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Cun E We fot a oo Wiecere ieee cere - vs bono rs nian ee fi bresbered rye Wi ve moe =H ld tn oy da Vantin yee ae yt i ry bays * ely ee Pep ie Baraat ae sped : pabeumspiminit grrmirencn fiat ies pair i as uma ie inroads Hes ddigt nw nr oe Fad Aa Nea deer eo 1 par vebeion ts") is el or a aa nine eee if y ie Leis Wp i open ie se Ae FERRITE HATA RPA ' ie 4 all tite bitte i ree ntdicnidedd pitied Metre nett epee iie 4 ae oe a L fy tine cae rhein es adeno He ee enbea areas 4 tr Pa Varo rnesey pe pe irae ov ie or es itd ret ies Pa Petesrninay Ge a pene inispiiny: Mrs wiper rts matin ir seapienrarice eon jeep alt iM lo precede eK inf PSNR MR OAT ‘4 4 PALL pHi iii , ju : PRP ATRL 4 efi GLY ree ae oes nourapinrincr crear i ciara iciouareearatd ees eA ol a » nia f eee ent a all ii Cari ih et Oenitad i Paddles Lyte Lat pdf ae eae iY Yd eae as ets roeniie vice ai bin Le a a ali Dy feb ny ied Ad ieedee led rf ai Pur Br ee "i Volta ot ee at ts eneae-ee ide Be Held etttes Al ett eee te eee ee nce Oe eT OR CR Ome RI of - Cap ferent reer in pera Loser age Pe ieee rae it rales a “Sa S fist fi iin omar eps hs Bee eee emieeiey Bia dad tir see iDpnnie yaihy LAidelaes ae ae: oe us gee Me es as ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY “Sy NEW York STATE COLLEGES OF AGRICULTURE AND HoME ECONOMICS AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY ornell University Library sp 409.c970r rchids for everyone, Cornell University The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924003330374 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE PHAIUS NORMAN. ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE BY CHARLES H. CURTIS, F.R.H.S. FORMERLY KEEPER OF THE ORCHID COLLECTION AT THE ROYAL GARDENS, KEW MCMX LONDON: J. M. DENT & SONS, Lrp. NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO. CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION : : : : i z é I HYBRIDISATION, SEEDS, AND SEEDLINGS . , : 6 THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS— ADA i ‘ x i : 2 ‘ . 22 AERIDES . ‘ ‘5 ; ? . : : 22 ANGRAECUM 3 i : : ‘ : . 24 ANGULOA . A - é . P - . 27 ARPOPHYLLUM ; ‘ ; : Be ‘ : 28 BRASSAVOLA é ‘ : - 5 ‘ : 28 Brassia . : . : S . F 28 BRASSOCATLALIA . : F ‘ : : : 29 BRaASsso-CaTTLEYA . : : . . : 3 30 BRASSO-LALIA. : : ‘ : . . 32 CALANTHE ‘ 3 : : F ‘ 33 CaTTLEYA : ‘ 3 7 7 ; 3 37 Cuysis_. : : : . . . : 45 CocHLiopDa ‘ ‘ i i : ‘ P 46 C@LOGYNE ‘ ; ‘ ‘ : ‘ - 46 CyMBIDIUM ; ‘ ‘ : : é . 50 CypRIPEDIUM : ; ‘ ‘i ; , 54 DENDROBIUM : : : ‘ F ‘ ‘ 83 Disa . . : . : . : : 98 ErIpDENDRUM F ‘ j ‘ z - ‘ 100 EprPpHRONITIS 5 ; ; ‘ : ‘ 102 vi ORCHIDS OF LESSER VALUE— ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS—Continued— Laia LALIO-CATTLEYA . LycasTE . MaAsDEVALLIA MaxiILLaRia MILronia . OponTioDa ODONTOGLOSSUM . ONCcIDIUM Puatrus PHALANOPSIS PLATYCLINIS PLEIONE . RENANTHERA SoBRALIA . SopHRO-CATTLEYA SoPHRO-LALIA SoPHRONITIS THUNIA VANDA ZYGOCOLAX ZYGOPETALUM ACACALLIS ACANTHOPHIPPIUM ACINETA . AGANISIA . ANCISTROCHILUS . ANGCTOCHILUS ANSELLIA . ARACHNANTHE ARUNDINA CONTENTS vil ORCHIDS OF LESSER VALUE—Continued— PAGE ASPASIA . ; : : ‘ ‘ ‘ é 173 BaRTHOLINA : 5‘ : : : : : 174 BAaTEMANNIA : : ‘ ; ; 3 : 174 BirRENARIA : ; ‘ : i ‘ , 175 BLETIA . : ; : , . ; 175 BoLiea . ‘ : ‘ : : 2 F 176 BROUGHTONIA : zg : F ‘ : . 176 BULBOPHYLLUM. : : : : : ‘ 177 CaLopocon : ; ; ; : : ‘ 178 Catypso . P : : ‘ i . P 178 CaMaRIDIUM ‘ : ‘ : i : ‘ 179 CaMaROTIS : . : ‘ . F ‘ 179 CaTAsETUM i : : : : : j 179 CHONDRORHYNCHA , ; : ; : 181 CiRRHOPETALUM . . ‘ F : : ‘ 181 CoLax : : ‘ ‘ : : ; 182 CorvANTHES : : : ‘ : : ‘ 183 CoMPARETTIA : ‘ : : : F 183 CyYcNocHES : : ‘ : : : : 184 CyrToPoDIUM : : : é ; . ‘ 184 Diacrium. : : ? : . : 185 EpI-caTTLEYA , ; : ‘ i . , 186 Epi-L2.ia . : : : i . ; 7 186 Eria ; ; : i : : , : 187 Erropsis_ . : : : ; : ‘ 187 EvLopHia . ; ; , ; ; ‘ 187 EULoPHIELLA : : F ‘ : ' : 188 Goncora . F . ; ; ' , : 188 GRAMMANGIS ; : i : : : a2 189 GRAMMATOPHYLLUM : : : . ; : 189 HaBENARIA : : : : : : : 190 Hovu.LetTia : , ’ é ; F . 192 Ionopsis . : f : : : : : 192 vill ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE ORCHIDS OF LESSER VALUE—Continued— IpsEs MEGACLINIUM MicrostTyLis Moorea MorMoDeEs NEOBENTHAMIA ORNITHOCEPHALUS PAPHINIA PERISTERIA PHaro-cALANTHE PHalo-CYMBIDIUM . PLEUROTHALLIS RESTREPIA RHYNCHOSTYLIS RopRIGUEZIA SACCOLABIUM ScHOMBURGKIA ScuTIcaRIA SPATHOGLOTTIS STANHOPEA TRICHOCENTRUM TRICHOPILIA TRICHOSMA VANILLA . ‘WARSCEWICZELLA . HARDY ORCHIDS A CALENDAR OF REMINDERS INDEX ILLUSTRATIONS COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS Phaius Norman Dendrobium rubens grandiflorum Odontioda Thwaitesii Lelia-cattleya King Manoel . Lelio-cattleya Canhamiana alba Brasso-cattleya. Maroni Aerides suavissimum . Anguloa Ruckeri Brasso-cattleya Cliftoni Calanthe Veitchii Cattleya Mossia Cattleya Robertii Ceelogyne pandurata . Cymbidium insigne Cymbidium Lowianum, Pitt's variety . Cypripedium insigne varieties . Lelio-cattleya Wellsiana Cypripedium Thalia . Cattleya Hardyana Brassia verrucosa Facing page Frontispiece 1X x ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE Cattleya Warscewiezii var. Othello Dendrobium Brymerianum Dendrobium fimbriatum oculatum Dendrobium thyrsiflorum Disa grandiflora Epidendrum vitellinum majus Lelia anceps varieties Lelio-cattleya Sylvia . Lycaste Skinneri hellemense Lycaste Skinneri, fine variety Cochlioda Noetztiana . Odontioda Charlesworthii Odbontoglossum Harryanum Odontoglossum crispum Odontoglossum triumphans Odontoglossum armainvillierense, Westonbirt variety Odontoglossum Rolfee Odontoglossum Eleanor 4 : - Odontoglossum amabile Oncidium Kramerianum Oncidium Marshallianum Sobralia Veitchi Vanda cerulea Sobralias, Group of . Lelio-cattleyas, Group of Lelia prestans Oncidium macranthum Cattleya Pittiana Facing page 85 86 91 ILLUSTRATIONS Laka tenebrosa, Walton Grange variety Stanhopea tigrina Trichopilia suavis Odontoglossum Uro-Skinneri . Lelio-cattleya Lustre BLACK AND WHITE ILLUSTRATIONS Cattleya Mendelii . ‘ Fi . Lelio-cattleya Fascinator Odontoglossum spectabile Odontoglossum Phebe Lalio-cattleya Canhamiana Aerides Houlletiana Brasso-cattleya Marone Lelio-cattleya Dominiana Cattleya Warscewiczii Cattleya Mossia (pale variety) Chysis bractescens . ¢ : F Cattleya Schredere Cypripedium Curtisit Cypripedium Lairessei Cypripedium Fairrieanum Cypripedium cenanthum superbum Cypripedium Maudie Cypripedium insigne Sandera j - Cypripedium Leander var. Thompsoni . Dendrobium Pierardii Xl Facing page 194 12 17 20 24 29 32 39 42 46 50 55 58 63 67 70 75 78 82 X11 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE Facing page Dendrobium Cybele. i ‘ “ : ; . 86 Dendrobium pulchellum : : : : 4 91 Dendrobium Wardianum ‘ : ‘ ‘ 95 Dendrobium formosum giganteum ‘ ; : : : 96 Dendrobium aureum , , : : . : : IoI Dendrobium Phalaenopsis Schrederianum ‘ ‘ F 104 Odontoglossum crispum, spotted variety . , : 108 Lycaste Skinneri, light variety : ; ; : . 113 Masdevallias : ; P ; : : 116 Miltonia St Andre . ‘ ; : : : : 120 Odontioda Bradshawie Cooksonii ‘ ; : ; ; 125 Odontoglossum plant, with new growth F : 3 129 Odontoglossum Rossii rubescens ' : : : 130 Odontoglossum Wrilckeanum . é : F , 142 Odontoglossum Ossultoni : : ‘ E : i 144 Oncidium concolor. : ; : : F : 148 Odontoglossum crispum, rosy variety . : . : 152 Oncidium crispum . ; : P : : 157 Vanda Sanderiana . ‘ 3 ‘ ‘ 2 : 164 Zygopetalum crinitum 5‘ : ‘ : : 168 Cattleya Triane é . ; : . 176 Trichopilia Backhouseana ‘ ‘ F ! ; ; 202 Cattleya citrina : : ; P ; : 2 208 INTRODUCTION THE object of the present work is to extend greatly the popularity of Orchids among that ever-increasing class of business people who have a great love for plants and flowers, and find in their study and culture a delightful recreation and an absorbing hobby. The arrangement of the subject matter is unique. No previous attempt has been made to group Orchids according to their value for general cultivation, and it is believed that the system will appeal strongly to those who contemplate the culture of Orchids, as well as to those thousands who have newly fallen under the fascination of these wonderfully beautiful and interesting plants. This arrangement should be the means of saving beginners from much vexation of spirit, and from the disappointment and loss that are sure to follow a bad selection of kinds to start with. In the first group the best kinds with which to commence Orchid culture are indicated clearly, and in the selection due regard has been paid to beauty, interest, ease of culture, and cost. The best methods of culture are described, and many of those little details that make all the difference between success and comparative failure are pointed out. For those who, after achieving some success, are willing to incur the expense of obtaining and cul- tivating them, the rarer and more highly-priced Orchids are also described; while Orchid genera of secondary importance, and those that appeal by their quaintness and botanical interest, are included towards the end of the book. This style of arrangement may not please the Orchid specialist, A 1 2 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE but as there is an unusually complete Index to the work, the advanced grower will suffer no real inconvenience. Many of the old ideas associated with Orchids and Orchid culture were, viewed in the light of present knowledge, most extraordinary, and even now there are some excellent folk who find it difficult to believe that an Orchid may be a very beautiful, interesting, and useful plant, and not necessarily a weird some- thing, more reptilian than vegetable, that is ready to ensure its own existence at the expense of some other life. To their minds the plant must be able and willing to do something wonderful in the way of insect destruction, or, at the very least, must be an insidious parasite. Many also believe that an Orchid flower must mimic some bird, beast, insect, or reptile, and unless they can find some fancied likeness to these things, they are not easily convinced that the flower you show them is really an Orchid. Very slowly does this idea die; indeed, it seems to be so deeply seated in the minds of many well-educated people that they will hardly be persuaded that Anthuriums, Tillandsias, Vriesias, Nepenthes, and some other curious plants are not Orchids, while they find it hard to believe CymBipIuM EBURNEUM, LycASTE SKINNERI, DisA GRANDIFLORA, and PHAIUS GRANDIFOLIUS are Orchids. Happily, since glass houses have become so cheap, and modern heating apparatus .has so greatly reduced the cost of heating, Orchids have advanced in popular estimation. More- over, the frequency with which Orchids are displayed at the regular exhibitions in London and Manchester, and at the leading provincial shows in the United Kingdom; in Paris, Ghent, Brussels, and Berlin on the Continent; and in Boston and New York in America, has drawn attention to their wondrous beauty, merit, and interest, their great diversity of form, colour, and habit, CATTLEYA MENDELII INTRODUCTION 3 and also to the ease with which many of them may be cultivated by amateur and professional grower alike. The brilliant hues of Orchid blooms, the exquisite colour combinations so many of them present, and, above all, the grace and longevity of the flowers have done more than anything else to make Orchids popular. The further fact that many of the most desirable species are not more expensive than the best varieties of hardy florists’ flowers has induced hosts of amateurs to try their luck with a few Odontoglossums, Cypripediums, Coelogynes, Lycastes, or Cymbidiums, and with great success. Friends have found to their surprise that many of these Orchids may be grown in a glass house where the minimum winter temperature is not lower than 40° Fahr., and so they have been interested and the cult still further extended. The huge importations of many of our most beautiful and popular Orchids that arrived about twenty years or so ago gave a great fillip to the cult simply because the plants could often be purchased as cheaply as bedding plants, and small lots were purchased at auction sales in the same speculative spirit as Dutch bulbs are bought. Millions of plants must have been killed by inattention and over-kindness during the intervening years, but thousands have lived to delight their cultivators, and to prove to those who failed that Orchids do not present insuperable cultural difficulties. One other matter has served to advance the popularity of Orchids and lead to their greatly extended culture, and it is their tenacity of life. Imported plants emphasise this point, for what besides Orchids could stand the strain imposed upon them by being torn from trees or rocks, laid out in the sun to dry, packed in wooden cases, transported over leagues of tropical country, and shipped thousands of miles overseas, and still retain so much life that they start into vigorous growth under suitable conditions? 4 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE With some notable exceptions Orchids are not easily killed if kept in a warm, moist atmosphere. The florist fully understands the value of Orchid blooms in choice designs. Very often these are cheaper than other flowers because of the long time they remain in good condition when cut and placed in water. The cost of cultivating Orchids is not greater than the cost of growing the great majority of plants needing glass protection, nor, unless especially rare species or unique and beautiful varieties and hybrids are purchased, is the initial cost of the plants greater. In addition to providing selections, descriptions, and cultural directions of the highest value, an effort has been made in this work to produce illustrations of outstanding merit, in the hope that these may bring before the public in a more striking and truthful manner than words or paintings, the beauty of form and colour Orchids possess in such a high degree. The coloured illustrations are from photographs in colour taken by Mr T. E. Waltham, of Upper Tulse Hill, London, S.W. ; while the half-tone illustrations are reproduced from photographs taken by Mr A. J. Campbell, of 55 and 56 Chancery Lane, London, E.C. The plants and flowers represented are from various sources, but chiefly from the private collections of Lt.-Col. Sir G. L. Holford, K.C.V.O., C.LE., etc., Westonbirt, Tetbury, Gloucester; Sir Jeremiah Colman, Bt., Gatton Park, Reigate; H. S. Goodson, Esq., Fairlawn, Putney ; and R. G. Thwaites, Esq., Christchurch Road, Streatham ; and from the famous trade collections of Messrs Charlesworth & Co., Haywards Heath; Messrs Sander & Sons, St Albans, and Bruges; Messrs J. Cypher & Sons, Cheltenham ; Messrs Stuart Low & Co., Bush Hill Park, Enfield; Messrs Jas. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea; and Messrs J. & A. Macbean, Cooksbridge. In more recent times hybrid Orchids have come to the front eee _ i aa DENDROBIUM RUBENS GRANDIFLORUM. INTRODUCTION 5 in a wonderful manner, and there is no doubt whatever that home- raised plants are far more easily cultivated than imported ones. Of course, the very finest varieties of many hybrids are quite beyond the circumstances of the vast majority of growers, but year after year there is an improvement in the lower-priced seedlings, simply because the parent plants are being more carefully selected. In all probability, as the years pass and the importation of popular species becomes more difficult, we shall find the finer forms of the latter reproduced from seed at home, and so the “ weedy” forms will gradually disappear from cultivation. HYBRIDISATION, SEEDS, AND SEEDLINGS Tue history of Orchid hybridisation is a most interesting study, but it is an extremely difficult matter to follow the history in all its details during these later years because of the ever-increasing number of those who make a business or hobby of raising hybrids or cross-breds. Not only in our own land but on the Continent and in America hybridists have been busy. No doubt the dis- covery of the fact that Orchids could be hybridised gave a great impetus to the improvement of plants, flowers, fruits, and vegetables, and led to the conduct of such improvement along well and carefully considered lines. About the middle of the last century Dr Harris, of Exeter, became interested in Orchids, and he suggested to Mr J. Dominy, foreman to Messrs J. Veitch & Sons, at Exeter, the possibility of raising Orchids through the medium of artificial cross-fertilisation, and he showed Mr Dominy how the work could be accomplished. Mr Dominy was quick to act upon the advice given, and he made a large number of crosses at Exeter and subsequently at Chelsea. The first hybrid to flower was the result of a cross between Calanthe Masuca and C. furcata, and this was named C. Dominu, after the clever raiser. This was in 1856, three years after Dominy began the work of cross-fertilisation, a work he appears to have commenced with Cattleyas. CATTLEYA HYBRIDA was the next artificially raised Orchid to appear, and this flowered in 1859, 6 TISALIVMHL VAOILNOdO HYBRIDISATION, SEEDS, & SEEDLINGS 7 and though the parentage was not recorded in those days with the accuracy that now characterises the work of hybridists, it is generally considered that the parents were C. guttata and C. Loddi- gest. Three months later, in November 1859, C. DominraANA appeared as the result of a cross between C. maxima and C. intermedia. CALANTHE VEITCHU, still one of the most useful and popular of autumn flowering Orchids, first flowered in December 1859, its parents being C. rosea and C. vestita. Under the name of GoopyerA Domini the first bi-generic hybrid appeared in June 1861; its parents were Hemaria (Goodyera) discolor and Dossinia marmorata (Anectochilus Lowii), and so, in accordance with modern usage, the name of the hybrid must now be given as DossintmaRIA Domini. This hybrid seems to have disappeared from cultivation. The first Lelio-cattleya was L.-c. EXONIENSIS, derived from Cattleya Mossia and Lelia crispa ; this flowered in 1863. The first Lelia hybrid was L. PircHeErt, obtained from L. Perrinii and L. crispa. In 1867 PuHarus 1RRORATUS flowered and was so named by Reichenbach; its parents were Phaius grandifolius and Calanthe vestita. The forerunner of the great crowd of hybrid Cypri- pediums that now serve such a useful purpose in our collections was C. HarrisianumM, named after the Exeter surgeon who initiated Dominy into the mystery of Orchid cross-fertilisation, and obtained by crossing C. vil/osum with the pollen of C. bar- batum. This flowered in 1869. During the following year C. DomIniANnaA and C, VEXILLARIUM appeared, the latter a cross between C. Fairrieanum and C. barbatum. But at least one other person was busy in a similar direction, and in 1871 Mr Cross, gardener to Lady Ashburton, Melchet Court, Romsey, flowered CypRIPEDIUM ASHBURTONIA, which he had raised by crossing C. bar- batum with C. insigne; two years later he had a further success in 8 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE C. Crosstanum, derived from C. insigne and C. venustum. Mr John Seden now appeared on the scene as the successor to Mr Dominy, and in 1873 his first hybrid, C. SepEN1, was flowered. This resulted from a cross between C. Schlimii and C. longifolium. Denprosium AINswoRTHH, raised by Dr Ainsworth’s collection, at Lower Broughton, appeared in 1874, its parents being D. aureum and D. mobile, and it is on record that this hybrid flowered eleven years after the seeds were sown. Cuysis SEDENII and ZYGOPETALUM SEDENH, both raised at Chelsea by Mr Seden, flowered in 1874. From this time onward hybridists and hybrids increased rapidly. The fine La&tio-caTTteya Domintana flowered in 1878; the first Continental hybrid, CaTTLeyA CULUMMATA, appeared in 1881; the first hybrid Thunia, T. VerrcuiaNna, was raised both at Manchester and Chelsea, and flowered in 1885; in 1886 SOPHRO-CATTLEYA BATEMANIANA appeared at Chelsea, and was the first hybrid derived from the handsome little Sopbronitis grandiflora. In the latter year an artificially raised PHALANOPSIS INTERMEDIA flowered at Chelsea, and proved that P. Aphrodite and P. rosea were the parents of the wild plant already known. About this time the late Mr Norman C. Cookson, of Wylam- on-Tyne, and the late Mr Drewett O. Drewett, of Riding-mill- on-T'yne, both exhibited hybrid Cypripediums of their own raising, and in later years the former raised numerous beautiful hybrid Phaius, Calanthes and Odontoglossums, being assisted by his able gardener, Mr H. J. Chapman, who still manages the Oakwood collection for Mrs Cookson, a collection in which her son, Mr Clive Cookson, takes a deep and practical interest. ‘The Messrs Sander brought forward MAsDEVALLIA GELENIANA in 1886; ZyGocOLax VEITCHII appeared in 1887; EpipENDRUM O’BRIENIANUM in 1888 ; MIL- TONIA BLEUANA in 1889; and the beautiful Brasso-cATTLEYA VeITcur in the same year; the writer well remembers the sensa- MAOLVNIOSVA VAN TLLVO-OTTH#'L HYBRIDISATION, SEEDS, & SEEDLINGS 9 tion this fine hybrid between Brassavola Dighyana and Cattleya Mossie caused at the Chelsea Nursery when it flowered, and the great interest taken when it was exhibited before the Royal Horticultural Society. Cymsiprum Verrcutr also flowered in that memorable year, but for a long time it was called Cymbidium eburneo-Lowianum. ‘The first hybrid Odontoglossum was raised on the Continent by M. Leroy, who proved the parentage of ODONTOGLOssuM WILCKEANUM by raising it from O. crispum and O. luteopurpureum; it flowered in 1890. A year later an arti- ficially raised O. EXCELLENS flowered at Chelsea, the parents of this elegant Orchid being O. nobile (Pescatorei) and O. triumphans. It is impossible in the space at command to enumerate all the hybrids that appeared from 1890 onward, but a few deserve mention for the purpose of indicating the progress made. Disa Veitcuil flowered in 18y1; Vanpa Miss Joaguim in 1893; SOBRALIA VEITCHIT in 1894; SOPHRO-LHLIA L@TA and Ept- LELIA HarpyAna (Sander) in the same year; ODONTOGLOssSUM Cooxsoni in 1896; Epi-cATTLEYA MATUTINA in 1897; SPATHO- GLOTTIS VEITCHII in the same year; BRaAsso-CAT-LE&LIA Law- RENCEI in 1897, the first tri-generic Orchid. M. Chas. Vuylsteke, of Ghent; M. Chas. Maron, of Brunoy; M. A. de Lairesse, of Liege; M. Peeters, of Brussels; Mr De Barri Crawshay, of Sevenoaks; Mr W. Thompson, of Stone; and Messrs Charles- worth & Co., then of Bradford, all now appeared prominently in the ranks of hybridists, and the zeal of the earlier raisers was in no way abated. ODONTIODA VUYLSTEKEZ created a sensation at the Temple Show of 1904, and showed the great possibilities of combinations between Odontoglossums and Cochliodas, and in the years that have followed many beautiful Odontiodas have appeared to enrich our Orchid collections. In these recent years Messrs Charlesworth IO ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE & Co. have introduced many wonderful hybrids of great value for winter flowering, and La@iio-cATTLEYA CHARLESWORTHII may be cited as an example. This firm, and that of Messrs Sander & Sons, are at present very much to the front as hybridists, while in private establishments Lt.-Col. Sir G. L. Holford, K.C.V.O., C.L.E., etc., Westonbirt, Tetbury, and Mr Alexander, his able Orchid grower, have come prominently before the public with Cypripediums of high merit and a grand set of Lzlio-cattleyas, many of which are bright yellow, and flower in the dull months of the year, L.-c. GOLDEN Brauty and L.-c. GOLDEN ORIOLE being a fine pair from this source. Mr Thwaites, of Streatham, has given considerable atten- tion to Dendrobiums, and Sir Jeremiah Colman, Bart., Gatton Park, Reigate, with his gardeners, Mr Bound and Mr Collier, have also been successful in the same direction. Mr G. F. Moore, Chardwar, Bourton-on-the- Water, and Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., Burford Lodge, Dorking, with his Orchid grower, Mr W. H. White, have all added several hybrids, while many others who have entered the ranks as raisers will probably be more prominently before the public in the years to come. Turning from these interesting historical references to the practical side of the question, it will be worth while to first consider the structure of an Orchid flower. The differences between Orchids and other flowers lie chiefly in the structure of the sexual organs. ‘The outer ring of segments in an Orchid flower is com- posed of three sepals, then come three petals, but one of these is generally more developed than the rest, being larger, brighter, and somewhat different in shape from the other two, and this is the labellum or lip. Right in the centre of the flower is a stout fleshy process, the column, bearing at its apex the little pollen masses, carefully covered by a protecting cap which, when the pollen is ripe, 1s easily removed by an intruding insect. The pollen masses leELIVG-CATTLEYVA KING ALANOEL, HYBRIDISATION, SEEDS, & SEEDLINGS 11 are connected, and may be in groups of two, four, six, or eight, their number being the chief means by which the different genera are distinguished, apart from outer and more readily visible evidences. The stigmatic surface usually lies a little below the pollen masses and on the under side of the column. Nature has so arranged matters that an insect is attracted to the flower by the nectar and the colouring of the lip, and when the insect emerges from the flower it pays for the feast by carrying away the pollen masses on its head or back. These adhere tightly by means of their sticky bases, and so are not easily detached, but when the insect reaches the next Orchid flower the pollen masses are brought into contact with the sticky stigmatic surface, to which they adhere, and the insect is relieved of its burden and the flower is pollinated. Presently the pollen masses send down minute tubes into the ovary that lies at the base of the flower and forms a sort of foot stalk for it. Through these tubes the contents of the pollen masses are discharged into the ovary, and there fertilise the ovules, which in turn become seeds. At least that is the general course of things; but, alas, when man takes the place of the insect and transfers the pollen of one species or variety to the stigmatic surface of another the various processes do not always follow. Moreover, there is not seldom a development of the ovary that suggests fertilisation has taken place, but when the seed pod ripens it is found to contain nothing but chaff. If all has gone on satis- factorily the pod develops and the seeds ripen, but the seeds are so minute that very great care has to be taken of them or they will be lost. Hybrid animals are usually infertile, and so cannot perpetuate their kind, and a few hybrid plants are infertile in some degree. In the case of Orchids it has been found, however, that even where the pollen is not capable of fertilising its own or another flower, 12 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE the flower producing such pollen may be quite capable of receiving and becoming fertilised by the pollen from another and fertile source. In other words, some hybrids may have the maternal and not the paternal capacity. The time that elapses between pollination and fertilisation varies in different genera and species, but in most cases the effect of pollination may be seen in a few hours, the chief indication being the quick collapse of the sepals, petals, and lip. The period that elapses between pollination and the ripening of the seeds varies greatly. In the case of Bletias, Calanthes, and allied terres- trial Orchids, only a few weeks seems necessary, but in the case of most epiphytal Orchids, such as Cattleyas, Lzlias, Odontoglossums, etc., the period is usually about twelve months, or a little longer. It is a curious fact that the longer the seeds take to ripen the better they are. After the interesting work of pollination, and a record of the cross is made in a stud-book, against a number corresponding to one on a tiny celluloid label attached to the pollinated flower, there follows a time of more or less patient waiting for the seeds to ripen. If all goes well and good seeds result, the next business is that of sowing the seeds. The methods considered necessary to ensure successful germination when Orchid hybridisation was in its infancy, are not those generally followed to-day by the leading raisers. The practice of sowing the seeds on the surface of the compost in which a plant of the same or kindred species has been recently potted is still followed by some raisers for Cypripediums, Calanthes, Cymbidiums, Zygopetalums, Phaius, and other terres- trial kinds, but is rarely adopted for Odontoglossums, etc. Cattleyas, Lzlias, Brassias, Brassavolas, Epidendrums, Sophronitis, and similar Orchids, are best raised in an ordinary propagating case placed in a house where a warm, moist atmosphere AMUAVLOaAdS WASSO'ISOLNOdGO HYBRIDISATION, SEEDS, & SEEDLINGS 13 is at all times maintained. Here, given the same kind of careful attention that tropical and sub-tropical seeds receive, especially those that are very small, there is no good reason why fertile Orchid seeds should fail to germinate. In an ordinary stove house, with slips of glass over the seed pots, there is no difficulty in raising Orchids, but a propagating case in the same house gives greater protection, secures a more equable temperature, and serves to maintain a regularly moist atmosphere, and its use is therefore strongly advised. Under these conditions germination is rapid and the seedlings progress better than under the older method. A proper seed bed is a matter of importance. A rough sawn slice from the end of a scaffold pole does not at first sight seem to be a promising bed for the germination of seeds that may presently yield a plant worth hundreds of pounds sterling; it is, neverthe- less. A hole should be bored through the centre of the circular block, and the wood be then trimmed at its circumference to fit the pot to be used. This done, put the blocks in the rain-water tank to thoroughly soak. Clean pots must be well crocked and have the drainage covered with sphagnum. On to this foundation the block of soaked wood is placed, and kept in position by means of, chopped sphagnum and silver sand pressed firmly in the half- inch space allowed between the block and the pot. ‘Thoroughly moisten the whole and place in a warm house for a few hours, where it will become warm but not dry. The seed bed is now ready to receive the seeds, and these must be sown thinly and regularly over the rough surface of the wood. Directly after the seeds have been sown, place the properly labelled pot in the propagating case, and lightly shade it. When more moisture is needed, dip the base of the pot in tepid water, so that the moisture gradually soaks up into the wood block. This is a good method, but there is another that finds more 14 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE favour with the up-to-date hybridist. In this case four-inch pots are selected, cleaned, and crocked one-third of their depth. Pieces of calico or fine canvas, about four inches square, are then cut, and one is laid in the palm of the left hand. With the right hand a good handful of finely chopped sphagnum is placed in the centre of the material and the corners are then drawn together so that the whole forms a firm ball. A few stitches or a piece of fine raffia will serve to keep the ends of the canvas together, and the ball is then placed in the pot, with the smooth surface upward, and some finely chopped sphagnum is pressed between it and the pot. Finely chopped sphagnum is very necessary, because if not finely