THE FLORISTS* MANUAL. 



159 



great flower market of London, there 

 are possibly as many orchids sold as 

 rosebuds; but that is not difficult to 

 understand; their orchids are grand in 

 quality and moderate in price, while 

 their rosebuds are rubbish. 



The genera of which cultural direc 

 tions follow embrace all the orchids that 

 are desirable or essential for the com 

 mercial man to handle. All can be 

 grown easily and profitably, and the dif 

 ferent genera, species and occasionally 

 a variety, cover the entire season, giving 

 you every form, color and shading of 

 this gorgeous family, which may be 

 called the birds of paradise of Flora s 

 Kingdom. The student or specialist in 

 orchids wishing to learn of every known 

 species and variety should obtain the 

 volume on orchids written some years 

 ago by Benj. S. Williams, Londpn, Eng. 

 The &quot;peat&quot; so often mentioned in the 

 following directions is not the same 

 material which is found in many parts 

 of Europe. That peat is the surface 

 soil, where some of the ericas are or 

 have been growing, and after the vege 

 table matter has been shaken out it is 

 merely a lump of fibrous roots of no 

 fertilizing benefit, but merely a me 

 chanical medium. This quality of peat 

 is seldom found here, but a very good 

 substitute is found in the chopped-up 

 fibrous roots of our strong growing na 

 tive ferns, a good quality of which, is 

 sold by several firms, and this is the 

 peat referred to below. 



I trust the would-be grower of orchids 

 will dispel from his mind the idea that 

 there is any secret or mystery in grow 

 ing orchids. The cardinal qualities that 

 will grow a house of roses will grow 

 orchids attention to the requirements 

 of the plants, cleanliness, air, light, mois 

 ture, but above all, with orchids study 

 the time and length of time the plants 

 need resting. The latter is the most 

 essential part of orchid culture. 



The following cultural directions have 

 been prepared and written by Mr. Wil 

 liam Hewson, whom I now have the 

 honor to employ. He began his orchid 

 experience with the fine collection at 

 Goodwood, the grand home of the Duke 

 of Eichmond, afterwards being con 

 stantly associated with orchid culture in 

 several places in the vicinity of London. 

 After arriving in this country he was 

 the practical cultivator of the wonder 

 ful collection of Mrs. Morgan, of New 

 York, during the last three years of its 

 existence. Since that time and always 

 he has been an orchid enthusiast, and 

 they have never been absent from his 

 charge. What he says about them is 

 plain and to the point, and can be under 

 stood by all, and I have proof, and with 

 the utmost confidence say, that every 

 word of his can be confidently relied 

 upon and followed. WM. SCOTT. 



Best Orchids for Commercial Purposes. 



All baskets or racks should be made of 

 red cedar, or hardwood, and should be 

 put together with copper wire or copper 

 nails, to prevent rusting. 



AERIDES. This beautiful genus is a 

 native of India and the Indian archi- 



Dendrobium Wardianum. 



pelago, and requires a rather high tem 

 perature. They can be successfully 

 grown suspended from the roof of a 

 palm house, where a temperature of 60 

 to 65 degrees can be maintained during 

 the winter months. Their resting season 

 is from about November to March, after 

 which period the temperature can rise 

 10 to 15 degrees as the growing season 

 advances. They can be grown in either 

 pots or baskets, but I prefer the latter. 

 Fill the pots or baskets two-thirds full 

 of clean broken potsherds or charcoal; 

 place your plant well up and finish off 

 with a good top dressing of live, clean 

 sphagnum moss. Care should be taken 

 to keep the plants clean; remove all de 

 cayed matter from their roots and re 

 place with fresh when occasion requires. 

 Give a liberal supply of water during 

 their growing season; in fact, they 

 should never be allowed to become dry, 

 or the leaves will shrivel. The white 

 and brown scale are deadly enemies to 

 this class of plants, and should be 

 watched for, or the plants will soon be 

 come useless. 



Aerides Fieldingii, a very free flower 

 ing species with bright, rose-colored 

 spikes, commonly called the fox-brush 

 orchid. It generally blooms during June 

 and July and lasts about three weeks 

 in perfection. 



Aerides crispum, another beautiful 

 species, a free bloomer and of easy cul 



ture. This variety grows best in a 

 basket suspended from the roof, blooms 

 in summer, and the flowers have a very 

 pleasing odor. 



Aerides Lobbii, a dwarf growing spe 

 cies, does well in a basket, blooms dur 

 ing June and July, the spikes of pink 

 flowers from twelve to eighteen inches 

 long and perfectly round. This is a 

 grand variety. 



Aerides odoratum majus, a grand ( 

 variety, very free bloomer, beautiful, 

 aromatic odor, flowers in summer, last 

 ing about two weeks in perfection; 

 should find a place in every collection. 



ANGRAECUM. This peculiar genus re 

 quires the same treatment as aerides, 

 only they all grow best in pots and re 

 quire abundance of drainage and plenty 

 of moisture during their growing season, 

 which is about the same as that of the 

 aerides. A little good fibrous peat can 

 be used with the sphagnum for potting. 

 They are mostly natives of Madagascar. 

 The&quot; following I consider the best va 

 rieties for commercial purposes: 



Angraecum eburneum, greenish-white 

 flowers, very sweet and very large, 

 strong spikes; blooms during the win 

 ter months. 



Angraecum sesquipedale ; this species 

 I consider the best of the genus. It is 

 a good grower and has large, peculiarly- 

 formed flowers, with long white tails of 

 ivory whiteness, and very fragrant. I 



