26 THE ORCHID-GROWER'S MANUAL. 



plants as well as in Orchids. I have not experienced much 

 of it myself, but I have given advice respecting its cure, and 

 have found in most cases the plants to outgrow it. 



In 1860, a gentleman bought some Phalsonopsis of me, 

 which were the finest grown plants I had seen, and they did 

 beautifully with him for some time, growing very fast, in 

 fact too fast, for they got sappy, and their leaves became 

 spotted, as did also some others he had. I went to see 

 them, and he asked my opinion respecting them. Upon 

 inquiring how they had been treated, he told me that he 

 gave them a great deal of water over the leaves, and kept 

 the roots wet ; this was during winter. I went several times 

 to see them the following spring, and advised him to treat 

 them as recommended for Phalsenopsis. (See p. 132.) These 

 plants have quite outgrown the spot, and are now among the 

 finest round London. 



When at Hoddesdon, I had two Phalsenopsis which went 

 in the same way j they got spotted in the winter. I cut off 

 one of the leaves, and sent it to Dr. Lindley for his opinion 

 as to the cause of the evil. His reply was, that the plants 

 had been kept too moist during the cold dark days of winter, 

 a fact which I have never lost sight of. He was quite right, 

 for it was a sharp winter, and I had kept these two plants 

 wet, by placing the bottom of the block on which they grew 

 in a pan of water to keep off cockroaches. In that way too 

 much moisture crept to the roots, and, being in the winter 

 time, doubtless caused the leaves to become spotted. 



However, by following the treatment recommended in my 

 remark on Phalsenopsis, the plants soon recovered ; but if 

 steps of that kind had not been taken in time the disease 

 would have gone too far, and probably killed the plants. 

 Much injury is done by keeping the plants too wet at the 

 roots in dull weather ; in fact, too much moisture in that 

 way is injurious at any time, especially to those that grow on 

 branches of trees, when they come to be confined in pots and 