chopped the moss will soon grow vigorously and prove a source of danger to the tiny seedlings. Soak the whole in rain water, and when surplus water has drained away, and the seed bed is as warm as the atmosphere of the propagating case, sow the seeds thinly on the moist canvas surface, and subsequently treat as advised in the case of the wood-block seed bed. If the seeds are sown in spring or early summer, and all goes well, those raisers who have keen eyesight will be able to see a development in the seeds three or four days after sowing, while with the aid of a pocket lens the promise of successful germination will be even more apparent. As more Orchid seeds are lost through carelessness in watering than from all other causes, the need for close attention and the utmost care will be obvious. At the risk of some repetition it seems advisable to point out that success in raising Orchids from seeds depends a great deal more upon the treatment followed after the seeds have been sown, than upon any special method of pre- paring the seed bed. Orchid seeds are extremely light in most cases, so much so that when dry they will float away upon the air if exposed to the slightest breath. This being so, it follows that when they are sown the seeds may be washed from the seed bed if VETY VNVINVHNVO VAHTILIVO OITH'T HYBRIDISATION, SEEDS, & SEEDLINGS 15 water is given in any but the most careful manner. The water used should be soft, and at a temperature one or two degrees higher than that of the propagating case, and when the seed pots are gently lowered into the water the latter must not be allowed to soak upward too fast, or to rise high enough to float the seeds off the block or canvas, or even to move them. The length of time occupied in germination varies greatly. As already suggested, progress may be detected in three or four days in some cases, while in others the seeds may lie apparently dor- mant for the greater part of a year. This refers to different kinds of Orchids, but even with seeds from the same pod there may be a considerable difference in the time of germination, some remaining dormant after others have germinated and grown into tiny seed- lings just large enough to be transplanted. When germination is an accomplished fact it does not follow that all seedlings progress at the same rate. Some hybrid Cypripedium seedlings advance so slowly that a couple of years may elapse before they can be safely transferred from the seed bed. An Orchid seedling is a very minute body at first, and is in the form of a tiny green bit of vegetable matter, very different from the tiniest seedling among commoner flowering plants. The little green drop increases in size, and after some little time has elapsed a small leaf appears. Soon after this stage is reached the first root should appear, and its appearance may be taken as a sign that a suitable time for transplanting has arrived. Three, five, or more seedlings may at this stage be placed in one small pot, but amateur raisers should always remember that a seedling Orchid progresses most favourably when given a wee pot to itself and treated as a distinct individual. Questions of time and available space have always to be considered, but, as a general rule, time is eventually saved when each seedling is treated as an individual 16 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE from the beginning, rather than as one of a little colony growing in a larger pot. When several seedlings occupy the same pot one or two generally progress far more rapidly than the rest, but it would not be in the best interests of the majority if these were removed and given a separate existence before their brethren were sufficiently advanced to receive similar treatment. For all seedling epiphytal Orchids a finely chopped compost consisting of fibrous peat, broken leaves, and sphagnum, in equal parts, will be found suitable, but sufficient silver sand must be added to ensure porosity. For seedlings of terrestrial Orchids, such as Calanthes, Cypripediums, Phaius, etc., a little loam fibre should be added to the materials already advised. The pots must be perfectly clean and, if new, be thoroughly soaked in water and again dried before use. The need for perfect and ample drainage will be apparent because, while it is essential that the compost is never allowed to dry, it is equally essential that it shall not be sodden or sour. Into the prepared compost the seedlings should be placed firmly, and the work is best performed in a moist, shaded house, so that the seedlings are not exposed to a dry atmosphere when being transferred. A watering with tepid water, given through a fine rose, will complete the operation. Sufficient moisture must always be provided, ample shade, and the warm, moist atmosphere of a stove or intermediate house must be afforded for some time to come, and a sharp watch must be kept on the sphagnum lest it grow strong enough to overtop the little seedlings. Those who raise Orchids for profit rather than for pleasure know that time saved is also money saved, and so they do all in their power to reduce the period of time that must necessarily elapse between seed sowing and the appearance of the first flower. Formerly, raisers considered it the correct thing to follow Nature as closely as possible in their treatment of seedlings, forgetting that AGDHd WASSOTOOLNOMO HYBRIDISATION, SEEDS, & SEEDLINGS 17 Nature is cruel, and only looks to the survival of the fittest and the perpetuation of the type, while it is the duty of a raiser to secure the survival of the unlike, the unique, the beautiful, with very little regard to natural fitness, because, under cultivation, the plants so selected will not have to compete with others in the race of life. Remembering that most Orchids have a season of rest, and such season is usually a dry one, raisers followed Nature in this respect when dealing with seedlings as well as with matured plants. The result of this treatment, so far as the seedlings were concerned, was to retard progress materially, and, incidentally, to so weaken them that the time of flowering was long delayed and the difh- culties of cultivation were greatly increased. Modern raisers realise the fact that seedling Orchids must be “ grown on” steadily from germination to flowering, just as the seedlings of other flowering plants are or ought to be. Between these periods a check of any kind is most undesirable. Fortunately, if the con- ditions already advised, and as practised by the most successful raisers, are provided it is possible to flower Orchids as quickly after germination as it is to flower seedlings of most kinds of bulbous plants. But this fact has only become generally known during the last few years, and the wider knowledge has given a wonderful impetus to Orchid culture by showing that, speaking broadly, plants raised and brought up in the artificial conditions of our glass houses are far more easily cultivated than imported plants. The exceptions to this general rule are to be found in hybrids derived from parents of widely differing habit, or those from parents that are naturally weak growers. After the initial stages of growth have passed seedling Orchids must be potted as necessary, and, as they increase in size, the compost may, with advantage, be of a coarser nature than that used previously. 18 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE The requirements of seedling Orchids may well be met by the provision of two structures. The first, a warm house, in which the Cattleyas, Cypripediums, Epidendrums, Lzlias, and other warmth-loving kinds, may be accommodated, should be so fitted with hot-water pipes that a temperature of 70 degrees can be easily maintained during the winter months, without excessive firing. If the structure is a low-roofed one the plants will do very well on a raised staging placed over a lower stage or bench on which ashes or other moisture holding material is liberally laid. The upper staging, on which the plants rest, should be made of durable open woodwork. If the structure has a high roof the stage must be raised considerably, or shelves used for the plants, as it 1s desirable here, as in the case of other plants, that growth should be sturdy, and not attenuated as it would be if the plants were kept a long way from the roof glass and light. As rain water is most desirable, indeed almost a necessity, for seedlings, ample provision must be made for collecting it. Another item of great importance is shading, and the need for runners placed on the roof so that when the blind is let down it is held nine inches above the glass, cannot be too strongly emphasised ; this arrangement allows a current of air to pass over the glass surface, and prevents the latter from becoming as hot as it would if the blinds were laid directly upon it. The blinds may be of the usual canvas, or better still, made of narrow wood lathes. Ventilation is another important matter, and abundant provision must be made for it both in the roof and along the sides of the house. Excessive top ventilation is bad for seedling Orchids, especially when coupled with free bottom ventilation, because circulation of air thus created dries up the atmosphere quickly and produces conditions not favourable to growth. Nevertheless, means for ventilation ought to be plentiful, so that when the occasion arises the many BRASSO-CATTLEYA MARONT. HYBRIDISATION, SEEDS, & SEEDLINGS 19 ventilators may be opened a little instead of a few opened widely. All these remarks apply to the Odontoglossums and other cool Orchids as well, in every respect except that of temperature. For these the winter temperature for the advancing seedlings should not fall below 55 degrees, and there should be an abundance of piping to provide sufficient heat without unduly forcing the fires. When the fires have to be driven hard to maintain the temperature the atmosphere of the house has a stuffy, used-up odour, and it is then bad for the plants. Not so very many years ago the Orchid traders were entirely dependent upon imported plants for their supplies; but now home raised hybrids are the great feature of the business, and in the near future we shall have home raised seedlings of the finer forms of the species also offered for sale. At home, on the Continent, and in a lesser degree in America, Orchid raising is a large and growing industry, for not only are the connoisseurs steadily increasing in number, but also in every garden where there is a glass house, and where there is a desire to grow Orchids, that desire is being fulfilled now that the culture of the plants is better understood and the discovery has been made that home raised plants are easily grown as compared with imported ones. During the last ten years the sales of imported Orchids have very greatly diminished and the sales of rare and beautiful hybrids have correspondingly increased. Of course, the finest novelties realise high prices, but the rank and file of the hybrids are well within the purse-limits of amateurs, from the skilled artisan class upwards. New Carnations, Fuchsias, Hardy Ferns, Auriculas, Pelargoniums, and Roses are sold at prices for which nice plants of ordinarily good Orchids can be purchased. Popularity has followed the general reduction of prices, but lower prices do not necessarily mean a 20 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE poor plant of low quality; it means that Orchids are being raised easily and by the hundred thousand in the leading commercial establishments, and in smaller quantities, but with equal ease, in large numbers of private gardens. For the purpose of emphasising this fact, and through it to still further advance the popularity of Orchids, the present work is chiefly undertaken. From a scientific point of view Orchid hybrids are extremely interesting. In no race of plants or animals has the pedigree been more correctly kept than in Orchids. Not only have closely allied species been crossed, but species of widely different habit and from widely removed localities have been associated in the production of beautiful plants. Still further, in a number of cases members of different genera have been successfully crossed, and to-day we have Lzlio-cattleyas (Lelia x Cattleya), Brasso-cattleyas (Brassavola x Cattleya), Brasso-lzlias (Brassavola x Lelia), Brasso-epidendrum (Brassavola x Epidendrum), Dia-lzlia (Diacrium x Lelia), Epi- cattleya (Epidendrum x Cattleya), Epi-lelia (Epidendrum x Lzlia), Epi-phronitis (Epidendrum x Sophronitis), Odont-ioda (Odonto- glossum x Cochlioda), Odont-onia (Odontoglossum x Miltonia), Phaio-calanthe (Phaius x Calanthe), Phaio-cymbidium (Phaius x Cymbidium), Schombo-cattleya (Schomburgkia x Cattleya), Sophro-cattleya (Sophronitis x Cattleya), Sophro-lzlia (Sophronitis x Lelia), Zygo-batemannia (Zygopetalum x Batemannia), Zygo- colax (Zygopetalum x Colax), and Zygonisia (Zygopetalum x Aganisia). Ancectomaria (Ancectochilus x Hemaria) and Dossini- maria (Dossinia x Hzmaria) are also recorded, but these do not come prominently before the public. In addition to all these hybrids, hybrids that were considered impossible a few years ago in most cases, there are others in which three genera are concerned. These are Brasso-cat-lelia (Brassavola x Cattleya x Lelia), and Sophro- cat-lalia (Sophronitis x Cattleya x Lelia). In these hybrid genera L.ELIO:-CATTLEYA. ‘CANHANIANA. HYBRIDISATION, SEEDS, & SEEDLINGS 21 (if such a term is allowable) the plants are all secondary hybrids ; in the first, they have resulted from the intercrossing of a Brasso- cattleya with a Lalia, or a Brasso-lelia with a Cattleya, or a Brassavola with a Lzlio-cattleya; in the second instance, the members have been obtained by crossing a Cattleya with a Sophro- lzlia, or a Sophronitis with a Lzlio-cattleya. Before closing this chapter an interesting fact is worthy of notice, although it has been incidentally referred to previously. It is that many Orchids formerly described as species, but considered to be natural hybrids by careful observers, have had their parentage proved beyond all doubt in recent years, because similar plants have been raised from the supposed parents. Mr Seden and Mr de Barri Crawshay have solved a number of these interesting problems. A word of advice to those who propose to enter upon the fascinat- ing business or hobby of raising hybrid Orchids is that they should arm themselves with ‘‘ The Orchid Stud Book,” a monu- mental work by Messrs R. A. Rolfe and C. C. Hurst. It contains the pedigree of practically every hybrid Orchid raised, and so shows what has been already done, and by deduction also shows what species have not yet been exploited by the hybridist. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS ADA An Orchid that ought to be more popular than it is with amateurs who have quite limited conveniences for the cultivation of those kinds that succeed under cool treatment is ADA AURANTIACA. This species comes from a considerable altitude in the Colombian Andees and may be grown with Odontoglossum crispum. It is a showy Orchid, and during winter or spring it gives arching spikes of brilliant orange-coloured flowers. For its colour alone it thoroughly deserves a place in every collection of cool Orchids. If ADA AURANTIACA opened its flowers a little wider than it does, and carried its spikes on rather longer stems, its popularity would be very great. Perhaps in the near future our hybridists will evolve an Orchid with the improvements suggested, and without any loss of the many good points this plant possesses. Given the same conditions in every way as the cool Odontoglossums there is no difficulty whatever in the management of this useful, interesting, and handsome species. AERIDES These East Indian Orchids have for many years been out of fashion, and it is hardly likely they will be ever grown so largely as in the earlier years of Orchid culture. By far the larger number of species need to be grown in a very warm house, but there are a few which come from a higher elevation than the 22 ERIDES SUAVISSIMUM. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 23 majority, and these can be grown successfully in the same house as the Odontoglossums, especially if placed at the warmest end of the house, and there are others that require an intermediate temperature. The Aerides have erect stems, and fleshy leaves arranged in two rows. ‘Their appearance and their requirements are akin to those of the Vandas, and to the latter genus the reader is referred for further particulars. The method of flowering is distinct, however, and none of the Aerides have flowers as large as most of the Vandas. So closely set upon the spike are the flowers of A. FIELDINGH that the popular name of this species is the Fox Brush Orchid. The lip of each flower has a long, spur-like development that is very characteristic. The best species tor the warmest house are A. CRASSIFOLIUM, which has drooping spikes of fragrant, purple flowers; A. CRISPUM, with white and rose flowers; A. HouLLeT1anum, buff and white, with magenta spots; A. LAWRENC, a rare and expensive plant with large, greenish-yellow, purple marked flowers; A. Losi, white, rose and purple; A. ODORATUM, white and magenta; and A. QUINQUIVULNERUM, a fine species, white, with rose-purple and crimson-purple markings. The best for an intermediate temperature are A. FIELDINGH, a splendid Orchid with long, drooping spikes of white, rose speckled flowers, each with a bright rose lip; and A. AFFINE, deep rose. The last named species can be grown in a cool house, but is usually a greater success when grown with the Cattleyas but given more shade than these require. A. JAPONICUM is a little plant from Japan, and it has greenish-white flowers, prettily marked with violet-purple. A cool house suits it very well, and similar conditions suffice for the elegant A. Vanparum, which the writer has grown well with Odontoglossums. This has 24 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE slender growths, and these, as well as the leaves, are cylindrical. A teak raft or a piece of birch stem will serve admirably to support this plant. Its flowers are large for the genus, pure white, and produced in pairs, the spike always issuing from the stem op- posite a leaf. ANGR£CUM The Angrecums constitute a very large genus of Orchids, and nearly all the cultivated species are found in Tropical Africa or Madagascar. ll are interesting, some have quite small flowers, while others, notably A. sesquipedale, have flowers of large size and are noble plants either in or out of bloom. There is a con- siderable difference in the habit of growth; some species are lowly and are best accommodated in baskets, while others are fairly tall, erect, and have large stout leaves. With the one exception of the Japanese A. falcatum (which is a cool Orchid), Angracums delight in the heat and atmospheric moisture of the stove or East Indian House. All are evergreen, and at no period of the year do they require to be kept dry or “rested,” although, as is the case with most evergreen plants cultivated under glass, they need a smaller direct supply of water during the dull months of the year than at other times. The material in which they are grown should always be kept moist. Many growers use only sphagnum as a rooting medium, while others use three parts of sphagnum to one part of peat fibre, and this simple mixture is the one now recommended. When the small species are grown in shallow baskets, a good layer of clean crocks should be first placed over the bottom bars and on thisa layer of fresh sphagnum. The roots of the plant should then be spread AERIDES HOULLETIANA. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 25 out as well as possible and more sphagnum added, this being worked among the roots and filled in to the top of the basket. If peat fibre is used it should be mixed with the sphagnum. When pots are used, as is necessary for the stronger growers, the drainage material should occupy two-thirds of their depth, the peat and sphagnum being then worked among and around the roots and the whole finished off with a surfacing of fresh sphagnum. When re-potting becomes necessary the roots must be care- fully detached from the basket or pot by the aid of a sharp knife, and the operation is the more easily performed if the receptacles are soaked in tepid water for an hour or two previously. The roots should be washed quite clean and all decaying or dead parts of root and stem should be removed before the plant is placed in its new pot or basket. All newly potted Orchids need a little extra shading for a few weeks. The Angrzcums have white, greenish-white, or green flowers, and though many of them are chastely beautiful, and the elongated spur of the lip makes them all interesting, it cannot be said that the genus occupies a high position if effectiveness aud usefulness are the points of consideration. An amateur starting to grow Orchids, and with somewhat limited means and accommodation, may very well leave Angrecums out of his consideration; but where there are the means and where a representative collection is the aim, rather than a rigid selection of the most useful and showy genera, then many of the Angrecums should be grown, and it must be stated that there are few nobler plants than a finely flowered specimen of A. sESQUIPEDALE, and few more graceful ones than A. cAUDATUM and A. PELLUCIDUM. But if we adhere to the most recent nomenclature we lose all these three from the genus Angraecum, for the first named is now MysTAcIDIUM SESQUIPEDALE, and the others are respectively 26 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE LisTROSTACHYS CAUDATA and L. peLtucipA. This is confus- ing, but it does not alter the beauty or requirements of the plants. The most important of the species now regarded as true Angrecums are A. ARTICULATUM, a low growing plant with racemes of small, white flowers; A. BILOBUM, a neat species with white fragrant flowers; A. CITRATUM, a pretty species that bears a number of small, creamy-white flowers on drooping spikes; A. EBURNEUM, a strong grower, from Madagascar, with stout leaves about eighteen inches long, and spikes of comparatively large flowers that are green with a white lip; A. Exzisi1, about a foot high, racemes two feet long, and pure white flowers, fragrant, two inches across, and each with a spur six inches long; A. Kirku, white, somewhat like A. BiLoBuM, and formerly regarded as a variety of that species; A. SANDERIANUM, flowers white, numerous, and carried in drooping spikes; A. ScorTianum, of dwarf habit, flowers pure white and long spurred. The last two species are from the Comoro Islands. The best of the Listrostachys group are A. caUDATUM, which has long spikes of greenish-yellow, white-lipped, long-spurred flowers; A. CHAILLUANUM, a fine species with drooping spikes of white flowers; A. PELLUCIDUM, a charming plant that bears long spikes of small white flowers that have a delicate, frosted appear- ance; and A. PERTUSUM, with white, yellow-spurred flowers. The two last named usually flower in the autumn or winter. By far the most important of the Mystacidium group is the noble A. sESQUIPEDALE, a popular Orchid that has big ivory-white flowers with a spread of from eight to twelve inches, and a spur from twelve to eighteen inches long. From one to four flowers are borne on a spike, but often there are two spikes in flower at the same time on a well-grown specimen. There are two varieties, ANGULOA RUCKERI. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS ay one flowering in the autumn and the other in the late winter. A. Leonis, also known as Aéranthus Leonis and Angraecum Humblotii, has white flowers and is a desirable dwarf species. ANGULOA Although they cannot successfully compete with the Odonto- glossums in grace and usefulness, the Anguloas, natives of Colombia, deserve a high position among cultivated Orchids. The large fleshy flowers are carried singly at the apex of a stout flower-stem about a foot high. The pseudo-bulbs are large, often eight or nine inches long, and the broad, plicate, deep green leafage rises to a height of eighteen inches or more. All are cool Orchids and will succeed with the Odontoglossums while in growth and bloom, but when they have finished their growth for the season more light and a greatly reduced water supply are necessary, consequently it may be desirable to move the plants to a warmer house during the resting period. Anguloas need ample drainage and a potting mixture of peat and sphagnum, with a little peat added. Potting should be done when the new growth has advanced a little, and the material be made firm about the roots. The best Anguloa for general cultivation is A. CLOWESII, a species with bold, fragrant, golden-yellow flowers, in which the lip is white or yellowish. A little more expensive, but not less beautiful, are A. EBURNEA, white, with a pink spotted lip; A. Ruckert, yellow, crimson spotted and with a crimson lip; A. RuckERI sANGUINEA, heavily suffused with deep crimson; A. UNIFLORA, white, spotted and shaded with pink; and A. uNI- FLORA TURNERI, more freely spotted and suffused with deep pink. 28 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE ARPOPHYLLUM Formerly a great favourite with exhibitors, because it could be easily grown into a large specimen, ARPOPHYLLUM GIGANTEUM has been dethroned by the more showy Cattleyas and Lalias. It has slender pseudo-bulbs, green, leathery leaves, and foot-long cylindrical spikes of small, rosy-purple flowers. This, as well as the similar, but red-purple A. spicaTuM, requires plenty of light and moisture, and a position with the Cattleyas, or at the coolest end of the Intermediate House. A. GIGANTEUM often used to be found growing with the utmost freedom in a mixed collection of stove plants. BRASSAVOLA One species alone makes this genus famous, and it 1s the large- flowered B. Dicpyana, from British Honduras. It is attractive by reason of its big, greenish-white, purple-tinted lip, that often measures four inches or more across. The narrow sepals and petals are pale green. The plant has the habit of a Lelia, will succeed with the Lzlias, and was formerly regarded as a member of that genus. The broad margin of the lip is wonderfully and exquisitely fringed, and this beautiful character the species has given to its numerous progeny when hybridised with Lalias and Cattleyas. Of less value is the compact, Mexican B. GLauca, which has green sepals and petals, and a pure white lip with pink marks in the throat. BRASSIA The Brassias are easily grown Orchids, and as they have attractive flowers, often brightly coloured, and always of elegant BE NOSUVIN SONED si SSsSy eh THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 29 and rather fantastic appearance, it is difficult to discover why they are not more largely grown. For grouping and for exhibition purposes they are especially useful, and the individual blooms or spikes are first rate for ball bouquets or other floral decorations where bright flowers are in order. There are about a score of species, all from Tropical America. These thrive at the coolest and shady end of a stove, or may be cultivated with the Cattleyas, if shaded. The usual mixture of peat and sphagnum suits them, and during their period of active growth they require plenty of moisture with a reduced supply at other times. All the Brassias have attenuated sepals and petals and so the flowers are “spidery ” ; the latter are lightly set on the spike, in two rows. The best kinds for general cultivation are:—B. ANTHEROTES, yellow, marked with purple-brown; B. BRracutaTa, yellowish- green with brown spots; B. caupaTa, yellow, with brown markings; B. GrreoupraNna, yellow, marked with bright red- brown; B. Kemrana, orange-yellow, with brown = spots; B. LawrencEANA, yellow and brown, and its variety LONGISSIMA of brighter hue and with longer segments; B. macuLaTA, yellow, with brown spots, and with a white, purple-spotted lip; and B. vERRUCOSA, yellowish-green, with dark purple spots. Both B. BRACHIATA and B. vERRUCOsA come from Guatemala and may therefore be grown under cooler conditions than the rest; the writer has grown them well at the warm end of an Odontoglossum House, where the latter has been joined on to a warm structure. BRASSOCATLALIA The title given to this hybrid family suggests curious possi- bilities in nomenclature when, in the near future, the several 30 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE bigeneric or trigeneric hybrids are themselves intercrossed with each other. For instance, the successful crossing of a Brassocatlelia with either a Schombocattleya, a Sophrocattleya, or an Epiphronitis seem to be quite within the bounds of possibility, and when they materialise, then, according to precedent, a hybrid title expressing their parentage will have to be manufactured. The most prominent of the few compound hybrids belonging to this family (they are all rare at present), are B.-c.-L. FOwLERI (B.-. Gratrixie x C. Schrodere), B.-c-L. Hippocrates (B. Digbyana x L.-c. Hippolyta), B.-c.-L. Lawrence (the natural hybrid B.-c. Lindleyana x-L.-c. elegans), B.-L-c. ROwENA (B. Digbyana x L.-c. Doris)—one of the best of the group, B.-..-c, Trinciensis (B. Digbyanax L.-c. callistoglossa), and B.-L.-c. Wicantt (B. Digbyana x L.-c. Aphrodite), a large and beautiful hybrid. BRASSO-CATTLEYA In this hybrid family there are some of the most gorgeous, as well as most exquisitely beautiful Orchids in cultivation. With rare exceptions they have flowers of large size, like those of Cattleyas, with the additional attraction of a large, shapely, and wondrously fringed lip. Details of cultivation need not be given, because in practically every instance the treatment found successful for the Cattleya parent is suitable for the hybrid, but with the difference that the hybrids are, as a whole, far more easily grown and managed than the parent species. The majority are superb, free-flowering plants, and though they are a little expensive at present they are within the consideration of the middle-class amateur who has a love for the Cattleya family. In the following hybrids the Brassavola parent is always BRASSO-CATTLEYVA CLIFTON THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 31 B. Digbyana unless otherwise stated, therefore only the Cattleya parent is bracketed after the name of the hybrid in such cases. B.-c, ALEXANDER! (C. citrina), B.-c. Baron (C. Rothschildeana), B.-c. Ena (C. Lawrenceana), B.-c. Fournirm (C. /abiata) B.-c. HEATonENsIs (C. Hardyana), B.-c. Hotrorpi (C. Forbesi) B.-c. Hyves (C. Harrisoniana), B.-c. LANGLEYENSIS (C. Schrodera) B.-c. LEEMANNIZ (C. Dowiana), B.-c. Mari® (C. Warneri), B.-c. Maron® (C. Warscewiczii), B.-c. Maroni (C. Mendelii), B.-c. Pocanontas (C. Eldorada), B.-c. SANDERI (Brassavola glauca x C. Schroder@), B.-c. SEDENI (C. Trianz), B.-c. THoRN- TONI (C. Gaskelliana), B.-c. Veitcuu (C. Mossig), and B.-c WELLESLEYE (C. Lueddemanniana). The earliest of these bigeneric hybrids were given names com- posed of the titles of the parent species, but this style of nomen- clature is giving place to the more rational one here followed. For instance, the first artificially raised hybrid of this group was named Brasso-cattleya Dighyano-Mossia, but B.-c. VzITcHI is a far more reasonable name, especially as the hybrid was raised by the Messrs Veitch. For some time Brassavola Digbyana was regarded as a Lalia, and consequently the hybrids between it and a Cattleya were for a considerable period described as Lzlio- cattleyas. Varietal forms are now appearing, the variation being caused by the use of a specially fine form of the Cattleya parent; thus, B.