orchids: how to grow T^E^r successfully. 117 



C caudatiiin, and is intfTincdiate botweon tlio two, the loiij? x>t!tals 

 coming from the last named vaiiety, which has long tail-like petals, 

 from 20 to .'JO inches in length, and flowers during the spring 

 months. It requires the same treatment, in every particular, as the 

 preceding varieties. 



Good i)lants should be purchased for about 7 G per strong 

 tlt)wering sized leading growth, which, under proper management, 

 soon grows into a large plant. 



CYPRirKDirM RELLATULUM. From Cochin China. 



In this si)ecies, as well as in its allied species, C. niveum and 

 C. Godfroycr, both of which are most chaste and pretty, an entirely 

 different method of cultivation will have to be adopted, as they do 

 not lend themselves quite so readily to the treatment generally 

 given to Cypripediums. They are, however, of easy culture, if a 

 more decided mode of cultivation is followed. The potting material 

 should consist of a mixture of rich fibrous loam broken into small 

 lumps, adding small lumps of chalk, varying from the size of a jjea 

 to that of a walnut, and these two materials, in equal proportions, 

 should be mixed together. The pot should be well drained to one 

 third of its depth, and the plants fixed rather firmly in the 

 compost, bringing the latter almost level with the rim of the pot. 

 The plant should then be placed in a position near the glass — on 

 a shelf would be a most suitable place — where it can have plenty 

 of light, taking care that it is not over watered, for sometimes 

 where everj'' care is exercised, a leaf occasionally damps off at the 

 axils ; special attention must therefore be given to the watering or 

 much serious damage will result from the damping off of the 

 foliage, but it is a plant which really requires but little water at any 

 time of the year, more especially during the winter months, and 

 when it is aj)plied see that the foHage is kept diy or the water 

 frequently lodges in the axils of the leaf and causes damping ; in 

 order to prevent this, dip the pot up to the crown of the plant (not 

 over) in a bucket of water, which is better than the ordinary'- 

 method of watering. 



It is not easy to draw a hard and fast rule as to how often the 

 plants should be watered, and gi-owers must be guided by the size 

 of the pot and the quantity of material it contains, as well as the 

 position the plant occupies, for if light and airy the compost 

 becomes dry more readily than if shaded and close ; and although 



