Part 5

Orchids at Arnot Hill.—We append a few notes on the Orchids at Arnot Hill, near Nottingham, the residence of C. G. Hill, Esq., a gentleman who is forming a fine collection of these plants, and one which we have no doubt will in time take a foremost rank, as Mr. Hill is specially fond of good Orchids, and intends to grow only those which are most worthy of cultivation. There is a fine range of houses built to suit the cool, the intermediate, and the East Indian kinds, and the arrangements are all that can be desired, having been made the chief study. Of the genus _Odontoglossum_, we found at the time of our visit, some few months since, there was a large collection, including some hundreds of plants of _O. Alexandræ_ and _O. Pescatorei_, amongst which were many fine specimens. There was also a fine lot of Masdevallias; the Bull’s-blood variety of _M. Harryana_ was in splendid condition, and there were many other fine varieties. We noticed a house full of _Oncidium Gardneri_ mixed with _O. prætextum_ and _O. curtum_, the plants bearing about fifty spikes, the greater part of which were in bloom, the flowers deliciously fragrant, and presenting a beautiful picture, as the bright yellow lip with its definite margin of brown shows off the flowers to great advantage. In the Cattleya house there were many fine plants which were rooting and growing well. We noticed a good specimen plant of the new _Cattleya Trianæ Russelliana_, also of the rare _C. exoniensis_, of the beautiful _C. Reineckiana_, of the best variety of _C. labiata_ showing flower-sheaths, and many others. _Oncidium incurvum_ was beautifully in bloom, and with its snow-white lip had a very pretty appearance.

In the next house we noticed three good plants of _Dendrochilum filiforme_ finely in flower; one plant had fifty of its graceful spikes of yellow blossoms hanging among the foliage, and the other two plants were equally good.

In the adjoining house there were many fine East Indian Orchids. We noticed four plants of the rare _Aërides Schröderi_, and a wonderful variety of _A. Lobbii_ in full bloom, with a fine branching spike—one of the best we have seen, and one of which we hope at some future time to furnish our readers with a figure. There was a good collection of East Indian Orchids being got together, and from the appearance and health of the young stock they seemed likely to thrive well. We were glad to see this class of Orchids so well appreciated, as there can be no doubt that the East Indian kinds are among the richest and finest of the family, and they will flourish in a lower temperature than most people imagine.—B. S. W.

CATTLEYA GUTTATA LEOPOLDII. [Plate 16.] Native of the Island of St. Catherine, Brazil.

Epiphytal. _Stems_ (or pseudobulbs) elongate, fusiform, many-jointed, two to two and a half feet in height, bearing a pair of leaves at the apex. _Leaves_ broadly-oblong obtuse, dark green, coriaceous. _Scape_ terminal, issuing from a short ovate acute ancipitous spathe developed between the leaves on the more vigorous stems, and bearing a many-flowered raceme, with small lance-shaped bracts. _Flowers_ fleshy, in dense racemes, “sometimes as large as a man’s head;” _sepals_ cuneate-oblong acute, the lateral ones subfalcate, of a light cinnamon or orange-tinted brown, spotted thickly with crimson; _petals_ similar in form and colour, but rather broader and wavy; _lip_ three-lobed, the lateral lobes semi-ovate, acute in front, rolled over the column, the middle lobe cuneate-flabellate and bilobed, of a bright magenta colour, the disk tuberculate with lines of elevated papillae.

Cattleya guttata Leopoldii, _Linden and Reichenbach fil._, _Pescatorea_, t. 43.

Cattleya Leopoldii, _Hort. Verschaffelt_; _Lemaire_, _Illustration Horticole_, ii. 69.

Epidendrum elatius, var., _Reichenbach fil._, _MSS._; _Id._, in _Walpers’ Annales Botanices Systematicæ_, vi. 319.

