventilating. 
Mismanagement  of  the  heating  apparatus  has  a  good  deal  to 
nn.swer  for  in  producing  a  dry,  unhealthy  heat  in  the  houses, 
leading  to  insect  attacks  and  general  ill  health  of  the  plants. 
Just  now  we  frequently  have  fine  mornings  following  very  cold 
nights,  and  the  inexperienced  stoker,  on  finding  the  temperature 
somewhat  low  in  early  morning,  fires  up  rapidly,  so-  that  by  the 
time  the  sun  is  shining  on  the  houses,  the  pipes  have  become 
very'  hot.  Owing  to  the  large  amount  of  fuel  in  the  boiler,  it  is 
quite  impo.ssible  to-  coo-1  the  pipes,  and  a  waste  of  fuel  is  added 
to  the  injurious  dry  heat.  ITider  the  circum.stances  named  it 
is  better  to  fire  sharply,  but  keep  a  thin  fire,  so  that  when  the 
sun  reaches  the  house  the  dampers  may  be  clo.sed  and  a  little 
ashes  and  .small  coke  or  coal  put  on  to  keep  the  fire  alight  until 
more  heat  is  again  required  in  the  afternoon.  In  dull  weather, 
of  course,  a  certain  amount  of  fire  heat  is  needed  all  day  ;  and 
with  a  chink  of  top  and  bottom  air,  will  keep  the  atmosphere 
moving,  and  therefore  constantly  changing.  The  temperatures 
of  the  different  compartment-s,  of  course,  will  vary  according  to 
the  plants  grown  therein,  but  the  above  precaution  is  nece.s.sary 
in  every  case.  Sometimes,  in  spite  of  all  care,  the  houses  get 
overheated,  the  sun  .suddenly  appearing  after  an  hour  or  two  of 
■cloudy  skies. 
Too  often  it  is  the  enstom  in  this  case  to  run  to  the  venti¬ 
lators  and  open  them  widely  to  lower  the  temperature.  This  is 
quite  wrong,  and  canses  much  injury  to  delicate  plants.  Instead, 
the  house  should  be  freely  damped  and  only  a  moderate  amount 
of  air  admitted.  The  temperature  then  gradually  rights  itself, 
and  no  sudden  changes  take  place.  Remember,  too,  that  in  the 
majority  of  cases  Orchids  are  now  at  rest  or  approaching  that 
condition,  and  fire  heat  sharply  applied  is  harmful  to  them. 
Better  by  far  let  the  hou.se  fall  a  few  degrees  when  the  mornings 
are  very  cold  than  press  in  a  lot  of  fire  heat.  Covering  the 
glass  at  night  is  a  great  help  in  maintaining  a  regular  tempera¬ 
ture;  but  the  covering  should  be  something  easily  removed. 
When  the  ordinary  summer  blinds  are  run  down  at  night  in 
frosty  weather  they  sometimes  .stick  fast,  and  the  light  is  kept 
out  of  the  hou.se  until  the  ropes  and  pulleys  thaw  and  are  again 
workable.  For  the  cool  hou.se  especially  a  covering  of  dry 
garden  mats  is  excellent,  preventing  radiation  of  heat  from  the 
gla.ss  and  saving  fuel.  In  this  department  especially  a  constant 
supply  of  fresh  air  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  health  of  the 
inmates,  and,  whenever  po.ssible,  the  upper  ventilators  must  be 
slightly  opened.  The  wooden  shutters  in  the  walls  (when  pro¬ 
vided)  .should  never  be  entirely  closed  night  or  day,  but  a  chink 
mrv  be  left  on  both  in  the  warm  and  cool  hou.ses. — H.  R.  R. 
Hardy  Plant  Notes. 
Crocus  Scharojani. 
