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JOURNAL OP HOBTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ ADgut 19, 



thongb they are, yet here are produced eome of the best of the 

 bad SffiBB wines. Vevay is the vineyard dintriot of the cantons. 

 Here is " L'Abbayo de Vignerons," or Guild of Vine-cuUi- 

 vatora ; and ite motto, " Tray and Labour," is on admonition 

 applicable to all the offairs of life. This gnild bebtons medaU 

 and other marks of honour upon the mobt skilful Vine-culti- 

 vators. At intervals of about fifteen jearp, also, a public fes- 

 tival is held, in ^^hich the most eucocbsful of the vineyard 

 keepers is orowued, and borne in a procession, accompanied by 

 various characters associated with the history of the Vine — 

 Buch as Uucchus", Noah, Silenos, Pumona, the spies who re- 

 turned from Canaan bearing Grapes, and many others. Oq 

 this occasion, too, the prettiest and most worthy maiden of the 

 district is dowezed and married to her accepted lover. — G. 



PAPERS READ AT THE HORTICULTURAL 



CONGRESS AT MANCHESTER. 

 NOTES UPON OKCniDS. 



This is, undonbtedly. tbo city above all others in the tUiited Kicg- 

 dom, round which (>rchid-growers seem to conprepate, and many ore 

 the fine and extensive collections to be met with in the neigbboarhood. 

 I feel in opening this f^nbjcct hero I have undertaken a heavy task, 

 thongh at iho same time a very popular Bubjcct. AVhen I first laid 

 before tLe Orchid worhl a few simple rnles for snccesaful caltivatiou, 

 very few Orchitis were known, and their habits and mode of growth in 

 a state of nature even less go, and the coDsequence was, they were 

 fonud ven," diflicnlt to establish in our plant honsee. By steady per- 

 severance, however, the mastery was gained over a few plants, which 

 from time to time opened their curious, beautiful, and, in some in- 

 Btances, delicately-scented fiowere, each fresh kind that revealed its 

 beauties only increasing the desire for m-jro. This desire has certainly 

 been gratified in a most extraordinary degree during the last few 

 years, by the immense quantities of Orchids sent to ua from their 

 native habitats by various collectors, until at the present time there 

 can be little short of two thousand species in cultivation in European 

 Rardens, many of them producing flowers of Euri>aRflini' beauty, whilst 

 those of others are of small size and dull in colour, which, thoagh not 

 producing much effect, are generally exquisitely coloured, curiou.sly 

 formed, and present a beautiful appearance when viewed with a mi- 

 croscope or ordinary pociet lens. These Email-flowered kinds will 

 natur^y enough be discarded by the amateur with limited space, but 

 the whole of the species should be carefully preserved in our largo 

 botanic gardens, for none is more fully aware of the value of some of 

 these small kinds for determining the limits of genera and species, 

 and none knows the valne of living ppecimens for this purpose better, 

 than the eyetematic botanist. It is not my intention, however, to 

 occupy time with the history of the introduction and establishment of 

 tropical Orchids in European gardens, although many curious facts 

 are connected therewith, but to offer a httlc advice upon their ma- 

 nagement — to repeat, it may be, the same things that many here may 

 have heard me insist upon before, and which, therefore, are not new 

 to thtm ; hut there may be many young beginners in Orchid-growing, 

 who will, perhaps, find something to assist them in the prosecution of 

 their hobby. 



Orchids take first rnnk amongst all the jilanta cultivated in our 

 gardens, for their extreme beauty and the peculiar and interesting 

 structure of their flowers. They are found in nearly all parts of the 

 world, and are divided into two large sections — viz., Epiphytal and 

 Terrestrial. The plants comprising the first section are the most 

 showy, and aie found in tropical countries, growing in the forks, or 

 upon the branches of trees, at various elevations, whilst the terrestrial 

 Orchids nre mostly found in the more temperate regions, burning their 

 roots under the surface of the ground, many of them losing their 

 growth during the winter months. 



The growths of orchidaceous jilants are called psendobulbs ; but it has 

 occurred to me very frequently that such distinct forms of growth as 

 Dendrobium, OdontoglosEum, Cattleya, Sobralia, Grammatophyllum. 

 Barkeria, Epidenurum. Catasetum, and many others which are equally 

 dissimilar, require some more descriptive term than that which is 

 ^plied indiscriminately to all. In the eastern world cpiphvtal Orchids 

 are mostly represented by such forms as Vanda, Aerides, and Dcndro- 

 bium, whilst in the western hemisphere thick fleshy growths are the 

 rule. True, some few genera in the east, such as Ceelogyne, Bolbo- 

 phyllum. Eria, and a few others re])reEent tliis form, but they are 

 exceptional. I do not intend giving in detail the cultivation of this 

 my favourite class of plants, because my views upon this subject have 

 been for some time prominently before the Orcliid world, first in the 

 pages of the Garfkna\^' Chronidc under the title of " Orchids for tlio 

 Million," and more recently in my three editions of the " Oreliid- 

 Growers' Manual," and in ^Va^ne^•s " lllostjated Select Orchidaceous 

 Plants." The conditions which I laid down at the very first were 

 moderate heat, an abundance of fresh s\vcet air. and moisture, with 

 full exposure to the light, but shaded from the direct rays of the sun, 

 and I have never had any reason to change these rules. I carefully 

 avoid extremes of iemperature ; by this means I seldom have a plant 

 which shrivels, or becomes stewed with heat, or which is starved and 



porithes through cold ; and hj giving plenty of freah sweet air, and 



keeping it properly charged wilh moiHure, they never have the " spot." 