-c. Empress oF [nna is a variety of B.-c. Maroni, and B.-c. Princess Vicrorta and B.-c. QUEEN ALEXANDRA are varieties of the beautiful B.-c. Verrcuu. If hybridists had given us no other Orchid hybrids than the Brasso-cattleyas they would deserve the sincerest thanks of the flower-loving public in general, and of Orchid lovers in particular, for in the whole range of Orchids there are no more gloriously beautiful and effective plants than these. ’ ? b a2 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE BRASSO-LELIA Considerable variation is found in the form as well as in the colouring of the flowers of the hybrids composing this family. In B.-L. Heren the flowers are of large size and approximate closely to those of a Brasso-cattleya derived from B. Digbhyana and a labiate Cattleya, although the sepals and petals lack the breadth of the finer Brasso-cattleyas. On the other hand there is B.-1. GraTrix#, a beautiful yellowish hybrid that has a prettily fringed lip, is of medium size, and has the general shape of a Lelia. In the Brasso-lelias the large lipped Brassavola Digbyana has not been so closely adhered to as a pollen parent as it has been in the case of the splendid Brasso-cattleyas; but no matter which species is used as a pollen parent it is not likely the Brasso-lzlias will ever become so generally attractive or popular as the Brasso-cattleyas. Here again it must be remembered that the hybrids selected are not at present plentiful in such a degree as to permit of their sale at low prices, but the question of price will adjust itself in a few years owing to the vast number of crosses that have been made and the enormous quantities of Brasso-lezlia seedlings there are in Orchid collections. But it also follows that exceptionally fine varieties of the hybrids will always realise high prices, just as fine forms of a species will. The best of the Brasso-laelias are B.-L. Crio (B. glauca x L. cinnabarina), an orange-shaded flower; B.-L. GRATRIXIE (B. Digbyana x L. cinnabarina), a yellow hybrid that has shown a great deal of variation in size and in depth of colouring; B.-L HELEN (B. Dighyana x L. tenebrosa), a large flowered hybrid with a broad, rounded, and fringed lip; B.-L. Verrcu (B. Digbyana x L. purpurata), one of the best, with light purple colouring ; B.-L. Gipsy (B.-/. Helen x Lelia cinnabrosa), is a secondary hybrid LASLIO-CATTLEYA DOMINIANA. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 33 of great beauty; B.-r. Tuwarresi (B. Dighyanax L. grandi- flora); and B.-L. WestriEtpiensis (B. glauca x L. flava), a bright hybrid with medium sized flowers. CALANTHE In most gardens of any size, where there is a house kept at stove temperature, it is usual to find a batch of deciduous Calanthes grown for purely decorative purposes. The tall, graceful spikes produced by the C. vestita and C. Veitchit groups are invaluable where there is need for many flowers during November and December. These Calanthes may be successfully treated in much the same way as deciduous bulbous plants that require a high temperature. They have long, thick pseudo-bulbs of annual growth and duration, and need every possible encouragement when growing freely, while, after they have flowered, a long season of rest is necessary, and during this time a warm light position, such as a shelf in a stove, and an entire absence of water, should be secured for them. A compost of fibrous loam, leaf soil, and old, dried cow-manure in equal proportions, with the addition of silver sand, is suitable in districts far removed from towns and factories; but where there is subdued light, especially during the duller months of the year, Calanthes are not so easily managed, and a fairly light compost, minus the manure, is then advisable. All the plants need re-potting in the spring, as soon as the new growths are seen pushing from the base of the old pseudo- bulbs. The pots must be well drained, and when potting is finished the surface of the compost should be at least half an inch below the rim of the pot, to allow room for copious supplies of water. At first, and until new roots have advanced freely, water must be Cc 34 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE given with great care; but when the roots have taken full possession of the compost, water can be scarcely given too freely, provided the weather is warm and the pots well drained. In most cases it will also be advisable to give weak liquid cow manure once a week, but in this particular the prevailing conditions must be taken into account, for in or near towns it is found that feeding with manures has a tendency to make the compost sour and pro- duce an objectionable spotting in the leaves. As the leaves begin to turn yellow not long after they are fully grown, this must be taken as a sign that much less water is needed, but as the flower spikes extend sufficient moisture must be provided to enable them to develop fully. The drier and slightly cooler conditions of the intermediate house are desirable as soon as the flowers expand, for the purpose of lengthening the beauty and life of the blooms. Quite frequently Calanthes are grown closely together very near the roof glass, and in such a position they are liable to damage during sudden bursts of strong sunshine; careful shading, the moderate ventilation of an ordinary plant stove, and sufficient room for each plant to develop its bold leaves, are points of culture needing attention. The evergreen species take up a lot of room and consequently are not very popular. They need a similar compost to that already advised for the deciduous species, but the dry, resting conditions suitable for the latter would prove fatal to the evergreen kinds. Best Species C. Masuca is a useful, free flowering species from North-west India; it is evergreen and produces its flowers on two-feet high spikes in the summer. The flowers are of fair size, rich violet- blue, with a purple lip. C. Reeoniert is from Cochin China, and is a desirable THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 35 deciduous species as it flowers late in the season, after the members of the C. vestita and C. Veitchii sections. The flowers are white, with a bright rosy-pink lip that is very distinct and attractive ; they are carried on tall graceful spikes. The variety C R. Wuttiamsil, formerly regarded as a distinct species, is even more striking than the type, as the sepals and petals are white, shaded with pink, and the lip is deep rosy crimson; it is a fine plant. C. TurNeER!I hails from Burmah, and, like C. REGNIERN, is late in flowering, and therefore of great value in Orchid collections. It is deciduous and has its flowers set more closely on the spike than are those of C. vestita. Their colour is pure white with a deep rose blotch or eye at the base of the lip. In the variety C. T. nrvauis the flowers are wholly white. C. VERATRIFOLIA is a fine old evergreen species that has a wide distribution in India, Ceylon, and Australia. It has broad leaves that are sometimes nearly two feet in length, while its erect spikes of white flowers are from two feet to three feet high. Instead of the flowers being borne in more or less arching spikes, they are in a dense cluster, six or eight inches long, at the head of the stiff spike. This species blooms in late spring or summer. C. vesTITA, an Indian species, is very popular and useful, and is represented in most gardens of any size by one or more of its fine varieties. The flowers appear in late Autumn or Winter, are large for the genus, creamy white with a rosy base to the lip, and carried in elegant fashion on a long graceful spike. C. v. LUTEO- ocuLATA has a yellow base to the lip, and the very fine C. v. RUBRO-OCULATA has a brilliant redbase. The variety C. v. OCULATA GIGANTEA has the largest flowers and these are creamy white, with a white lip and a rich red eye. This variety has the additional merit of flowering much later than its near relatives. 36 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE Best Hysrips C. ATRORUBENS (C. Darblayana var. Wm. Murray x C. Oak- wood Ruby) is a rich crimson-flowered hybrid; C. BELLA (C, Turneri x C. Veitchii) is a beautiful hybrid, and the pure white, large-flowered C. B. Harrisii is one of the finest Calanthes grown ; C. Darsiayana (C. Regnieri x C. vestita) is best known by its fine varietal forms raised by Mr Cookson, and named C. D. Bryan and C. D. Wm. Murray; C. gigas (C. grandiflora x C. Regnieri) is a vigorous and handsome hybrid, more generally known as C. Baron SCHRODER; C. Rusy (or C. Oakwood Ruby) is the result of selection from a series of seedlings from a cross between C. Sedenii Oakwood var. and C. vestita rubro-oculata; C. Sispyt is a selec- tion from the same cross; C. SEDENII (C. Veitchii x C. vestita) has been raised many times since Seden raised it about 1878; C. 8S. Cookson! is a good form; C. spLenDENS (C. Darblayana var. Bryan x C. rosea); C. VEITCHI (C. rosea x C. vestita) is a most popular Orchid for late Autumn and Winter flowering, although it first flowered as long ago as 1859; there is also a pure white variety of this rosy-flowered hybrid; C. Vicroria-REGINA (C. rosea x C. Veitchit); and C. Cuapmant (C. Ruby x C, Veitchit), a new deeply-coloured hybrid. OTHER SPECIES AND HysripDs Other interesting species are C. ROSEA, a small rosy-flowered plant; and C. versicoror. C, Dominn, the first hybrid Orchid to be raised artificially, is the result of crossing C. furcata with C. Masuca; and C. Winn (C. Regniert x C. Veitchii) is an extremely variable hybrid raised in 1889. IVS WHITE VARIETY. AND _— — ie; ? ico I a CALANTHE THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 37 CATTLEYA The genus Cattleya is a fairly large one and its members are found only in America. The name commemorates Mr William Cattley, of Barnet, who, early in the nineteenth century, had a splendid collection of rare plants and was one of the first amateurs to take up the cultivation of Orchids. So keen a collector and cultivator was he that it is on record he possessed the finest known collection of these plants. The collection passed, on his death, into the hands of Mr Knight, and most horticulturalists know that Messrs Knight & Perry were the predecessors of the present firm of Messrs James Veitch & Sons, of Chelsea. Cattleyas come from the American Tropics, and range from almost as far North as the City of Mexico, to as far South as the Brazilian Province of Rio Grande. Cattleya citrina appears to mark the Northern limit of the genus, and C. Loddigesii the Southern limit. Many of the species are found at a considerable elevation and are subject to distinct wet and dry seasons, but the great majority may be cultivated in the same house all the year round, notwith- standing the enormous country over which the genus is distributed. There are a few exceptions to the general rule and these will be noted in due course. The Cattleyas are gorgeous and beautiful Orchids, and it is small wonder they have invariably attracted a great deal of attention. Their flowers are of large size, especially in the more popu- lar species, such as C. /abiata, C. Mossia, C. Triana, C. Dowiana, and C. Warscewiczii, and they are brilliantly coloured. It does not need many Cattleya blooms to make a distinct and rare display in any floral decoration, nor many flowering plants to provide a striking feature in an exhibition group. But, all this notwith- 38 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE standing, the Cattleyas are responsible for more disappointments in Orchid culture than any other genus. Attracted by their wondrous beauty many amateurs, and also not a few professional gardeners, have purchased imported plants and entered upon their cultivation with light hearts. Though widely different methods of culture may have been followed the plants have usually flowered more or less successfully the first season, but after flowering they have gradually declined in vigour, and probably long before the second flowering season has come round they have died and been consigned to the furnace fire. At the same time, Orchid culture in general has been condemned as waste of time and money. This is unfortunate. Cattleyas are certainly not the Orchids that an amateur should begin with when setting up a modest collection. The vigour and vitality many Orchids have acquired in their native haunts carry them through the trials of importation and their first year under artificial treatment, then the ebb is fast unless the cultural conditions have been such as to relieve the great strain and restore vigour. A large number of Lalias thrive under conditions found favour- able to the majority of Cattleyas, and so do the Brassavolas and the Lzlio-cattleyas, therefore the advice given below applies as a general rule to all these Orchids. As a rule the same round of treatment applies to all, but not always at the same period of the year, for the Cattleyas and Lzlias flower at different periods of the year and some are growing freely while others are resting or. flowering. Some Orchids, notably the Phaius, Cymbidiums, and many Cypripediums, are often grown with great success in a mixed collection of plants, but very rarely indeed are Cattleyas a success under such conditions. A house should be set apart for Cattleyas and Lzlias, or at least a part of a house, if the greatest possible CATTLEYA WARSCEWICZIL. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 39 success is to be obtained and the fullest pleasure derived from their culture. In the house chosen there should be a sufficiency of hot- water pipes to enable it to be properly heated without the need of severe firing. A house fitted up as an ordinary plant stove will be suitable if it has a light position, and a span-roofed house is obviously better than a lean-to one. The temperature should not fall below 60 degrees at night in the Winter, and the day temperature at that season from artificial heat should be about 65 degrees, with a rise of 5 or more degrees during sunshine. These figures should graduate to and from 68 or 70 degrees as a minimum night temperature in the Summer, with 75 to 80 degrees as the usual day temperature for the latter season. In very brilliant Summer weather the day temperature may rise above these figures, even with ventilation. Cattleyas may be grown in hanging teak baskets, in pans, or in ordinary flower pots, but whatever the kind of receptacle adopted it must be drained to at least two-thirds of its depth with clean crocks. A suitable general compost consists of fibrous peat (with the fine particles removed), Osmunda fibre, and chopped sphagnum in equal proportions, with a goodly addition of coarse sand and finely broken crocks to keep the whole porous and sweet. The rougher parts of the mixture should be laid over the crocks and the rest placed firmly among the roots and about the base of the plant, the crown or rhizomatous part of the plant being set in the centre of the pot, but raised slightly above the level of the pot rim. The best season for attending to the potting of Cattleyas and Lzlias is when new roots appear from the base of the developing or last developed pseudo-bulb, for some root at a rather earlier period of their annual growth than others. Annual potting is not at all necessary, indeed the whole family dislikes disturbance at the roots, hence the plants should be so fixed in the pots and compost that 40 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE there is room for two seasons’ growth to develop. When potting is done as soon as the new roots are half an inch or so in length, the plants soon take possession of the new material and re-establish- ment takes place with the least possible risk of check or injury to the plant treated. Cattleyas need more light than most Orchids, therefore the shading material need not be so dense as that used for Odonto- glossums, for instance. Nor is it necessary to maintain such an excessively moist atmosphere for Cattleyas as for East Indian Orchids. If grown in pots Cattleyas and Lalias should be arranged on open staging over a lower staging, on which is an abundance of cinders or other moisture holding material. It will also be desirable in many instances to raise many of the plants still higher, on inverted pots, so as to bring them well up to the light. Slipshod watering is the bane of Cattleyas. When rooting freely a goodly supply of water is needed, but as active growth ceases for the year, the supply must be correspondingly reduced and very little will be needed from the time the new pseudo-bulb and leaves have fully developed until the flower spikes have made some advance. Most Cattleyas commence new growth, at or soon after the time they Hower. ; Best SPECIES The following are the best for general cultivation, and they are the most useful. Among those not included here, there are some of exquisite beauty, but they do not flower so regularly or so freely or they are not so easily managed. C. BowrincIAnais a footor more high and has a pair of leathery leaves at the apex of each stem. Its flowers are among the smallest found in the genus, but they are of a rich rosy purple colour, with a maroon-purple blotch near the apex of the white-throated lip. CATTLE, ALOSSIAE. cS, THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 41 From five to ten flowers are borne in one spike, and October and November is the usual time of flowering. C. Dowrana is a glorious Orchid, with large, handsome yellow flowers, produced from August to November. The sepals and petals are yellow and the broad lip is velvety crimson-purple, most gorgeously veined and streaked with deep gold. The variety c. p. AUREA has more golden markings in the lip. C. GaASKELLIANA flowers in late Summer and Autumn. It resembles C. Mossiz in style of growth, but its fragrant flowers are variable in colour. As a rule, the sepals and petals are white, flushed with rose or pale purple, and the handsome lip is bright violet-purple, with yellow markings in the throat. The flowers are of large size. C, LABIATA is the most popular and useful member of the family, and large quantities of plants are annually imported in the spring months. It has pseudo-bulbs six or eight inches high, each surmounted by one bold leathery leaf of about the same length. The large flowers are bright purplish rose, with a yellow-throated, frilled, crimson- purple lip. Late Autumn is the flowering season. ‘There are numerous varieties, as the species shows a large amount of colour variation. The white and nearly white varieties are the most expensive, and they are very lovely ; on the other hand, some of the richly-hued forms are of very great beauty. C,. LAwRENCEANA is about a foot high, and is best grown in a hanging basket at the warmest end of the house. It carries several medium-sized flowers on a spike and these are deep rose- purple with whitish throat. Spring is its flowering season. C. LoppicEstt may grow as much as two feet high and its stems are slender and not swollen into a distinct pseudo-bulb as in the case of C. /abiata and its near relatives. It flowers in Summer, carrying several medium-sized flowers on a stout spike. The 42 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE colour is pale rosy-lilac, with yellow marks on the lip. A useful and long-lasting Orchid. C. MeENbEL! belongs to the group of which C’. /adiata is the type. It has large and beautiful flowers in early Summer, and these are blush or light rosy-lilac, with broad magenta-purple lip. The species is variable in the matter of colour, and it also seems to be growing scarcer as a wild plant in Colombia. April and May is the usual flowering season. C. Mossi# is another immensely popular labiate Cattleya. It is found chiefly in Venezuela and shows a considerable range of colour. The large and beautiful flowers have light rose or lilac sepals and petals and a crimson and purple lip, handsomely marked with deep yellow. Some of the varieties are of deeper colour than the rest, and there is a considerable group of white varieties, though in all these there is some colouring in the lip. C. M. ARNOLDIANA, C. M. Rerneckrana, and C. M. Wacenert (or alba) are fine forms of this latter group, but even these show some variation among themselves, and the finest varieties are quite costly. The flowering season is May, June, and July. C. ScHRODERZ isa lovely Cattleya of the labiate group. It grows very like C. Trianz and has large and deliciously sweet- scented flowers. The broad sepals and petals are pale soft rose or lilac, and the shapely lip is of deeper hue with an orange- coloured throat. It is a free flowering, beautiful, and easily grown species, and its blooms appear in the Spring. C. TRIANA, another member of the labiate group, is extremely variable in its colouring, but it is a fine species with large, handsome flowers, produced from January to April or May, and it has a robust constitution. The sepals and petals are usually deep blush or rosy-lilac and the lip crimson-purple, with an orange- purple throat. There is a white form (a/ba) and a whole host of (q1T GUNMVN ATHOIN HLM ‘ALSIMVA B1Vd) #ISSOW VATTLLVO THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 43 named varieties showing some difference in colour and form. C. Warscewiczil, also known as C. gigas, is a magnificent species, its splendid flowers sometimes measuring nine inches across, and they are usually borne several together, four or five, occasionally seven, in a splendid spike. It is a superb Cattleya and one that flowers from June to November. It isa strong grower and an altogether desirable Orchid. The sepals and petals are soft rosy-mauve and the broad lip is crimson-purple, with yellow throat and markings. C. W. SANDERIANA represents a very robust and free flower- ing form of this species, and its flowers are of richer colour than the general type. This has been largely imported and it deserves a place in any collection of indoor plants. As the species passes out of flower it will need attention in the matter of potting, and each plant must be dealt with on its own merits, because some flower four or five months later than others. Best Hysrips Most of the hybrid Cattleyas are remarkable for their beauty and freedom of flowering. Many of them are still rather ex- pensive, especially the finest varieties of the hybrids, but they are yearly becoming cheaper and more plentiful. Some of the rarer hybrids are not included here, not because of any lack of beauty, but because in many cases these are represented by but a few plants and are unobtainable at present. The following have proved to be splendid Orchids and, mostly, they are free growers :— C. Fasra (C. DowianaxC. Jabiata), Autumn flowering; C. FERNANDI (C. Acklandie x C. Warscewiczti), also known as C. Fernand Denis; C. FLAVESCENS, a pretty, yellowish hybrid between C. /uteola and C. Triang ; C. FREDERICKIE (C. Dowiana x C. Mossiz), also known as C. Empress Frederick; C. HARDYANA 44 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE (C. Dowiana x C. Warscewiczii), a grand, late Summer flowering hybrid and one that has occurred naturally as well as artificially and been imported in some quantity; C. Harrisi@ (C. Mossie x C. Schilleriana; C. Iris, a fine and useful hybrid between C. bicolor and C. Dowiana; C. KienasTiaAna (C. Dowiana x C. Lueddemanniana); C. Mantinu (C. Bowringiana x C. Dowiana), a very free flowering and useful hybrid; C. Maroni (C. Dowiana x C. velutina); C. Pittim (C. Dowianax C. Harrisonia); C. ROTHSCHILDEANA (C. DowianaxC. Gaskelliana), a splendid hybrid, also known as C. Lord Rothschild; and C. Wuirei (C. Schilleriana x C. Warneri). OTHER SPECIES AND HysrRips Species that are of less general value than those already referred to are C. ACKLANDIA, C. CITRINA, yellow, sweetly-scented flowers, grows head downwards and will succeed in the cool house during the warm months of the year; C. Forsesu, C. GRANULOSA, C. GUTTATA, C. INTERMEDIA, C. MAXIMA, C, LUEDDEMANNIANA, C. PEercivALIANA, C, Rex, C. ScHILLERIANA, C. SKINNERII, C. SUPERBA, C, WALKERIANA, and C. WaARNERI. Hybrids that growers should endeavour to see are C. ADONIS (C. Mossia x C. Warscewiczii); C. BRowni& (C. Bowringiana x C. Harrisonia); C. Cxcitim (C. Lawrenceana x C. Triana); C, CHARLEsworTHI (C. Bowringiana x C. superba); C. Ep- warp (C. Schillerianax C. Warscewiczii); C. Fow eri (C. Hardyanax C. Leopoldii); C. FuLvescens (C. Dowiana x C. Forbesit); C. Grrmanta (C. granulosa x C. Hardyana); C. GoosensiaANnA (C. Gaskellianax C. Schilleriana); C. LaAwRs- Mossi@ (C. Lawrenceana x C. Mossia); C. Mrinucia, (C. Loa- digesitx C. Warscewiczii); C. Murrayi (C. Lawrenceana x C. Mendelii); C. Ocravia (C. DowianaxC. Mendelii); C. ROBERTI. hen cere eal ey THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 45 Oxivia (C. intermedia x C. Triane); C. PARTHENIA (C. Isabella x C. Mossie); C. Perrersim (C. Gaskelliana x C. Warnerit) ; C. Portia (C. Bowringiana x C. labiata); C. TRIUMPHANS (C. Dowianax C. Rex); C, Vicrorta Recina (C. labiata x C. Leopoldit); C. Wavriniz (C. Loddegesii x C. Rex); C. WEND- LANDIANA (C. Bowringiana x C. Warscewiczii); C. WHITELEYE (C. Bowringiana x C. Hardyana); and C. Wicani (C. Dowiana x Schilleriana). CHYSIS The several species and hybrids of Chysis form a little group that only misses by a very little a position among the most useful and beautiful Orchids. The flowers are from two to three inches across, fleshy, and carried three to eight together in sturdy spikes. Grown in pans or baskets and suspended from the roof in an Intermediate House, the plants are quite easily managed. The compost should consist of twice as much sphagnum as peat, and be placed over ample drainage. The pseudo-bulbs are fusiform and the foliage deciduous. The cultural advice given for Catasetums will apply to this genus, except that when they are at rest the plants should be placed at the cool end of the Cattleya House, or in a similar position as regards temperature and sunlight. It is a very difficult matter to choose between the several kinds, as all are of equal merit. The beginner will not do wrong, however, in choosing C. AUREA and C. BRACTESCENS to start with. The former has yellow flowers, and the latter white flowers with yellow and white lip. The flowers of C. Lazvis are yellow and orange, with crimson marks on the lip; while those of C. Limmincutl are white and purple, with some yellow on the lip. There are three hybrids, i.e. C. CHELsont (C. bractescens x C. levis), 46 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE raised in 1874; C. LANGLEYENSIS (C. bractescens x C. Chelsoni), and C. SEDENI (C. bractescens x C. Limminghit), All are worthy of culture where space permits. A word of caution is necessary against giving any of the Chysis much water just as new growth commences, because the new spikes advance at the same time and an excess of moisture will cause one or both to damp and die. C. AuREA has been successfully grown under slightly cooler conditions than here advised. COCHLIODA One member of this little South American family merits special attention and deserves a place in every collection of cool Orchids. It is C. Noerzuiana. ‘Treated like a cool Odonto- glossum this species produces spikes of orange-scarlet flowers during the Winter or early Spring. These flowers are rounded, closely set on the spike, and resemble small Odontoglossums. The plant is also of great interest, because it has proved of immense value to the hybridists, who have wedded it to various Odonto- glossums and thus produced the numerous, beautiful, and growing family of Odontiodas (which see). The other three species are not nearly so valuable. C.RosEA has small rosy flowers; C. SANGUINEA has reddish flowers; and C. vutcanica has comparatively large deep rose flowers. A title formerly used for the Cochliodas was Mesospinidium. CQ@LOGYNE About fifty species of Coelogyne are in cultivation, but scarcely a dozen species are found in private collections. The popularity of the genus depends chiefly upon the beauty and usefulness of one species, 7.