THK ELORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 211 



a-half apart, and a slight watering given to settle the soil around 

 them. Place them in any frame or pit, or even in a greenhouse, 

 close to the glass, and they will strike freely, and continue rooting 

 all the winter. 



The tops will not grow much if kept near the glass, and plenty 

 of air allowed them ; nor is this desirable, as the dwarfer the plants 

 are, the more novel and beautiful they look. Iu March prepare 

 some compost for potting them, by mixing three parts sandy loam, 

 some fine lime rubbish, a very little leaf-mould, or lumpy peat and 

 sand. Take the plants from the pans with little balls of soil, by 

 raising them gently with the potting stick, and place them singly in 

 four-inch pots, well drained. Set them in a frame or pit, with their 

 tops only four or six inches from the glass, and where the frost can 

 be excluded, keeping the frame close for about a week or ten days, 

 after which they must be gradually inured to a circulation of air. 

 Tilting the sashes at the sides, by placing the tiller between them 

 and the rafter, will be found to answer better than sliding, or only 

 tilting at the back. The object is to give strength without drawing 

 the plants up, and, by keeping the glass close to their tops, to cause 

 them to set flower-buds, which they will readily do under such 

 treatment ; and by planting out in time, which with me is about the 

 beginning of June, every plant, if well managed, will have its head of 

 bloom perfectly formed, and beginning to expand. 



Kalosanthes look best planted in circular or oval beds, placing 

 the tallest in the centre, and gradually descending to the edge ; the 

 last row should be placed in the ground a little deeper than the 

 rest, and should slightly incline outward, in order to give a rounded 

 appearance. Any good border soil seems to suit them, but if poor, 

 some fresh loam and leaf soil should be added. I always water the 

 plants well before turning them out of the pots, and the bed also 

 when necessary. Some green moss laid upon the surface of the bed 

 gives it a neat appearance, and prevents evaporation. 



ON THE PROPAGATION OP ORCHIDS. 



j|HERE are different modes of propagating the various 

 kinds of Orchids. Some are easily increased by 

 dividing them into pieces, or by cutting the old pseudo- 

 bulbs from the plants, after the latter have done 

 blooming. Such plants as Dendrobiums are increased 

 in this way. The best time for dividing the plants is just as they 

 begin to grow, or when they are at rest. They should be cut 

 through with a sharp knife between the pseudo-buds, being careful 

 not to harm the roots. Each piece should have some roots attached 

 to it. After they are cut through they should be parted, potted, 

 and put in some shady part of the house, without receiving much 

 water at the roots till they have begun to grow and make fresh 

 ones; then they may have a good supply. Dendrobium nobilo, 

 Pierardi, pulchellum, macrophyllum, Devonianum, and similar 

 July. 



