814 



HORTICULTURE 



June 30, 1906 



Cool Orchids 



-' i Frontispiece. 



High up on the Andes in Colombia, just below the 

 Erost line, forming a belt thai does nol descend iower 

 than 6,000 feel elevation is a tract of territory which 

 has become the most diligently searched of any in South 

 America because of its floral wealth, and the ever in- 

 creasing demand for the orchid gems that are found 

 h was a1 one time possible for a collector to 

 obtain with comparative ease all the plants that could 

 be taken down the river on the small steamers that ply 

 there, but of recent years the increasing demand and 

 the destruction of their native forests for the purpose 

 of coffee culture has made it difficult to obtain these fine 

 plants. In spite of the many days' journey on mule 

 hack necessary now to reach the present "districts" 

 where the plants still remain, collectors are still at work 

 gathering up ail thev can for export, principally to 

 London, where they bring high prices even as dried 

 scraps that might be easily put in a vest pocket. The 

 species most sought for is Odontoglossum crispum. and 

 for this there are several reasons; a graceful arching 

 spray of this orchid is perhaps, the most beautiful 

 flower created; certain it is that hundreds of culti- 

 vators think so. Then again there were never two 

 plants imported that proved alike when they flowered; 

 if one buys 1,000 he is sure of just that many distinct 

 varieties. ' Some are, of course, inferior, but the gems 

 that crop up among them are priceless. One amateur 

 cultivator in England has a small house that contains 

 $50,000 worth of these rare forms of odontoglossum. 

 The length of time the flowers last in perfection, vary- 

 ing from a month to six weeks according to the weather, 

 is a point worthy of remark, and, if it is stated that 

 very little artificial heat suffices, even less than a carna- 

 tion needs, to grow them to perfection it is not strange 

 that of recent years the odontoglossum has come to the 

 front rapidly as the most popular orchid for the grower 

 who takes an interest, a personal one. in the plants he 

 cultivates, for the atmosphere of the house is always 

 kept congenial. The temperature in hot weather even 

 in the United States can be so regulated on the hottest 

 davs that it is at least 20 degrees lower than in the 

 shade outdoors. This is vastly different from the 

 steaming hot interior of orchid houses that accommo- 

 date the plants from the East Indies, Philippines, 

 Brazil and other parts of tropical America. 



For many years Odontoglossum crispum was known 

 among cultivators as O. Alexandra-. Its first flowering 

 in England was coincident with the arrival there of the 

 beautiful princess, the present Queen, the variety so 

 named being considered different from the dried bo- 

 tanical specimen previously named O. crispum; later, 

 however, the wonderful variation in individuals was 

 apparent, and the older name adopted, but it has taken 

 a generation to live down this trifling error, though 

 sentiment has perhaps been largely responsible for this 

 tenacity. There have been very few collections of cool 

 orchids brought together in this country, largely be- 

 cause growers were afraid of the hot weather in sum- 

 mer, but there have been striking exceptions, for in- 

 stance, the well-known Ames collection at North 

 Easton, Mass., and that of the late Mr. Corning at 

 Albany, N. Y. This last when dispersed was in fine 

 h, many of the plants being large specimens of 

 wonderful vigor. It was thus seen that with proper 

 care and a suitable house to summer them in. there 

 no difficulties that could not be overcome, and 



many smaller attempts have followed usually with 

 good results. 



The beginner, however, soon finds that all of the 

 literature bearing on this subject applies to the condi- 

 tions that obtain in England and his success depends 

 on the ease with which he can apply the two great fac- 

 tors that make for success, plenty of air and a moder- 

 ate temperature, ami ignore the mass of useless detail, 

 the slavish imitation of which for about ten years 

 nearly killed the whole of our plants, but under a more 

 rational system, during the past few years the plants 

 have in many instances trebled in size and we know 

 there is no secret about it. 



Odontoglossums when received from their native 

 woods are devoid of leaves ; they are a cluster of bulbs 

 just as torn off the trees; these take about two years to 

 bring them to the flowering stage, but the buds are all 

 taken off except one that the effort may not be too much 

 for the newly established plants. One bloom is enough 

 to prove the variety for the grower will find that after 

 two .years of waiting he is quite anxious to see how 

 many prizes there are among his lottery. We are prov- 

 ing quite a number in this way this season, and while 

 the pleasure is sometimes largely in the anticipation, 

 this particular importation seems to have hern gathered 

 in what is known as a "good district," for there are 

 selections where none but inferior forms are found, but 

 no one can distinguish between them until they bloom. 

 The structure used to summer the plants is constructed 

 on the north side of the building the roof sloping 

 down to within 16 inches of the ground there being just 

 height enough to admit of three ventilators such as are 

 used for cellar windows; these allow of a current of air 

 through under the plants in hot weather. Eoller 

 shades are used on the roof elevated well above the 

 glass to allow of a free current of air between and also 

 that the warm air may escape through the top venti- 

 lators. 



Odontoglossums may be had in flower during the 

 whole year, but the most of them are to be had from 

 April through .Tune. The plants take a rest through 

 the summer and begin to grow again in fall. Tlie 

 wdiole of them are then taken up out of their summer 

 quarters and placed in a light airy structure for the 

 winter where they receive all the sunshine possible for 

 the midwinter months to enable a vigorous growth and 

 strong flower shoots to be formed. At the end of March 

 all are again put into the "cool house" for summer. 

 The popular taste at present favors the spotted varie- 

 ties ; the heavier the spots or blotches are, the greater the 

 prize. The beautiful pearl pink varieties were once 

 the most sought after until they became common, but 

 these are still the most beautiful and the airy grace of 

 their arching sprays is such that they lend themselves 

 kindly to all forms of decoration, can be enjoyed long in 

 perfection, and in only one respect do they fall short, 

 that they are not fragrant; this should not be consid- 

 ered a fault, however, for very fragrant flower= are 

 almost always short lived. There are exceptions of 

 course but in a general way the theory holds pretty 

 well. Cool orchids insist on a cool pure air at all times, 

 but the only real difficulty experienced in their culture 

 is during the dog day weather when the atmosphere 

 becomes stagnated in the partly underground house, 

 with the temperature high also. We find this can easily 

 be obviated by the use of a spray or jet of cold water 

 directed through the center walk with good pressure 

 behind it; this keeps the air circulated and the foliage 

 of the plants gently moving, the amount of water used 

 being trifling compared with the good accomplished, as 