¢. Ca/ogyne cristata. It was on this the genus was SSNHOSALOVUT SISAHO SS THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 47 founded in 1825, and now that the greater part of a century has elapsed it is still first and foremost in general estimation. The distribution of the plants is through Northern India, Burmah, and the Malaya. From a cultural point of view these Orchids are divisable into two groups, one group needing abundance of heat and moisture and the other succeeding under comparatively cool conditions. Equal parts of peat and sphagnum make up a suitable potting mixture, but in districts far removed from the smoke of a factory town, some fibrous loam may be added with advantage for those kinds that grow under the cooler treatment. The plants are pseudo-bulbous, and in some cases the pseudo-bulbs are elongated, and in others round or egg-shaped; these are ribbed in some species, notably in C. corrugata, and smooth in C. cristata. Coelogynes are evergreen and therefore must not be severely rested, or allowed to become quite dry when not in active growth. The best time to re-pot, as in the case of most Orchids, is when new roots are being formed, and this is generally a little while after the plants have finished flowering. The temperate species appre- ciate warmer and rather close conditions for a few weeks after they are potted, as they are then able to re-establish themselves quickly in the new compost. Best SPECIES C. ASPERATA is a strong grower, its leaves often rising two feet high; the flowers, borné a dozen or so together in drooping racemes, measure three inches across, and are pale yellow, with bright red-brown and orange markings on the lip. It is a free flowering species that should be grown in the stove and wintered in the Cattleya House or Intermediate House. C. BARBATA hails from Assam and should be grown with 48 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE C. cristata. The flowers are produced in the Winter, carried erect, have a diameter of from two to three inches, and are pure white with a marginal fringe and crests of deep brown hairs. The whole plant rarely exceeds fifteen inches in height. C. cORRUGATA comes from the hilly districts of Southern India and is a success under the same conditions as C. cristata. It is a compact plant, about nine inches high, Summer flowering, and bears erect spikes of fairly large flowers. The latter are pure white, with a central yellow, orange-marked area on the lip. C. cRISTATA is quite frequently grown with a fair amount of success in the same house as Odontoglossums, but is seen at its best when given aslightly warmer position and rather less ventilation. Failing a special position it should be placed at the warmest end of the Cool House for the Summer season, and be moved to the lighter, drier, and warmer conditions usually provided for Cattleyas during the Winter. The pure white flowers, three or four inches across, are borne six or eight together in graceful drooping racemes in Winter or Spring; if allowed to expand in a cool house they soon discolour. In the type the lip is crested with yellow and has a central blotch of the same colour. Inthe variety C. c. LEMONIANA the colour on the lip is pale lemon yellow, while in C. c. ALBA the blooms are entirely white. The flowers of this very beautiful and chaste Orchid are valuable for many kinds of floral decorations, especially for bouquets, but they must be handled with care because bruised portions turn brown or black quickly. When the spikes are cut they must not be severed close to the pseudo-bulb, for it is from the sheathing base of the spike that the new growth comes, so that close cutting spoils the prospects for the following season. C. Dayana isa remarkable Bornean species that flowers in late Spring or early Summer. It is a strong grower and is best managed in a basket or pan suspended from the roof in the hottest VIVYNAINVd ANADOTWDD THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 49 Stove or East Indian House. Considered individually the blooms are not large or very attractive, the colour being pale ochreous yellow, with chocolate brown lines and blotch on the lighter, often whitish, lip. But these flowers are borne on graceful pendulous racemes from two to three feet long, and one of these racemes will consist of two dozen blooms. A good specimen carrying a number of these floral necklaces makes a charming picture. C. MaAssANGEANA comes from Assam and has much the same habit as C. Dayana, but is not quite such a strong grower. More- over, it will succeed in less heat than is necessary for the latter species. The Intermediate House will suit it. The pendulous racemes carry twenty or more flowers, which are light yellow, with a brown lip that is veined and crested with bright yellow and edged with white. C. OCELLATA, a pretty, compact species about nine inches high, is best grown in a shallow pan, with the Odontoglossums, and wintered with the Cattleyas. It has semi-erect spikes of white flowers, the lip having two yellow, orange-circled spots and a brown throat. C. OCELLATA MAXIMA has flowers three inches across, and sweetly scented. C. PANDURATA is a very striking Orchid, and its large flowers invariably attract attention and comment because of their unusual colouring. The sepals and petals are green, while the fiddle-shaped, warted lip is yellowish green, heavily veined and blotched with black. The long, semi-drooping spikes carry five or six flowers. The leaves are from eighteen inches to two feet in length, and the oval, compressed pseudo-bulbs are set rather widely apart on the stout rhizome, consequently a long raft or basket is needed to accommodate the plant. As this interesting species comes chiefly from the hot, moist parts of Borneoa hot, moist position must be provided for it. The writer has grown it with considerable success in sphagnum and D 50 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE crocks, in a teak raft, suspended over the heated water tank in a hot propagating house. C. spECIOSA grows about nine inches high, and carries a pair of flowers on a short, erect spike. These flowers are nearly four inches across, with narrow, buff-green sepals and petals, and a large yellowish lip that is heavily marked and crested with crimson- brown, and has a white apex. Should be grown with C. cristata. OTHER SPECIES Other interesting and in many cases beautiful species include C. Cuminen,.C. ELATA, C. FULIGINOSA, C. OCHRACEA, C, PEL- TASTES (a miniature C. pandurata), C. SANDER, C, SANDERIANA, C, ToMENTosA, and C. Verrcuu. The majority have white, yellow-marked flowers. CYMBIDIUM Although most of the Cymbidiums are large and_ strong growing plants and are therefore not suitable for small houses, several species and hybrids occupy a foremost position among easily grown and useful Orchids. A number of the species are of small account, but half a dozen may be selected as thoroughly worthy of cultivation. All these require plenty of root room, good drainage, and a compost of roughly broken fibrous peat and loam, and sand. An abundance of water is necessary when new growth or flower spikes are being produced, and even when not in active growth the plants must not lack moisture, though the amount needed to keep them healthy at that period will be relatively small. Many people grow these Cymbidiums in a Cool House, while it is no uncommon thing to find Cymbidium Lowianum growing in a quite warm house with a mixed collection WAAGWDWAHOS VAYTLLVO THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 51 of plants. A temperature that averages about five degrees higher than that afforded Odontoglossums is admirably suited to the Cymbidiums here described. Best SPECIES C, EBURNEUM comes from the hills of Northern India and is found at a considerable elevation. The long, narrow, grassy leafage is gracefully curved, and the fairly large flowers are borne in twos or threes on erect spikes. The flowering season is late Winter or Spring, and the fragrant blooms, pure white, with a yellow band and crest on the lip, are very beautiful and serviceable. A large specimen carrying a dozen or more spikes is a fine picture. C. GIGANTEUM flowers in the Winter, the long spikes carrying from six to fifteen fragrant blooms, that are yellowish green, striped with tawny red, and have a yellow, crimson marked lip. This and C. grandijlorum do not flower so freely as C. Lowianum. C. GRANDIFLORUM is often grown under the old and erroneous title of C. Hookerianum. It has flowers five inches across, sepals broad, yellowish green, spotted at the base with brown-purple; lip light yellow, spotted and speckled with red and crimson. There are sometimes as many as a dozen flowers on a spike. C. INSIGNE is a charming species that has lately become very popular by reason of its grace and adaptability to cultivation. It was found in Annam early in 1901, in ravines, at an altitude of from 4000 feet to 5000 feet. The narrow leaves are three feet long, and the erect spikes rise four feet high and upwards, bearing about a dozen flowers (more or less according to the strength of the plant) at the upper portion. Each bloom is three or four inches across, and has white, pink, or rosy sepals and petals, spotted right at the base with red; the lip is broad, three-lobed, usually of the same colour as the sepals, or darker, and freely marked with bright 52 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE crimson. ‘The species has proved variable in the matter of colour, consequently several varietal names have been given, such as C. 1. SANDERI, C. 1. SANDER, C. I. SPLENDENS, C. I. SUPERBUM, etc. The erect spike and distinct colouring mark C. INSIGNE as one of the finest species introduced in recent years. The cool end of the Intermediate House provides a suitable temperature for it. C. Lowianum is the most popular member of the genus, and deservedly so, as it is readily cultivated, soon develops into a large specimen, and produces from one dozen to three dozen flowers on its long, graceful, drooping spikes. As an exhibition plant it is held in high favour because the flowers last such a long time in good condition. The individual blooms are four inches across, yellow-green, with faint brown lines, and a lip that is cream coloured, with brighter side lobes and a large horse-shoe shaped blotch at the apex. C. Lowianum flowers late in the Winter and continues in perfection for from two to three months, and where several plants are grown the flowers are generally available from February to May. C. Tracyanum has large, attractive flowers, five inches across; sepals and petals yellowish green, with interrupted longi- tudinal lines of crimson; lip yellow, crimson-striped, and with a cream-white, crimson-spotted apex. A splendid Cymbidium, ranking next in importance to C. Lowianum and C. eburneum. Best Hysrips The best hybrids are C. Verrcum (the name now given to the hybrids popularly known as C. ehurneo-Lowianum and C. Lowio-eburneum. It is now the custom to give the same name to the progeny of any two species even when the seed parents are different. In the case of C. Verrcnm the original C. eburneum x C. Lowianum cross has cream-white flowers with a distinct “ANOISNI Wa TCEIINAD THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 59 horse-shoe shaped crimson mark on the apex of the lip, while the reverse cross, 1.e. C, Lowianum x C. eburneum, has white flowers with a crimson mark on the lip, and is the finer plant of the two, and it would therefore seem advisable to give it a varietal name to distinguish it from the original form of the hybrid. C. Winntanum is another fine plant and is the result of crossing C. giganteum with C. Mastersii. This has fairly large flowers on long spikes and they are white, with a crimson-spotted lip. The finely marked and large flowered C. BENNETT-POEI, derived from C. giganteumxC. Tracyanum is another de- sirable hybrid. OTHER SPECIES AND HyBrRIDS There are several species of Cymbidium quite worthy of cultivation in a large collection, and one of the best of these is C. Devonranum, a broad-leaved plant about eighteen inches high, bearing pendulous racemes of numerous, comparatively small flowers that are green, spotted with crimson, and have a crimson- purple lip. This should be grown in a shallow pan or basket. C. ELEGANS (formerly known as Cyperorchis elegans) has narrow leaves, and semi-pendant spikes of light, greenish yellow flowers, that are set closely together and do not expand widely. C. ENsI- FOLIUM, a strong grower with yellow-green, purple-marked flowers, and C, TIGRINUM, a low-growing species with green flowers, and a white and purple lip, are both attractive, while C. Masrersit (also known as Cyferorchis Mastersii), which carries from six to ten white flowers on an erect spike, and has the lip spotted with rose- purple, is worthy of attention. Other hybrids than those already named include C. CHARLESWORTHII (C. Lowianum x C. Mastersii), C. Low-GRInuM (C. Lowianum x C. tigrinum), C. Maroni (C. grandiflorum x 54 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE C. Mastersii), C. SEDENI (C. grandiflorum x C. Lowianum), and C. Wicantanum (C. eburneum x C. Tracyanum), all of which are good, but several of them are rare and not in general cultivation. CYPRIPEDIUM A question quite frequently asked is ‘“‘ Which Orchids shall I begin with?’’ and with very rare exceptions the answer is “ The cool Cypripediums.” Taken as a family the Cypripediums are very easily cultivated, and even where there are no special facilities for Orchid culture they may be managed successfully if there is a small stove and a warm greenhouse. All the Cypripediums are interesting and curious by reason of the peculiar shape of their flowers; most of them are effective, handsome, and useful, but very few can properly be called pretty. The fact that the greater number of the species, hybrids, and varieties which thrive under comparatively cool conditions also flower during the Winter, gives to this group a high horticultural value, and to this virtue must be added another, viz. the wonderful duration of the flowers, these lasting in fine condition for upwards of four weeks. The upper part of a Cypripedium flower is called the dorsal sepal; less conspicuous, usually lacking size and colour, and placed behind the lip, is the ventral sepal; the two segments that extend more or less at right angles with the dorsal sepal are the petals; the lip, or labellum, is invariably pouched, but the pouch varies considerably in size and shape; in the centre of the flower, where the lip is attached, is a flattish, shield-like process, usually glistening, and known as the staminode; behind the staminode is the stigma, with two pollen masses near by. In Cypripedium niveum and C. bellatulum the flowers are rounded, CYPRIPEDIUM CURTISII. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 55 the sepals and petals being fairly even in size. In C. caudatum the petals are abnormally elongated and ribbon-like. In C. Chamberlainianum the petals are curiously twisted. In C. Schlimii and C. niveum the lip is quite small, but in C. Curtisii, C. Roths- childianum, and C. Stonei this organ is greatly enlarged. Botanists have in recent years divided the large genus of Cypripedium into four groups, and constituted each group a separate genus. From this arrangement it would appear that the hardy and deciduous. species, like C. caiceolus and C. spectabile, are true Cypripediums; the species from Tropical Asia, such as C. insigne, C. Curtisii, C. Lawrenceanum, etc., are Paphiopedilums. The Tropical American species, such as C. caudatum, C. grande, and C. longifolium are Phragmopedilums; while a few species (not referred to in this work) are included under Selenipedium. The botanical differences between these four groups or genera are not great, indeed for all horticultural purposes they may be disregarded. There is some difference in the growth of the Tropical Asian and the Tropical American species, the former having, as a rule, shorter leaves than the latter, and while the plants from the New World have their leaves long, more or less erect, and always green, those ' from the Old World have in very many instances their leaves mottled with different shades of green and brown and purple. In this work all the Lady’s Slipper Orchids are included under Cypripedium. It must not be forgotten that all the members of this large family are stemless, and have no pseudo-bulbs. In every large garden where Winter-flowering plants are in request a batch of “‘cool” Cypripediums is as much a necessity as are Chrysanthemums, Primulas, Poinsettias, Roman Hyacinths, Euphorbias, etc., and this is so even where there is no collection of Orchids. This is sufficient to show with what ease these plants may be cultivated, and, better still, it is ample evidence of their 56 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE great usefulness. Cypripedium insigne and its numerous varieties provide sufficient material to please most people, indeed the variations and cross-bred forms of this fine species are so abundant that their study and culture form a pleasant hobby for an amateur. C. Leeanum is a hybrid between C. insigne and C. Spicerianum and is a very fine plant, producing its very attractive flowers freely in the Winter. It also has numerous varieties. These two groups, é.c. C. insigne and C. Leeanum varieties, are a host in them- selves, but the hybridist has been so busy during the last twelve or fifteen years that the number of Cypripediums now available for cool cultivation is very large and, naturally, the range of form and colour has been increased at the same time. C. Boxallii, C. Charlesworthiit, C. Spicerianum, and C. villosum are good species to add to C. insigne and the hybrid C. Leeanum, while among the best of the cool growing hybrids the following form an excellent selection :—C. Arthurianum, C. aureum, C. Calypso, C. Cardosoanum, C. Charlesianum, C. Colossus, C. Evelyn, C. Hera, C. Hitchinsia, C. Lasellei, C. Lathamianum, C. Leander, C. Menelik, C. Milo, C. Minos, C. Niobe, C. nitens, C. Norma, C. c@nanthum, C. Regine C. Romulus, C. Savageanum, C. Schlesingerianum, C. Schrederi, C. Simonii, C. Statterianum, and C. Thalia. The best time to pot Cypripediums is soon after they have done flowering, and it will be found that as a rule the end of February or early March will be the proper season for attending to the material wants of the cool growing section. Not all the plants will need re-potting every year, but even those that do not require this attention are improved in health and appearance if the surface of the old compost is removed carefully and new material is put in its place. Cypripedium roots are thick and fleshy; they are also somewhat brittle. It is therefore necessary to handle the CYMBIDIUM LOWIANUM, PITT’S VARIETY. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 57 plants carefully, and where the roots have gripped the pots the latter may have to be broken and the roots detached by means of a sharp knife. Old and large specimens, however carefully handled, are sure to lose a number of roots, especially if they are divided into several portions. In all cases where root disturbance is severe extra care in watering and shading until the plants are re-established will be amply repaid. A point worth remembering is that roots are the more easily detached from the pot if the latter is soaked in tepid water for an hour before the operation. Use clean pots. If new pots are used they must be soaked in water for several hours previously, and then be allowed to dry. The drainage should extend to about one-third the depth of the pot. Cover this with a layer of sphagnum or peat fibre to prevent the finer portions of the potting material from working down among and blocking up the drainage. On this place a small amount of the potting compost, and then, holding the plant in the left hand, lower the roots into the pot and work the compost among and around them. Add more material and press it firmly as the work proceeds, completely covering the roots up to their attachment to the “crown” of the plant. It is neither necessary or desirable that the ‘‘ crown” or “ neck” of a Cypripedium should be raised above the level of the rim of the pot, nor need it be mounded up after the fashion of Odontoglossums or Cattleyas. When potting is finished the compost should be level, and half an inch or so below the rim of the pot, so as to allow an abundant supply of water to be given and ensure that it passes through the compost. A minimum night temperature of 50 degrees, ranging to 80 degrees by day in bright warm weather, will suit the newly potted plants, and if the house and stages are frequently damped and shading is given whenever necessary, there will be little need for 58 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE ventilation for a few weeks. But as the spring advances and new roots are made and new growths appear, ventilation must be given when the temperature reaches 70 degrees, gradually increasing it as the sun heat increases. From the middle of June to the end of August there is practically no need for artificial heat, provided the house is in an open position and has some shelter from strong prevailing winds. When growth ceases for the year, ze. when the plants cease to produce new growths and leaves, more light and air should be admitted so that the leafage may become firmer in texture and be thus able to carry the plants safely through the flowering period and the dull days of Winter. As to the potting material. If half a dozen experts are asked for a formula probably each will give one differing from the rest, and yet each grower may bea splendid cultivator of Cypripediums. This sort of thing puzzles a novice, but the truth of the matter is that Cypripediums are not nearly so particular over their rooting material as are many other Orchids. The writer has received plants potted in the usual “ general mixture” of peat and chopped sphagnum ; others in similar material but with fibrous loam added ; others in yellow loam only; and others in fibrous loam, broken leaves and sand ; and in every case the plants seemed to be perfectly healthy. Nearly all growers are agreed that Cypripediums, especially those that succeed under the cool treatment, make finer growth and flower better if placed in a more substantial compost than was formerly deemed advisable. Moreover, out in the country, where there is purer light than in suburban districts, the heavier compost is most suitable, while a lighter compost should be used in or near towns. A potting compost made up of two parts peat and one part each of sphagnum and fibrous loam is a good one to start with, and as the cultivator gains experience he may increase the CYPRIPEDIUM LAIRESSEI. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 59 amount of loam if he finds by experiment that such a procedure is desirable. Some growers are unnecessarily “faddy” over the compost for Cypripediums, especially those who grow hardly any other kind of Orchid; but, judged by results, there is far more virtue in careful watering, and a close moist atmosphere for a few weeks after re-potting, than in a highly specialised potting mixture. The species and hybrids that need the heat of a stove or East Indian House thrive better in the peat, sphagnum, and loam than in a heavier material, and the writer always fancies they like a surfacing of live sphagnum, which, by the way, the cool section neither specially likes or dislikes. Live green moss around the plants produces a tidy, healthy appearance in a house of Orchids, and most of us are willing to take some little trouble for the sake of a good appearance. The heat loving Cypripediums need potting soon after they pass out of flower, and as they bloom at various seasons of the year there is no one special season for the work, as in the case of their cooler brethren. Good drainage, a temperature never lower than 50 degrees, with practically no upward limit when the blinds are down and the bottom ventilators open, and abundance of moisture at the roots (except for a short time after potting) and in the atmosphere, are the chief points to bear in mind in connection with the culture of this section. The species and hybrids referred to in the following notes and descrip- tions need tropical conditions unless otherwise stated. One other little group of Cypripediums remains to be dealt with. It consists of a few species and varieties from the Tropics of the far East, and includes C. concolor, C. bellatulum, C. Godefroye, C. Godefroye leucochilum, and C. niveum. These are all dwart growers and have rounded, fleshy flowers. They are frequently found growing on limestone cliffs and in far more sunshine than the 60 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE majority of species. Under cultivation they are not always a success, notwithstanding that many growers take any amount of pains with them. Shallow, well-drained pots or pans suit them best, and the most approved compost consists of two parts yellow loam, and one part each of broken limestone and old oak or beach leaves, the whole pressed firmly about the roots. The plants should be grown in the hottest part of the stove, on a shelf, or suspended near the glass, with very little shade, but with plenty of water at the roots and none given directly overhead. There are numerous hybrids from these species and the more nearly they approach the species in growth and flower, the more nearly must the cultural conditions just indicated be followed. But as a rule the hybrids are more easily managed than the species. Best SPECIES C. BARBATUM was discovered in 1840 in the Malay Peninsula, near Malacca. In the following year it flowered for the first time under cultivation with the Messrs Loddiges, of Hackney. The species is found in most collections, but as a rule it is not seen in such good condition now as it was twenty years ago; this is probably due to the introduction of so many hybrids and the general inclination to cultivate these to the exclusion of species. A year or two ago, when visiting the mining villages of Prudhoe and West Wylam, near Newcastle, the writer saw some excellent specimens of this old Orchid in the glass houses of the enthusiastic miners who make a hobby of gardening, and ride their hobby hard and well. The flowers are of medium size and the rounded dorsal sepal is white, with a green base, and veinings of deep purple. The petals are green, shading to purple at the apex, hairy along the margin, and with several small, blackish warts along the upper edge. The lip is dull purple. The variety C. 3B. Cross ied Nase“ s oe “TINH CUPUGIIMN HO ANDISNI * SINDISNE NAPIER OO StLILGISIVA THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 61 is of dwarfer habit and has brighter flowers than the type; other good varieties are C. B. nicRuM and C, 8B. suPERBUM. C. BELLATULUM is found in Siam, but, for a long time after its introduction in 1888 by Messrs H. Low & Co., its habitat was unknown. Of dwarf growth, with thick leaves that are curiously bilobed at the apex, purple beneath, and mottled with light, greyish green on deep green above, this is one of the most interest- ing species. The rounded flowers are about three inches across, rounded, fleshy, and borne on a very short stem. The ground colour is white or pale yellow, but this is freely spotted with dark maroon-purple, the markings being very heavy in some flowers and much smaller in others. The lip is comparatively small, and is much less marked than the petals. The rare and beautiful C, BELLATULUM ALBUM is pure white and unspotted. Both the type and the variety are summer flowering. C. BoxaLiil comes from Burmah, where it was discovered about 1877 by Mr Boxall, when collecting for Messrs H. Low & Co. In growth and shape of flower it closely resembles C. vi/losum, and for a long time it was regarded as a variety of the latter species. The chief point of difference between C. Boxatiu and C. villosum is that the former has a pure white apex to the dorsal sepal, and from the centre to the base of that sepal there are numerous and often confluent spots of dark blackish purple. C. BoxaLii shows a good deal of variation, however, and in some forms it closely approaches C. vi//osum in colour. It is a species easily managed in a cool house. A very striking and distinct variety is C. B. ATRATUM ; in this the dorsal sepal is almost black and the rest of the flower is of deeper colour than usual, and richly burnished. C. CALLOsuM is a handsome plant even when not in flower, as its leaves, about nine inches long, are prettily mottled and tesselated 62 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE with light green on a deep green ground. The large blooms appear in Spring or early Summer, and are each carried at the end of a stout stem, fifteen or eighteen inches high. On the broad white dorsal sepal there are deep wine-purple veins, curving a little from base to apex, and short veins alternate with long ones; at the base of the sepal there is some green shading. This Siamese species is essentially one for the warm house and it is altogether a desirable plant. The albino variety, C. c. SANDER#, has the white parts very pure and all the parts that are coloured in the type are light apple green in the variety. C. cAUDATUM invariably attracts attention when in bloom because of the great length of its petals, and the most interesting point about these is that when a flower opens the petals are three inches long, but during the following week they elongate at the rate of two inches or more each day. Eighteen or twenty inches is acommon length for the petals to reach, and a total length of thirty inches is on record. As the spikes carry two or three flowers, occasionally four, a large specimen with several spikes ot expanded flowers presents a wonderful sight. C. caupATuM hails from Peru and is not difficult to cultivate in a warm, moist house. It has robust green leaves that often reach a length of fifteen inches, The flowers are large and the lower sepal is larger than the dorsal one; they are both creamy white, with regular, bright yellow-green veins. The elongated, pendulous petals are brownish-crimson, shading to yellow-green at the base; they are also narrow and ribbon-like. The bronze-green lip is shell- shaped, veined with darker green, and the infolded side lobes are whitish, lightly spotted with purple. There are several varieties of C, CAUDATUM, the most important ones being C. C. Lindenii, in which the lip has become petaloid, and elongated; C. c. Luxem- BOURG, with bright yellew sepals and purplish petals; C. c. CYPRIPEDIUM FATIRRIEANUM. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 63 WaALLIsi, smaller and paler than the type; and C. c. Warsciwiczil, with shorter, darker foliage, and rosy-flushed flowers. C. CHARLESWORTHII, a dwarf Burmese species, will thrive under the conditions that prove suitable for C. insigne and its varieties. Few Orchids have created so great a sensation as C. CHARLESWORTHI ; in 1903 it first flowered in this country, and when exhibited by Messrs Charlesworth, Shuttleworth & Co. of Heaton, Bradford, its large, flat, deep rose-coloured dorsal sepal at once attracted attention and suggested great possibilities to the hybridists. For a little while it was a rare plant, but other importations were received, notably by Messrs Hugh Low & Co., and plants were sold at public auction during the following year, so that within twelve months of the time the species first came before the public it was to be found in nearly all the leading Orchid collections in the land. The discoverer was Mr R. Moore, who found it in the Shan States, twenty-five miles south- west of Lake Inle, at an elevation of 5000 feet above sea level, and on limestone hills. It was subsequently found at places scores of miles from the spot where Mr Moore discovered it. The petals and lip of C. CHARLESwoRTHI are yellow-green, heavily shaded with brown, and the broad dorsal sepal shows considerable varia- tion. This may be deep rose or it may be pure white, though the latter is rare. Sometimes the sepal appears to be white, suffused and veined with rose. It is a charming little Orchid, rarely more than nine inches high. Grown under the very coolest conditions that will suffice for C. insigne it grows slowly, but if given the temperature of a warm greenhouse, 7.e. a minimum of 50 degrees, it grows better and flowers freely. C. Currisi was discovered by the writer’s relative and name- sake, in Sumatra, when collecting for Messrs Jas. