GARDEN NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2677, 5 July 1905, Page 10

GARDEN NOTES.

ORCHIDS This is one of the most natural and welldefined orders of plants in the vegetable kingdom. It consists of numerous genera and species. Plants of this order are found in all paits of the world, and they ere chiefly perennial and herbaceous. The flowera are monandrous, and the germen one-oelled They are more prized for their beauty and the strangeness of their flowers than for any dietetic or medicinal value they possess. , Many of them are found on the trunks and branches of trees. They are not parasites, but epiphytes. Such is the concise description given by £ favourite writer on this flower » few years ago, adding perfume as one of its great attractions. No particular line of treatment can be recommended, seeing that the plant is but rarely found in cultivation, and these only of the higher order. No one in this part of the world has thought of making a collection of natural orchids for display, profuse though they are in distribution. The attractions of the natural plant would not be sufficient-^ to warrant such a course, and only by the introduction of cultivated varieties have they come into any repute. Many years ago the late Mr j Edmund •Smith, of the Dunedin Savings Bank, one of the most enthusiastic of amateurs, contemplated setting up an orchid house for their accommodation, as he had acquired many specimens of high merit, which, growing in a conservatory or greenhouse, lost the greater part of their effect from their separation, and which would have been maintained if grown en masse. The time has now corns round, however, when a marked stride will be made, the moving spirits being the Hon. George M'Lean, Mr R. GlendinLng, and several others on a smaller soale, all of whom are taking steps in advance. In this connection a short description of Highbury, the residence of the Right Hon. Joseph Cham'berlaro, P.C., curtailed from a more elaborate slketch, may be of interest: — On entering the grounds and l lookj ing into tho planthouses, it will be seen I that although there are good collections of j other plants, orchids are given first place. All the popular genera are represented, but of cyprepediums there are fewer plants than odontoglossums, dendrobium, catfcleyas, loelias, phaloenopsis^ and bigeneric and specific iiybrids from these. The showy species are given more encouragement than those remarkable chiefly for their ourious flowers, as pleurothallis. restrepias, etc. Ocelogyne cristata, for instance, which is one of the most floriferous orchids, and one of which the flowers have a high decorative value, is represented by several specimens in great pans, each of which has a circumference of 12ft. It is an indication of the successful culture of this species that they generally produce about 500 spikes cf flowers, and the Chatsworth variety bears aS-many as six flowers on a spike. In no collection could ccelogynes appear in better conditon. Of a very different type are the phaloenopsis, for they are among the species thac give considerable trouble in most collections. • Ab Highbury there are nearly 100 plants, and their appearance is indicative of excellent culture. Tho collection is under the immediate car© of Mr M'Kay, who had charge, until three years ago, of the orclnd house at the Royal Gardens. Kew. Cattleyas are^grown very well, and the choicest rattleyas hybrids and Icelia cattleyas are added to the collection from time to time. Although cyprepediums are not present in lar<*e numbers, a species that is not one of the easiest^ to grow succeeds well — that is, O. nisenin, which furnishes a pan at least lft in diameter, and growa and flowerd as freely as could be wished. Like all orchid specialists, Mr Chamberlain is not content merely to cultivate orchids, but ho spends, considerable timo and takes personal interest in raising seedlings from selected crossings, and some very valuable hybrids have thus been raised at Highbury.

Most of the plant houses .are spanroofed structures, that open at one end into a long corridor, which, by means _of a fernery, is connected with the drawing room, thus enabling a tour to be made through them without xhe visitor having

to go into the open air. One of these houses contains rhododrendwms, which were formerly grown in a bed, but as they failed to flower as freely as when cultivated in pots, they wore lifted and potted. The collection includes upwards of two dozen of the very best varieties. Another feature is the hippeastrums, of which a great number are grown. Mr Chamberlain, like Captain Holford and others, has raised numerous seedlings of these, showing bulbous plants from crosses ! selected by himself, and with such a collection it ;s possible to have plants in flower from November to the commencement of summer. Carnations are cultivated largely, and with gratifying success. Other species of plants include begonias, roses (for which two houses are reserved), cinerarias, mignonette, Boronia megastima, and other sweet-soanted flowers — richardias, caladiums, eucharias, paneratiums, clivias, pelargoniums, etc. There is also a good kitchen garden, a few houses being reserved for forcing fruits and vegetables. All members of the family exhibit much interest in everything that pertains to the garden I. M. I. Messrs Skene and Fleming, seedsmen, etc., Stuart stsreet, have sent us a copy of a neat little catalogue which they have issued for the coming planting season. The catalogue is priced, and a good deal of useful information, is given in small compass. Mr W. A. Boucher, fruit instructor, told a Wanganui audience that the Horticultural Department has been pursuing activ* inquiries in regard to the parasite of the codlin moth discovered at Compere, in Spain. Although this insect is in high repute as nn enemy of the moth, it is not yet determined whether it will prove such a perfect success as the fruitgrowers hope. As soon as the Department was thoroughly convinced of the parasite's ability it would be prepared to authorise its importation into the colony with a view to its ultimate distribution among the fruitgrowers.