79 



HAEDY OECHIDEOTJS PLANTS. 



IF any enterprising cultivator is desirous of mating himself 

 famous in the gardening world he should try to cultivate these 

 elegant plants : if successful he would be doing a great service 

 to his brethren by making known the means he has employed to 

 succeed. Many have tried and failed, I verily believe, for want of 

 perseverance. The means hitherto used for most of the British 

 kinds has been to take them up with balls when in flower, and 

 transplant them to the flower-border, where they soon die ; or to 

 put them in pots, and keep them in a cold frame, where they 

 languish for a year or two, and then appear no more. On the 

 other hand, some growers have been successful in growing some 

 ISfoith American species very well. I remember my friend, Mr. 

 Wm. Barnes, now a nurserymen at Peckham, exhibiting, some 

 years ago, a large pot of Cypripedium spectabile as well grown as 

 need to be wished, with nearly twenty fine blossoms expanded 

 at once. This instance shows that hardy Orchids can be grown 

 if only due pains be taken. I remember, also, when I was a 

 youth, obtaining a large plant of our English Lady's Slipper, 

 gathered near Settle, in Yorkshire ; it had upwards of a score of 

 what is technically called "rises" on it that is, shoots ; and 

 every shoot I made into a plant by division, and every one grew 

 and flourished as long as I had the care of them. The secret of 

 this success arose from the fact, that I took heed to plant the 



