¥ 
ORCHIDEOUS EPIPHYTES. 
are Bray found on trees in their 
native country, may, in England, 
be grown in pots, in turfy loam or 
chopped moss, or in baskets of moss. 
The Stanhopias and Catasetums 
should be grown in baskets of moss, 
or in pots hung from the rafters of 
the house, as their flowers proceed 
from the roots, and hang down- 
ward; but the Cattleyas, which 
have erect flower-stems, are always 
grown in pots. Where it is not 
convenient to have pots hanging 
rom the rafters, the Stanhopias 
must have a pile of pieces of turfy 
peat raised at least six inches above 
the rim of the pot, and the pseudo- 
bulbs must be placed on the top; 
as unless this is done, the flower- 
stem, when protruded from the root, 
will bury itself in the earth con- 
tained in the pot, and the flowers 
will be unable to expand, though 
they will easily make their way 
through the loose pieces of turf. 
Where this mode of potting is adopt- 
ed, slender pieces of wood are gen- 
erally passed at regular distances 
through the pile of turf, to keep the 
pieces in their place. The Cata- 
setums grow in open parts of the 
woods of the tropical regions of 
South America, and one species is | 
They | 
the celebrated Wourali Vine. 
all require great heat and moisture, 
and when grown on wood it should 
be on that of soft-barked trees. 
Various expedients have been de- 
vised to produce the shade necessary 
for some of the kinds of Orchideous 
plants. The Orchideous house has 
been in some cases glazed with dark 
green or brownish glass, double 
sashes have been used, and creeping 
plants trained over the roof. None 
of these plans, however, have 
proved successful; as, though the 
plants thus treated have grown rap- 
idly, it has been to produce leaves 
rather than flowers. Whether it 
304 
ORCHIDEOUS EPIPHYTES. 
their native woods, or whether the 
British sun is so mutch feebler thar 
that they have been accustomed to, 
as to render shading unnecessary, 
it is certain that the Orchideous 
Epiphytes in England require plenty 
of light, and that they never flower 
well if kept in comparative darkness. 
Another point that has puzzled 
cultivators is to find out what kind 
of wood is most suitable for those 
kinds that are to be grown on hang- 
ing branches. Mr. Henchman, who 
collected Orchidew on the Spanisn 
Main, asserts that he never found 
an Orchideous plant on a dead tree, 
whether standing or fallen, though 
he found many species of Oncidium, 
Catasetum, &c., growing on the 
ground, as though they had been 
accidentally dislodged from the trees 
on which they had grown. He even 
observed. that the colour of the On- 
cidium papilio was much darker on 
the ground than it was in its natu. 
ral situation on the branches of a 
lofty tree. From his findmg no 
Orchidew on dead trees, he was led 
to suppose that the plants draw 
some kind of nourishment from the 
trees on which they live; and he 
also remarked that rough and soft- 
barked trees were their favourite 
abodes. He found Oncidium pa- 
pilio, and a kiad of Schomburg- 
kia, called by the Indians the 
Spread Eagle, on the upper branches 
of trees, which were exposed to the 
air, and at least from twenty to 
thirty feet from the ground, and O 
luridum, and the Catasetums, on 
branches fully exposed to the sun; 
while the Gongoras, Rodriguezias, 
and Corysanthes, were on the soft 
and young wood, not more than 
seven or ely, t feet from the greund, 
in the most dense and thickest paris 
of the forest. These hints, and the 
observations of other collectors, 
have been of great service to culti- 
be that the plants in an artificial | vators; and in consequence they 
state require more light than in| generally grow their epiphytes on 
