i88i.] DENDROBIUM NOBILE. 271 



prefer these — and we have tried two or three ways of getting up a stock 

 rapidly. If anybody knows a better way, they may be sure one culti- 

 vator, at least, will be glad to hear of it. 



However, having mentioned flowering-plants first, we will say some- 

 thing on how to treat these best. When they are grown in an ordinary 

 stove or house of similar temperature, they will be pushing new shoots 

 and new roots by the beginning or middle of February. At this stage 

 they should be repotted. The first thing to do is to carefully pull off 

 any young stems which may be growing near the tops of old ones, and 

 to pot them off on their own account in the manner to be afterwards 

 described. Do not begin these operations until growth is apparent — 

 although orthodox growers all advise this course. From John Bull to 

 John Chinaman the nightmare of orthodoxy hangs about the necks of 

 men like a millstone, and encumbers their progress like a Sindbad! 

 The orthodox time of potting Dendrobium nobile certainly stands in 

 the way of success. The orthodox mixture of moss, peat, crock, char- 

 coal, and sand, is another hindrance — inherited, like other evils, from 

 our fathers. They first potted the plant in ordinary soil ; that rotted 

 the roots and killed the plant. Some thinking person broke away from 

 this and used the above mixture with a good deal of success. We ask 

 you to discard this practice also, and to use only living sphagnum moss 

 and charcoal. You may object that there is no nourishment in either of 

 these articles. Never mind ; they are better alone than with any other 

 substance added or substituted. 



In potting, turn the plants out of the pots carefully, so that neither 

 root nor pushing growth be injured. Carefully pick away every particle 

 of the old potting material, and cut away all decaying roots. Wash the 

 remainder until perfectly clean in the water-tank, and then lay them 

 aside, — they are ready for potting. Pot them into clean, dry pots, of a 

 size that will just allow the roots to be comfortably accommodated. 

 (Pots large enough to hold a quantity of material which is never taken 

 possession of by the roots, is an unmitigated evil in Orchid cultivation. 

 They do far better when the roots are crowded — not too much — in the 

 pots). Fill the pots just about half full of fresh charcoal ; put a thin 

 layer of fresh sphagnum on the charcoal, and then distribute the roots 

 carefully and evenly in the pot ; afterwards work in an equal quantity of 

 sphagnum and charcoal among the roots, and make it moderately firm. 

 Some Orchids require firm potting, others are better loosely potted : 

 this one thrives best in a compost moderately firm. It is a good plan, 

 especially for careless waterers, to have the base of the plants a good 

 deal higher than the rim of the pot ; and we also advise pieces of char- 

 coal to be placed underneath the bases of the bulbs. Over all a layer 

 of fresh groiuing sphagnum should be placed ; but care should be taken 

 not to put it over the base of the bulbs, for that will cause them to break 

 half an inch or so up the stems ; and growths which do not start from 

 the very base are not worth having. 



