28 ORCHIDS: 
description, published in 1790, has this wonderful pro- 
perty, that, when brought from the woods where it grows 
into a house, and suspended in the air, it will grow, flourish, 
and flower for many years without any nourishment, either 
from the earth or from water. “I would scarcely have 
believed this,” he adds, “had I not had daily experience of 
it.” The name Flos Aéris, or Air Flower, had, however, 
previously been applied to certain other epiphytic Orchids. 
The white, fleshy roots by which the cases of Aérides 
cling to their supports are in some species of very remark- 
able appearance. In one Indian plant they are long and 
flat, and resemble a tapeworm in appearance, whence the 
species has been named A. teniale. The flowers, which 
are of a firm, waxy texture, and often very fragrant, grow 
in long, cylindrical clusters or racemes, which spring from 
the axils of the upper leaves; they are of various shades 
of white, lilac, and rose colour. The lip is curiously curved 
or opened, and affords a character by which the species 
may be divided into two sections. ‘‘In the first, repre- 
sented in odoratum, the lip is cut into three, or even five 
lobes, of nearly equal length; in the other, represented jin 
maculosum, the lip is undivided, or has only a couple of 
basal ears.” 
Culture-—From what is stated above, it may readily be 
seen that for these plants little or no soil is necessary, 
as they naturally grow upon the branches of the forest- 
trees; they may, therefore, be successfully grown upon 
blocks of wood, or in shallow baskets, in this country. 
Block treatment, however, should only be resorted to 
whilst the plants are young, or for newly-imported 
pieces. When established and healthy, it is safest to 
plant them in baskets, cylinders, or even pots, using 
abundance of drainage and a layer of fresh sphagnum 
at the top, placing a few of the roots in the moss,: 