This noble plant is remarkable for the large mass of richly-coloured flagrant blossoms which terminates the flower-scape, and is very much superior to the old _Cattleya guttata_, which was introduced to our collections some fifty years ago, and of which a fine figure was published in the _Transactions of the Horticultural Society_, ix. t. 8. The variety _Leopoldii_ differs from the type, in its much larger flowers, and in the rich olive or reddish-brown colour of its sepals and petals, which are freely spotted with dark crimson. _C. guttata Leopoldii_ is, moreover, of much more recent introduction than the type, having been imported to the gardens of Belgium by M. Ambroise Verschaffelt, through his collector, M. Devos, in 1850. It was by him dedicated to his Majesty the late King of the Belgians. As will be seen from our illustration, it is a very great improvement on the typical form. We are indebted to H. Shaw, Esq., of Buxton, for the opportunity of securing our figure, the plant having flowered in his choice and valuable collection during the month of August in the present year, producing a spike of eleven fine flowers, each measuring three inches in diameter. This must be regarded as a very valuable Orchid, since it blossoms during the late summer months, when flowers are comparatively scarce in our Orchid houses; while for exhibition purposes, again, it is of great value.

The plant now before us is a strong grower, like _Cattleya guttata_, and sometimes produces as many as thirty flowers in a spike. A plant bearing a spike of this noble character was exhibited some years ago by Mr. Page, then gardener to the late W. Leaf, Esq., of Streatham, and was a most wonderful object. The stems grow from twenty to thirty inches in height, and are furnished at the apex with a pair of broad leathery leaves of a dark green colour. It produces its flowers from the top of the bulb after it has finished its growth. The sepals and petals are of a lively cinnamon-brown, spotted with rich deep crimson; while the lip is of a bright magenta, with the basal lobes of a paler rose colour. The blossoms last some two or three weeks in perfection.

_Cattleya guttata Leopoldii_ requires the same treatment as that recommended for other Cattleyas under Plates 3 and 6. Being a tall-growing plant, pot culture will be found to suit it best.

M. Massange’s Orchids.—Château de Baillonville, the country seat of Mons. D. Massange de Louvrex, is situated in the Ardennes, about 6 miles from Marche, and some 80 miles from Brussels. The collection of Orchids at the Château is very large, one of the finest in Belgium. In the house devoted to East Indian Orchids there are some grand specimens of Vandas, Aërides, and Saccolabiums. During a visit in July last, we noticed in bloom a very fine variety of _Vanda tricolor planilabris_, the flowers of which were very large, with fine broad sepals and petals, the markings being well defined and the colour bright. Here was also a grand plant of _V. Cathcartii_, about four feet high, in perfect health. Cypripediums are, moreover, treated with great success in this house; indeed, we noticed some plants of _C. caudatum_ with extraordinary growths upon them, one plant having leaves as much as eighteen inches long, and quite distinct in the character of its growth, being almost erect. In the Cattleya house were some fine examples of _Cattleya labiata_, the true autumn-flowering variety; also _C. Warnerii_ in abundance, and _C. Mendelii_. _Zygopetalum Gautieri_, the best variety, with dark blue flowers, was also open. _Cælogyne Massangeana_, had a spike of twenty-three flowers; this species is a grand subject for treating as a basket plant, the spikes being of a drooping character; we have seen it bearing as many as twenty-seven flowers on a spike. There were, moreover, in the same house, some enormous plants of _Cattleya Trianæ_, marvels of cultivation, with good specimens of _Lælia elegans_, _L. anceps_, _L. Perrinii alba_, _L. elegans prasiata_, _L. Stelzneriana_, _Cattleya Dowiana_, &c., all in perfect health, and doing well. In the Odontoglossum houses there was not much in flower, but the plants were looking remarkably well and making enormous bulbs. Here we noticed the largest plant of _Restrepia antennifera_ we have ever seen; the plant probably measured as much as eighteen inches across, and had some hundreds of leaves. Masdevallias were well represented, and there were some good varieties in flower: amongst others was a grand plant of _M. macrura_, as well as _M. Houtteana_ and _M. trochilus_, forming good specimens. We saw a splendid specimen of _Odontoglossum citrosmum roseum_ with nine flower-spikes, a marvel of good cultivation. Altogether, we believe, this is the most select collection of Orchids in Belgium, and great credit is due to Mr. Wilkie, the gardener, for the way in which he cultivates his plants; his employer, however, spares no expense in providing the appurtenances necessary to good cultivation.—H. Williams.

PESCATOREA KLABOCHORUM. [Plate 17.] Native of Ecuador.