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, in 1882. The large bold flowers are produced in 64 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE late Spring and Summer, and are generally to be seen in considerable numbers at the great annual Temple Show in London. A con- spicuous feature of the flower is the large, full, helmet-shaped lip, of a dull purple-brown colour. The green dorsal sepal has a white margin, and is regularly and heavily veined with dark green that shades to purple towards the apex. The petals are whitish, or pale purple, veined with green, and have raised black spots along the margin. They are curiously deflexed and reach to about the end of the lip. C. Currism has handsome leaves in which two shades of green are prettily intermixed. The species should be grown in a stove temperature, and it is then easily managed. Some of the Prudhoe miners grow it very well. C. FarrRizEANuM is a lowly species, rarely exceeding eight inches high even when in bloom. The flowers are small, about three inches across from the tip of the dorsal sepal to the end of the lip, but the beautiful rose-purple veinings on the white ground of the upper sepal make it very attractive, and the petals, deflexed and then upturned at the tip, moustache fashion, give the flower an interesting appearance. These are pale green with purple veins and have black hairs along the margin. The lip is brownish green with purple veins. For many years C. FAIRRIEANUM became rarer and rarer in cultivation and its rarity, the absence of importations or knowledge of its habitat, together with the fact that the hybrids derived from it were of great value, all lent a wonderful interest to the species. At last, just when hybridists seemed to have given up all hope of ever receiving imported plants, and when the few living cultivated plants were beyond price, the species was rediscovered, importations followed each other, and now C. FarrriEANvM is found in almost every collection and in some quantity. In 1857 flowers of C. FarRRIEANUM were sent to Kew from a garden in Somersetshire, and also from Mr Parker's AN WEDELSIANA, ) . ao 2 ii 2 a Se +) THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 65 Nursery at Upper Holloway, and in October of the same year a flowering plant was exhibited before the Royal Horticultural Society by Mr Fairrie, of Aigburth, Liverpool. Dr Lindley described the species and named it after Mr Fairrie. It was supposed that all the plants thus represented had been imported from Assam and offered with other Orchids at one of the sales at Stevens’ Rooms. It is also stated that M. Van Houtte received some plants from Bhotan. In 1880 the Messrs Veitch exhibited a plant before the Royal Horticultural Society and gained a First Class Certificate for it. From that time onwards practically nothing was heard of C. Fairrizanum until almost half a century had elapsed since its introduction, and then, in 1905, some plants were sent to the Calcutta Botanic Gardens, and others eventually reached Kew. Many were the rumours concerning a re-discovery of C. FaiRRIEANUM, and the Orchid world was in a state of excite- ment. Later in the year Messrs Sander and Sons, St Albans, sold plants privately, and over a hundred were sold in the auction rooms in Cheapside. ‘The Kew plants flowered, and in the Autumn flowering plants were exhibited in London and all doubt as to the identity of the plant was at rest. The long lost Orchid was re-discovered by Mr G. S. Searight, who found it high up in the valley of the Torsa River, in the Chumbi district of Western Bhotan. Wherever C. insigne is well grown there should be no difficulty in managing C. FarrriganuM under similar treatment. C. vexillarium, C. Juno, C. Arthurianum, C. Regina, C. Schrederi, C. Niobe, and C. Edwardii are a few of the pretty hybrids descended from C. FarrriEANUM, while there are numerous secondary hybrids of considerable garden value. C. GopEFRoy# is a beautiful, low-growing Orchid inter- mediate between C. niveum and C. concolor, and probably all three are but geographical forms of one species. Mr C. Curtis, E 66 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE when at Pinang, repeatedly collected these Cypripediums as well as C. bellatulum when on botanising excursions, and never found any two of them growing together. C. mivewm is found in the Lang- kawi group of islands; from the island about Tongkah or from the neighbouring mainland of the Malay Peninsula, and even from the Siamese side comes C. GODEFROY# and its variety C. G. Levcocuttum; while from the Moulmein district and Lower Burmah C. concolor is found. C. bellatulum hails from what may be called the Mandalay region. C. zivewm also occurs in the Tambilan Islands that lie to the west of Sarawak, and it was here it was discovered soon after its first discovery (presumably) in the Langkawi Islands. But this is somewhat of a digression. C. GopEFRoY# was introduced by M. Godefroy, of Argenteuil, but it was discovered about 1876 by an old Kewite named Murton, though the plants he collected never reached Europe, as Murton died before they could be despatched, and Mr Alabaster, in whose care they were placed, was taken ill, and so the plants were lost. But Alabaster found other plants and sent them to M. Godefroy. The flowers are white, sometimes yellowish ; the upper sepal and the detlexed petals are freely spotted with purple, and the lip is sprinkled with tiny purple dots. The form of the flower is better than that of the pale yellow, purple dotted C. concolor, but scarcely so good as that of C. mivewm, while in substance, size and heavy markings C. GopErroy# falls short of C. bel/latulum, though it is far more elegant than the latter. C. GoprFRoy& should be grown in the same way as C. be/latulum and C. niveum. C. GODEFROYE LEUCOCHILUM differs from the type in having a pure white lip, and it is a very desirable plant. C. INSIGNE, probably the most popular and widely grown Orchid, was discovered by Dr Wallich in North-East India and sent to England about 1819-1820. At a later date it was found CYPRIPEDIUM (ENANTHUM SUPERBUM. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 67 in quantity on the Khasia Hills, and in more modern times it has been found to have a still wider range. It is a very variable species, but usually it has a broadly oval dorsal sepal which is green along the centre and base, and white at the upper part; the green area is more or less freely spotted with purple or purple-brown, and if the spots extend into the white area they are then bright purple. The stiff, spreading petals are light green with brown or dull purple veins, and the lip is light green, often quite yellow- green, shaded with brown. ‘The flower is bold, and is finely posed on a stout stem, from eight to twelve inches high, and it shines as though beautifully polished or varnished. Few flowers last so long in a cut state as those of C. 1nsicnz. In some Orchid collections C. INsIGNE and its varieties are made a fine feature. Mr G. F. Moore, of Chardwar, Bourton-on-the-Water, has a particularly fine collection of varieties, the great majority bearing distinctive names. The late Mr Drewett O. Drewett, of Riding- mill-on-Tyne, also brought together a very interesting set of C. INSIGNE varieties, and for many years he worked for the improve- ment of the species by crossing and re-crossing the best forms, and selecting the finest resulting seedlings. He was particularly successful, and some of his best results are C. 1. EMPEROR, and C. 1. GEorRGE Renwick. The largest of the C. 1NsIGNE varieties are C. 1. Harerretp Hart and C. 1. Francis WELLEsLEy. Other notable varieties are C. 1. MAULEI, C. I. PUNCTATUM-VIOLACEUM or CHANTINU. But there are crowds of named varieties, though comparatively few of them are in general cultivation. Besides those mentioned, and others with bright colouring and distinct spotting, there is a group of varieties in which the absence of colour and spotting is the mark of perfection; these are albinos, or nearly so. The finest of this group is C. 1, SANDER, which has primrose-yellow flowers with a white apex to the upper sepal. 68 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE Among other charming varieties composing this section, but scarcely so beautiful as C. 1. SANDERA, are C. 1. CoBBIANUM, C. 1, Ernestu, C. 1% Laura Kimpari, C. 1. Linpent, C. Mac- FARLANEI, and C. 1. SANDERIANUM. . INSIGNE (or its varieties) has been one parent of about sixty hybrids, including C. Fowterz, C. Hircuins#, C. son, C. ARTHURIANUM, C. @NANTHUM, C. Gem, C. Venus, C. Mito, C. MAGNIFICUM, C. THALIA, C. NITENS, etc. C. LAWRENCEANUM is a very fine Lady’s Slipper Orchid and one that needs and thoroughly merits stove treatment. It was discovered in North Borneo by the late Mr F. W. Burbidge, in 1878, and named after Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bt., the President of the Royal Horticultural Society. The flowers are often five inches across and are carried on stems about eighteen inches high. The broad dorsal sepal is white with deep, rich purple veins, half of which are shorter than the rest and alternate with them. The out-spread petals are green, tipped with purple, and have marginal hairs and blackish warts. A few varietal forms have occurred, some remarkable for the richness of their colouring, but the one that shows the greatest divergence from the type is the albino, C. LAWRENCEANUM Hyeanum. In thisall the purple colouring has disappeared, and except for the white ground of the dorsal sepal the flower is light apple-green. C. LAwRENCEANUM has been freely used as a parent, and, in combination with other species, it has yielded C. Lawrebel, C. Maudie (C. L. Hyeanum was the parent in this case), C. concolawre, C. Gowerianum, C. gigas, C. Aphrodite, C. Euryale, etc. C. niveum, the dainty little species from the tropics of the far East, is one of the gems of the family. Its rounded white flowers always attract attention, and the tiny dots of purple that group themselves towards the base of the sepal and petals add to its EDIUM TILALIA. CYPRIP THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 69 beauty. It was introduced by Messrs J. Veitch & Sons, in 1868, but its habitat was not known until Forsterman collected it in the Langkawi Islands for Messrs Sander & Sons, many years later. Other references to C. nrveum will be found under the notes on C. bellatu/um and C. Godefroye. C. PURPURATUM is a beautiful, but unfortunately a very rare species. It is a native of Hong Kong and the adjacent Chinese mainland, and was introduced by Mr Knight, of Chelsea, as long ago as 1836. It is a dwarf plant with short, thick, tesselated leaves, and carries its flowers about six inches high. As a rule the flowers are about three inches across, the dorsal sepal being white with a green base, and very regularly marked with purple-brown stripes. The petals are purple, sometimes shaded with crimson and veined with green; the lip is purplish, with darker veins C. PURPURATUM isa very pretty plant, but it does not seem to take kindly to cultivation. An intermediate temperature suits it best. C. RoTHscHILDEANUM ranks among the noblest of Cypri- dediums as it is a strong grower and bears large flowers on tall spikes. The broad, glossy green leaves are often two feet long, while the reddish purple spike is sometimes a yard high, and may carry as many as six blooms. ‘To Messrs Sander & Sons is given the credit of introducing this species from New Guinea in 1887. The upper and lower sepals are nearly equal in size and colouring ; the ground colour is greenish yellow, and on this are longitudinal stripes of blackish purple. ‘The long petals stand out horizontally and taper gradually to a point; they are yellowish, striped with dark purple and spotted with the same colour, the spots being most numerous towards the base. The lip large and curiously elon- gated; dull brownish yellow with brown-purple veins. There is very little variation in C, ROTHSCHILDEANUM except that some plants seem to be naturally more free flowering than others. The 70 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE Northaw House variety is a fine example of this freedom; this belongs to J. B. Joel, Esq., Northaw House, Childwickbury, St Albans, and when exhibited in May 1gIo, it carried six spikes, with a total of thirty-two flowers and buds. A stove temperature is necessary for this splendid Orchid. C. SpiceRIANUM is a species which the hybridist has taken full advantage of, and crossed with C. imsigne it has given us the beautiful and extremely useful C. Leeanum, while C. Minos, C. Calypso, C. Moensia, C. Niobe, C. aureum, C. Statterianum, and C. Lathamianum are also among its important children. It was in the autumn of 1878 that Mr H. Spicer, of Godalming, sent a flower of this species to Messrs J. Veitch & Sons, but he could not tell the origin of the plant. The Chelsea firm subsequently secured the whole stock, and the species was named after Mr Spicer. For a little while C. SprcERIANUM was rare and expensive, but before long it was discovered in Assam by collectors sent out by the Messrs Low and Messrs Sander, and so it became a popular and widely grown Orchid. C. SPIcERIANUM is a plant of neat habit, and carries its flowers on stems about nine inches high. Each flower is rather more than three inches across, and has a bold, white dorsal sepal, with its lower margins reflexed. This segment is green at the base, and down the keeled centre is a deep crimson- purple band. The deflexed petals point forward a little, have strongly undulate margins and are light green, speckled with purple, and have a central reddish line. The lip is very shapely, brown, shaded with red. C. SprceRIANUM is a capital plant for inclusion in a collection of cool Orchids. C. STONEI, a strong-growing stove species, was discovered about 1860 by Sir Hugh Low, and it was introduced to cultivation by Messrs H. Low & Co., of Clapton. It first flowered with Mr J. Day, who had a fine collection of Orchids at Tottenham, and CYPRIPEDIUM MAUDIA. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 71 was named after his gardener. It is a native of Sarawak, Borneo. From an importation secured by the Messrs Low in 1863, Mr Day purchased a number of plants, and one of these flowered in 1867 and proved to be a far finer thing than the type, and so far as is known no other plant of thisnovelty—C. STONEI PLATYT ANIUM —has since been imported. From it a few small plants were pro- pagated, but it was not until the disposal of Mr Day’s collection by auction in 1889 that this wonderful Orchid really came into the market. The strongest plants were purchased by Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bt., and the late Baron Sir Henry Schroder, and at the time of writing there are few examples of it outside the Dell and Burford Lodge collections. It is generally understood that no less than £1000 was paid for the finest specimen at the sale referred to. C. Stoner has a white, crimson-striped dorsal sepal, and a lower sepal of almost equal size and colour; the petals are quite narrow and about six inches long, pale yellow at the base, gradually shading to dull crimson at the apex, and spotted with brownish crimson. The lip projects as in C. Rothschildeanum, and is very attractive, the colour being rose, with reticulating veins of crimson. In the variety PLATYT2NIUM the flowers are in every way glorified ; they are larger, and the petals are much broader, while the colour- ing is more brilliant, the petals being heavily spotted with deep crimson almost to the base. C. Morganie is one of the best of the hybrids derived from C. Stonei. There are a few hybrids from C. Stonei platytenium, i.e. C. platycolor, C. concolor being the other parent; C. Morgania langleyense, and C. James H. Veitch, the latter having C. Curtisii as its seed parent, and therefore really a varietal form of C. Constance (C. Curtisii x C. Stonei). C. sUPERBIENS has had many names, and as it has been described as C. barbatum Veitchii and C. barbatum supurbum, some indica~ tion of its general appearance will be gained from these titles. 72 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE The white dorsal sepal is lightly veined with green, and the deflexed petals are of similar colouring but have a large number of black warts on them, these being smallest and most numerous towards the base. The helmet-shaped lip is dull purple with crimson markings. C. SUPERBIENS is a summer flowering stove species, and even when not in flower it is a handsome plant because of the variegation of its leafage. The species was found at the southern end of the Malay Peninsula. C. vittosum concludes a selection of eighteen species, all of which are well worthy of cultivation. It is a fine Orchid, but now there is a craze for Cypripediums that have a flattened dorsal sepal, of rounded outline, it is less popular than formerly. C. vILLosuM was discovered by Thomas Lobb in Moulmein, and introduced to cultivation in 1853. It comes from a considerable elevation, and it will thrive under the same conditions as C. insigne where this is grown to perfection and not subjected to the very cool treatment it sometimes receives. The species grows vigorously and has leaves from twelve to eighteen inches long. The bold flowers are five or six inches across, and therefore among the largest found in the genus. The flower stems do not grow so stifly erect as in the case of C. insigne and some other species, but are bent over a little by the weight of the flower. The dorsal sepal does not conform to the canons of floriculture that find favour with so many growers; it hoods over somewhat, and the lateral margins are considerably reflexed from centre to base; the apex is white, and below this is a green area, but the larger part of this segment is rich purple-brown, the colour deepening towards the base. ‘The petals are quite narrow at the base but quickly broaden out and are very prominent and attractive, brownish yellow with purple veins. The lip is also brownish yellow with a brighter yellow margin to the mouth. C. vitLosum varies CATTLEYA HARDYANA. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 73 considerably, and one of the finest forms is named C, v. AUREUM. This has flowers in which the purple colouring has been almost obliterated, and the yellow shade highly developed and toned with pale brown. Best Hysrips If the reader will remember that there are about eight hundred hybrid Cypripediums, then some idea of the difficulty encountered in making a small selection will be appreciated. Further, tastes differ so much that it is hardly possible the selection will find general favour. The first selection made con- sisted of no fewer than eighty hybrids, or about ten per cent. of the whole. A further reduction brought the number down to five and twenty, and though all of these are not what a modern raiser and Cypripedium specialist would consider first class, they are all good growers and flower well under fair treatment; in other words, they are good garden plants. In dealing with these hybrids some consideration must be given to the needs of the dominant parent; thus if C. bellatulum is one parent then a modification of the treatment accorded that species must be afforded. In every case the hybrids in the following selection have been raised a number of times, and in different establishments, and therefore in some instances particularly fine varieties of the parent species have been used for breeding purposes. This at once suggests the possibility of a wide difference in the progeny, and so it comes about that while an ordinarily good form of a hybrid may be purchased for a few shillings, an abnormally fine one may cost as many pounds sterling. Twenty-five of the finest Cypripedium hybrids selected for their beauty of form and colour, according to the latest decree of Orchid fashion and with some regard for their rarity, could only be obtained by the expenditure of a small fortune. The catalogue 74 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE of a well-known firm is at hand, and a glance over its pages reveals the fact that fifteen of the finest and rarest Cypripedium hybrids are only to be obtained by an expenditure of a trifle less than #500, and the plants would be small ones at the price. Many of the rarest hybrids, or fine varietal forms of them, are not catalogued at all, simply because only one plant is known, and it is either kept for stock purposes or has passed into the possession of some wealthy amateur at a price that makes one’s mouth water. On the score of expense, however, the selection here given affords little ground for complaint, as may be gathered from the fact that the writer has examples of nearly all of them in his own modest collection. Descriptions are not given, because as a general rule the hybrids show the chief characteristics of their parents, and, as indicated above, there is a good deal of variation between certain limits, due to the variation in the species concerned. C. ARTHURIANUM is one of the earlier hybrids, derived from C. Fairrieanum and C. insigne. C. AuREUM (C. nitens x C. Spicerianum), is a bold and beautiful hybrid, and some of its finer varietal forms are C. a. Cyrus, C. a. Heese, C. a. Marte CLoson, C. a. CEpippe, and C. a. viIRGINALE. CC. CALYpso (C. Boxallii x C. Spicerianum), is another pretty and useful Winter flowering hybrid, and a splendid grower; C. C. Oakwoop var. and C. C. FLaminco are two of the best forms, but the type is good enough for anyone. C. CHarzestanum (C. Leeanum x C. nitens), was first raised in 1894, and may be regarded as a glorified form of C. Leeanum, indeed it was once named C. Leeanum superbum. C. Coxossus (C. nitens x C. villosum), is a bold, handsome Winter flowerer, that is perhaps better known under its later but not correct title of Cypripedium J. Howes; it combines a good deal of the size and polish of C. Boxallii, with the colouring of C. insigne. C. EveLtyn (C. Calypso x C. Leeanum), appears to have SANDER-E IGNE SI M IN PRIPEDIU C THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 75 been raised in America about 1900; it is a very fine Winter flowering Orchid, and, through C. Calypso, it has a good deal of the form of C. Boxallii. C. Mrs W. Mostyn is from the same parentage, but C. Evezyn is the prior name. C. cicas (C. Harrisianum x C. Lawrenceanum), needs moderately warm treat- ment, and has a bright bold flower; C. c. CornpEani and C. c. Emperor oF Inp1A are especially fine forms. C. GERMINYANUM (C. birsutissimum x C. villosum), has the form of the latter and a good deal of the brightness of the former parent. C. Gowerranum (C. Curtistix C. Lawrenceanum), is a bold and effective hybrid from two large flowering species; it needs a warm house. C. GRANDE (C. caudatumxC. longifolium), is a very strong-growing hybrid belonging to the Phragmopedilum section of the genus, and one that must be grown in a warm house; it has long tail-like petals and shows the influence of C. caudatum in a marked degree; in the variety, C. Gc. arRaTuM, the colouring is deeper than in the type, while in the variety, C. G. MACROCHILUM, the lip is unusually well developed. C. Harrisranum (C. barbatum x C. villosum), the first hybrid in the genus, is still thoroughly worthy of inclusion in any collec- tion. C. Hera is one of the very best of the cool section, and its parentage (C. Bowxallit x C. Leeanum) will at once suggest its worth and appearance; it is extremely variable, and is well represented in most collections under the varietal names of C. Aprastus and C. Euryapes. C. Hircuinsi@ (C. Charlesworthii x C. insigne), is another useful, attractive, and easily-grown hybrid, occasionally seen labelled C. bingleyense. C. LATHAMIANUM, one of the earlier hybrids, is from a good stock (C. Spicerianum x C. villosum), and it has been raised repeatedly at home and abroad since Mr Latham raised it at Birmingham. (C. LEANDER (C. Leeanum x C. villosum), has also been raised frequently at home, on the Continent, and in 76 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE America, and has received a number of names; the CAMBRIDGE Lopce variety and C. L. Tuompson are both good. C. LEEANUM (C. insigne x C. Spicerianum), is one of the most popular cool Orchids, and one of the best for a small collection ; owing to the wide variation of C. insigue it has been possible to obtain consider- able variety in this hybrid, but all are good, free flowering, and bloom during the Winter, when the large white area of the dorsal sepal is very attractive in conjunction with the green and brown of the rest of the flower; distinct varieties are: C. L. ALBERTIANUM, C. L. CLiInKaBERRYANUM, C. L. GIGANTEUM, and C. L. superpum. C. Maupra (C. Lawrenceanum Hyeanum x C. callosum Sandere), is rather expensive as compared with others in this selection, but it is too good to be omitted, especially as in a warm house it grows so freely and blooms regularly, giving large flowers that are white and pale apple-green; the coloured form of this hybrid, derived from the species instead of from the albino varieties, did not appear until several years after the original C. Maupia. CC. Muito, (C. insigne x C. e@nanthum), was raised in 1894, and is a dwarf grower ; the HEATON variety and the WESTONBIRT variety of C. M110 are both of fine form and colour. C. Morcanr# (C, Stonei x C. superbiens), is a splendid free-growing and _free-flowering hybrid that carries several large flowers on each spike ; many years ago it used to be grown particularly well in the Paradise Nurseries at Holloway, and at almost every season of the year plants could be found in bloom at that establishment. C. Niose (C. Fairrieanum x C. Spicerianum), is a delighful little hybrid with a good deal of purple colouring, and it is one of the best of the C. Fairrieanum crosses. C, NITENS (C. insignex C. villosum), is an effective combination of two fine old species; it grows well, and flowers freely in the winter, and its finer varieties are C. N. MAGNIFICUM, C. n. SaLrert, and C. nN. supERBUM. CC. C@NANTHUM (C. tRRUCOSA, - a onl es) th oa oA 4 a5 THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 77 Harrisianum x C. insigne), is another of the older hybrids, but one that is not to be despised for that reason ; this cross has probably been raised more times than any other, and the names given to the progeny of the species indicated is startling; C. a. suPeRBuM, C. &. GacatTeaand C. &, Mpg. CorFInet are good varieties. C. SIMONI (C. insigne x C. Leeanum), is perhaps better known as C. AcTEvs, a name that represents a very fine form of this variable hybrid. C. THALIA (C. insigne x Schrederi), is very fine and a much better grower than the handsome, brightly-coloured C. Schrederi ; four species are concerned in its production, ic. C. insigne, C. barbatum, C. Fairrieanum, and C. villosum. C. THALIA variety Mrs Francis WELLESLEY, is one of the most handsome of all Cypripeditums, no matter what their class. C. TRIUMPHANS (C. nitens x C. @nanthum), adds one more to the twenty-five selected hybrids; it is of very mixed parentage, but gives a bold, bright flower. OTHER SPECIES Among the Cypripedium species not hitherto described there are several of sufficient merit to justify their inclusion in a collection where there is ample room, and where the species and hybrids already selected are well represented. C. Arcus, from the Philippine Islands, is remarkable for its handsome foliage and the bold, blackish warts on its petals. C. CHAMBERLAINIANUM comes from Sumatra, and bears its flowers in succession on a gradually elongating spike; it is a very distinct species, and has its petals curiously curled or twisted, one in the opposite direction to the other. C. cILIOLARE bears a considerable resemblance to C. super- biens ; it comes from the Philippine Islands and flowers in the Spring. C. concotor belongs to the C. de/latulum group, and is referred to under C. Godefroye. C. Dayanum is a good and rather variable 78 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE species, first found on Mt. Kina Balu, in Borneo. C. Druryz is from Southern India and is notable for the broad median band of blackish purple down each petal and the dorsal sepal. C. Haynat- DIANUM is another species from the Philippine Islands, and like those that hail from thence needs a warm house; the purple shading on its flowers gives it a distinction and it almost always bears several flowers on a spike. C. HIRSUTISSIMUM was found in the Khasia Hills; all its segments are margined with hairs, the petals are much undulated and the dorsal sepal is densely dotted with purple. C. Hooxer# has a good deal of yellow-green colouring, but its flowers are comparatively small. C. Lown, from Borneo, bears several of its yellow-green, purple-stained flowers on a spike, in the Spring months. C. MASTERsIANuM is a Javanese species that was little known until its re-importation a few years ago by Messrs Sander and Sons; it has a bright green dorsal sepal, with yellowish white margin to the dorsal sepal, the latter being very large in proportion to the size of the flower. C. Parisuil is a distinct species with long, twisted, green ribbon- like petals, and a prominent lip. C. SANDERIANUM is a Bornean species that has long, narrow, pendulous petals, but otherwise it suggests a miniature C. Rothschildeanum. C. TonsuM has polished flowers in which white, green, and purple, are the principal colours. C, venustum, from North-west India, used to be largely grown, and it is still worth cultivation because of its freedom of flowering, its green, warted flowers and its handsomely variegated foliage. From the Phragmopedilum section three species may be selected as worthy of cultivation if space permits. These are C. LINDLEYANUM, C. LoNGIFOLIUM, and C. Scutrmu. CC. LONGIFOLIUM is a very strong grower and needs a stove temperature ; its flowers are borne on a tall spike and follow each other in steady succession CYPRIPEDIUM LEANDER THOMPSONI. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 79 over a long period. C. Scutimi succeeds in the cool house and has neat, pretty flowers that are white, shaded with pink or pale purple. This species is remarkable because it is self-fertilising, and is one parent of a series of hybrids that were formerly in high favour, but, as a consequence of their large growth and the fact that the flowers do not last long when cut, and are so liable to damage if bruised, they have fallen from favour. OTHER Hysrips In any prominent race, horse or foot, there are invariably a number of entrants of whom it is reported they “also ran.” But not seldom some of these are in many ways as good as the winners and often indeed prove the better over a period of years. So it is with many of the hybrid Cypripediums. A hybrid may not be regarded as tip-top, but there comes a time when the opportunity for crossing splendid varieties of the parent species occurs and is taken advantage of, with the result that the progeny is first class and is received with acclamation. On such occasion, however, the new comer is generally given a name altogether different to that of the original hybrid, instead of a varietal one. In the following list some of the very finest Cypripediums are in- cluded, but it would have been useless to place them in the former selection because they are not obtainable in the ordinary course of business, or only at high prices. C. Hson (C. insignex C. Drury); C. ALLANIANUM (C, Curtisit x C. Spicerianum); C. Aytinct (C. ciliolare x C. niveum), C. Wintrrep HotiinctTon is a fine form; C. BALLANTINE! (C. Fairrieanum x C. purpuratum), C.B.WESTFIELD var. isa brilliantly coloured form; C. BerKereyanum (C. bellatulum x C. Boxallii), C. BEEKMANI is a large variety raised on the Continent; C. Bucuantanum (C. Druryi x C. Spicerianum); C. CARDOSOANUM (C. 80 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE barbatum x C. Leeanum); C. Castrzanum (C. birsutissimum x C. superbiens); C. Cuapmanu (C. bellatulum x C. Curtisit), the varieties C. C. MAGNIFICUM and C, C. supersuM are in advance of the type; C. cHLORONEURUM (C. Aarrisianum x C. venustum); C. CONCO-LAWRE (C. concolor x C. Lawrenceanum) ; C. Constance (C, Curtisii x C, Stonei), in the variety named C. James H. Veircu, C. Stonei platytenium was the pollen parent; C. Cycnipzs (C. bellatulum x C. Swanianum), the variety C. W1LL1AM LLoyp is very deeply coloured, and shapely; C. Cymaropes (C. Curtisii x C. superbiens), C. BEECHENSE is a fine form; C. Dom Cartos (C. Godefroye x C. Lawrenceanum), the variety Rex is an especially good one; C. Dicksonranum (C. HeraxC. villosum); C. Epwarpbu (C. Fatrrieanum x C. superbiens); C. EDWARDIANUM (C. nitens x C. Rothschildeanum), is a fine hybrid that was shown as C. King Edward VII.; C. Erryi (C. Godefroye x C. insigne), is a rare and beautiful hybrid, best known by its varietal form named C. Queen or ITary; C. Evucuaris (C. insigne x C. Lawrenceanum); C. Figaro (C. enanthum x C. Spicerianum), is a bold flower very frequently exhibited as C. Tiryus; C. FowLer# (C. Chamberlainianum x C. insigne), originally ex- hibited as C. Miss Louise Fowler; C. cGicaANTEuM (C. Harrisianum x C. nitens); C. Gopserrianum (C. Boxallii x C. hirsutissimum), originally raised by Mr Cookson, and well represented by its varietal forms C. JupirErR and C. OTHELLO; C. Graves& (C. Argus x C. niveum), the inverse cross is commonly known as C. RuTH AyLinc. C. Hevena (C. bellatulum x C. insigne), a charming hybrid of which C. Hexen II. is a fine form; C. Io C. drgusxC. Lawrenceanum), a striking hybrid with petals that are very heavily warted in the variety GRANDE; C. JERNINGHAMIA (C. Spicertanum x C. Winnianum), a very fine hybrid whose parentage THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 81 is only surmised so far; C. Juno (C. callosum x C. Fairrieanum) ; C. Lasevier (C. Leeanum x C. Schlesingerianum), a fine Orchid, especially as represented by Lt.