OECHlD CULTURE. 119 



v 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



ORCHID CULTURE. 



[The following brief detail of Orchid culture ia written by 

 my partner in business, James Fleming, whose success in 

 handling one of the largest and most valuable collections 

 in the vicinity of New York well warrants him in giving 

 instructions on the subject.] 



It is only of late years that Orchids have been cultivated 

 in this country, and it is even now rare to find a collection 

 of more than a few dozen plants. This, no doubt, is from 

 the idea entertained by many that they are very difficult 

 to grow, but this is not by any means the case, as with 

 favorable conditions they can be as easily grown as a 

 Camellia or Azalea. As we begin to know more of their 

 native habitats and the climate and conditions in which 

 they grow, then we, no doubt, will find them more thor- 

 oughly distributed through the country, for the Orchidaceae 

 certainly embrace some of the most beautiful gems in the 

 floral world. There are a few enthusiastic amateurs 

 amongst us who deserve great credit for the trouble and 

 expense they have incurred to enrich their collections and 

 foster a taste for the cultivation of Orchids. 



It is entirely unnecessary to have a separate house for 

 Orchids, as they can be grown very well with a general 

 collection of stove plants where a temperature is main- 

 tained at 60 to 80 or 90 in summer, and 55 to 70 in 

 (winter for the Indian varieties, and 50 to 75 in summer, 

 and 45 to 60 in winter, for the South American ones. I 

 could never see that a few degrees' difference either way 

 did any injury to the plants, as long as the proper degree 

 of moisture was maintained. The house ought to be 

 shaded in summer. 



As the cultivation of the Indian and South American 

 Orchids is the same, the only difference being in the tern- 



