THE FLOEAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. i^tT 



As regards tlie selection of sorts, the Broad-leaved and liound- 

 leai-ed Batavian are first-rate for cuttinc: frora October to ]MiU"cc, 

 and when grown well scarcely distinguishable in the salad-bowl from 

 a lettuce. Some stocks of this have narrower lea\'es than the otherss 

 and have a strong and bitter flavour. The Green Curled is be^ u for 

 sowing for the winter wheie the Batavians are considered coarse, 

 and should be sown for planting on the banks for spring use. For 

 the autumn the White Curled is most valuable, as it is of quick g; ;)\vth, 

 and blanches readily and is very delicate, but the damp and frost ioon 

 affect it. "Where a constant supply has to be kept up, nothing can 

 equal the Batavian varieties, for they can always be depended upon. 



ORCHIDS EOR AMATEUES. 



BY GEORGE GOEDON. 



JOW that the cultivation of orchidaceous plants is extending 

 in the gardens of amateurs at a very rapid rate, it has 

 occurred to me that a list of the most suitable kinds for 

 forming a thoroughly representative collection would be 

 useful to many readers of the Floeal Woeld. I have 

 accordingly prepared a list of the most beautiful and attractive 

 species, and have made such comments on each as are likely to add 

 to the value of the list. As the utmost care has been taken to 

 enumerate those only which are remarkable for their beauty and 

 distinctness, the list should, in purchasing, be followed as closely as 

 possible. Some of the species in the more important genera are 

 very similar, and not required in the same collection, excepting when 

 very large, like that of Mr. Day's, at Tottenham. Again, some of 

 the varieties of particular species are much better than others, and 

 in buving without a practical knowledge of them, the risk is incurred 

 of purchasing inferior varieties. It should also be understood that 

 the price which orchids command is regulated more by their variety 

 than by the beauty of the flowers, so that the prices in the trade 

 catalogues do not always afford an index of the value of the 

 respective species and varieties as decorative plants. 



It will be needful to state, in the first place, that to grow all that 

 will be enumerated, three houses, or one house divided into three 

 compartments, must be provided. For a small collection, one house 

 divided, as here advised, will be the most preferable. It will admit. 

 of the plants being inspected and attended to more readily than 

 would be the case were they in detached structures, and it will also 

 admit of the heating arrangements being carried out in a more 

 economical manner. Having divided the house, w^e will designate 

 the first division, which should be nearest the boiler, the stove, in 

 which the temperature should be kept during the winter season at 

 65'' by fire-heat, allowing a rise of 5^ by sun-heat, and from 75° to 

 85° during the summer, the lowest number to represent the com- 

 mencement and end of that period, and the highest the middle. 



Aufjust. 



