attended to, there arc no plants that will belter repay the cultivator's care, especially as they require so little 

 space. an<t hloom during the dull autumn months, when flowers are in so much reqnoL We have, indeed, 

 seen importations of large masses of P. mactttaia and /*. WaUichiana^ and yet wc seldom find them now 

 in collections, &o that many hundreds of bulbs must have been destroyed. This is not, however, because they 

 arc difficult to cultivate, but because they have been wrongly managed. And the cause of failure i& thai they 

 arc deciduous, losing their leaves after completing their growth ; for though while in this leafless state they 

 produce their (lowers, yet, after the bloom is over, having no leaves, they are forgotten and neglected. They 

 require a regular course of treatment, and unless they get it they must not be expected to thrive. The 

 plants in fact, arc easy enough to manage, if the task is set about in the right way. We have followed the 

 mode of culture herein explained for several years with uniform success, so as to secure a profusion of 

 bloom ; and our treatment has been based on the natural conditions of the plants themselves. We are told 

 they grow on rocks and trunk* of tic**, among moss and decaying vegetable-matter, which, falling annually 

 from the Irccs, affords them nourishment, Tlicy are sometimes called Indian crocuses, and liavc some 

 resemblance to crocuses in their habit, being deciduous, losing their leaves, and even their roots, every year; 

 the old bulbs also, when two years old, dying away. They come from high elevation*, and therefore do not 

 require too much heat. The house in which tlie Cattleij&s arc grown will suit them well. They require a 

 decided season of growth, which should follow their flowering, and during this time they must be potted. 

 The same treatment as that we recommend was followed by Mr. Woolley, when gardener lo H. B. Kcr, Esq., 

 with very great success, Our own plants came from the stock grown by him teu years ago, which shows 

 that if the plants have proper treatment they can be kept year after year. 



As already observed, these Pleiones lose their roots annually, and then make fresh ones with the young 

 growth. It is when the young bulbs and roots are forming that they should be repotted, and this occurs 

 after they have done blooming. Our practice is to turn them out of the pots, shaking away [he earth, 

 dividing the bulbs from each other, and then repotting them. The soil that suits them best is composed 

 of one-third peat and the rest loam, with a free admixture of silver-sand, or clean river-Kind which will 

 equally answer the purpose. The ingredients should be well mixed together, but not sifted, as they will 

 root more freely in the rougher earth. A small quantity of sphagnum-mo^s may be used with advantage, as 

 they prefer something to adhere to. The pots ought to be perfectly clean, and not too large ; good drainage 

 is e&enti&l, and this should be supplemented by a layer of moss or rough peat, to keep it open, for the plants 

 require a good supply of water at the roots in the growing season, and it is necessary that tills should pass 

 off quickly. Above the moss, fill up the pot with soil, and press it down a little firmly, so that the surface 

 is just below the pot-margin, then put the bulbs on the top of Iho soil, about one inch apart, aud finish by 

 giving a gentle watering with a fine rose-pot. 



These little Orchids will thrive in a cool house, where the heat in winter ranges from 45* to 50 fl . Wc 

 have, indeed, grown them to great perfection in the same house with Lycmte Skimeri t kept in summer 

 under the shade of grape-vines, in which situation they bloomed very much liner in the autumn of 1SC2 

 than we have ever seen them before, many of the stems bearing two flowers each. They must have a goo 

 supply of water in the growing-season, and when their growth is completed they must have rest, with 

 sufficient water lo keep the bulla plump. In I he former period they must be set near the glass, so that they 

 may be well matured, and this will cause them to bloom more freely* When growing in too hot a hottSC* 

 the foliage is sometimes subject to red spider, which should be kept away by washing, for if the leaves are 

 injured strong bulbs cannot be expected. They arc propagated by separating the pseudobulbs, which should 

 be done when they begin to grow. 



