ORf'lIIDS: now TO GROW THEM .SUCCESSFULLY. o'.i 



stage support tho young growth with nourishment. "When the 

 growth gets a fc;w inches high it will begin to make roots on its 

 t)wn account, and it is then that water may be gi-arlually increased. 

 Encourage this gl•o^\'th until three or four leavers have appeared and 

 the bulb is formed, nev(;r allowing the plant to get thoroughly 

 dry. I do not mean by this that it should at any period be kept 

 constantly saturated. After the bulb is quite matured, water must 

 again be gradually withheld, and it will then b(!Come so hardened 

 that during the winter months water can probably he -withheld 

 for a long pcniod, without shrivelling from the di-jniess of the 

 atmosphei'e or the amount of fire heat required. This applies also to 

 such plants as Ccx'logynes, Cattleyas, Lselias, Anguloas, Catasetums, 

 Mormodes, Epidendrums, Lycastes, Chysis, Trichopilias, Pleiones, 

 and Thunias. 



The folLjwing, viz. : — Oncidiums, Odontoglossums. Vandas. 

 Aerides, Saccolabiums, Phahenopsis, Miltonias, Masdevallias, 

 Cymbidiums, Angrtecums, Adas, and Cypiixjediums, will requii-e 

 more water at the roots all through the winter months, but those 

 which are dormant should be kept comparatively dry, only 

 watering when the surface of the compost assumes a white appear- 

 ance .and is slightly crisp to the touch. It will be as well for 

 amateurs to adopt the follo^x-ing rules in watering: — ^Never give 

 a plant a little water because it is not drj' enough to water 

 thoroughly. If there should be any doubt as to the plant being 

 sufficiently dry to requiie watering let it remain until the follovv-ing 

 day, when, should it be in a suspended pan or basket, let it be 

 taken down and dipped in water, or, if in a pot, give it a good 

 drenching with the watering can, bearing in mind that the 

 Orchids in the smaller pots require more frequent waterings 

 tlian those in the larger ones — always watering the compost, 

 not the foliage. Make it a practice, should any water lodge in 

 the young grov/ths of such species as Cattleyas, Lselias, and 

 Dendrobiums, to diy it out by means of a camel's hair brush. 

 With Orchids of the same character as Odontoglossums and 

 Oncidiums. this precaution is unnec(\^sary during the summer 

 months. 



Resting is merely a term employed, which denotes that the 

 plant has finished its season's growth, and henceforth lapses into a 

 doi'inant state until the proper season arrives for rt^newed activitj' ; 

 plants which ai'e at rest require but little water. 



