88 WINTER CULTUREDISEASES, 



to, and it will be found that the plants will perform their 

 functions, and will abundantly reward the cultivator for his 

 trouble and attention. 



If any of these hardy Orchids are cultivated in a bed or border^ 

 the summer culture in regard to the above particulars of culture 

 is nearly the same. The only difference will be the kind of 

 shelter to give them. The best shelter is that formed with 

 bended hoops and either garden mats or oiled canvass, the latter 

 being the best for keeping off heavy rains. A shelter from the 

 burning rays of the sun acting too powerfully upon the soil may 

 be necessary ; and the best shelter for that purpose, as I have 

 repeatedly proved, is green moss. A bed covered with that non- 

 conductor gives it a fresh and lively appearance, and adds 

 largely to the health of the plants. 



WINTEE CULTURE. The operations for winter culture are 

 few and easily done and attended to. The plants in pots should 

 be placed under the shelter of a pit or frame, and the lights 

 should be kept on in wet weather to keep off the rain, and thus 

 keep the plants in a quiescent state. I should recommend the 

 plunging the pots up to the rim in coal ashes or sand, and in 

 very hard frost the glass should be covered with mats ; but 011 

 all fine days the lights should be drawn off entirely, and, in wet 

 muggy weather, propped up behind, to allow the escape of damp 

 air. Of course, all the decayed leaves must be cleared away, and 

 any other substances that would give out foul smells. Such as 

 may be growing in a bed or border should be protected from 

 slushing rains and frost, by covering each plant with a small 

 hillock of dry ashes, to be removed when the growing season 

 commences. If a bed has been formed as I recommended above, 

 the plants in it when at rest will be all the better if sheltered 

 from heavy rains, frost, and snow, by covering the bed with 

 hoops and oiled canvass. Let it be remembered that these rare 

 plants are well worthy of every care. 



DISEASES. The only disease that I know of that attacks 

 hardy Orchids is a kind of dry rot. The same disease is found 



