orchids: how to (iiiow thkm successfully. 9;3 



tho flow(!r spikos arc apt to turn black and rot off. The proper 

 coiiii)Ost for this Orchid is spliagnuiu and peat in equal proportions, 

 and the plants flower in March and April. Manure water may he 

 applied duiinfi^ the f^rowing season, but in a weak form. Good 

 j)lunts, capable of beaiing from four to eight spikes, can be 

 purchased at from o - to 10 - each, and large six'cimens can some- 

 times be met with at very moderate pnces, estabhshed. 



Cattle YA margixata. From IJra/il. 

 (>S'//r/. C. puniila.) 

 This is almost the only Cattleya that will gi'ow well in 

 company with Odontoglossums ; it is a dwarf-gi'owing species and 

 should be gi'own in baskets in the usual compost of peat and 

 sphagimm, and suspended as near the glass as jjossible where thert; 

 is plenty of light and in the warmest position. It should be kept 

 moist when giowdng, but after flowering but little water is 

 needed during the winter— its blooming time is usually October. 

 Like other members of this genus it is subject to mealy scale on 

 the rhizomes and psuedo bidbs, but this can be kept down by 

 occasionally going over the plants and cleaning it oft" with a small 

 brush, taking care not to bruise the doiniant eyes. The flowers are 

 rose-coloured, and may be mistaken, as in fact it sometimes is, for 

 Lselia Dayana {sijn. LseHa prestans), but Cattleya marginata has 

 the boldest flowers, and the Hp is margined with a white tint. I 

 recommend newly imported or semi-established plants being 

 obtained, as old established plants are not so satisfactoiy. The 

 jince of plants vary from bj- to 10 -, Tsdth from three to five good 

 leads. 



Axguloa Clowesii. From Colombia. 



This is a noble free gi-owing Orchid, and peculiarly interesting 

 on account of the bold b(»autiful yellow and highly perfumed cup- 

 shaped flower, the labellum of which moves up and down in a 

 rather eccentric manner when the flowers are touched, being 

 delicately connected by a thread-like ligament, and is known as 

 the Cradle, also the Tuhp Orchid. This plant gi'ows best in a pot, 

 and the compost should consist of two parts of peat, not necessarily 

 very fibrous, to one of sphagnum ; it flowers in May or June, and 

 the plant commences its growth simultaneously \\'ith its floweiing. 

 Should it be necessary to repot the plant, it must be done when 

 the flower spikes begin to appear, generally in the early part of 