-Col. Sir G. Holford’s magnificent variety, exhibited as C. AtcisraDEs MAGNIFIcUM; C. LAIRESSEI (C. Curtisiix C. Rothschildeanum), an especially free flowering hybrid, bearing several flowers on a spike, and generally cultivated under the title of Cypripedium A. de Lairesse; C. LAWREBEL (C. bellatulum x C. Lawrenceanum), one of the best of the be//atulum hybrids; C. Leon (C. callosum x C. insigne); C. LirTLte GEM (C. Harrisianum x C. Schrederi), a very showy little hybrid, the WESTFIELD VARIETY being particularly rich in colour; C. MABELI# (C. Rothschildeanum x C. superbiens), a handsome hybrid, best known under its varietal forms named C. Lorp Dersy and C. W. R. Lez, SANDER’s VAR.; C. MEasuresianum (C. venustum x C. villosum); C. Meneuix (C. Bowalliix C. Calypso); C. MInniE (C. concolor x C. Curtisii), known also as C. Minnie Ames, and C. Annie Ayling ; C. Minos (C. Arthurianum x C. Spicerianum), the varieties C. M. Youncu and C. M. WesrriELp var. are both good; C. Oxenus (C. bellatulum x C. ciliolare), a fine hybrid, also well known as C. Gertrude Hollington; C. Oporxim (C. niveum x C. ciliolare), formely known as C. Madame Octave Opotx ; C. Princess (C. Coffinetii x C. Fairrieanum), a handsome hybrid in which the influence of C. Fairrieanum is most marked ; C. Psycue (C. bellatulum x C. niveum), a hybrid closely akin to the wild C.~Godefroye leucochilum, and finely represented by its varieties C. P. Lity and C. P. Mrs H. Druce; C. ReEpveRsii (C. insigne x C. Lucie), first shown as C. Sir Redvers Buller ; C. Recin@ (C. Fairrieanum x C. Leeanum), a very attractive Fairrieanum cross; C. Ricumanu (C. barbatum x C. bellatulum), a fine hybrid, first shown as C. Charles Richman; C. Rotret (C. bellatulum x C. Rothschildeanum), an interesting and showy F 82 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE hybrid; C. Romutus (C. insigne x C. nitens), a fine and variable hybrid, its best forms being the varieties C. R. Zeno, C. R. Troitus, and the handsome C. R. Vitte pe Paris; C. RosiTa (C. callosum x C. Charles worthii). C. Savaceanum (C. Harristanum x C. Spicerianum), a hybrid that has been raised a number of times, and one that is finely represented by such varietal forms as C. S. SEEGERIANUM, C. S. PitcHerranum, C. S. Aponis, C. S. memMorraA Moensu, C. S. Mapame Capre and C, S. GAETANO; C. SCHLESINGERIANUM (C. Boxallii x C. insigne), a hybrid of high merit, as represented by the variety C. S. Mons pe Curtre; C. ScuRa@DERI (C. Fairrieanum x C. enanthum), is one of the most handsome Cypripediums, and very brightly coloured, but it does not flower freely, the varieties C. S. GERMAINE Oporx, C. S. GERMAINE Oporx, WESTFIELD VAR, and C. Gaston BuLTEEL, are all superbly coloured, rare and costly ; C. Sratrrertranum (C. Spicerianumx C. vexillarium), richly coloured ; C. Tautzianum (C, barbatum x C. niveum); C. suPER- CILIARE (C. barbatumxC, superbiens), a good old hybrid; C. Venus (C. insigne x C. niveum), a beautiful hybrid, of which the OAKwoop VARIETY is a fine form ; C. VEXILLARIUM (C. barbatum x C. Fairrieanum), is a charming hybrid, and ought to be grown for its fine form and markings; C. Vipani (C. niveum x C, philippinense), is a striking hybrid, and C. V. Cornincii is a fine variety; C. Wotton (C. bellatulum x C. callosum), is handsome, and in all probability C. Paris, of uncertain parentage, is a fine varietal form; C. WELLESLEYE (C. Gowerianum x C. Sanderi- anum), is one of the best hybrids, and one that is fairly well known to specialists under the title of C. Mrs Francis Wellesley; C. Wetestey: (C. Lawrenceanum x C. Niobe), is one of Mr Wellesley’s fine plants, as also is C. WESTFIELDIENSE (C. Leeanum x C. Pollettianum). DENDROBIUM PIERARDII. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 83 In the Phragmopedilum section the following hybrids are good: C. Arnswortun (C. longifolium x C. Sedenii), C. ALBO- PURPUREUM (C. Dominianum x C. Schlimii), C. CARDINALE (C. Schlimii x C. Sedenii\, C. Domintanum (C. caricinum x C. caudatum), C. Rosy Gem (C. cardinale x C. Sedenii), C. ScHRapER@ (C. caudatumxC. Sedenii), and C. SepEenn (C. longifolium x C. Schlimii), with its fine variety CANDIDULUM. DENDROBIUM Among the many families of Orchids dealt with in this book, there are few which show such variation in stature, in style of growth, in size and shape of flowers, and in the formation of leafage as do the Dendrobiums. A very large number of the species are mere weeds, and are scarcely worth a second thought except as botanical curiosities, but this still leaves a very large range of choice in form and colour, and were it possible to exclude all the wonderful hybrids from consideration, there would yet be ample material wherewith to brighten our glass-houses for a considerable portion of the year. When Oloff Swartz, who graduated at the Upsal University, founded the genus in 1800, he described nine species only, but now, rather more than a hundred years later, there are not fewer than four hundred species, in addition to numerous well-marked varieties, and a whole host of hybrids, these latter being themselves often represented by several varieties. In a wild state Dendrobiums are found distributed over a wide area in the Far East. Among the Nepalese Himalaya they are to be found, but it is, or was, in Burma and in the Moulmein district that the greater number abound. One must write in the past tense with reference to some of them, for there is great difficulty 84 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE now in finding certain kinds in or near the localities where they were once abundant. Some species come from the South-west of India, some from Ceylon, and others from Southern China, Cochin China, the Malayan Peninsula, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and a number from the Philippines, while yet others hail from Timor and New Guinea—notably the lovely and very useful D. Pha/e- nopsis, and some from the Western side of Australia and as far South as Tasmania. This brief reference to the geographical range of a useful family of orchids will at once suggest the need of a whole range of hot-houses, each house kept at a temperature different from the rest, for the proper cultivation of Dendrobiums. But such a need does not exist. There are a few species that may, without any stretch of imagination, be classed as cool orchids, indeed one at least, ie. Dendrobium japonicum, is occasionally catalogued as hardy. It may manage to keep alive out-of-doors in exceptionally favoured parts of the South-western counties, but it is never heard of as a real success under out-door treatment. Where a collection rather than a selection is the aim of the grower, then some trouble will be experienced in finding the right condi- tions for the various members of the family. But where the desire is to have a set of the most beautiful kinds for flowering in the spring and early summer, that desire may be fulfilled provided there is a hot-house (a stove), and a heated vinery at disposal. With such structures, and with the same care and attention paid them as are given to any other indoor crop, there is no good reason why Dendrobiums cannot be successfully managed. Most of the Dendrobiums worthy of general cultivation are deciduous, but there is a small and important group of evergreen species with showy flowers. As a general rule Dendrobiums require a very high stove temperature and a moist atmosphere when growing freely, a season of rest in a cooler house and a drier TOT TTIILO ALARIVA TIZOTAVTOSMY A AUASTSELLN 2) THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 85 atmosphere, and a comfortable intermediate temperature when in flower. Nearly all of the cultivated Dendrobiums flower in the early spring, following a long resting season. New growth com- mences at or about the time of the flowering, usually during March and April, and it is the aim of cultivators to encourage the growth by every possible means, so that it may be completed by the end of the Summer or in early Autumn, while there is sufficient sunshine to make the new stem or pseudo-bulbs firm or ripe before the Winter, This ripening process is as essential as rapid and vigorous growth, because upon it depends largely the extent and duration of the flower crop the following Spring. Except when in flower, Dendrobiums require little shading, a thin blind to break up the rays of the sun during the hottest part of a brilliant Summer day being sufficient. When growth has ceased for the year the plants must be gradually inured to cooler and drier conditions, as their leaves fall, and they cannot be given too much light from then on to the time of flowering ; and during that period no water will be needed, unless the pseudo-bulbs show signs of shrivelling. It is a foolish practice to adhere rigidly to certain degrees of temperature for Dendrobiums at certain seasons of the year. Temperature should always be governed by the particular condi- tion of the plant or plants under consideration, together with the prevailing weather. But for the guidance of the uninitiated it may be broadly stated that in the Winter, when Dendrobiums are at rest, a temperature of not less than 55 degrees should be maintained, rising to 60 or even 65 degrees on bright days, but nothing should be done to excite the plants into premature growth. In March and April Dendrobiums generally start into growth, and this is the time for re-potting; the temperature from this period may rise from a minimum of 60 degrees at night to 70 or 75 degrees on bright warm days. The period of greatest vigour, the 86 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE “‘ srowing season,” as it is technically termed, is during May, June, July and August, and during these months the night temperature ought not to fall below 65 degrees, while, given bright weather and a little ventilation, there is practically no upward limit to the day temperature. Closing the house early in the afternoon, raising the blinds at the same time, and syringing the plants freely so as to secure strong and moist heat, are points of great importance. When the growth is finished (and “‘ finished” is really a very good technical term, signifying the time when new leaves are no longer produced at the apex of the new pseudo-bulbs), heat and moisture must both be gradually reduced, until, by the end of September, the temperature for March and April is reached; this may be continued through October, but when the leaves have all fallen, the Winter temperature will suffice. Although as a class Dendrobiums are of more or less pendulous habit, and therefore well adapted to cultivation in suspended baskets, it is usual to grow them in pots and stake the growths uprightly, as by this means less room is occupied by each specimen. Whether pots or baskets are used, it is necessary to provide plenty of clean drainage material, and place over this a layer of sphagnum before proceeding further with the potting. The general potting time is the Spring, when the new growths are advancing and the flowers have faded. Peat and sphagnum make a suitable compost, and a few broken leaves may be added as the grower comes to understand his plants and the local climatic conditions. Potting is an easy matter, and consists in placing the compost firmly about the roots after any old and sour material has been removed from the latter. It is quite unnecessary to allow a large number of old pseudo-bulbs to remain; one, or at most two, of those previously produced will sufice. Some growers have been eminently successful with Dendrobium nobile even when all the old pseudo-bulbs have DENDROBIUM BRYMERIANUM. DENDROBIUM CYBELE. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 87 been removed annually, but this drastic treatment is not recom- mended. The evergreen species, of which D. densiflorum may be taken as the type, like rather more shade than the deciduous kinds when in full growth. Liberal encouragement is desirable as soon as the new growths advance, but the resting season is not so marked in these as in the other species. When at rest the evergreen kinds must be kept in an intermediate house and given sufficient (and only just sufficient) water to keep the leaves and pseudo-bulbs from shrivelling. There are two marked exceptions to the general rules laid down, and they are D. Phalenopsis and D. formosum giganteum. The former does not start into new growth until a long time after it has flowered, but as it flowers in the Autumn, this peculiarity does not affect the cultivator so much as at first would appear. D. formosum giganteum will not succeed if given the tropical conditions that are suitable for most of the deciduous species, but when placed at the cool end of an intermediate house, it grows and flowers well. Best SPECIES. D. auREUM was introduced in 1837; it grows about a foot high, is deciduous, and produces its sweetly fragrant flowers in the Spring. It is one of the first to flower, and when the flower buds are distinctly seen it may be subjected to slight forcing. The flowers, about two and a half inches across, are produced in twos or threes towards the upper part of the stem, and the colour is light cream-yellow, with a deeper yellow lip marked with red- purple. The species has been largely used by the hybridist, and most of the very best hybrids have descended from it. D. Benson is a Burmese species, about eighteen inches high, 88 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE deciduous, and has stout stems. The flowers are white, save for the broad orange stain and two maroon blotches at the base of the lip. It blooms freely in the Spring, and is a desirable species. D. BRYMERIANUM is not an altogether satisfactory plant, as its flowers are produced sparingly. But it is worthy of cultivation for the sake of the few flowers it may produce, as these are among the most wonderful of the many wonderful flowers seen in Orchids. The stems are slender, a foot to eighteen inches high, and the leaves persistent. The golden yellow flowers are three inches wide, but the lip is larger than the rest of the Hower. This has prettily fringed side lobes, and the disk is curiously roughened or papillose, while the large apical portion broadens out into an exquisitely beautiful fimbriation, every part branching and rebranching until the ultimate divisions are of hair-like fineness. D. BRYMERIANUM was introduced in 1874 by Messrs Hugh Low & Co., and it is a Summer flowering species best grown in the Cattleye house or in an intermediate temperature. D, CHRYSANTHUM is a very fine species, but as it has stems from five feet to seven feet long, it occupies considerable space, and there- fore is not so popular now that growers prefer a number of small plants to a few noble specimens. It is deciduous, Autumn flower- ing, and produces its deep yellow blooms in racemes on the current season’s growths, while the leaves are still green. Each flower has two maroon blotches near the base of the lip. This species should be potted directly it has flowered, as new growth commences then; the Winter temperature ought not to fall below 60 degrees. D. CRASSINODE is a popular species, found by Col. Benson in 1868. The thick, semi-pendulous stems are very distinct by reason of their swollen nodes or joints. The plants look best when grown in baskets. It is a deciduous species and has effective flowers, rather less than three inches across, white, with deep purple tips to the THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 8g ee petals and lip, the latter segment having also a broad yellow disk. D. Dearii is a beautiful Orchid with stout stems two feet or three feet high, and persistent leaves. The white flowers, each with a yellow-green mark on the lip, appear in late Summer and are produced in racemes, four or five together. It was found in the Philippine Islands in 1882. D. Devonranum was found on the Khasia Hills by Gibson, when collecting for the Duke of Devonshire, and was sent to Chatsworth in 1837. It has slender stems about three feet long, and the flowers appear from the nodes along the greater part of their length. Though the flowers are not large (about two inches across), they are produced with great freedom, and a large plant in a basket is a fine picture. The colour is creamy-white, but the petals are purple tinted and the broader petals are tipped with deep magenta-purple, while the lip is blotched with orange at the base and has a purple tip and fringed margins. A deciduous Spring flowering species. D. Fatconert, from Assam, grows from two feet to three feet high, and flowers in Spring. The flowers are white, all the segments being tipped with purple, while the lip has a purple base and orange markings. In the variety D. F. atsrpu_um the white flowers are delicately suffused with pale purple. D. Farmenrt is an evergreen species closely allied to D. densi- fiorum, but the numerous flowers are not so closely set upon the pendulous racemes as in the latter species. Each flower is about two inches across, straw-yellow, flushed with pink, with a large golden disk on the lip. It flowers in Spring or early Summer. D. FIMBRIATUM is a tall grower, its stems often reaching a height of four or five feet. It is deciduous and carries its flowers in loose pendulous racemes in the Spring. The rounded flowers are go ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE orange-yellow, very pretty and attractive; and the lip is finely fringed. There are several varieties of this North Indian species. The variety D. F. OcULATUM is distinguished by the maroon blotch on the lip. D. FINDLAYANUM grows about eighteen inches high, is distinctly pendulous, and its swollen nodes give the stems a curiously knotted appearance. It is deciduous, and flowers in Winter or early Spring; its flowers appear from the nodes and they are white, suffused with lilac, the lip being yellow, margined with white. D. FoRMosuM GIGANTEUM is probably the finest of the white Dendrobiums. The Indian type is so rarely seen and the Moulmein or giganteum form so largely imported and cultivated that the varietal name seems quite unnecessary. However, the Orchid so popularly known as D. FORMOsUM GIGANTEUM is a fine one, and as its large white flowers appear in the Autumn it is a valuable plant where choice flowers are in demand at that season. The stems are about fifteen inches high, stout and rigid; the flowers are borne in clusters at the apex of the new leafy growth. D. rnFunpisuLum and D. Jamestanum are closely allied to D. formosum, and from a cultivator’s point of view they may be considered as less useful varieties of the latter. D. HitpeBranpbi is a Burmese species that came suddenly into public favour a few years ago. It has twisted sepals and petals, is pale yellow, and flowers very freely. D. NosiLe is an extremely popular Orchid because it is cheap, easily grown, beautiful, and of great value for many kinds of floral decorations. It appears to have first flowered in this country in Messrs Loddiges’ Nursery, at Hackney, in 1837; its intro- duction was due to Mr J. Russell Reeves, who brought home one plant only. As the species is spread over Northern India, Burmah, and part of China, its introduction in quantity did not occur until the country became opened up somewhat. The species DENDROBIUM PULCHELLUM. DENDROBIUM FIMBRIATUM OCULATEUM. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS gi is variable in colour, but it usually grows about eighteen inches high, and if not too severely rested its leaves are persistent during the greater part of their second year. The flowers are produced in twos or threes from the nodes along the upper portion of the stems and individually they are about three inches across. The sepals and broader petals are white, with the apical half shading gradually to deep amethyst-purple at the tip; the lip has a deep maroon-purple disk, bordered with cream-white, while there is usually a purple apex. Well marked varieties are D. N. ALBIFLORUM, with flowers that are white except for a dark purple disk; D. nN. BALLIANUM, white with a rose-pink disk; D. N. ELEGANS, a fine form with a highly coloured lip; D. n. Cooxsonranum, a remarkable variety in which the petals are coloured like the lip; D. nN. Nopixtus, a fine variety with all the segments larger and more richly-coloured than any other form known; D. N. SANDERI- ANuM, less brightly coloured than D. N. NosrLius and also somewhat smaller; and D. N. vIRGINALE, with lovely white flowers that have a pink disk and a primrose tinted lip. D. PHaLz@nopsis is a grand Orchid and one that is deservedly popular. It was not so popular, however, until the introduction of the finer variety from New Guinea, now so well known as D. PHALA@Nopsis SCHRG:DERIANUM, and it is this that is so largely cultivated for the grace and beauty of its flowers and because it flowers so freely in the Autumn. The varietal form grows about eighteen inches or two feet high and is therefore larger than the type. It carries its large, rounded, Phalznopsis- like flowers in graceful racemes, often as many as twelve or fifteen together, and as they are three to four inches across a few plants in bloom make a fine display. The colour is most variable, but generally rose-purple or magenta-purple, but the range is from pure white in D. P. notoreuca to the deepest purple. 92 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE D. Prerarp is a very free flowering species, with long, slender, pendulous stems, and if grown well in a basket it is a delightful plant when in bloom in the Spring. The somewhat small flowers, rarely more than two inches across, are pale rose- white, with a primrose coloured lip veined at the base with purple. D. primuLinum, like the last-named species, is of little value for floral decorations, but it flowers so freely that it deserves to be cultivated for its effectiveness. It has stiff and rather thick stems, about fifteen inches long, semi-pendulous. The chief attraction of the sweetly scented flower is its large rounded, pale yellow, purple-veined lip, the sepals and petals being very narrow in this species, and of a pale rosy lilac shade. D. PULCHELLUM is a stately and large flowered species, commonly known in gardens as D. Dalhbousieanum. It is not so free flowering as most of the popular Dendrobiums, and as a consequence it is not so much grown now that the craze is for plants that flower with great freedom and produce Howers that will last a long time when cut. D. PULCHELLUM is a Burmese species introduced in 1837. The stems are three to five feet high, and the flowers are borne in pendulous racemes from the top of the stem. Each flower may measure as much as five inches across, and a raceme may carry as many as ten flowers. The colour is tawny yellow, shaded with rose, the lip having two large maroon- purple blotches at its base. D. suPERBIENS is a charming species from North Australia and one that grows about thirty inches high, and flowers in the Autumn. It is allied to D. Phalenopsis and carries its crimson- purple flowers in similar fashion. D. supeRBuM has pendulous growths, two to three feet long, and its handsome flowers are about four inches across. The latter are curiously Rhubarb-scented, rich rose-purple, with a deep red- DENDROBIUM TITYRSIFLORUM., THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 93 purple base to the lip. D. s. anosmum is practically odourless, and smaller than the type, whereas D. s. GIGANTEUM is larger. D. THYRSIFLORUM is a splendid evergreen species growing about two feet high and flowering in Spring or early Summer. It is very like D. densiflorum in habit and carries its white, golden-lipped flowers in considerable numbers on pendulous racemes. It is a very fine plant and for exhibition purposes is quite popular. It comes from Burmah and has been in cultivation since 1864. D. Warpranum runs D. zobile closely in point of popularity, and it is in every way a fine Orchid when carrying its large white flowers, every segment tipped with deep amethyst-purple, and the broad lip similarly coloured but with a broad, yellow, maroon- blotched base. This species has a fairly wide range through Assam, Burmah, and Indo-China, and for many years it has been imported in large quantities and grown extensively, as its lovely flowers are valuable for bouquets, personal wear, and for other floral purposes. A few flowering plants make a brave show in a warm conservatory in the Spring, and visitors to early flower shows will be quite familiar with the species. ‘The growths vary a good deal and may be from eighteen inches to three feet in length, and though these are distinctly pendulous it is the general custom to stake them upright in cultivation. The growths are stout, with prominent nodes, and the leaves are deciduous. The flowers are often four inches across and are borne in twos or threes along the stems. One fine feature of the flowers of D. WarpIANum™ is that their wax-like texture enables them to last a long time in per- fection. On the other hand, this species has one great weakness from a cultivator’s point of view; it often commences to make new growth late in the season when the growth made in the Spring and early Summer is complete and needs to be ripened, 94 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE Cultivators should ignore this new and late attempt to produce growth and proceed along the usual lines of withholding water and resting the plants. Under these circumstances the late growth is just kept from shrivelling through the Winter, and when the Spring arrives and more genial conditions prevail it will advance rapidly. The finest forms of D. Warpranum come from Burmah and Indo-China, the dwarfer and smaller flowered forms coming from Assam and the Khasia Hills. The species first flowered in this country in 1858. There are numerous fine varieties of D. WarpranuM, differing from the type in form and colouring, but the most distinct variety is D. W. aLsum, or D. W. candidum, apparently identical, with large flowers that are pure white except for the yellow disk. Best Hysrips During the ten years 1890-1900 hybrid Dendrobiums were brought forward in large numbers and raisers were very busy intro- ducing new and beautiful plants of widely diverse parentage. But more recently the interested amateur has tried his prentice hand on the cool Cypripediums and gone on to be more or less successful with Odontoglossums, and so the hybrids of these genera have become popular in turn and fewer new hybrid Dendrobiums have appeared. This has one redeeming feature, it has kept the genus from being flooded with a crowd of worthless forms and the majority of the most beautiful hybrids in cultivation are to be purchased at quite reasonable rates. It is only in the case of extraordinarily fine varieties or a new cross of high merit that the prices rule high. All are easily cultivated and flower with great freedom. The following form an excellent selection :— D. Ainswortut (D. aureum x D. nobile), raised at Manchester in the first instance, first flowered in 1874; it has white sepals and DENDROBIUM WARDLANUM. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 95 petals and on the lip there is a large and handsome crimson-purple area; it is a fine free-flowering hybrid and one that is well represented in gardens by the type, and by the varietal forms D. A. GRANDIFLORUM, D. A. Leecutanum, D. A. RosEUM, and D. A. spLenpipissimuM. D. Aspasia (D. aureumx D. Ward- ianum), is a handsome hybrid sometimes known as D. Wardiano- aureum. YD, Cassiope (D. moniliforme x D. nobile), is a charming and free-flowering plant raised by Mr N. Cookson, and first flowered in 1890; it has white flowers with a maroon-purple blotch on the lip; the white form of D. nobile was used as a parent. D. CuessinGToNnEeNse (D. aureum x D. Wiganiz), is one of the newer hybrids raised by Mr Thwaites, and flowered in 1905; it is a strong grower and has soft yellow flowers with a deep brown blotch on the lip. D. Cooxson1r (D. xobile x D. Wiganiz), appeared in 1904, and combines the good features of its parents. D. Curtisi (D. aureumx D. Cassiope), is an unusually free flowering hybrid raised by Messrs Sander & Sons, and named in compliment to the writer. D. CyBeLe (D. Findlay- anum x D. nobile), is best represented by the OAKWOOD VARIETY, in which the yellow seen in the lip of D. Findlayanum is well brought out. D. Extisi (D. Hildebrandit x D. nobile), is a strong grower, and has yellowish flowers; D. WicGanranum must be regarded as a variety of this hybrid. D,. Evosmum (D. enxdocharis x D. nobile), an old hybrid, raised by Seden, and flowered in 1885, has white flowers tipped with purple, and with a rose-purple disc, and itis fragrant. D. Gem (D. aureum x D. Ainsworthit), is a tine hybrid with a creamy yellow suffusion; D. Artemis is of the same parentage. D. ILLusTRE (D. chrysotoxum x D. pulchellum), is a pretty and interesting cross. D. LutwycHeanum (D. dins- worthii x D, Wardianum), is a splendid hybrid from two splendid parents, and it is fairly well known as D. Cxio, but the latter, as 96 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE well as D. L. supersum and D. L. TynTEsFIELD vAR., must be considered as fine varietal forms of the same cross. D. meLAnopiscus (D. Ainsworthii x D. Findlayanum), raised in Sir Trevor Lawrence’s collection, is an extremely variable hybrid, but all the varieties that have received names are beautiful; D. curysopiscus is the reverse cross, and has more yellow in the lip than the original D. mMeLANnopiscus; D. M. GLoRiosum, D. m. Ciytiz, D. m. Dipo, D. m. Hepz, D. m. Luna, D. M. PALLENs, and D. m. Rarnpow are all charming, and indicate the great varia- tion to be obtained from a hybrid when each parent is used both as a pollen and seed parent. D. MELPoMENE (D. Ainsworthii x D. signatum), is a first-rate hybrid. D. micans (D. /ituiflorum x D. Wardianum), is a Veitchian hybrid that first flowered in 1879, but is still worthy of cultivation, and is mostly found in gardens now under the names of D. AtcippE and D. Evuryc ea, these representing the reverse cross. D. murRuiniacuM (D. zobile x D. Wardianum), is a handsome hybrid between the two most popular species, and it is also known as D. Euterpe, D. nobile-Wardianum, and D. Wardiano-nobile. D. Opuir (D. aureum x D. signatum), is yellow flowered. D. RuBENS (D. dinsworthii x D. nobile), is one of the very best of artificially raised Dendrobiums, and has been obtained by crossing the parents both ways; it has been raised many times, and there are a number of interesting and beautiful varietal forms, notably D. R. Apotto, D. R. DELLENSE, D. R. Euryarus, D. R. GRanpirLorum, D. R. HeEcTor, D. R. OrHELLo, and D. R. Virci_. D. Scunerperianum (D. aureum x D. Findlayanum), is a showy hybrid with a great deal of yellow colouring. D. THwarresi® (D. Ainsworthii x D. Wigania), is a bright and beautiful hybrid of yellow hue. D. Venus (D. Faleoneri x D. nobi/e), is a very fine hybrid, in which the purple colour and the yellow disc are very marked. D. Watroni (D. DENDROBIUM FORMOSUM GIGANTEUM. