72 ORNAMENTAL GARDENING 



ting out poison but if there is likelihood of continued trouble it 

 is best to fasten the plants only on the vertical stems of trees, 

 and not on horizontal or sloping surfaces. There are nocturnal 

 insects that eat the leaves of Orchids, which could probably be 

 held in check by spraying according to instructions in the chapter 

 on insects. The only disease that has so far troubled my plants 

 is a blight which breaks out suddenly and sometimes destroys 

 a large plant in a single day. The affected parts turn to a semi- 

 transparent brown and become soft as though they had been 

 boiled. I presume that it is the work of a fungus. Slitting the 

 sheaths that surround the pseudobulbs and removing them, in 

 case there are indications of trouble, is a good thing, and thorough 

 dusting with sulfur is excellent. Cut away and burn all diseased 

 parts. 



I would advise every one who has hammock and cultivates 

 ornamental plants to try at least a few Orchids. One can start 

 with the Cattleyas, Dendrobiums, Epidendrums or Laelias; the 

 cheaper plants are as good as any. Do not put them too high 

 on the trees as it will be difficult to water and attend to them, 

 and much of the fine effect of the flower is lost if they are out of 

 reach. If one can have a background of thick foliage so much 

 the better. 



One can even grow Orchids in a clump or grove of planted 

 trees; all that is needed is shade, protection from strong wind 

 and a reasonable degree of moisture in the air. One sometimes 

 sees them growing in exposed places in full sunshine but I have 

 had poor success in trying to establish them in such places. 



There is an indescribable charm about the Orchids and who- 

 ever once becomes interested in them can never break away from 

 their spell. The forms of their flowers are so strange, their text- 

 ure is so delicate, their colors so soft and beautiful, often so won- 

 derfully brilliant and bizarre that it is no wonder that they claim 

 almost universal admiration, whether seen in Orchid houses or 

 used for decoration. But to see them in perfection one must go 

 into the dark, steamy, tropical forests where they naturally 

 belong. Charles Kingsley said "Even to look up at them 

 perched on bough and stem as one rides by, and to guess what 

 exquisite and fantastic forms may issue, in a few months or weeks, 



