74 ORCHIDS. 



and the plant should be secured in position by pegs. If 

 the plant is not steady a stake may be placed in the pot 

 and the plant tied to it. 



In repotting, all the old soil possible should be shaken 

 off, without injuring the roots. Water should be spar- 

 ingly given till the plants begin to make new roots, then 

 more liberally. 



The best potting material for plants in baskets is 

 sphagnous moss and potsherds. The size of the basket 

 should be proportioned to the size of the plant. A layer 

 of moss should be placed at the bottom and then the bas- 

 ket filled with moss and potsherds. The plant should be 

 placed about level with the top of the basket, and should 

 be tied to a stick in the centre to keep it firm. 



Those plants which are grown on wood should have 

 moss attached to the blocks, if by experience they are 

 found to require it ; some do better on bare blocks, but 

 they need more moisture, as they are then entirely depen- 

 dent on what is obtained from the atmosphere. They 

 should be firmly fastened to the block by copper wire se- 

 cured to copper tacks driven into the block. When they 

 make new roots they will cling to the blocks and the wire 

 may be removed. 



When the roots overrun the pot or the pseudo-bulbs 

 become too numerous or the soil becomes sodden, the 

 plant should be repotted. The chief precaution to take 

 is not to injure the roots, as any such injury may check 

 the growth of the plant, and weaken the flower. 



In repotting small plants it is only necessary to turn 

 the plant from the pot, al!6wing all the loose potting to 

 which roots are not attached to fall away. If the roots 

 are attached to the sides of the smaller pot and cannot be 