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 97 crassinode x D. Wardianum), appeared naturally, and has been also raised artificially. D. Wicani@ (D. nobilex D. signatum), is another of the fine series of modern hybrids with yellow colouring; it has been raised several times, and has a distinct variety in D. W. XANTHOCHEILUM. OTHER SPECIES AND Hysrips Among species that are deserving of attention where there is room for more than those already noted, the following may be selected :—D, ATROVIOLACEUM, a species from New Guinea, with violet lip; D. BARBATULUM, white flowers in close racemes; D. BicipsuM, an Australian species with rounded, deep purple flowers; D. CHRYsoToxuM, a Burmese species with yellow flowers, short, thick, pseudo-bulbs, and long leathery leaves ; D. C@Locynz, a striking species with large Ccelogyne-like flowers, coloured green and purple; D. crETAcEuM, flowers dull white, with yellow, red- marked lip; D. cRysTaLLinum, white, tipped with purple, very free flowering; D. Harveyanum, bright yellow, with fimbriated petals; D. Linawianum, a rather rare species with rose-purple flowers; D. Lown, about a foot high, flowers light buff-yellow ; D. MacCartTuia@, a curious species that has large, flattened flowers, rosy mauve and rich purple; D. mMoscHaTum, yellow, with dark maroon base to the lip, musk scented; D. ocHREATUM. a dwarf plant with orange-yellow flowers; D. sancuINoLENTUM, amber-yellow with red-purple markings; D. speciosum, an Aus- tralian species that does not need the tropical conditions afforded most Dendrobiums: the flowers are small, buff coloured, sweetly scented, and carried in stiff, dense racemes: the variety Hiri has whiter flowers dotted with purple, and makes a fine specimen when well managed; D. Vicrorta-ReEcina, the so-called “ blue” Dendrobium from the Philippine Islands, has small, bluish G 98 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE purple flowers: it does not flower very freely, but is quite distinct and novel. A further selection from the hybrid Dendrobiums should in- clude— D. Brackianum (D. Findlayanum x D. Wiganiz), D. Bounpu (D. Findlayanum x D. Hildebrandii), D. Bryan (D. luteolum x D. Wardianum), D. CHELTENHAMENSE (D. aureum x D, luteolum), D. Corpetia (D. aureum x D. euosmum), D. CYPHER (D. crassinode x D. Findlayanum), D. Dominyanum (D. Linawi- anum x D, nobile), D. Doris (D. Ainsworthii x D. moniliforme), D. GaTToneNse (D. Curtisii x D. Findlayanum), D. Niose (D. nobile x D. tortile), D, PrrcHERrANUM (D. nobile x D. primulinum), known also as D. Ro/fee ; D. Scytia (D. Cybele x D. moniliforme), and D. THompsonranum (D. Cheltenbamense x D, nobile). DISA To amateurs who do not care to provide and maintain accom- modation for tropical Orchids, the genus Disa offers a fine oppor- tunity. Everyone who knows the Disas agrees that they are beautiful, elegant, useful, and easily grown, and yet there are very few indeed who take up their cultivation seriously and make them the success they deserve to be. The hybrids, and all the species except D. grandiflora, are finely grown at Kew, where several hybrids have been raised. D. grandiflora flowers at Kew, but is not the striking success there that it has been at Joldwynds, Dorking, or at Messrs Cripps & Son’s nurseries at Tunbridge Wells; indeed this, the finest member of the family, is flowered in first-rate style in but few gardens, owing probably to insufficiently moist and cool atmospheric conditions during the growing season. The Disas are terrestrial, and chiefly from South Africa; DISA GRANDIFLORA. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 99 most of them have tuberous roots, and a rosette-like cluster of green leaves, from which in due course arises a leafy flower spike, carrying several flowers, each flower with conspicuous sepals. D. GRANDIFLORA has broad, scarlet sepals, and its flowers, four or five inches across, are borne in early Summer or Autumn, several together on a stem upwards of twenty inches high. D. RacEMosa has numerous small rose-purple flowers on stems eighteen inches high. D. TRIPETALOIDES has small, pretty, white, pink-shaded flowers, lightly spotted with red. The chief hybrids are D. Kewensis (D. grandiflora x D. tripetaloides), raised at Kew; D. Lanceyensis (D. racemosa x D. tripetaloides), raised by the Messrs Veitch; D. Luna (D. racemosa x D. Veitchii), also raised by the Messrs Veitch; D. Premier (D. tripetaloides x D. Veitchii), with deep rose-coloured flowers, one of the best. D. Verrcun (D. grandiflora x D. racemosa), bright rose-purple, very fine, and ranking next to D. grandifora in point of merit, with D, Premier and D. Kewensis following closely. Disas are best grown in shallow pans, in a compost of fibrous peat, sphagnum, and sand, placed over ample drainage. The time for potting is when new roots are being made. Moisture at the roots and in the atmosphere must be always provided, as drought is certain to bring failure and will probably kill the plants, but excessive watering after the flowering season is over must be avoided, as the plants then enjoy a season of comparative rest, and the syringe rather than the watering-can should be used. The coolest end of the Odontoglossum House will often provide a suitable position for Disas all through the dull months of the year and until flowering is over, but for the rest of the year a frame in a sheltered and shady position, with an abundance of moisture- holding material (ashes or shingle, or even a bed of sphagnum moss), 100 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE will be found suitable. Shade, moisture, and plenty of fresh air are very necessary to the well-being of Disas, and if pains are taken to provide these, the grower will be rewarded with beautiful flowers, and will come fully to understand why D. grandiflora, the gem of the Table Mountain, is popularly called “The Flower of the Gods.” EPIDENDRUM Although the genus Epidendrum is a very large one in point of numbers, it is by no means one of the most useful from a cultivator’s point of view. Considering the many species it contains (over four hundred), it has few of first-rate importance for garden purposes. As Epidendrums are distributed over a very wide area in South America, it might be expected that under cultivation they require varied conditions, but this is not so, for with the exception of the lovely little E. vzte//inum majus, all may be managed very well in an intermediate house. Those with pseudo-bulbs well defined are best grown with the Cattleyas and Lzlias, but those with slender, flexuous stems need moist atmospheric conditions the whole year through, but a diminished supply of water at the roots when resting. Peat and sphagnum provide a suitable rooting medium, and potting should be done as new roots appear. The taller, slender-stemmed kinds should be freely syringed when in full growth. All Epidendrums are evergreen. Best SpecIESs AND Hysrips E. CINNABARINUM grows four feet high, and its slender stems are crowned in Spring or early Summer with terminal clusters of scarlet, orange-lipped flowers. E. EvecTum is a tall, leafy-stemmed species, and one that is almost always in flower, bearing long- iy Oe & OD kG Oe DENDROBIUM AUREUM. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 1o1 stemmed spikes of rich rose-purple blooms of moderate size. E. PRISMATOCARPUM is a fine plant for exhibition purposes, and is frequently seen at exhibitions in late Spring and early Summer; its pseudo-bulbs are crowned with a pair of stout, leathery leaves, and from the top of each pseudo-bulb an erect spike is produced ; the cream-coloured flowers are spotted with dark purple, and the lip is yellow and rose. E. RADICANS grows upwards of two feet high, and as it produces zrial roots freely, propagation is easily effected by removing a portion of the growth with roots attached ; it does not bloom so freely as E. cINNABARINUM, but its large terminal clusters of brilliant orange-scarlet flowers are very beautiful. EE. vrTELLinum is not much grown, but E. viTeLtinum MAJus, which has larger flowers, is practically indispensable in an Orchid collection, and of great value in any establishment where choice flowers for bouquets and other floral arrangements are required ; it is a lowly plant, seldom exceeding a foot in height; the pseudo-bulbs are small and rounded, and carry a pair of ovate, glaucous-green leaves, which are surmounted in the Summer by a sturdy spike of flowers, each an inch or a little more broad, and of the most vivid cinnabar-orange colour imaginable. E. viTELLinum MaAJus should be grown with the Odontoglossums. E. Wa.tisi1 is almost a continuous bloomer ; it has dark, slender stems, upwards of two feet high, these bearing several flowers near the apex. The flowers of E. Wa.tisi1 are among the largest seen in the genus, and are often two inches across; they are yellow, marked with crimson, while the white lip has red-purple markings. A number of good hybrids have been raised, and the best of these are—E. Bounpi (£. Burtoni x E. radicans), deep orange- scarlet; E. Burront (E. ibaguense x E. O’ Brienianum), very free flowering, rosy crimson to crimson-scarlet; E. Cassiope (£. radicans x E. vitellinum), orange-yellow; E. Crarissa (£. elegan- 102 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE tulum x Wallisii\, somewhat like, but finer than, FE. Wallisit, and first exhibited as E. Wallisii-elegantulum; E. DE.Lense (E. radicans x E. xanthinum), orange-vermilion, flowers in large clusters; E. ELEGANTULUM (E. Veitchii x E. Wallisii), yellow or yellowish brown, with red-purple markings; E. O’BRiENIANUM (E. evectum x E. radicans), bright carmine, with orange mark on the lip; E. Verrceni (£. Endresit x E. Wallisii), better known at present in gardens as E. Endresio-Wallisii, heavily suffused and marked with purple on a yellowish ground. OTHER SPECIES AND HysBRIDs A few more of the species that have some claim to general cultivation are E. ATROPURPUREUM and its variety E. a. RanpII; E. cILIARE, with fringed white lip; E. cocuteatTum, E. Cooperi- ANuM, E, Enpresi, E. FRAGRANs, an old sweetly scented kind; E, FReperici-GuiLigeLMi, E. Mrpus# (better known as Nanodes Medusz), a very interesting, low growing species, with dull purple flowers; E. ParkinsonrianumM, E, STAMFORDIANUM, E. VARIE- GATuM, and FE. verrucosum. Other interesting hybrids besides those already enumerated are E, Cuarreswortuu (E. Frederici-Guilielmi x E. radicans), E. GaTTonense (FE. Boundii x E. xanthinum), E. HEATONENSE (E. Cooperianum x E. O’ Brienianum), E. Kewense (E. evectum x E. xanthinum), E. Orpeti (E. elongatum x E. O Brienianum), and E. Sepent (£. ciliare x E. Wallisii). EPIPHRONITIS At the time of writing only two hybrids between a Sophron- itis and an Epidendrum have been recorded. The first of these is EprpHronitis VeITcuu, a delightful little plant that grows about a foot high, and yields an abundance of brilliant crimson-scarlet EPIDENDRUM VITELLINUM MAJUS, THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 103 flowers, like broad, flattened Epidendrums, each with a prominent yellow blotch on the lip. It grows with the utmost freedom at the cool end of the intermediate house, and can be propagated by division with great ease. The parents are Sopbronitis grandiflora and Epidendrum radicans. The second hybrid is EprPHRonITis Orret1, of American origin, and derived from Epidendrum O Brientanum and Sophronitis violacea. LELIA The Lelias are a fairly large family of, for the most part, very effective, beautiful, and useful Orchids. In some instances it is difficult to distinguish a Lelia from a Cattleya in outward appear- ance, but as a rule the Lelias have not such large flowers as Cattleyas, and the flowers have narrower segments. Botanically the difference is also very slight, and consists in the Lzlias having eight pollinia instead of four as in Cattleya. Lzlias intercross readily with Cattleyas, and the hybrids, known as Lzlio-Cattleyas, form a splendid group of very beautiful plants. ‘The two families are found in Brazil, Mexico, and Guatemala, and with the excep- tion of the Mexican group the Lelias thrive under the conditions found most suitable for the majority of Cattleyas. The Mexican Lzlias form a group differing in habit and requirements from the rest of the family. Most of these have thick, short, compressed pseudo-bulbs, and long, slender spikes bearing the flowers near the apex. Best Species L. anceps is a beautiful winter-flowering Mexican species first introduced in 1835 by the Messrs Loddiges of Hackney. It is very variable in the colour of its flowers, but in every case the 104 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE spikes are from two to three feet long, and carry from two to five flowers near the apex. Each flower is about four inches across, with spreading and almost equal sepals and petals, and a three- lobed lip, the side lobes being enfolded over the column, and the front lobe extended and slightly reflexed. In the type the flowers are rose-purple, with a lip of deeper shade, the edges of the side lobes and the whole of the front lobe being deep crimson-purple. The disk is yellow, bordered with white. The principal varieties are L. A. ALBA, white, with a yellow throat; L. a. AmEsra, deep purple with crimson shading; L. a. BALLANTINEANA, rich rose- purple, with crimson lines in the yellow throat; L. a. Dawsonu, white, with purple marks on the lip, very fine; L. a. Hizin, white, with a pink lip, and yellow, crimson-marked throat; L. a. SANDERIANA, white, with rose-purple blotch on the front lobe of the lip; L. a. ScuR@DER#, deep purple, large, and of fine form, lip crimson-purple; L. a. SCHR@DERIANA, a strong grower, white, with crimson marks in the throat; L. a. STELLA, white, with a few rosy lines in the yellow throat; L. a. VESTALIs, white, with purple lines in the throat; L. a. Wiziramsiana, white, throat deep orange-yellow, lined with crimson; L. a. VerTcuu, white, with the lip marked with rose-purple. L. AUTUMNALIS is another Mexican species, somewhat like and only a littlefless valuable than L. anceps. It is similar in habit, and carries six or more flowers towards the end of the long spike. The flowers are from three to four inches across, fragrant, and with a more open lip than in ZL. anceps. The colour is deep rose-purple, with a white base to the lip and a yellow crest. In L. A. ALBA the flowers are white, with some yellow in the throat; while in L. a. ATRoRUBENS the colour is deeper and richer than in the type. L. CINNABARINA, about nine inches high, has slender pseudo- DENDROBIUM PHALAENOPSIS SCHR! DERIANUM (LIGHT VARIETY). THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 105 bulbs and an erect spike of from six to fifteen bright cinnabar-red flowers. Each flower is about two inches and a half across, the sepals and petals are narrow, and the lip is marked with red. A very attractive and useful species that blooms in the Spring. L. Dayana is very like L. pumila in general appearance, and is frequently referred to as a variety of the latter species. It has short pseudo-bulbs, each carrying one thick green leaf. The flowers are rounded, about four inches across, rose-purple, with a white base to the lip. It is a pretty orchid, dwarf, showy, and best grown in a suspended pan or basket. L. FLAVA is a Brazilian species with tapering pseudo-bulbs about six inches high, and erect spike a foot or more long, carry- ing from four to nine flowers. The colour in soft orange-yellow. L. GRanpis is of Cattleya-like habit, about eighteen inches high, and it carries its flowers, three to five together, in a short, stiff spike. Each flower is five or six inches across, nankeen yellow, with a rose-purple lip veined with white. L. JonGHEANA, now that it has been imported in quantity, is a popular species, and deservedly so, as it is of dwarf habit and bears large showy flowers. It is about six inches high, and though two or three flowers are usually produced from one spike, as many as five have been noted on an imported spike. ‘The segments are broad and the whole flower flattened, five or six inches across, bright rose-purple, with a yellow disc on the lip. The flowering time is Winter and Spring. L. PERRINI is a fine old species introduced more than seventy years ago, but now seldom grown. Its pseudo-bulbs are from six to nine inches long, and the leaves are of similar length. The flowers are five inches across, flat, pale rose-purple, with a deep purple apex to the lip. The variety L. P. NIvEaA is white with a purple apex to the lip and a light yellow throat. 106 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE L. PUMILA is a variable species, especially if we regard L. Dayana and L, pR&sTANs as varieties. L. Dayana, given specific rank at Kew, may be considered for horticultural purposes as a strong, deeper-coloured form of L. pumita, while L. prasTans differs in having a trumpet-shaped lip, red-purple with yellow shading in the throat. LL. pumita does not exceed six inches in height and has handsome rose-purple flowers. All three members of this little group are very suitable for amateurs with limited accommodation, as they grow best in suspended pans or baskets and take up little space. L. PURPURATA is the finest member of the family, and when not in flower has much the appearance of some of the labiate Cattleyas, and it succeeds well with these. Well-developed flowers of a good form have a spread of eight inches, but they lack the breadth of petal found in the popular Cattleyas. From three to nine flowers are borne on a stout spike in Spring or early Summer. In the type the sepals and petals are white, flushed with rose, the large lip being of similar shade, with crimson lines in the pale yellow throat, and a broad red-purple front lobe. There are numerous varieties, and a few of the finest of these are L. P. ALBA, L. Pp. ATROPURPUREA, L, Pp. Brysrana, L. p. RusseLtiana, and L. Pp. SCHREDERIANA. L. TENEBROSA is very like L. purpurata in growth, but its flowers have rather broader petals and the lip is more trumpet- shaped. The colour is reddish brown, with coppery or bronze suffusion, the lip purple, with darker shading and lighter veinings. L. TENEBROSA is variable in its colouring, and is closely allied to L. grandis. L. T. CHARLESwoxTuul, L. T. TRinG Park var,, L. T. Watton GRANGE VAR. (yellow sepals and petals), and L. T. WaRNHAM CourT vAR., are among the best forms. VARIETIES OF LALIA ANCEPS. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS © 107 Best Hysrips The Lelia hybrids are not so numerous as the Lzlio-Cattleyas, nor are they, as a class, so generally useful as the latter. There are, however, a few of considerable beauty, and among these the best are:—L. Breszis (L. barpophylla x L. purpurata), L. cINNA- Brosa (L. cinnabarina x L. tenebrosa), L. Darune (L. Dayana x L. purpurata), L. Epissa (L. anceps x L. purpurata), L. EvTERPE (L. crispax L. Dayana), L. Gravesim (L. crispax L. pumila), L. Iona (L. Dayana x L. tenebrosa), L. Latona (L. cinnabarina x L. tenebrosa), L. Lawrences (L. grandiflora x L. purpurata), L. NIGRESCENS (L. pumila x L. tenebrosa), L. Owentana (L. Dayana x L. xanthina), L. putcHerrima (L. Boothiana x L. purpurata), and L. Sranistaus (L. autumnalis x L. cinnabarina). OTHER SPECIES AND HysripDs All the following have some special attraction, and are worthy of cultivation where space permits. L. atpipa, a white, rose- tinted, Mexican species; L. Booruiana, large purple flowers ; L. crispa, white flowers with crisped purple lip; L. cRISPILABIA, small rosy lilac flowers; L. CrawsHayana, a supposed natural hybrid between L. a/bida and L. anceps, purple; L. Ever- MANIANA, a Mexican species with rosy purple flowers; L. FuR- FURACEA, a Mexican species, somewhat like L. autumnalis; L. GovuLprana, a rare Mexican plant, and supposed to be a natural hybrid between L. anceps and L. autumnalis; L. GRANDIFLORA, a Summer flowering species with rosy lilac and white flowers; L. HARPOPHYLLA, a slender Winter-flowering species with orange- coloured flowers; L. MoNOPHYLLA, a low-growing species from Jamaica, bearing small bright orange-scarlet flowers; L. RUBESCENS, 108 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE a white Winter-flowering Mexican species; L. suPERBIENS, a fine species when well grown, but its rosy flowers do not last long; it has tall spikes, three to five feet high, carrying from six to twenty flowers of good size; and L. xanruina, a yellow-flowered species that blooms in early Summer. A few more important hybrids are:—L. ama@na (L. anceps x L. pumila), L. Diona (L. Dayana x L. purpurata), L. DEGEEs- Tiana (L. flava x L. Jongheana), L. Exguisire (L. Dayana x L. Perrinit), L. rLaMMEA (L. cinnabarina x L. Pilcheri), L. CLAvINA (L. flava x L. pumila), L. Gwennie (L. Cowanii x L. Jongheana), L. Icarius (L. cinnabarina x L. flava), L. Juventus (L. Perrinii x L. pumila), L. Maron (L. acuminata x L. anceps), L. May- Tinu (L. grandis x L. purpurata), L. Minerva (L. Latona x L. tenebrosa), L. Mozart (L. Boothiana x L. tenebrosa), L. NEMESIS (L. anceps x L. superbiens), LL. SPLENDENS (L. crispax L. pur- purata), and L. sretrata (L. harpophylla x L. tenebrosa). LHLIO-CATTLEYA Should a doubt linger in the mind of anyone as to the value of hybrid Orchids, or the place these are already taking in the floricultural world, such doubt would soon be dispelled if the doubter were to visit the regular meetings of the leading horti- cultural societies of England, France, Belgium and America, for at no season of the year is a display of Orchids now made without one or more Lzlio-Cattleyas appearing. Culturally, these hybrids need the same treatment as the majority of Cattleyas, but where one of the more or less “ difficult” Lzlias or Cattleyas has been used as a parent, some consideration must be given to the particular likings of such species. Any selection of Lzlio-Cattleyas must necessarily be open to ODONTOGLOSSUM CRISPUM (SPOTTED VARIETY). THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS _ 10g criticism, simply because the range of habit and the size and colour of the flowers is so wonderfully wide that there is room for a great divergence of taste. Moreover, what is best to-day may not be the best to-morrow. At almost every meeting of the London and Manchester Orchid Committees some new hybrid or new variety of a previously raised hybrid appears, and though the standard of judgment is being continually raised, Certificates and Awards of Merit are frequently granted. The eighteen here selected as “‘the best” include a wide range of colouring, and as many of them have been in cultivation for several years, their value has been fully demonstrated. Best Hyprips L.-c. APHRODITE (C. Mendelitx L. purpurata), is a fine Orchid, and L.-c. A. Eupora, L.-c. A. Kinc Epwarp VIL, and L.-c. A. Rutu are splendid forms; L.-c. BLETCHLEYENSIS (C. Warscewiczii x L. tenebrosa); L.-c. CALLISToGLossa (C. Wars- cewiczit x L. purpurata), is very beautiful and variable; L.-c. CanHamiana (C. Mossie x L. purpurata), is one of the older hybrids, and its finer forms are L.-c. C. ara, L.-c. C. EXCELSA, L.-c. C. Lapy Wican, and L.-c. C. Princess or WateEs; L.-c. CHARLESWoRTHII (C. Dowiana x L. cinnabarina), is a brilliant and beautiful winter-flowering hybrid; L.-c. ELEGANs is a fine natural hybrid between C. Leopoldi and L. purpurata; L.-c. ERNESTI (C. Percivaliana x L. flava); L.-c. Eupurosyne (C. Warscewicxii x L. Dayana); L.-c. ExontENsIS (C' .Mossie@ x L. crispa); L.-c. FascinaTor (C. Schredere x L. purpurata), a remarkably beauti- ful and variable Spring-fowering hybrid; L.-c. FOuRNIER# (C. Dowianax L.-c. elegans), better known as L.-c. Berthe Fournier; L.-c. GREENwoopII (C. Hardyana x L.-c. Schilleriana), better known as L.-c. Henry Greenwood; L.-c. GOLDEN ORIOLE 1IO ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE (C. Dowitanax L.-c. Charlesworthit), bright golden yellow; L.-c. Hippotyta (C. Mossie x L. cinnabarina); L.-c. INGRAM (C. Dowtanax L. Dayana); L.-c. Marrinetru (C. Mossie x L. tenebrosa); L.c.-SCHILLERIANA (C. intermedia x L. purpurata), a variable natural hybrid, also raised artificially, somewhat like L.-c. elegans; L.-c. TRUFFAUTIANA (C. Dowiana x L. tenebrosa), a handsome hybrid, also well known as L.-c. Luminosa, and finely represented by its varieties L.-c. T. FouRNIERU and L.-c. T. THE MiKkapo. OTHER Hysrips A further selection includes: L.-c. ALEXANDERI (C. granulosa x L.-c. elegans), L.-c. ANDROMEDA (C. Dowianax L. flava), L.-c. AntTiconE (C. Schilleriana x L. purpurata), L.-~c. ASCANIA (C. Triane x L. xanthina), L.-c. Astort@ (C. Gaskelliana x L. xanthina), also known as L.-c. Hon. Mrs Astor and L.-c. Yellow Prince; L.-c. BapDEN Powettu (C. Lawrenceana x L. tenebrosa), L.-c. Batt (C. Schredere x L. cinnabarina), L.-c. BELLA (C. labiata x L. purpurata), L.-c. Boytet (C. Triane x L. anceps), L.-c. Bryan (C. Gaskelliana x L. crispa), L.-c. Cappel (C. Warscewiczit x L. cinnabarina), L.-c. CHOLETIANA (C. Mossia x L. superbiens), a very interesting, beautiful, and free-flowering hybrid, with most likeness to the Lelia parent; L.-c. Ciive (CG. Dowrana x L. pumila), L.-c. Cronta (C. War- scewiczii x L-c. elegans), L.c. Darwintana (C. maxima x Lc. elegans), L.-c. Decta (C. Dowiana x C. Perrinii\, L.-c. Devoniensis (C, Leopoldi x L. crispa), L.-c. Deweyi (C. Warneri x L.-c. elegans), L.-c. Domintana (C. Dowiana x L, purpurata), L.-c. Dora (C. Schradera x L.-c. Hippolyta), L.-c. Dorts (C. Triane x L. harpophylla), L.-c. Epicasra (C. Warscewiczii x L. pumila), L.-c. Eva (C. Gaskellianax L. tenebrosa), L.-c. LALIO-CATTLEYA SYLVIA. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 111 Fortuna (C. Mossie x L.-c. Schilleriana), L.-c. Gorrorana (C. Warneri x L. tenebrosa), L.-c. GOLDEN Brite (C. Dowiana x L.-c. Ernesti), L.-c. Gotpen Giory (C. Mossia x L.-c. Zephyra), L.-c. Harotpiana (C. Hardyana x L. tenebrosa), L.-c. HELENA (C. Schilleriana x L. cinnabarina), L.-c. HYeana (C. Lawrenceana x L. purpurata), L.-c. Kine Mavnoet, brilliant orange-red, parentage unrecorded; L.-c. Lustre (C. Lueddemanniana x L.-c. callistoglossa), L.-c. Myra (C. Triana x L. flava), L.-c. Patas (C. Dowiana x L. crispa), L.-c. Roruscuitpim (C. War- scewiczu x L. Perrini), L.-c. SCHRaDERZ (C. Triane x L. Fong- beana), L.-c. Sytvia (L.-c. Hippolyta var. x L.-c. Ascania), L.-c. VeITCHIANA (C. labiata x L. crispa), L.-c. WaRNHAmENsIS (C. Triane x L. cinnabarina), L.-c. Wewistana (C. TLriane x L. purpurata), L.-c. Wicani@® (C. Mossie x L.-c. Gottoiana), L.-c. ZeENoBIA (C. Loddigesii x L.-c. elegans), and L.-c. Zepuyra (C. Mendel x L. xanthina). LYCASTE Among the half-dozen Orchids that an amateur who has some knowledge of horticulture may presume to cultivate with reasonable success, even with fairly limited means and accommodation, Lycaste Skinneri must take a place. This species raises the genus to a place of importance among Orchids and quite redeems it from mediocrity. Even granted that some of the Lycastes are beautiful, Dr Lindley’s name for the genus suggests greater beauty and elegance than the genus possesses, for was not Lycaste the beautiful daughter of Priam? Lycastes come from Tropical America, and have short, thick pseudo-bulbs, and large, plaited leaves. As a general rule, the flowers are carried singly on stout, erect stems that proceed from 112 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE the base of the last-made pseudo-bulb. The flowers are of good size, often four or five inches across, fleshy, and of stiff appearance, but they are effective and last a long time, four or five weeks, in good condition. Lycastes may be grown successfully at the cool end of the intermediate house or with the Odontoglossums, but if the cooler conditions are provided then every care must be taken to avoid over-watering, especially during the resting period, or the plants will suffer. Many amateurs grow Lycaste Skinneri in an ordinary warm greenhouse, without any artificial heat whatever during the Summer months. Fibrous peat and a little chopped sphagnum suit the various species, but as a cultivator gains confidence and experience a mixture of fibrous peat, fibrous loam, broken leaves, and sand may be substituted as a rooting medium, provided the water-pot is used with great discretion. In the Winter, and when the plants are resting and almost or entirely leafless, very little water will sufhce. Potting is best done as soon as the new growths have advanced an inch or two and new roots have begun to form. Best SPECIES AND Hysrips L. AROMATICA has golden yellow flowers, about three inches across, fragrant, and several may be produced from the base of one bulb, in the Summer. The flower stems are about four inches high. L. Deppet, a Mexican species, is rather larger than ZL. aromatica, and the flowers are set on longer stems. The sepals are green, marked with purple-brown, petals white, and the lip yellow, dotted with crimson. Spring and early Summer is the usual flowering season. L. MACROPHYLLA (identical with L. Alana), is a strong-growing Yi 2 | LYCASTE SKINNERI (LIGHT VARIETY). THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS — 1:13 species from Peru; the olive green sepals are shaded with red- brown, and the petals are white with rosy spots, while the lip is also rose and white, with crimson spots. The variety L. mM. MEAsURE- sIANA has browner sepals, and the rest of the flower is more deeply and densely spotted than the type. L. SKINNERI is a very variable species in the matter of colour, and where a large batch of this useful Orchid is grown the flowering period may extend from November to March or April. The usual colour is a pale shade of rose, the lip being whitish, with deep crimson spots and shading. The sepals spread out stiffly, and the smaller petals and the lip point forward, making a central feature round the column. Some varieties are deep rose-purple or intense mauve, while at the other end of the scale is the pure white L. S. atpa. L. S. anmenraca, buff tinted; L. S. HELLEMENSE, very finely coloured; L. S. rosea, deep rose, with white lip; and L. S. vIRGINALIs, white, flushed with silvery rose, are the foremost varieties. The finest hybrid is undoubtedly L. Barri, from L. mac- rophylla and L. Skinneri. L. Capprt, L. CHARLESWORTHII, and L. Mary Gratrix are from the same cross, and therefore varietal forms of the same hybrid. OTHER SPECIES AND HysriDs L. BARRINGTONIA, greenish yellow; L. BREVISPATHA, green, white, and rose-purple; L. cruenTA, yellow; L. cicanrega, green and purple; L. ranrpes, white and green; L, MACROBULBON, yellow and orange; L. ScHILLERIANA, creamy white; and L. TETRAGONA, yellow-green, brown, and violet, are all good species. Other hybrids are L. Grocant (L. aromatica x L. Deppet) ; H 114 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE L. nysripa (L. Deppei x L. Skinneri), L. IMscHooTiana (L. cruenta x L. Skinneri); L. Janetim (L. Rossiana x L. Skinneri), and L. Scu@nsrunnensis (L. Schilleriana x L. Skinnert). MASDEVALLIA At the present time Masdevallias do not occupy a prominent position among cultivated Orchids, and this fact is probably due to the great increase of hybrids in such popular genera as Larlia, Cattleya, Cypripedium, and Odontoglossum. A few of the Masdevallias are showy when freely flowered and represented by large specimens, but in the majority of species the flowers are far more quaint and interesting than beautiful. Twenty or twenty- five years ago Masdevallias were much more frequently met with in collections than now; indeed, at the present time numbers of Orchid collections do not contain a single representative of the genus. Masdevallias are largely found in Columbia at a considerable elevation, and therefore most of them are “cool’’ Orchids, and may be grown with the Odontoglossums for the greater part of the year, and afforded five degrees higher temperature during the Winter. ‘The plants suffer from black spotting in the leaves if they are kept too cool and moist during the dull months. All the species are of tufted growth, evergreen, and have no pseudo-bulbs. They succeed in the ordinary mixture of peat and sphagnum, but do not need a large amount of potting material. August or early September is a good time to pot most of the species, but if the work cannot be done then, so as to give the plants a chance of becoming re-established before Winter sets in, it should be deferred until February. The section of which M. Chimera may be LYCASTE SKINNERI HELLEMENSE. