MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 119 
week, as Mr. Powell’s guest, he and I discussed the cultiva- 
tion of orchids from all angles. In basketing he has adopted 
the same system as practiced at the Garden of using only 
baskets or blocks of wood for all epiphytie orchids. His 
baskets, however, are much shallower than these used at the 
Garden and narrowed to the base, whereas those at the Gar- 
den are perfectly square. The Garden method enables the 
grower to fasten the orchid more securely without wrapping 
or tying it in with wire. After demonstrating our method of 
packing the peat and moss in such a way as to tightly fasten 
the plant, Mr. Powell decided to adopt it instead of his 
method of potting, as with ordinary garden plants in soil. 
The growing medium used is the native sphagnum moss mixed 
with Osmunda fiber imported from the United States, the 
greater part being the sphagnum. 
‘“As the rainy season was at its height during this period, 
artificial watering was unnecessary, but during the dry sea- 
son the hose is in constant use. The atmosphere during the 
week of my visit was at saturation point, and even wearing 
apparel hanging in the house would mildew. To overcome 
this all clothes wardrobes are connected with electrie lights, 
which are kept burning during the wet season. During the 
day there is an abundance of sunshine, sufficient to overcome 
the damping off of young plants. Both Mr. Powell and Mr. 
Cyril Allen of Colombia, the latter having had experience in 
Europe in growing orchids, suggested that more direct sun- 
shine should be given orchids than ordinarily practiced in 
the United States and Europe. I accepted the suggestion 
for Europe, but in St. Louis the heat of the direct sun in the 
summer immediately burns the leaves and pseudobulbs. The 
amount of sunshine and dry atmosphere in St. Louis is evi- 
denced bv the fact that such orchids as Schomburgkia, Chvsis, 
and Laelia Boothiana flower annually. Mv own observations 
in Colombia, esvecially with regard to cattleyas, proved that 
in their natural habitat these orchids withstand considerable 
sunshine. The plants growing in the most shady places. as 
unon branches of trees, produce long, narrow pseudobulbs, 
whereas those attached to the trunk and fully exposed to the 
sun produce short, thick growths with the maximum amount 
of flowers to the spike. 
‘‘In examining Mr. Powell’s herbarium specimens I was 