Epiphytal. _Stems_ none or consisting of a short crown or growing point from which the leaves and stout fibrous roots proceed. _Leaves_ tufted, numerous, imbricated at the base, erect or spreading, lanceolate, acute, twelve to fifteen inches long, and about two inches wide, deep green above, paler beneath, thin but firm in texture. _Flowers_ large and showy, measuring about three inches in diameter, the peduncles springing from the axils of the lower leaves; _dorsal sepal_ obovate-oblong, acute, about an inch and a half long, white in the lower half, and of a velvety chocolate purple in the upper portion; _lateral sepals_ more distinctly oblong, being less narrowed at the base, acute, and attached obliquely to the chin of the flower; _petals_ obovate-oblong, like the dorsal sepal, acute, white, deeply tipped with chocolate purple; _lip_ distinctly stalked, with a sharply incurved claw, normally trowel-shaped when spread out, three-lobed, the lateral lobes prolonged, acute, and incurved so as to meet the base of the column, the middle lobe obtusely cordate, sulcate, with the edge recurved so as to bring it to a narrow triangular outline; it is white, with the whole surface, except the margin, covered with short purple-tipped papillæ, or ‘styliform processes,’ ranged in combined lines; on the _disk_ is a large semicircular lamellate ruff or frill, extending to the base, and consisting of numerous (about 20) erect folds or lamellæ, which are white below and of a deep rich purple along the edge of the folds, forming a series of stripes extending inwards to the base of the lip. _Column_ stoutish, angulate on both sides at the base, semiterete, dark purple, three-fourths of an inch long, projected over the basal ruff.

Pecatorea Klabochorum, _Reichenbach fil._, in _Gardeners’ Chronicle_, N.S. xi., 684; xii., 167; _Paxton’s Flower Garden_, re-issue, t. 21.

Zygopetalum Klabochorum, _Reichenbach fil._, in _Gardeners’ Chronicle_, N.S. xi., 684.

Until quite recently but few species of _Pescatorea_ were known in cultivation. Latterly, however, several new ones have been introduced into this country, and Orchid cultivators have now more numerous opportunities of admiring the beautiful plants which are referred to this genus.

_Pescatorea Klabochorum_ was introduced from Ecuador, by Franz Klaboch, a nephew of Herr Roezl, one of the most successful plant collectors of our time, and is named in commemoration of him and his surviving brother, also a traveller and collector, The first plants, brought home some four or five years since, were purchased by Messrs. James Veitch and Sons, of Chelsea, and were distributed by them; but since then it has been several times re-introduced, and is now to be found in numerous collections. Several varieties have been already noticed. It appears to have been first flowered in 1878 in England, by John Day, Esq., and in Scotland by J. Gair, Esq., and again in 1879 in the noble collection of Sir Trevor Lawrence Bart., M.P. The drawing reproduced in our plate was prepared from a plant which flowered last August in our own collection, and represents a very fair variety. A fine variety, which bloomed with W. Cobb, Esq., of Silverdale Lodge, Sydenham, is figured in the revised edition of _Paxton’s Flower Garden_.

The treatment which we find to suit this plant the best is to place it in the Cattleya-house at the cool end. It should be potted in a compost of peat and sphagnum moss, with a few lumps of charcoal added; and a liberal supply of water should be given during the growing season, this being gradually decreased as the winter approaches. The plants should be well elevated above the rim of the pot, so as to allow any superfluous water to drain away from the crown.

We do not find that noxious insects attack the species of _Pescatorea_ in any great degree. The scale will sometimes take up its abode on the young growths, but when found this can easily be removed by the use of a brush or sponge and water.

We saw a fine lot of Pescatoreas and Bolleas in splendid condition at Falkirk in September last, in the collection of J. Gair, Esq. These plants are not so easy of cultivation as many Orchids, their treatment not being generally so well understood; but this was not the case in this instance, for they were perfect plants, well cultivated, and blooming freely. We noticed more especially a fine species named in honour of Mr. Gair, which bears the richest coloured flowers we have ever seen; of this we hope to give our readers an illustration when it flowers next year. These plants were grown at the end of a house where a mixed collection of Orchids, such as Cattleyas, Dendrobiums, Aërides, and Saccolabiums, were doing well. Being a large house, the plants could be treated according to their several requirements, whereas in a small house the varied collection would not be found to do so well.

