44 THE ORCHID-GROWER'S MANUAL. 



small and unattractive compared with the beauty of their 

 foliage. To this rule the charming Phalcenopsis Schilleriana, 

 described by me at p. 137, is, however, an exception ; some 

 of the Cypripediums, too, have both fine foliage and flowers. 

 The genus Anazctocliilus is one of the most remarkable of 

 this handsome class of Orchids, and to its cultivation, which is 

 not generally well understood, I will now address myself. All 

 the varieties are remarkable for compact dwarf habit, perfect 

 form, and great beauty : they vary in height from two to six 

 inches, and their leaves, which are well defined, vary from 

 two to five inches in length, including the stalks, which, like 

 the stems of the plant, are short and fleshy. The foliage of 

 all the species is singularly beautiful ; in some of the varieties 

 it resembles the richest olive or rather purple velvet, regularly 

 interspersed with a net- work of gold. In others the leaf is of 

 the most lively green, covered with silver tracery. As regards 

 cultivation, the plants require sand and peat mixed with moss ; 

 the white ground colour from which they spring enlivened 

 occasionally by small growths of moss, sets off the plants 

 to much advantage, especially when looked at through bell- 

 glasses, under which the delicacy, richness, and softness of their 

 appearance are increased. Few visitors walk through a house 

 containing any of these plants without bestowing on them 

 more than ordinary attention, and expressing admiration of 

 their elegance, richness, and beauty. All of them demand treat- 

 ment very different from that of any other Orchid ; different 

 growers operate in different ways, but I have not found any 

 mode of management to succeed better than the one I first 

 laid down about twelve years ago, and which I know is being 

 followed by many who have Ancectochili growing in great 

 perfection. They are difficult to cultivate, and many fail 

 with them, a circumstance I attribute to keeping them too 

 close. The case in which they are grown should always have 

 a little air by tilting the glass about one or two inches j 

 this will benefit them very much and make them grow 



