POTTING TERRESTRIAL ORCHIDS. 19 



supply. The best material for those in baskets is sphagnum 

 and broken potsherds. The basket should suit the size of the 

 plant ; it should not be too large, for it will not last more 

 than two or three years if made of wood, by which time, pro- 

 bably, the plant will require shifting into a larger one. There 

 should be placed fii-st a layer of moss at the bottom of the 

 basket, then a few potsherds, and then the whole filled up 

 with moss and potsherds mixed. Take the plants carefully out 

 of the old basket, without breaking the roots, remove all the 

 old moss, place the plant on the new material, about level 

 with the top of the basket, fix a stick in the centre, to keep it 

 firm, cover the roots neatly, and finish ofi" by giving a gentle 

 watering. 



Those plants that require wood to grow upon should have 

 live moss attached to the blocks, if by experience they are 

 found to require it ; some, however, do better on bare blocks, 

 but they need more frequent waterings, as they are then almost 

 entirely dependent on what is obtained from the atmosphere. 

 In fastening them firmly on the blocks, use copper or gal- 

 vanized iron nails, which are to be driven into the block, and 

 then, with copper wire, secure the plants firmly to the wood. 

 As soon as they make fresh roots they will cling to the block, 

 and the wire may be taken away. 



POTTING TERRESTRIAL ORCHIDS. 



HESE require a stronger compost than the epiphytal 

 kinds, but they do not need so much drainage. 

 They should be potted just when they begin to 

 grow, after the resting season. The compost I prefer to use for 

 them is turfy loam chopped into pieces about the size of a 



