190 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE 



the Peradeniya Botanic Gardens, Ceylon, and a still larger one in 

 the Botanic Gardens at Pinang, a plant of enormous size, dragged 

 from its native swamps in the forest to the gardens by Mr C. 

 Curtis when he was in charge, and planted in a conspicuous posi- 

 tion in the beautiful gardens of that eastern island. At Kew there 

 is a plant that fills a large space in the tank in the Victoria Lily 

 House, where on several occasions it has produced spikes seven or 

 eight feet long, carrying numbers of large yellow, purple-spotted 

 flowers. Bright light, plenty of moisture, and peat, fibrous loam, 

 and sphagnum to root in, with the highest temperature the plant 

 houses afford, are the chief requirements of this wonderful Orchid. 

 G. RuMPHiANUM (or G. Fe/iz/ianum) is of smaller growth, and 

 its flowers are yellow, heavily marked with bright red-brown. 

 G. Measuresianum seems to be but a slight variation of G. 

 Rumphianum. 



HABENARIA 



Our wild Habenarias are very interesting, but the exotic 

 species far excel them in size and beauty, and provide a small set 

 of wonderful and attractive Orchids. The cultivated species come 

 from widely distant lands ; from the East Indies, from North 

 America, from China, the Shan States, and from Madagascar. 

 They are all terrestrial and deciduous, needing abundance of moisture 

 when growing, but hardly any when resting. They have tuberous 

 roots, and a little rosette of leaves, from the centre of which the 

 flowering stem rises. There are four species that thoroughly 

 deserve more extensive cultivation than they at present receive. 



Well-drained pots or pans are the best receptacles, and a suit- 

 able compost consists of peat and sphagnum, with a few small piecesof 

 old broken brick or limestone added. It is a good plan to place the 



