CALANTHE HOUSE 133 



Lowiano-eburneum is much the better of the two. Both 

 are represented here. 



Against the glass, right and left all round, are Coelogynes 

 of sorts. 



We have another house devoted mainly to Cymbidium, 

 in which they have been planted out for some years, with 

 results worth noting. I am convinced that in a future day 

 amateurs who put the well-being of their orchids above all 

 else — above money in especial ! — will discard pots entirely. 

 Every species perhaps — every one that I have observed, at 

 least — grows more strongly when placed in a niche, of size 

 appropriate, on a block of tufa. There are objections, of 

 course — quite fatal for those who have not abundance of 

 labour at command ; for the compost very quickly turns 

 sour under such conditions if not watered with great care 

 and judgment. Moreover, what suits the plant suits also 

 the insects which feed upon it. And if there be rats in the 

 neighbourhood they soon discover that there is snug lying 

 against the pipes, behind the wall of stone. Anxious mothers 

 find it the ideal spot for a nursery. I cannot learn, how- 

 ever, that they do any wanton damage, beyond nipping off a 

 few old leaves to make their beds, which is no serious injury. 

 I have rats in my own cool house. Many years ago, on 

 their first arrival probably, an Odontoglossum bulb was eaten 

 up. Doubtless that was an experiment which did not prove 

 satisfactory, for it has never been repeated. However, rats 

 and insects can be kept down, if not exterminated. 



The Cymbidiums here were rough pieces, odds and ends, 

 consigned to this house to live or die. Now they are grand 

 plants, in the way to become ' specimens,' set among ferns 

 and creepers on a lofty wall of tufa, the base of which is 

 clothed with Tradescantia and Ficus repens. In front and 

 on one side are banks of tufa planted with Masdevallias, 

 Lycastes, Laelia harpophylla, and so forth. 



