10 TUEATMENT OF EI'IPIIYTAL ORCHIDS. 



means eraploj'ed to attain that end : this fact is flimiliar to every 

 one who raises tender plants in heat and afterwards hardens them 

 so as to witiistand tlie open air. 



In the following instrnctions I have for convenience divided 

 the subject into six heads : — 



1st. The most suitable structures for growing' Orchids in ; the 

 mode of heating and ventilating those structures ; day -shading, 

 and night covering. 



2nd. Atmosphere, temperature, and effects of climate on 

 Orchids. 



3rd. Soil, time of shifting, situation in the house, watering, 

 and propagation. 



4th. Treatment when out of health or when fresh imported. 



5th. How to destroy insects injurious to them. 



6th. A selection of fifty of the most desirable kinds, with 

 their time of flowering, and proper treatment, &c. 



1. The Orchid-house. 



In constructing a house for the special cultivation of Epi- 

 phytal Orchids, attention should be paid to having a thorough 

 command over the means by which internal heat and moisture 

 are produced, with plenty of power at all times to increase or 

 diminish tlie same, for upon this much depends ; as to suitable- 

 ness of structure, a large or lofty house is ill adapted for Orchids, 

 because during very hot dry weather in summer, and severe frost 

 in winter, when strong fires are required as well as in windy and 

 long-continued cold damp weather, at all seasons, it will be found 

 very difficult to keep the atmosphere in a proper state, as regards 

 either heat or moisture. But on the contrary, a small house 

 has other objections, though not so great, such as sudden changes 

 from drought to excess of moisture, and from heat to cold, cir- 

 cumstances depending in a great measure upon the state of the 

 external atmosphere ; besides, a small structure is not spacious 

 enough for large specimen jilants. I would therefore recom- 

 mend a house of medium size, which should be divided into two 

 compartments, one for Orchids from the Western hemisphere, 

 and which naturally grow in a lower temperature and drier 

 atmosphere ; the other for Eastern varieties, which naturally 

 require more heat and moisture, particularly when in a growing 

 state, and also for all others when in a vigorous state of growth. 

 In fact tiie different kinds, spread as they are over the- tropical 

 parts of the Eastern as well as Western hemispheres, are sub- 

 jected to great variation of temperature, both as regards heat 

 and moisture. 



The house may be placed to face any direction between south- 



