466 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



FEBRUARY 10. 1898. 



sure failure as certain as any other 

 way. We have at times sprayed our 

 steam pipes hard, in the morning, and 

 tilled the houses with fog. but this was 

 when the outside conditions were right 

 and the day was sure to be bright. How- 

 ever, this is an exceptional treatment 

 to be seldom used, and never unless 

 everything is just right and never in 

 the dark winter months. 



In watering, the plants often like a 

 good, heavy soaking directly on the 

 crown of the plant, that is, let the 

 stream fall right on the plant at a few 

 inches' height, taking care not to have 

 it have force enough to wash out the 

 plant. They are plants that delight in 

 much water, requiring frequent soak- 

 ings of cool — yes, even cold — water, 

 often when the ground looks as if it 

 were wet enough, yet they seem to 

 need fresh water. Of course when 

 your soil is a heavy clay with poor 

 drainage, you are handicapped in wa- 

 tering properly, as it will not drain off 

 rapidly enough. Tempered water we 

 have no use for in violet culture, as it 

 will be found to cheek their flowering 

 almost immediately, at least that is 

 our experience. 



We have been testing two houses 

 side by side, spraying one, and water- 



ing between the plants in the other; at 

 the present time I do not think any 

 grower could in any way tell which was 

 sprayed and which was not. But this 

 does not mean that we spray always 

 and indiscriminately; not by any 

 means, but I do think they like to have 

 the air washed (if I may put it so) as 

 well as to have themselves washed, 

 and I believe it tends toward a healthy 

 growth to have a house freshened in 

 this way when the weather and day 

 will permit it. 



Then, too, if you wish a house to be 

 healthy there is another thing to be 

 taken into consideration and that is 

 cleanliness. Keep the paths well swept, 

 all dead leaves and rubbish burned; go 

 over the plants often, taking care to 

 pick all the leaves turning yellow and 

 old. and the buds and leaves which oc- 

 casionally get broken off when picking, 

 which, if left, soon wilt and rot, cutting 

 off more leaves and flowers with which 

 they come in contact. After cleaning 

 up a bed in this way, is one of the times 

 when we like to apply the soaking on 

 the crown of the plant, as it thoroughly 

 cleanses it and it is a pleasure to see it 

 stiffen up with this treatment after 

 handling it over. 



R. E. SHUPHELT. 



ORCHID SEEDLINGS. 



Kindly endeavor to prevail upon Mr. 

 H. Clinkaberry to give the readers of 

 The Florists' Review his method of 

 raising orchid seedlings. The matter 

 of cross-fertilizing most of the com- 

 mercial sorts is rather simple. W^e 

 would like to know more about the best 

 material on which to sow seeds and 

 treatment while in diminutive state. 

 Conditions of moisture and material 

 must be of great importance in this 

 work. NO'VICE. 



In reply to Novice's question as to 

 the best means of raising orchids from 

 seed, we will conclude he already 

 knows how the cross-fertilization 

 takes place, and so that much can be 

 dispensed with in replying to him. In 

 sowing orchid seed I And it of very 

 great importance to have the seed bed 

 in a good condition, and also it is a 

 most important thing to have it in the 

 best possible position. By a good seed 

 bed I mean on a suitable pot or basket, 



where there is already growing a live 

 plant. I have had my best results, in 

 fact my only success, when sown on 

 such a bed. The most perfect condi- 

 tion so far as my judgment goes is 

 when the plant where our seed is to be 

 sown has been potted about a month. 

 By that time it will be apparent if any 

 fungoid growth is to make its appear- 

 ance. Should there be any it will be 

 disastrous to sow. but if all is sweet 

 after that time, then it will be safe 

 to think none will appear and seed may 

 be sown with hope of success. 



We will surmise that the plants 

 which are used as seed beds are potted 

 in the usual way, with a mixture of 

 about one-third fresh sphagnum moss 

 and two-thirds fern fibre of the best 

 quality. Plants which I intend for 

 seed beds are potted more firmly than 

 are ordinary plants, and previous to 

 seed sowing I carefully shear off the 

 moss and rough fibre to insure a nice, 

 smooth surface. Then before sowing 

 the seed I soak the plant well in a 

 bucket or tub of water, and sow di- 



rectly after immersion. By this means 

 the seed clings to the material and be- 

 comes less liable to be washed off. 



Cypripedium seed is always sown on 

 a pot which stands on the bench, cat- 

 tleya, laelia and dendrobium seed on 

 baskets. I find I get the best results 

 by making no attempt to coddle them, 

 but endeavor to select a position where 

 it strikes one as being genial, and 

 where much seed sowing takes place it 

 is certainly best to keep all those plants 

 together on which seed is sown, say, 

 some snug corner where there is least 

 fear of draughts and where there is 

 likely to be the least fluctuation in tem- 

 perature. Caltleyas, laelias and den- 

 drobiums are much best suspended, 

 that is. the seed sown on baskets, and 

 in just such a snug place as already 

 mentioned. A most important thing is 

 to always keep the surroundings in a 

 very moist condition, in fact, at all 

 times near the saturation mark. 



In regard to watering always keep 

 the seed bed in about one condition, 

 never dry, and never saturated, but 

 strive for the happy medium. I al- 

 ways handle my seedlings just so soon 

 as the time can be spared, putting 

 cypripediums into thimble pots, which 

 are prepared a few days before using, 

 and catileyas, etc., into small baskets 

 specially made and treated some days 

 before using. Place the small seedlings 

 in much the same position as where the 

 seed was sown, that is, in a nice, genial 

 position, and never on any account let 

 them become dry or it will be fatal to 

 them. HENRY T. CLINKABERRY. 



FERTILIZATION OF ORCHIDS BY 

 INSECTS, AND THEIR MIMICRY. 



The above title formed the subject 

 of a popular lecture, delivered before 

 the horticultural section of the Ameri- 

 can Institute, New York, by Mr. C. H. 

 Atkins, oil Wednesday evening last. 

 Mr. Atkins illustrated his lecture with 

 a large number of drawings and dia- 

 grams, and plainly portrayed the ex- 

 isting relations between orchid flow- 

 ers and insects: the one being, honio- 

 logically, the half of the other. He 

 pointed out, from their structure, and 

 the arrangement and situation of the 

 reproductive organs, the utter impos- 

 sibility of self-fertilization, and said 

 they would forever remain sterile if 

 this function were not performed 

 through the intervention of insects. 



The lecturer graphically described 

 the various complex adaptations and 

 contrivances by which this ultimate 

 was obtained. Cattleyas, cypripediums, 

 coryanthes, catasetums, angraecums, 

 vandas, pterostylis, habenaria and 

 many others were handled in great 

 complexity of detail, depicting to his 

 audience the different kinds of bees, 

 birds, moths and flies that were speci- 

 ally adapted to fertilize these flowers 

 in a state of nature. The use and 

 value of the highly metamorphosed la- 

 bellum was explained; the chief colors 

 being usually concentrated in this 



