oia'iiiDs: i[<)\v TO (iuow iiikm successfully. .'J 



answer to this, many collections of Oichids now in existence 

 throiij^liout the country, some of tliem very (extensive, and con- 

 taining rare and expensive sorts, owned by gentlemen with only a 

 local reputation as business or publico men ; while a laigf! number 

 of amateurs, i)Oss(!ssing only a greenhoust; or two, arc; forming 

 collections of a less pretentious character, commencing, under good 

 advice, with easily cultivated sorts. This is most gratifying to 

 Orchidists, and I venture to hope that this little guide book will 

 induce many others to take up Orchids, as I feel confident that 

 the great beauty of tlieir flowers, as well as their lasting qualities, 

 will amply repay any anxiety or trouble bestowed upon them. 



Kef erring for a moment to a somewhat general impression that 

 Orchids are difHcult to manage, I must confess that there are some 

 which are not easy to cultivate, or rather to maintain in a healthy 

 Howering condition for many years in succession ; yet, there is 

 notliing very extraordinary in this, as the same difficulty presents 

 itself in regard to otlier i)lants. But it is not to tliose plants which 

 are difficult to manage that I shall now devote attention, there 

 being so large a field of species and varieties of easy culture to 

 choose from. No one therefore need be disheartened if unsuccessful 

 in the first attemjjt, merely because he may occasionally see some 

 Orchids in a very unhealthy condition, even in gardens of con- 

 siderable pretensions, where, owing to the gardener's want of 

 knowledge of this particular class of plant, arising very often from 

 no fault of his o^^^l, but from the fact that he has previously had 

 no Orchids under his charge, and consequently no opportunity 

 of studying their nature and requirements ; although, in some 

 cases, it may be the result of the gardener's insensibility to the 

 necessity of obtaining information on the subject; rmder such 

 (drcumstan(;es failure must, of necessity, follow. An impression 

 also exists that Oi-chids are very expensive. This, however, applies 

 only to very new or extremely rare kinds, many of which are not 

 more beautiful than older sorts that are easily procurable at a 

 moderate price — say a few shillings. It is the Orchid enthusiast 

 who, ^\'is]nng to add new introductions of supposed merit to his 

 collection, seeks these new and rare kinds as introduced ; and it is 

 well that it should be so, otherwise many most valuable sorts 

 Avoul/i be veiy rarely seen. There is a veiy beautiful species of the 

 popular Odontoglossum, named Odont. Alexandras, which deserves 

 a prominent place in e%'ery collection of Cool Orchids, and which is 