Vanda cœrulea.—This _Vanda_, whose flowers are of such a distinct and beautiful colour, is no doubt one of the finest Orchids in cultivation. We have had the pleasure of seeing the plant we are about to mention for two successive years blooming in great perfection in the collection of the Marquis of Lothian, at Newbattle, Dalkeith. The plant, which stands one foot in height, and is well furnished with good foliage, produced two spikes of its charming flowers, fourteen on each spike. The sepals and petals are of a delicate lavender blue colour, barred and veined with a deeper tint of the same; the lip is small, and of a dark violet colour. It was a most showy object, and the amount of bloom upon it was extraordinary, considering the small size of the plant. We have seen larger specimens, but never one that has pleased us so well. Great credit is due to Mr. Priest for producing such a plant, which is increasing in size, and in the number of its flowers every year. There Is a good collection of Orchids being formed at this place, where the houses are suitable for their cultivation, and the plants are well looked after and cared for.—B. S. W.

BURLINGTONIA CANDIDA. [Plate 18.] Native of Demerara.

Epiphytal. _Pseudobulbs_ elliptic-oblong, compressed, monophyllous. _Leaves_ evergreen, broadish oblong, acute, somewhat channelled. _Racemes_ pendulous, issuing from the base of the pseudobulbs, three to five-flowered. _Flowers_ two and a half inches long, white, semitransparent, with a delightful violet-like fragrance; _sepals_ projected forwards in the plane of the lip, the _dorsal_ one obovate-oblong, emarginate, the _anterior_ one bifid, linear-oblong, about half the length of the lip, curved sharply forwards, and channelled so as to closely invest the spur of the lip; _petals_ parallel with the sepals and lip, obovate, oblique, the base encircling the column, spreading at the apex; _lip_ parallel with the column, with a channelled claw, dilated and bilobed in front, cuneate below, decorated in the centre with a yellow bar, the disk furnished with four or five yellowish lamellæ on each side, of which the anterior ones are longer, the spur short, enclosed in the anterior sepal. _Column_ smooth, slender, clavate, with two fleshy teeth at the apex.

Burlingtonia candida, _Lindley_, _Botanical Register_, t. 1927; _Id._ _Paxton’s Flower Garden_, i. 158; _Rand’s Orchids_, 179; _Floral Magazine_, t. 548.

Rodriquezia candida, _Bateman in litteris_; _Reichenbach fil._, in _Walpers’ Annales Botanices Systematicæ_, vi., 695.

The genus _Burlingtonia_ was dedicated to the amiable and accomplished Countess of Burlington, and contains a few small-growing but very beautiful species, which come mostly from Brazil. The plant now under notice, which was the earliest introduction, and the type of the genus, was imported from Demerara, in British Guiana, so long since as 1834, by James Bateman, Esq., now a veteran in the study and cultivation of Orchids. It is consequently well-known to the growers and collectors of this class of plants.

As a subject for growing in a basket suspended from the roof, this species has few, if any, equals. When grown in this way, the pendent spikes of white flowers hanging over the sides of the basket produce a charming and distinct appearance.

The plant is compact-growing, and, like all the species of _Burlingtonia_, is evergreen. The pendent flower-spikes are produced from the sides of the pseudobulbs, and each bear from four to six flowers, which are white, marked with yellow in the throat, and have a slight but pleasant odour of violets.

_Burlingtonia candida_ should be grown in the Cattleya-house, in a basket or pan, suspended from the roof. Sphagnum moss, with a good drainage composed of crocks, is the best material for its roots, and the bulbs should be well elevated above the rim of the pan or basket. This plant delights in a plentiful supply of water at the roots—in fact, it should never be allowed to get dry, as it requires but little rest. It is propagated by division of the pseudobulbs.

Few insects attack this plant. The scale is the most frequent intruder, and this is easily removed by the use of a sponge and clean water.

