1873.] SELECT ANGE^CUMS. 



tlieir first roots, and downward uiimutilated tap-roots, conserved to tliem, not 

 alone in substance, but also with tlieir primary bold of the soil intact, is 

 an essential to tbeir success. To in anywise injure, destroy, or check these, is 

 to force on them an inheritance of subsequent decrepitude. What is to be done, 

 then ? I would answer, do not attempt to grow them in any place but a warm 

 sheltered sunny position. In such a position, having prepared the ground efficiently, 

 sow the seeds broad-cast %(pon a raked surface, and subsequently " pat " it down 

 firmly and flatly. Sow the seeds not later than the first week in May, and let 

 them grow at their own time, and in this way success will be assured. 



But I have called them " Hardy Annuals," and I wish to prove the fact 

 beyond cavil. Prepare a moderately deep, rich border, slightly slanting to the 

 early spring sun, and sow as stated above. When the plants have bloomed and 

 are seeding during the subsequent autumn, let them remain where they have 

 grown to shed their seeds ; remove the decayed plants away so soon as this is 

 effected, and sow any seeds that may have been saved in some other eligible 

 situation ; pat the surfaces down with a spade, and sprinkle a little fine soil, 

 thinly and evenly, over all. If the border is not disturbed until the spring, 

 the seedlings will come up thickly, and bloom in masses of their own accord, 

 and afford a display such as no other method could produce. — William Earley, 

 Valentines. 



SELECT ANGRJ3CUMS. 



jLTHOUGH we have from twelve to eighteen species and varieties of this 

 genus in cultivation, we can scarcely point out half-a-dozen that are worth 

 growing in a select collection for their floral beauty. Not many years ago 

 our amateur cultivators of orchids grew nearly aU they could obtain, but 

 now this is impossible, since we have from 1,500 to 2,000 species in cultivation, 

 and these numbers are continually being augmented by new introductions ; hence 

 it becomes necessary to select those species which bloom freely, bear handsome 

 flowers, and best please our horticultural tastes. The botanical or smaller- 

 flowered species are quite as beautiful and often far more interesting to the 

 botanist, but horticulturists generally prefer to leave these to those who care to 

 examine them closely, while they grow only those kinds which greatly astonish 

 the ordinary observer. We have several small-flowered Angrcecums — such as the 

 curious blunt-leaved A. cUstichum., for example, but in this short notice a few of 

 the lafrgest-flowered can only be referred to. 



Most of the Angrcecums require the close, warm, and humid atmosphere of a 

 plant stove or East Indian house in order to grow them successfully. We have, 

 however, a solitary exception in the pretty white-flowered A. falcatum^ a native 

 of Japan. These plants grow best in a compost of living sphagnum moss, with 

 lumps of charcoal and crocks, taking great care to have the pot thoroughly well 

 drained. If peat is used in the compost it should be of the best description, and 

 contain but little earthy matter. On the Continent some magnificent specimens 



