7O ORCHIDS. 



this is easily known by the appearance of the pots and the 

 plant^ ; in such cases a fire should be lighted to drive off 

 superfluous moisture and to warm the plants. 



When in cold weather the temperature is kept at about 

 50, water should be almost' entirely withheld ; if there is 

 no sun, a little sprinkled on the pipes or on the paths may 

 be sufficient, as thus a moist warm atmosphere is supplied 

 to the house. The evening watering and syringing should 

 be given about an hour or more before sunset, after the 

 houses are closed for the night. The morning, after the 

 sun has gained some power. 



If possible, the house should be dried up once a day by 

 means of ventilation. 



In syringing great care must be taken not to wet young 

 shoots or flower stems too much. Free syringing should 

 only be given in warm weather, but separate plants may 

 receive water overhead as they require it. 



Those plants which are growing on blocks of wood 

 should be syringed twice a day in summer. It is also a 

 good method, during the growing season, to take the blocks 

 down and dip them in water till the wood and moss are 

 thoroughly soaked. 



Plants in baskets should also be examined, and if they 

 are dry, they also should be soaked. In this way also 

 many hurtful insects may be destroyed, for floating on 

 the water they are easily killed. 



If rain-water cannot be had, pond water is the next 

 best. 



The regulation of syringing is one of the hardest things 

 for the beginner to learn. In many houses it is wholly 

 unnecessary, the wetting of the moss on the shelves and 

 in the pots and the sprinkling of the paths being suffi- 

 cient. It should never be profuse. Some plants, such as 



