CHALTIER XXVii- 
CYMBIDIUM. 
ABOUT thirty species are included in this genus, but only 
a small proportion of this number are considered orna- 
mental enough to be classed among garden plants. The 
genus is represented in almost all parts of tropical Asia. 
Most of them have Flag-like foliage, the growths clustering, 
and the flower-spikes nearly always erect. Those men- 
tioned below have large, fleshy flowers; the sepals and 
petals equal; the lip three-lobed, the two side lobes erect 
and _ half-inclosing the column, the front one tongue- 
shaped, with two elevated ridges. 
Culture.—Cymbidiums are not difficult to grow when 
once established; but, on account of their thick, fleshy 
roots, they are by no means easy to restore if imported 
in a bad state. They succeed best under pot-culture, and 
should be placed in good rough peat, sphagnum moss, 
and a little sharp sand. Some growers mix turfy loam 
with the peat, and as a rule the plants thrive in this. 
They must never be dried, or the loss of many leaves will 
follow, to the great disfigurement of the plants; they re- 
quire water at all seasons, but there must be a great differ- 
ence made in the quantity supplied during the summer and 
winter months. A warm, sunny corner in the Cattleya- 
a ————--—- 