Crocus  Scharojani  is  the  first  to  bloom  in  autumn.  It  has 
recently  reappeared  from  Armenia.  It  was  first  discovered  i!i 
1865,  at  a  height  of  about  7,00(Jft,  in  the  Caucasus,  by  Herr 
Scharojan.  and  was  fir.st  flowered  by  the  late  Colonel  Trevor- 
Clarke,  of  W’elton  Place,  Daventrv,  in  1879.  The  following  year 
it  was  flowered  by  Mr.  George  Maw,  who  figured  and  de'seribod 
it.  It  begins  to  bloom  in  the  end  of  July  and  beginning  of 
August,  and  those  who  appreciate  the  glorious  display  made-  by 
the  Dutch  Yellow  Crocus  of  spring  can  well  imagine  how 
valuable  this  species  may  become  to  the  flower  garden  in 
autumn.  The  colour  is  a  bright  orange. 
The  species  often  sold  for  it  are  C.  Olivieri  or  C.  suterianus. 
It  has  found  its  way  into  my  garden,  and  I  hope  to  have  more 
to  .say  about  it  again. — S.  A. 
Bulbocodium  vernum. 
Rich  as  is  the  wealth  of  bloom  given  by  the  species  and 
varieties  of  Crocus  in  the  early  months  of  the  year,  most  of  us 
can  yet  find  a  welcome  for  other  bulbous  plants,  even  if  of  some¬ 
what  similar  appearance  when  in  flower.  One  of  the  mo.st 
pleasing  of  these  is  Bulbocodium  vernum,  which  is  also  recom- 
mendable  because  of  its  shade  of  colour  being  unlike  that  of  any 
of  the  Crocuses  or  other  bulbous  plants  of  the  spring.  It  is  also 
one  of  the  very  early  flowers,  and  comes  in  frequently  in  the 
month  of  February  to  delight  us  with  its  pretty  six-parted  flowers 
of  an  attractive  shade  of  a  warm  lilac,  followed  afterwards  by  its 
broadish  leaves.  The  ease  with  which  it  can  be  grown  is  greatly 
in  its  favour,  as  it  is  perfectly  hardy,  and  only  requires  to  be 
planted  in  good  soil,  with  the  crowns  of  the  conns  about  two 
inches  beneath  the  surface  of  the  soil.  It  prefers  a  good  and 
rather  heavy  soil.  Although  it  resembles  the  Colchicums  and 
belongs  to  the  .same  natural  order,  the  Liliaceee,  and  the  same 
.sub-order,  that  of  the  Colchicacere,  Mr.  Baker  cla.sses  it  with  the 
tribe  Evulariere,  instead  of  including  it  with  the  Colchiceee,  and 
it  is  more  nearly  allied  to  the  Merenderas.  Like  many  other 
Cypripedium  Qodefroyse  leucochilum. 
early  flowers,  it  rises  little  above  the  soil,  and  is  thus  not  liable 
to  much  injury  from  the  weather,  and  a  good  clump  or  a  mass  is 
very  pleasing  in  the  early  months,  e.specially  when  a.ssociated 
with  the  Snowdrop,  the  Scillas,  and  such  a  flower  as  Eranthis 
cflicicus,  which  blooms  later  than  the  more  plentiful  Eranthis 
hyemalis.  Those  who  like  plants  with  variegated  leaves  will 
find  the  variegated-leaved  form  of  B.  vernum  an  acquisition,  if 
they  do  not  possess  it  already.  Its  flowers  are  prettily  marked 
with  creamy  white  and  tinged  with  pink.  It  is  a  little  dearer 
than  the  other,  but  is  as  hardy.  These  Bulbocodiums  should  be 
planted  as  soon  as  possible,  and  it  will  be  necessary  to  watch 
for  slugs  just  before  they  are  coming  into  bloom.  These  pests 
are  verv  fond  of  the  blooms  of  the  Bulbocodium  from  their  earliest 
stages, "and  more  than  once  the  writer  lias  been  disappointed 
of  the  flowers  by  the  ravages  of  .such  vermin.— .S.  Arnott. 
