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13 



Vol. IV. »!-^„iyf*?- 



CHICAGO, APRIL 15, 1896. 



No. 87. 



CCELOSYNE CRI3TATA. AS GROWN BY GEO. McWILLIAM. 



Orchids. 



COELOCyNE GRISTflTfl. 



Our illustration is engraved from a pho- 

 tograph of some plants of this orchid in 

 full bloom as grown by Mr. George Mc- 

 William of Whitinsville, Mass.; their pro- 

 fusion is evident to all, and the flowers 

 are white and showy, but not of long 

 duration after being cut. This species is 

 among the easiest of all orchids to grow, 

 and it and Cypn'pedium insigne are the 

 two orchids that amateurs are asked to 

 begin with. To enable us to grow this 

 orchid just as good as the specimens 

 shown in the picture Mr. McWilliara 

 kindly tells us exactly how he treats it. 



"The cfL-logyne grows equally well in 

 pots or pans, but for convenience in using 

 less drainage, whenever the plants need a 

 pot larger than a 6-inch size, I prefer to 

 use pans, which are simply shallow pots. 



For potting material I use fern root, 

 chopped into lumpy pieces, mixed with 

 charcoal and broken pots. The lem root 

 is the clumps of big fern stools we find in 

 the woods near here; we dig it, pile it up 

 to dry and kill the weeds in it, then chop 

 it up into lumpy pieces, and gently sieve 

 the fine earth or soil out of it. In pot- 

 ting, while we use this material for the 

 body of the soil, we mix a good deal of 

 fresh sphagnum moss in what we finish 

 off on the top with. Coelogynes increase 

 a good deal and the masses may be 

 divided, making several plants out of one 

 clump, and potted separately; or larger 

 pans may be used, giving the plants room 

 enough for another one or two years' 

 development. Alwajs repot or break up 

 and pot the plants immediately they have 

 done blooming, and before fresh growth 

 commences, and in this way avoid injur- 

 ing the roots. I grow them in a span- 

 roofed greenhouse that runs north and 

 south, on the side benches. About the 

 first of March we run a night temperature 



of 50° in the house, increasing it as the 

 season advances; when the weather gets 

 warm, say in June, we leave a little top 

 and bottom ventilation on the greenhouse 

 both day and night till towards fall, 

 when the weather gets cool; in winter a 

 night temperature of 45° is enough. 

 About the first of March we whitewash 

 the glass to shade it; when the young 

 bulbs show signs of swelling the shading 

 is washed off, and a shading of cheese 

 cloth put on, which we can raise or lower 

 as required and at will. When the bulbs 

 are pretty well swollen the cloth is 

 removed. 



"We water coelogynesfreely and syringe 

 them overhead twice every bright day 

 through the summer; to strong plants we 

 give a little weak liquid manure most 

 every day when they are swelling their 

 bulbs. About the fir.st of November we 

 remove part of the plants to the north 

 side of a cool greenhouse and hang a cloth 

 in front of them to protect them from the 

 excitement of sunshine, keeping the tem- 



