144 orchids: how to grow them successfully. 



®rcbib5 in Smoft^ ITowns. 



Although many kinds can be grown in town gardens there 

 are some, the delicate flowers of which open in the winter and are not 

 suitable for cultivation where a smoky, foggy atmosphere prevails, 

 such, for instance, as the genus Phalsenopsis, and this is much to 

 be regretted as the plants are often so much at home in town 

 gardens, and are frequently met with in a flourishing state under 

 such circumstances, but as they generally bloom in the winter tht^ 

 flowers are much too delicate to withstand dense fogs and the flowers 

 therefore rarely open, the buds turning yellow and dropping off. 



The spring-flowering Dendrobiums also give trouble in this 

 respect, such species as D. nobile and the numerous hybrids pro- 

 duced from it, notably D. Ainsworthii, D. Leechianum, and such 

 species as D. Wardianum, D. crassinode, and a few others, for heavy 

 fogs are almost certain to destroy the flower buds of these varieties 

 wliich flower early in the season if placed in too much warmth. 



It is, therefore, better to retard their blooming by keeping 

 them cool and not allow the flowers to expand until April, then 

 the flowering state may be expected to be more satisfactory as 

 the fogs then are fewer and less dense. 



Some of the Cattleyas also give trouble, especially C. Perci- 

 valiana, and C. Trianoe, both being early-blooming species, and 

 invariably lose their flower buds under the influence of dense fogs. 



There are several other kinds which also suffer, but not so 

 severely as those already mentioned, such as Lselia anceps and 

 other winter-flowering Laelias, the Calanthes, Cattleya labiata, 

 and all of these suffer in a more or less degree, sometimes managing 

 to unfold their sepals and petals but perhaps only for a short time. 



Cypripediums are to be recommended as probably the best 

 kind of Orchids for the greenhouses of large towns, for although 

 a large number of these flower in the winter, the flowers are better 

 able to resist, without injury, the action of thick smoky fogs, but 

 which would be fatal to the bloom of others, and it is also such an 

 interesting family, all being evergreen, and many with handsomely 

 marked foliage, the flowers varying so much in form and colours, 

 and a moderate-sized collection of them ensures an interesting 

 display of flowers throughout the year. 



BLAKE AND MACKENZIE, LIVERPOOI,. 