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS © 115 regarded as the type have more or less pendulous flowers, and are best accommodated in baskets and grown at the coolest end of the intermediate house. Although Masdevallias are now relegated to a secondary position, there are about a dozen species and hybrids that are deserving of attention where space permits or personal taste demands, in fact there is a fine opportunity for amateurs to gain fame in the Orchid World by cultivating Masdevallias in first-rate style and exhibiting the results of their skill before the public. Masdevallias have their three sepals joined together at the base, except in the MZ. Chimera group, and the tips of the sepals are usually extended into long slender “tails”; this gives the flowers a curious appearance, and an outline that is roughly tri- angular. In most cases the flowers are borne singly on slender stems, and they vary in size from the minute M. muscosa up to the large M. macrura and M. Chimera. Best Species AND Hysrips M. amasiLis, a small grower, with orange and carmine flowers. M. ARmrnu, rose, shaded with purple, finely grown in the Burford Lodge collection at Dorking. M. sexia, pendulous, dull yellow, heavily spotted with purple-brown, and with purple- brown tails; must be grown with M. Chimera. M. cauDaTa, buff-yellow and rose. M. CHELsont, orange and mauve, a fine hybrid between M. Veitchiana and M. amabilis. M. Cuimara, pendulous, tawny yellow with violet-purple spots and tails; this species has numerous varieties, notably M. C. BackHousEana, M. C. Gorcona, M. C. severa, and M. C. Wattisi. M. COCcINEA is one of the very best species from a horticultural point of view ; the flowers are brilliant scarlet, shaded with rose on the 116 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE tube and the upper sepal; it, too, has numerous varieties, which show some difference of colour and marking, but all are very attractive and bright; the best are M. c. acanTuiFouia, M. c. ATROPURPUREA, M. c. ATROSANGUINEA, M. c. BuLw’s BLoop, M. c. Dennisonrana, M. c. GRANDIFLoRA, M. c. Harryana, one of the finest; M. c. Linpentr; M. c. Rose—A; and M. c. viotacEA. M. Davisi, bright yellow and orange. M. 1cGNza, red with crimson veins, allied to MM. coccinea, and well represented by the varieties M. 1 aurantiaca, M. 1. BoDDAERTIANA, and M. 1. miiraris. M. macrura, the giant of the family, has erect stems, and leaves over a foot high, and large, bright, tawny yellow flowers that are dotted freely with blackish purple. M. REICHENBACHIANA, red tube, yellow upper sepal, with whitish lower sepals and green tails; an attractive and free-flowering species. MM. TovaARENsis, a little gem, with pure white flowers borne several together on six-inch stems; this does well in the cool house, and when the flowers have faded they should be removed, but the spike or stem must not be cut, as such spikes frequently flower a second time. M. VEITCHIANA, large, vermilion, with tiny purple hairs that give a pretty flush to the flowers; one of the best for general cultivation. OTHER SPECIES AND HYBRIDS The following are all interesting and have a peculiar beauty of their own :—M. catura, M. Carper, M. caupaTa-EsTRADA, M. Courrautpiana, M. cucuttata, M. pemissa, M. EpuipPium, M. Estrapa, M. Florrpunpa, M. ronocuaris, M. LuDIBUNDA, M. Moorgana, M. Measurestana, M. muscosa, M. RotFeana, M. rosea, M. Scuirmu, M. Scura@perrana, M. TRIANGULARIS, M. TRIARISTELLA, M. TRoGLopyTes, M. WaGENERIANA, and M. XANTHINA. MASDEVALLIAS. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 117 MAXILLARIA Another large genus, containing remarkably few plants of horticultural merit, although to lovers of the curious a fairly large number of species will appeal. With the exception of one, per- haps two, the members of this family may well be left to those who value a large number of distinct species rather than a collec- tion of fewer plants of high decorative value. These two species represent two distinct groups of the family. MaAxILLaria SANDE- RIANA has fleshy flowers about six inches across, borne singly on decumbent stems; the plant grows about a foot high, or rather more, and has stout leaves. It is best grown in a basket, in peat and sphagnum, placed in the intermediate house. The other species, and one for which the writer has a weakness, is M. HovTtTeana, and this has ascending rhizomes, and so is in some sense a climber. All the members of its section should be grown against a piece of tree-fern stem, or up a teak raft, with a little peat and sphagnum about their roots. In M. SANDERIANA the colour is white, with deep and rich blood-red markings at the base of each segment. In M. Hourreana the flowers are smaller and more spreading than in the latter, and the colour is green, with heavy markings of deep crimson-brown. Of less value, and belonging to the M. Sanderiana group, are M. rccara, M. GRANDIFLORA, M. scURRILIS, M. LUTEO-ALBA, M. picra (a very free-flowering, sweetly fragrant species, with rather small, yellowish, purple-spotted flowers), M1. sTRIaTa, and M. vextsta. Species of note belonging to the M. Aoutteana group are M. TeNviFo.ia, M, meLEAGrIs, M. sancuryea, and M. VARIABILIS. 118 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE MILTONIA Although the Miltonias are a comparatively small family, natives of Brazil and Colombia, they include a large proportion of species that rank high among free-flowering plants. They are not difficult to cultivate, though it is not always easy to find a place that just suits the pretty MM. Roez/iz. All the kinds are readily increased by division if the work is done at potting time. An intermediate temperature suits them at all times, and it is therefore advisable to cultivate most of them with the Cattleyas during the Winter, and place them at the warmest end of the Odontoglossum house during the Summer. Good fibrous peat serves as a rooting medium, but the fine particles should be removed before use. The addition of sphagnum is not essential, but most growers add it to the extent of one-third of the mixture. There are several small differences of cultural treatment to be observed, as hardly any two species are a success under precisely the same conditions, but the general principles of plenty of water during free growth, and much less moisture when the plants are more or less dormant, must be kept in mind, remembering that Miltonias are never wholly leafless, and therefore must not be severely rested. If there is one Orchid more than another that those insidious little pests, the Thrips, seem to love, it surely is Miltonia vexillaria, and every pains must be taken to keep the plants clean, or failure will inevitably follow. Frequent sponging with soapy water will keep the leaves clean, but even then the pests may sometimes get down into the heart of the new growth, and breed there with alarming speed and freedom, and in a few days do a great deal of harm, eating away the leaf tissue and crippling the tender new leaves. ‘This at once suggests the advisability of regularly dipping A FINE VARIETY OF LYCASTE SKINNERII. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 119g the plants in X.L.-All or other approved insecticide. It does not take long to dip a few dozen plants, but, of course, the insecticide must on no accouut be allowed to drain down to the roots of the plant, or much more harm than good will result from the dipping. When the plants have been held in the insecticide for a few seconds, take them out and lay them on their side while the others are being dealt with ; when all have been dipped, those first treated will probably be dry enough to be stood upright in their usual positions. Although Miltonias love plenty of light, they do not like brilliant sunshine, hence thin shading is necessary during the bright Summer days. The leaves of several species are pale, glaucous, or yellowish green, and this light colouring must not be taken as indicating lack of vitality, as it would in the case of plants which have leaves that are naturally of a deep green hue. BesT Species AND Hysrips M. canp1DA has large red-brown, yellow-barred flowers, with a white, purple blotched lip. It grows very well with the Odonto- glossums, but should be given a higher temperature after it has flowered (in the Autumn), until the following Spring. M. cuneaTa flowers in the Spring, and it has red-brown flowers, but the white lip is rosy at the base. M. Roez.u is a charming Orchid, and one that needs stove treatment all the year round, and must always be kept moist at the roots. It has white flowers, with a yellow base to the lip and a purple blotch at the base of each petal. As M. Roezz11 is continually making new growths, it flowers both in Spring and Autumn, and where a number of plants are grown, flowers are rarely absent the year through. This is a smaller growing species 120 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE than most of the others, and seldom exceeds a foot in height. It needs a shaded position and plenty of atmospheric moisture. Thrips and red spider are its natural enemies. M. R. ALBA is pure white, save for the yellow base of the lip. M. REGNELLII is white, with rosy shading towards the base of the sepals and petals, while the lip is rose, marked with purple and bordered with white. It flowers in the Autumn, and is best treated like M. candida. M. sPECTABILIS is a low grower, and its spikes seldom carry more than one flower. In the type the sepals and petals are cream- coloured, and the broad lip is rosy-purple, margined with pale rose or white. M. s. Morexrana is one of the finest forms of this variable species, and it has a very deep purple lip; M. s. aTRo- RUBENS is even more richly coloured than M. s, Moreviana, while M. s. VIRGINALIS is white, with a rosy mark at the base of the lip. M. VEXILLARIA is the most popular member of the family, and it is a fine decorative plant for flowering in the Spring and early Summer. ‘Two spikes generally proceed from the same pseudo-bulb, and these carry from three to eight or nine large, flat flowers, of a soft rose or rosy lilac shade. In this, as in many other species, the lip is by far the most prominent organ, and a breadth of three inches is quite common. After they have flowered the plants should be placed at the warmest end of the Odontoglossum house, or similar position, but when the cool days of Autumn, arrive they must be returned to an intermediate house. Potting may be done about August, when new growth commences, but water must be given sparingly until the new year has brought an increase of light, and flower spikes begin to form. Some growers defer potting until early in the new year, and this prac- tice should be followed where the plants are grown in or near large towns, and where the light is very weak throughout the ANDRE. MILTONIA ST. THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS © 121 dull months of the year. M. vexitzarra is variable; M. v. ALBA or M. v. virginalis has white flowers; M. v. CHELSIENSIS is deeply coloured, and so is M. v. Crimson Kinc; M. v. CopBrana is pink, with a white lip; M. v. Daisy Haywoop is particularly fine, lightly rose tinted on the sepals and petals, and with a yellow base to the big white lip; M. v. Leoporpm is deep rose, with a dark maroon blotch at the base of the lip; and M. v. Memoria G. D. Owen is bright rose with a dark rich crimson- purple base to each segment; it is a fine and strikingly distinct variety. There are numerous other varieties, but these are among the finest. M. Brevana is the finest hybrid (M. vewillaria x M. Roezlii) ; the sepals and petals are white, shaded with rose at the base, and the broad white lip has a handsome red-brown blotch at the base, extending in front of the yellow disk. M. B. aurea has a conspicuously large yellow disk, and M. B. NosiLior is larger than the original hybrid, and is pure white except for the large, rayed red-brown blotch and the deep yellow disk on the lip. M. St Anpre (M. Roexlitx M. Bleuana var.), is a very pretty hybrid recently raised. OTHER SPECIES AND HYBRIDS M. Buiunti is supposed to be a natural hybrid between M. spectabilis and M. Clowesii; it produces its yellow and brown flowers in the late Summer. M. Crowes resembles C. candida, but flowers in the Autumn. M. FLavescens has yellowish flowers. M. Puatanopsis has white, purple-streaked flowers. M. Scura- DERIANA has brown and yellow sepals and petals, and a white and purple lip; it is a rare Costa Rican species. M. WarscEWwIczi1 is red-brown, with a rose and white lip on which the red-brown basal blotch is very bright and distinct; M. W. WELTonI is a 122 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE stronger grower than the type, and has a good deal of yellow in its flowers. ODONTIODA There is no more remarkable development among Orchids than the production of the Odontiodas by crossing Cochlioda (chiefly C. Netzliana) with species of Odontoglossum. ‘This new hybrid family contains many charming plants, and in nearly every case the flowers have orange or scarlet colouring, showing in a marked degree the influence of Cochlioda Netztiana. Before long, when the present plants have grown stronger and produce full-sized flowers and spikes, and when some secondary hybrids have been obtained with the size of a fine Odontoglossum, and practically the colour of C. Netzliana, then the addition of this family will be even more remarkable than at present, and this seems sure to come to pass, and we shall have then what to all intents and purposes are scarlet or orange-scarlet Odontoglossums. The Odontiodas need the same conditions and treatment as Odonto- glossums, but should be grown at the warmest end of the cool house. The hybrids are not numerous at present, and only a few of the leading raisers offer them for sale. Mons. Vuylsteke, of Ghent, was the first to show an Odontioda, and his first effort was O. VuyisTeK# (C. Netzliana xO. nobile). He was soon followed by Messrs Charlesworth & Co. with O. HEaToNENsIS (C. sanguinea x O. cirrhosum), O. BRADSHAWLE (C. Netzliana x O. crispum), and O, Bounuorr1&@ (C. vulcanica x O. cirrhosum). Later introductions are O. CHartesworTu (C. Netzliana x O. Harryanum), O. St Fuscien (C. Netzliana x O. Adriane), O. Tuwaitesi (C. valcanica x O. Harryana), O. GRAIRIANA (C. Netzliana x O. Rossii majus), O. Lutetia (C. Netzliana x OSSUM HARRYANUMI. a ODONTOC THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 123 O. luteo-purpurea), and a few others, with several remarkably fine varieties of some of the hybrids mentioned, notably O. BRADSHAWIL Cookson’s VARIETY, these latter having been raised from particularly fine forms of the Odontoglossum parent. Additions to the family continue to arrive, and some splendid hybrids were exhibited at the Temple Show of 1910, as O. Kinc Grorce V. and O. Roya, Gem (0. Vuylstekee x Odontoglossum armainuillierense (ardentissimum). ODONTOGLOSSUM An amateur Orchid grower usually commences his modest collection with the Cypripediums that succeed under cool conditions, and having achieved some success with them, and derived a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction from their culture, he looks round for other subjects upon which to exercise his skill. Already he will have cast longing eyes upon the graceful arching spikes of the wondrously beautiful Odontoglossums grown by his friends, or those exhibited by the leading trade and amateur growers at the meetings of the Royal Horticultural Society and the Manchester Orchid Society, or at the leading provincial shows, and the one species, with its innumerable varieties, that will have attracted his special attention, is O. crispum. This fascinating Orchid has much to answer for. It has lured men to their death, it has tempted fanciers to pay enormous sums of money for a rare and distinctly marked variation from the general type, and it has induced many a lover of flowers to make his or her first attempt at Orchid culture. Not to admire Odontoglossums seems to be quite outside the bounds of possibility. There is a grace and beauty in the spikes and flowers of these lovely Orchids rarely, if ever, found in any other class of plants. The blooms are not large enough to be heavy or lumpy, and yet they are so formed in regard to substance 124 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE and texture that they last ten days or more in water after being cut. In the bouquets of the bride and her maids, in the offering of love, or in the basket of flowers wherewith we do honour to a gracious and benevolent lady, or one gifted in the art of music, Odontoglossums frequently take a beautiful part. One flower is a suitable buttonhole bouquet for a gentleman, while a portion of a spike forms a charming spray for a lady to wear at any time. But while O. crispum is the Queen of cool Orchids, it must not be forgotten that the genus includes many other lovely species, as easily cultivated, and that many of these species have numerous varieties, and besides all these there is a great host of hybrids, almost all of which are exquisitely and brilliantly beautiful. This all goes to show that Odontoglossums are sufficient in themselves to provide abundant material for all the time an enthusiastic amateur can give to their culture and study. Odontoglossums may well (as in fact they do) form the subject of a most pleasur- able, fascinating, and interesting hobby. Within certain limits these Orchids show a great diversity of form and colour, as well as of size and habit of growth. The largest flowers are those of O. grande. In the finer forms of O. crispum, and in O. nebulosum, O. Rossii, O. Cervantesti, 0. citrosmum, and O. coronarium, the flowers have a more or less rounded outline, and approximate most nearly to the florist’s ideal of a flower. On the other hand, such species as O. cirrhosum, 0. blandum, O. odoratum, O. naevium, and O. hastilabium, produce narrow-petalled and spidery flowers. The spikes differ consider- ably in stature and style; O. Rossii flowers quite close to the base of the pseudo-bulb, while O. Edwardii will produce spikes 5 ft. or more in height. 0. crispum is a good example of an arching spike. O. wobile (O. Pescatorei) and O. ardentissimum usually have long and branching spikes; O. bictoniense and 0. TINOSNOOD *hIMVHSUVYT VAOILNOGO THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 125 Uro-Skinneri each send up an erect inflorescence, and the sweetly- scented O. citrosmum differs from the rest in having pendulous spikes, and also in producing these simultaneously with the appear- ance of the new pseudo-bulb. Where do these flowers hail from? They are found on the Pacific side of the American Continent, keeping to the vast mountain ranges of the Andees, and ranging from about lat. 20° North to lat. 15° South, or, roughly, from Colima, at the Southern end of the Sierra Madre, in Mexico, down to Cuzco, in Peru. But the region in which the Odontoglossums seem most to con- gregate is along the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes, from Bogota Northward and North-eastward. Here, in Colombia and Vene- zuela, but chiefly in the former, are the homes of such splendid species as O. crispum, O. nobile (Pescatorei), O. luteo-purpureum, and O. triumphans. OO. citrosmum comes from towards the Northern limit of the genus; O. grande is found in Guatemala; 0. Hallii from below Quito, almost under the Equator; and 0. cirrhosum, O. Kegeljani (polyxanthum), and O. Edwardii each extend the range farther Southward. The surprising part of the matter is that, although these Odontoglossums are found (perhaps I should use the word “ were” instead of “are,” because many of the species cannot be found where they were originally discovered, and some have not been found at all for several years past, owing to the devastation caused by collectors, and in a lesser degree by the progress of civilisation, in Tropical America), they can be grown successfully under quite cool conditions, with very few exceptions. The reason this is so is to be found in the fact that Odontoglossums grow at a con- siderable elevation, the majority being found from 5000 ft. to gooo ft. above sea level. This means that the temperature ranges from 40° Fahr. at night up to go° Fahr. in the middle of the day, 126 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE according to the season of the year. Throughout the whole of the Odontoglossum region the atmosphere is heavily charged with moisture almost all the year round, though the Mexican species experience a more distinctly drying or resting season than those found in the Colombian region, the latter, even in the “dry season,” rarely passing through twenty-four hours without rain. Another point of interest is that Odontoglossums grow for the most part in forests composed largely of trees belonging to the Cinchona, Walnut, and Oak families. These forests are dense and evergreen, consequently the sun’s rays, though often prac- tically vertical, have to filter through the leaves ere they reach the Orchids. But collectors tell us that the plants are most numerous where ravines or streams break up the general level and density of the forest, and it is at such points the air circulates the most freely and the light penetrates the most readily to the plants. There is also a good deal of difference in the size of the pseudo-bulbs of plants that grow in these lighter positions, as compared with those growing in deeper shade; under the influence of greater shade the pseudo-bulbs are considerably longer than where there is more light, but this does not necessarily mean the spikes are stronger or the flowers larger. Sorry-looking things are Odontoglossums when they arrive in temperate countries after a long journey through the tropics. Torn ruthlessly from their homes, roots broken and leaves cut away, they suffer many indignities, and frequently they are exposed to the sun for some time, so that excess of moisture is extracted from them. This treatment is necessary, so that when the plants are finally packed in dry material for their long journey, there is little risk of damage from damp and its attendant evils of fermenta- tion and over-heating. When packed very green, there is a great danger of Orchids commencing to grow while on the journey, and ODONTOGLOSSUM CRISPUM THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 127 such growth, made in the dark, can seldom be saved, or, if saved, is of little use. Assuming the beginner decides to start right away with im- ported Odontoglossums, then a few dozen should be purchased at the Orchid Sale Rooms, or through the medium of one of the nurserymen who make a speciality of Orchids and Orchid culture. When the plants arrive there will be intense disappointment unless the pur- chaser is already acquainted with the appearance of imported Odontoglossums. However, the first thing to do after unpacking is to spread out the plants on the bench in the potting shed or greenhouse, preferably the former, and examine each one care- fully. The removal of all decaying matter is work of the first importance, and ought to be followed by a thorough cleansing of pseudo-bulbs and stems, so that any insects hiding snugly may be ousted, and the subsequent new growth have the full benetit of a clean start in life. These little attentions are all in the day’s work of an Orchid specialist, but they are apt to be omitted by the novice, who, perchance, may have to pay rather heavily for the omission, either in trouble with pests or the rotting of new growths, or both. The next business is to give the plants a chance to grow, and this is best done by laying them out on a bed of sphagnum moss in the house where they are to be cultivated. If the moss is kept moist by means of tepid water, the conditions provided will be suitable; only during very fine and warm weather should the plants be lightly sprayed with tepid water. Much heat given at this period in the hope that the dormant plants will start into growth more quickly, and profit thereby, will defeat the end in view. In a few weeks indications of renewed vitality will be clearly seen at the base of many of the pseudo-bulbs, and before long new growths will appear. The temptation to hurry off to 128 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE the potting shed for pots and potting material as soon as these growths are seen is a great and pardonable one, but it must not on any account be yielded to. Let us think a moment. Here are rootless and leafless plants, with their fleshy bodies still further weakened by a long journey through hot regions, and by being packed in dry material. They are invalids just taking a turn for the better, but by no means fit for strong diet. ‘Make haste slowly ” is an excellent motto to bear in mind at this stage. The proper time to pot newly imported Odontoglossums is when the new growths have made some progress and new roots are being formed at the base. It is useless to expect all the plants will be ready for potting at the same time; some will soon begin to grow and root, while others wait a long time before showing any signs of life. The plants must be potted as they become ready for that process. Large specimens are very rarely imported nowadays, consequently large pots will not be required. The size of pot to use is one that will just comfortably accommodate the plant to be dealt with. Three inch (60’s), or four and a half inch (48's), will usually be large enough for the Odontoglossums obtained to start with. Use clean pots, and if the pots are new ones, they must be soaked in a tank of water for at least an hour or two (and then drained and dried) before being used. When established, and especially when growing freely, Odontoglossums need an abund- ance of moisture, and as the material in which they are potted has, with very few exceptions, to be kept moist all the year round, it will be readily understood that there must be ample drainage beneath the compost to permit the water applied above to pass quickly away. If the water does not pass away readily, the compost will become sour, the root tips be killed, and the plant die or become seriously weakened. The old practice was to place A YOUNG ODONTOGLOSSUM PLANT (WITH NEW GROWTH). THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 129 one potsherd concavely over the drainage hole, and cover this to one-third or one-half the pot’s depth with smaller potsherds or crocks, but the modern method is to place a large crock in the bottom of the pot and cover it to the depth of an inch or so with small pieces of the rhizomes of the common Bracken fern. These rhizomes are found in the turves of peat supplied by the nursery- men, or they may be purchased separately, provided one has no access to a Common or Heath or Woodland where this most common of British ferns is abundant. The rhizomes must be sterilized before use, otherwise they may grow and cause trouble. Sterilization is easily managed by putting the rhizomes in a very hot oven long enough to kill them, or by placing a quantity in a copper full of boiling water for a few minutes, and then spreading them out to dry. A great deal might be written about the material or materials in which the Odontoglossums are to root. The fibrous portion of the peat cut from Moor or Common, and consisting chiefly of the fine Heather and Bracken roots, was long regarded as the only suitable material for Odontoglossums, and there are still many successful growers who use nothing else, saving always the addition of Sphagnum moss. But Polypodium, Osmunda, and other fern fibres have been used with excellent results in place of peat during recent years, while the terre bruyere of the Belgians has had a great vogue on the Continent. Half-decayed leaves (not leaf mould as we generally understand it), is now very largely used, and in the hands of numerous skilful ‘cultivators it has proved an eminently successful potting material. It consists of Oak or Beech leaves, collected as soon as they have fallen in the Autumn, and stored free from other leaves, soil, or sweepings. If heavy rains are kept from them, they will be in good condition for use the following Autumn, and the only preparation necessary will consist of lightly I 130 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE rubbing them between the hands and sifting out the finer portions. 1 have seen Odontoglossums growing luxuriantly in this sort of leaf mould in Belgium, and potted just in the same manner we should follow when potting bedding Pelargoniums. As the leaves hold water more than peat, and as they decay quicker, there is the ever-present danger of over-watering, or the retention of an excess of moisture about the roots of the plants. Leaves used as a rooting medium encourage free root action, big pseudo-bulbs, and large leaves and spikes. But there are not wanting those who assert that the flowers so produced lack sub- stance and are not long-lived, while the plants suffer far more than peat-grown ones if taken into the dwelling-house for a time, or if exhibited at a flower show. The slow evaporation and poor light that obtain in and near large towns during the Winter do not suit the comparatively sappy growth made by Odontoglossums cultivated in leaves, but out in the country, where the better light helps to consolidate these growths, the results are often very fine. Beginners should stick to peat and sphagnum for the potting mixture until they are no longer beginners, but have sufficient experience to handle new materials discreetly. If they are venturesome they may add a quite small proportion (one-fifth of the whole bulk) of leaves to the peat and sphagnum. To show an amateur how to pot an imported Odontoglossum would be an easy task, but to describe the operation in words is quite another matter. After mixing the broken peat with an equal amount of clean, roughly-chopped sphagnum, allow the mixture to remain in the house all one night, so that it is at the same temperature as the atmosphere by the time potting is begun. Commence by placing a good layer of the potting compost over the drainage material, building it up in the centre of the pot, so that the base of the plant will be raised by it a little above the SNYOSHAAM LISSOM WASSO'TOOLNOGO THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS _ 131 level of the rim. Then, keeping the plant in the centre, proceed to fill in the compost around it, beginning at one side and working round, making the compost firm with the fingers, or by means of a short stick, as the work proceeds. The stick must not be used as a rammer, but simply to press the compost firmly and sideways. An experienced grower would be able to pot an Odontoglossum with this compost pretty much as others would pot a Pelargonium, without making the material too hard and compact, but the usual practice is to proceed on the lines suggested. When potted, the plant should stand firmly in the centre of the pot, and, as suggested, a little raised above the rim level. But at the margin the compost should be a little below the rim of the pot, so that when water is given it passes through the compost and does not run off it. A pair of scissors or small shears will enable the operator to trim away loose pieces of sphagnum or peat fibre, and give a finished appear- ance to the work. Spree sta nena see paibe ie dat ana rt ate perth aA Laeitenaa ett Dona pone ieieaten Fal cite ‘ pena; ehite a een ronal catatonia’ 3 =A fa pee mie iicsaa4 eel x tte oes is ctire tr “i bias Se intatse tated ae neil Sng Saleen “ ih feos} 4 hh st Jd gh bdabaad dhs list Fp te ai ire ngs ie Rn rit nah FA ny enh ra erate Mem is aye 8 er mainte knee? Swen pan mat Grnrh ourabGt dived oa 64 SUL egerinunse, bah (vive r Ten eH eed ve Aad hry Pe We Arey rey. un et wren Raut si iatod yw Oy aceasta learan ls tyler hea © ptr te de et eh Nae pcan ty A ion dey on tan. coy bap PA Re de tg