BESTING ORCHIDS. 23 



to be the case generally. In a dry atmosphere, flowers, as well 

 as bulbs and foliage, continually suffer from excessive evapo- 

 ration, a state of things we should endeavour to avoid as much 

 as possible. 



A careful and observant cultivator quickly detects by 

 external appearance when any individual plant is about to 

 rest, and then acts accordingly, only supplying just enough 

 moisture to the roots and in the atmosphere to prevent the 

 plant from losing its concentrated energies by means of evapo- 

 ration. This much must be supplied or the plant will suffer 

 far more than it would from being furnished with too much 

 moisture, although more than will prevent the bulbs and 

 leaves from shrivelling is decidedly injurious to plants when 

 at rest. 