Ferguslie House, Paisley.—We have been in the habit of visiting the gardens of T. Coates, Esq., for many years past, and have always been surprised to see the Orchids grown by Mr. Thompson, the gardener who has charge of them. There is no house specially devoted to the cultivation of this class of plants, but they are grown in different houses intermixed with stove-flowering plants, foliage plants, and ferns, and in no instance have we seen East Indian Orchids grown to greater perfection. We have from time to time witnessed the progress of the specimens we are about to enumerate—in fact, we have seen them grown on from quite small plants purchased some ten or twelve years ago, and the size to which they have attained during this time, viz., up to the first week in September, 1881, will no doubt astonish some of our readers, and convince them it is not true that Orchids cannot be cultivated unless they have houses set apart for their especial benefit. In order to show the error of this conclusion, we will name a few of the Specimens that we saw growing on one side of a span-roofed house, with stove plants on the centre stage. _Aërides suavissimum_, grown from a small plant, is now a fine specimen three feet high, having four stems, and in perfect health, the foliage reaching down to the pot; it bore twenty spikes of its long racemes of flowers, many of them having thirty-seven flowers on a spike, and was one of the most beautiful objects that have come under our notice. There is also another plant produced from the same specimen, bearing twelve spikes of its lovely blossoms, which were in full beauty. _A. Warnerii_ is a well-grown specimen, having several stems two to three feet in height, and this blooms freely every year. _A. virens_, is also a fine plant, with three stems three feet in height. _A. affine_ is a wonderful specimen of good cultivation; it is generally of slow growth, but in this case it has not proved so. _A. crispum_ again, is well cultivated, having two stems nearly three feet high, and perfect, and there is also a second plant of the same, three feet in height. _A. Fieldingii_ is a fine specimen. _Vanda tricolor_, a well-furnished plant, and _V. suavis_ four feet high, with three stems, are both beautifully grown. A plant of the curious long-tailed _Angræcum sesquipedale_, from eighteen inches to two feet in height, has four stems, and is undoubtedly the best grown specimen we have seen. _Phalænopsis Schilleriana_, a good specimen, with seven of its beautifully-marked leaves, is growing suspended over the centre table. There are other choice Orchids, such as _Cypripediums_, _Cœlogynes_, &c. We also noticed, grown in two other houses, intermixed with various plants, beautiful specimens of _Lælia Turnerii_, _L. elegans_, _L. anceps_, _Cattleya Trianæ_, and others. There are also well-grown examples of _Calanthe Masuca_, of _Dendrobium_, and other good Orchids; but space will not admit of these being here enumerated.—B. S. W.

ANGULOA RUCKERII SANGUINEA. [Plate 19.] Native of Colombia.

Epiphytal. _Pseudobulbs_ large, ovate-oblong, four to six inches high, furrowed when mature. _Leaves_ several, growing from the apex of the younger pseudobulbs, broadly lanceolate, acute, two to two and a half feet long and four to six inches broad, strongly ribbed and plaited. _Flower-scapes_ radical, one-flowered, shorter than the leaves, clothed below with imbricated sheathing bracts. _Flowers_ large, fleshy, nearly erect; _sepals_ roundish with an apiculus, strongly convex, conniving into a semi-globular shape, which with their nearly erect position gives them a somewhat tulip-like appearance, creamy yellow outside, and of a deep sanguineous red on the inner surface; _petals_ similar in form and colour to the sepals; _lip_ clawed, subconvolute, three-lobed, the lateral lobes broadish and obtuse, the middle portion hairy, funnel-shaped and two-lipped, the front lobe tridentate, and with the middle part crimson blotched and barred with white. _Column_ entire, creamy white, spotted with crimson.

Anguloa Ruckerii sanguinea, _Lindley_ in _Gardeners’ Chronicle_, 1852, 271; _Hooker_, _Botanical Magazine_, t. 5384; _Williams’ Orchid Growers’ Manual_, ed. iv., 90; ed. v., 92.

The subject of our present illustration is an exceedingly rare plant, and is met with in only a few collections. In its habit of growth and general appearance it resembles the type _Anguloa Ruckerii_, but it is very distinct in colour, and is altogether a more desirable plant, the flowers being of a much richer colour—a deep rich blood-red spotted with a darker tint of the same—whereas in the original _A. Ruckerii_ they are of a fine orange colour spotted with dark brown.

The growth of this plant is very majestic, producing as it does bulbs four to six inches high, and leaves from eighteen to thirty inches long, by four to six inches broad. The flowers, which proceed from the base of the pseudobulb, are erect, tulip-shaped, and of great substance and size, lasting as long as four weeks in perfection. _A. Ruckerii sanguinea_ is a very suitable plant for exhibition purposes on account of the distinct appearance produced by its massive flowers when intermixed with other Orchids.