1878.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



137 



inches in diameter; sepals and petals white, with 

 a slight greenish tinge ; lip white, with a large 

 purple spot at the base. The flowers come 

 singly from the base of the bulbs, though I have 

 had occasionally two when the bulbs were very 

 strong. There are many varieties of M. specta- 

 bilis. Some entirely white and others with a 

 pink spot on the lip. 



M. bicotor. I think is only a variety of spec- 

 tabilis with larger and brighter flowers. 



M. Morelinna. This resembles speetabilis very 

 much, both in mode of growth and shape of 

 flower, but it is far handsomer. Sepals and 

 petals rich purple ; lip large and rosy purple 

 veined with rose. This is a rare plant. I have 

 had many sent from Rio for M. Morelana, but 

 never got but one that was true. Blooms in 

 August or September. 



Miltonia Candida. This beautiful plant has 

 from four to seven flowers on the stem, which is 

 upright. Flowers in the sepals and petals are 

 rich chocolate, barred with bright yellow; lip 

 pure white, marked at the base with rosy purple 

 •or pink. In this species the lip is shaped some- 

 thing like the lip of a Lselia, but in most of the 

 other species it is flat. 



M. Clowsii. Growth like the last. Flowers 

 on a flexuous stem, with from four to ten flowers 

 two and a half inches in diameter. Sepals and 

 petals chocolate and yellow; lip flat, white, 

 with a purple base. Blooms in October and is 

 very graceful. There are several other beautiful 

 species of Miltonias, but they are rare. The 

 blooms of all kinds of Miltonia are very easily 

 eftected by water, and it is best to remove them 

 when in bloom to a cool dry place, taking care 

 not to let any water fall on the blooms in water- 

 ing them. If the flowers are kept dry they will 

 remain good three weeks. 



ODONTOGLOSSUM . 



In the whole orchid family there is no genus 

 that has caused more discussion among orchid 

 growers than the Odontoglossum. Coming, in 

 many instances, from elevated regions, where 

 they are surrounded by fogs and mists, they 

 are exposed at times to great vicissitudes of 

 temperature. Nothing is more changeable than 

 the climate of tropical mountainous regions. I 

 have seen the thermometer indicate from 90° to 

 '95° at mid-day and clear, then 40° at daylight 

 the next morning and misty ; at the same time 

 the daily change of temperature at the base of 

 the mountain would not exceed probably 12° to 

 il5°. That there is something peculiar needed 



in the treatment of this genus is evident from 

 the fact that while in England and on the Conti- 

 nent some succeed marvelously with them, 

 others fail. Some grow them in cool houses, 

 which they try to keep between 40° and 60° ; 

 others do not mind if the mercm-y sometimes goes 

 up to 85°, and in both cases succeed. That their 

 proper cultivation should be sought is natural, 

 for I think they are unsurpassed among orchids. 

 Some pure white, or wliite spotted red, brown or 

 yellow, others yellow or brown, or both these 

 colors mixed in many ways ; and again, pink or 

 red are the predominating colors. In size from 

 an inch in diameter as in O. putchellum to 

 nearly six inches in O. grande magnificum ; 

 stems from a few inches in length as in O. Rossii, 

 to three or more feet in O. Lseve and O. car- 

 niferum. Nearly fifty species are now off'ered 

 for sale in English catalogues, and yearly the 

 number is increased. No doubt varieties sur- 

 passing any that we have yet seen will be dis- 

 covered, though to look at a plant of O. Alex- 

 andraj, 0. vexillarium or O. triumphans in 

 bloom, it would seem hardly possible. 



There appears to be a great difference in the 

 Odontoglossums coming from Mexico and 

 Gautemala, and those from the countries in the 

 north of South America. With the former I 

 have succeeded admirably, but with the South 

 American species I have failed. I find that the 

 Mexican varieties make but one growth in a 

 year, and remain dormant for some months; but 

 the South American varieties show a tendency 

 to grow all the time, and I believe that in their 

 own homes the South American species bloom 

 twice a year. It is well known, that countries 

 near the equator have two Summers, and two 

 crops are made on the same ground in a year. 

 Now in New Grenada, Venezuela, and Ecuador, 

 the home of the O. Alexandra^ and O. trium- 

 phans, &c., the sun is always near, which gives 

 them heat, and coming from elevated positions 

 they have an ample supply of moisture all the 

 time. But Mexico lies near the Trojiic of 

 Cancer, is a much drier country, and though 

 vegetation is always green, has really only one 

 long Summer, then a long Autumn or Winter, 

 and the same is the case with South Brazil. 



The climate of all countries near the equator 

 is less subject to variation than farther North or 

 South. At Demerara and Para, the annual 

 variation is not over 15°, say from 75° to 90°. 

 Bogota, nearly under the equator, but nearly 

 six thousand feet above the sea level, has a varia- 



