WINTER-FLOWERIJS"G PLANTS. 103 



signe bloom during the resting period, wliicli is from De- 

 cember to January. Phalcenopsis and Va?idas grow all 

 the year ; and daring the short dark days of fall and 

 winter less food is given by withholding water. Calan- 

 the, Coelogyne, and Phaius bloom with the maturity of 

 the growth, then lay dormant until spring. 



The best shading for an Orchid house, when ground 

 glass is not used, is canvas raised eighteen inches above 

 the roof ; or, if that is not convenient, thin paint, made of 

 turpentine and whiting or white lead. Lay it on in the 

 middle of March and brush it off in the middle of Octo- 

 ber. Ground glass is too dark from October to March 

 for plants, and nothing does w^ell with me under it in 

 winter. I use first quaUty clear French glass. When the 

 glass is shaded with canvas it should be done from March 

 to October, from nine o'clock in the morning to four 

 o'clock in the afternoon, except on cloudy days. 



Orchids when grown by a florist to pay would have to be 

 grown in quantity, each species with a house to itself ; but 

 when grown by amateurs, of course nearly all species are 

 usually grown in one house. The most of the twenty-four 

 species named could be had in flower from November to 

 April. All plants with a tendency to early maturity 

 should be placed at the warm end of the house, or, in the 

 fall, partition off the space necessary at the warmer end 

 for the most forward. The plants would have to be im- 

 ported from the woods at first cost, when grown to sell 

 (established plants at present prices would be too expen- 

 sive), and the flowers sold cheap to become popular. 

 Orchid growing to-day is where Rose growing was thirty- 

 five years ago. To sum up : In the cultivation of Or- 

 chids all plants, when newly potted or mounted, should 

 be made firm or wired, otherwise, if the plants move by 

 syringing, or other cause, the rootlets will be destroyed. 

 The atmosphere of an Orchid house should always be 

 moist, winter and summer, in winter allowing the pot- 



