THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



. MINIATURE ORCHIDS. 



BY WILLIAM GEDNEY, 



Head Gardener to J. C. Day, Esq., Tottenham. 



{With Coloured Illustration of Comparettia coccinea.) 



|INIATURE ORCHIDS, of the type represented by the 

 pretty little Comparettia coccinea, will not for a moment 

 compare in attractiveness with the lovely Odontoglots, 

 and the more showy Cattleyas, yet they are so interest- 

 ing as to be well deserving of the attention of those 

 who are fond of growing botanical curiosities. Some of them are 

 exceedingly beautiful, all are very interesting, and by reason 

 of their small growth, a comparatively large collection may be 

 cultivated in a structure of small size ; especially are they de- 

 serving of the attention of those amateurs who have heated plant 

 cases indoors ; for in one of these, about four feet in length and 

 thirty inches in width and in depth, a good collection could 

 be grown, because in addition to those placed on the floor of the 

 case, a large number may be suspended from the roof. Provided the 

 case occupies a light position, facilities exist for maintaining a 

 suitable temperature, and the plants receive the needful attention 

 in the way of watering and air-giving, there will be no great difficulty 

 in keeping them in good health. Of course, an ordinary house is the 

 most suitable, and where orchids are cultivated, the miniature grow- 

 ing kinds should be associated with them, either suspended from the 

 roof or placed upon the stage, according to their peculiarities. In 

 the collection under my charge are a large number of these little 

 gems, and when they are in bloom they receive their full share of 

 attention from the visitors. Indeed, not unfrequently, they receive 

 something more than their " full share," for some visitors will pass 

 large and beautifully-flowered specimens of the showy laelias and 

 dendrcbiums to have a look at a modest little restrepia, or one of 

 the more curious bolbophyllums. Ishouldnot, of course, recommend 

 their cultivation in roomy structures to the exclusion of the more 

 robust kinds, but as supplementary to the latter, and in little 

 houses and in cases where the space would not suffice for the pro- 

 duction of fully-developed specimens of the larger growing cattleyas, 

 dendrcbiums, and vandas. 



As they vary somewhat in character and in cultural requirements, 

 it will be necessary in describing the several species most worthy of 

 general cultivation, to indicate the conditions under which they make 

 the most satisfactory growth; coming as they do from different quarters 

 of the globe, some require a higher temperature than the others. 

 They also differ in the character of the growth, and some succeed 

 best on blocks of wood, whilst others thrive in pots filled with either 

 peat or moss, or a mixture of the two. The pots must be propor- 

 tionate to the size of the plant, perfectly clean, and be half filled 

 with crocks. The majority of those best suited for pot culture will 



Fehruary. '* 



