162 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



is nothing in their culture which may not he mastered by the 

 amateur, with the assistance of a little practical advice, such as that 

 given in the papers on Orchid Growing, published in the Floral 

 World for January and May, 1870. 



To give, upon the present occasion, any but general directions 

 for their management, is out of the question, and all that it appears 

 desirable to attempt is a few observations on the most suitable house 

 for an amateur to build, the selection of the potting materials, and 

 the supply of moisture, both at the roots, and overhead. 



First of all, we -will consider the best form of house, and it 

 should be well understood that orchids, although they do not bloom 

 satisfactorily in a dark house, should not be exposed to an excess of 

 light. For a moderate collection, a span-roof house, twelve feet in 

 width and eight in height from the floor to the apex, and twenty 

 feet in length, would be a fair size. The tables should be four feet 

 in width, and fixed at a distance of four feet above the floor ; and the 

 side walls, upon which the bottom of the lights should rest (for side 

 sashes are entirely unnecessary), should be carried thirty inches above 

 the stage. The latter can be made with open lattice-work, but it is 

 preferable to have a close stage, and then it can be covered during 

 the summer months with cocoanut-fibre refuse, or sand, to retain 

 the moisture, as the evaporation therefrom is most conducive to the 

 health of the plants. The house should be heated with hot water, 

 and the division set apart for species requiring a high temperature, 

 four rows of pipes on each side ; for those requiring an intermediate 

 temperature, three rows, and for "cool" orchids, two rows will be 

 ample ; but two divisions will be ample for an amateur, and preference 

 should be given to orchids that will succeed in the cool and inter- 

 mediate house. If three divisions are required, the house should not 

 be less than thirty feet in length. A less quantity of piping in all 

 the divisions may be fixed, but in severe weather the pipes will have 

 to be made much hotter than would be otherwise necessary, and the 

 heat given off will not be so congenial to the health of the plants. 

 Ventilation should be effected by means of small openings in the 

 side walls, opposite the pipes, and small moveable lights at the apex 

 of the roof. 



Nearly all the epiphytal species can be grown in a mixture of 

 sphagnum moss and fibrous peat used in equal proportion, but some 

 species prefer either peat or sphagnum separately. The Cattleyas, 

 Pleiones, and Lselias, for instance, do best in peat, whilst the Den- 

 drobiums, iErides, Oncidiums, and Phalsenopsis succeed better when 

 •potted in sphagnum. All grow with greater vigour when the roots 

 can come outside, and run down the sides of the pot or basket in 

 which the plants are put, consequently the pots should be nearly 

 filled with large crocks only, or in repotting the plants, turn them 

 out of the pots, remove the loose material from round the outside of 

 the ball, and after carefully loosening the outside roots, spread them 

 out regularly, and cover them with a moderate thickness of the 

 compost ; and to hold the plants steady, insert a few pegs at regular 

 distances apart. 



Terrestrial species should be potted in a mixture of turfy loam, 