 Spot is tlu: grtrtU bugbear to Orchid amateurs, ajjd, indeed, to many 

 oldcstablihhed Orthid-growers ; but it net-d not bo dicaded if the 

 previously mentioned rules bo followed, and care bo takfu that no 

 roiii-n or rotting material \a near the roots, olihor in the shape of soar 

 stagnant moss or soil, or decomposed wood. 



1 am quite aware that some eminent men pronounce this diseftso 

 infectious and diflicalt to cure, and that it is produced bj the growth 

 of a minute fungus. That the spot marks on the leaves are caused by 

 a fangUB I firmly believe, but I also as firmly believe that spot is thfi 

 result of bad hcullh, and not the cause of it ; for before the fungus can 

 gain a footing, the plant or plants xaxxtX have been ruined in healthi 

 and have thus become a fitting receptAcle for the spores of the parasite 

 to germinate upon. Respecting its infectious character I am a total 

 unbeliever. If plants in bad health stand with thof^c which have already 

 become spotted they will become infected as toon as any Ftporcs alight 

 npou them, because they present the proper conditions for the germi- 

 uatiou of the spores ; but if a healthy plant bo set eido by side with 

 a spotted one it will not be harmed. This I havo thoroughly t«6ted 

 with my owu plants, and have had ample opportunity of watching it 

 with other collections, and con therefore speak upon tho matter with 

 confidence. If a plant infested with spot bo by chance introduced 

 into a collection entirely free from the dii>ease it may be readily cured, 

 but not freed from the marks already u])on tho leaves To destroy 

 the disease let the plant be taken out of the material in which it is 

 potted, or if on a block of wood let that be removed ; then cut away 

 every particle of decayed or decaying roots, wash the plant and roots 

 thoroughly, and replace it in some good, sweet, living soil; at the 

 same time attend carefully to the advice ]>revionsly given regarding 

 the atmosphere and temperature, and tho probabihty is it will not be 

 long before the plant is again in perfect health. I havo adopted thi^ 

 treatment with perfect success myself for the last twenty-five years, 

 and am therefore advising a svstem which I have thoroughly tested, 

 and am not propounding a theory. \Yhilst speaking of theories, I 

 cannot help here expressing my surprise that many of our leading 

 Orchid-growers have been so reckless with tbeir valuable plants, and 

 have suddenly gipcn over their whole collection in good health, to t«Bt 

 some theory propounded by those who have probably never tried it 

 themselvf-s. I allude to such as double-glazed house?, exposing plants 

 in the oj>en air dnring frost, trotting in cocoa fibre and in potsherds, 

 and many other whimsical things. Many persons still fight for and 

 uphold these practices, and are continually persuading their friends 

 to adopt them. Now, my adrice to all Orchid-growers is, If yoor 

 plants are thriving, be careful not to risk their welfare for the sake of 

 experiment. If you must test theories, do it with a few common 

 plants, and not risk your collections as many have done during the 

 past few years, for I can assure you I have seen several fine collections, 

 both private and public, ruined because they have been subjected to 

 trials of many theories of treatment. 



It is a fact that many of the older cultivators of Orchids seem to 

 have become indifferent to their charms, and in some instances have 

 relinquished their culture entirely. One great leason for this has 

 been the sickly appearance of the plants through excessive fire heat, 

 which at the same time renders the houses unbearable, and conse- 

 quently the plants have been discarded. Another reason has been 

 through amateurs buying hundreds of newly imported plants of one 

 species, which overcrowd the houses. No extra means of looking aftor 

 them are provided, and when they become unliealthy through want of 

 room and cleanliness they are discarded in disgust, because a tbonsand 

 plants do not look so well in the same space, and with the same care, 

 as a hundred did. The cool system, as it is called, has been another 

 source of great annoyance to many, bat if carried out in a proper 

 manner it gi-eatly enhances the valni of this beautiful tribe. Many, 

 however, have launched isto extrenss, find cruelly deceived young 

 beginners especially, by assuring them that such and snch species will 

 grow in an ordinary greenhouse, or even out of doors. These asser- 

 tions being acted upon, the plants naturally enough drag out a miser- 

 able existence, and ultimatedy die. Now, an ordinary greenhouse is 

 a house in which Pelargoniums, Ericas, and Fuchsias grow and flower, 

 and I deny the possibility of any e|>iphytal Orchid continuing long in 

 health under tho same treatment and in tho same atmosphere as these 

 plants enjoy. That many kinds will succeed in as low a temperature 

 I readily admit, but they re<|uire less of tho blazing sun. They must 

 also have a much moistcr air, and the sashes of the house most 

 not stand open, as they do under ordinary circumstances, other- 

 wise the leaves will soon shrivel and curl up, when, as a matter of 

 course, death soon follows ; therefore I contend it is wrong to assert 

 that epiphytal Orchids will succeed in an ordinary grcenbouso. I 

 find, almost as a rule, that the species enjoying a low temperature do 

 not require a decided period of rest, like those from hotter ports, bat 

 that a ttmperatnre ranging from 15 to 50^ in winter, with moderate 

 moisture, and as little above t'>5 or 70' in summer as possible, will 

 keep avast number of those denominated '*cool Orchids " in perfect 

 health ; and as I am of opinion that greater damage may result from 

 the temperature sinking a few degrees below tho minimum than rising 

 above it, I never rush to the lowest possible degree ; but if amatenra 

 would take an interest in knowing something of the history of their plants 

 and bring their reason to bear upon the facts, they would fioon learn 

 where and under what treatment they succeed best. 



