234 ORCHIDS. 
weeks or more. They grow naturally in very moist 
places, often in the bed of a stream which becomes 
partially dry in the hot season. 
Culture-—The most successful growers of D. grandi- 
flora are Mr. Moore, of the Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin ; 
Messrs. Backhouse and Sons, of the York Nurseries; and 
Mr. O. Thomas, gardener to the Duke of Devonshire at 
Chatsworth. At Glasnevin the plants are grown in an 
ordinary greenhouse in great quantities. In the York 
Nurseries they are planted in a bed of peat and sand- 
stone, in a cool greenhouse, where they grow, flower, 
and multiply, most satisfactorily. Mr. Thomas has had 
exceptional success with this species, and as the treat- 
ment he adopts is simple and easy to follow, we cannot 
do better than quote his instructions here. He says: 
‘“T suppose there are very few Orchids the growing of 
which has puzzled more experienced Orchid-growers than 
this Disa; and what makes it more tantalising is the 
fact that here and there its cultivation is the simplest 
matter imaginable. Here [at Chatsworth] we have no 
plants which give us less trouble than the Disas. Our 
plants have occupied the same _ position for years — 
namely, a wooden stage in the Cape heath house, one 
portion of the stage being over the water-tank, and 
close to an outer door, which is left open during the 
day in the summer, as well as the side ventilators 
opposite, so that there is always a strong current of 
air playing among the plants. Here the plants remain 
till they flower. We re-pot them about the middle of 
December, in a mixture of fibrous peat and sphagnum, 
in equal quantities, with a sprinkling of broken crocks 
and charcoal. The plants are potted firmly, the crowns 
being well elevated above the rim of the pot, and the 
pots well drained. I prefer pots with perforated sides, 
