ON THE CULTURE OF ORCHIDEOUS PLANTS. «i 



regulated so as to keep it at 60 degrees by night, and to allow it 

 to rise to 68 by day. The plants will not require much water 

 applying at the roots whilst resting, but at the middle of each day 

 the warm flue should be sprinkled with water, to cause a little 

 humidity. 



When the resting season is over - , many kinds will generally 

 require repotting ; I have not confined my practise to that time 

 only, but when during summer a plant seems to want such exten- 

 sion of room, I allow it immediately by repotting, or in some cases 

 keep raising the soil, &c, by piling additional portions suc- 

 cessively. In order to secure the plant steady, I fix a strong 

 stick, at the first potting, nearly at the centre of the pot, and by 

 fixing two cross pieces of wood to it, extending crosswise of the 

 inside of the pot, near the rim, this, when the soil, &c. is filled in, 

 becomes quite firm, and is a very useful support to the plant ; in- 

 deed, in some instances it is quite indispensible. 



The most suitable soil for the plants to grow in, is sandy peat, 

 not a soddened kind, but having as much stringy roots in it, as 

 when cut into portions of an inch square, each piece will adhere 

 together. In some instances I use decayed wood from trees, 

 mixed with the peat, and a portion of vegetable mould. 



In potting, 1 always give a good quantity of broken pots for 

 drainage, so as to allow the water to pass off quickly. If this is 

 not attended to, the water would become stagnant, the soil sod- 

 dened, and the plants would most certainly be sickly. 



I always use water that is of a tepid temperature, that no check 

 be given from cold. I do not sprinkle the plants over the tops 

 more than three times dining a year, and that merely for the 

 purpose of washing off dust ; I prefer spunging them over. 



When the growing season commences, I raise the temperature 

 of the house from 65 to 72 degrees by night, and from 72 to 95 

 by day. Instead of syringing over the tops of the plants, I sprin- 

 kle the flues twice a day, viz. about ten o'clock in the morning, 

 and two in the afternoon ; this supports them during powerful sun, 

 by rendering the air humid. I do not allow the flue to be moist, 

 when the sun has set ; for, if the house be then closed in a very 

 damp state, some of the delicate plants would probably be killed 

 by it, and to very few is it beneficial. The exceptions to this rule 

 I shall notice in my remarks on the particular kinds. 



