186 Commercial Gardening 



most plentiful. But in late autumn and in early winter there is also a 

 fairly good demand, especially when all outdoor flowers have been cut 

 down by frost, and also during the Christmas and New Year festivities. 



Orchids display a wonderfully wide range of form, size, colour, and 

 habit, consequently the flowers may advantageously be used for a great 

 variety of purposes. The " man in the street" regards every flower that 

 is curious in form, or ultra-beautiful in colouring, as an Orchid; he also 

 looks upon the different kinds of Orchids much as an amateur Rosarian 

 looks upon different varieties of Roses; and he has a profound belief that 

 Orchids can only be cultivated in extreme heat, and by a grower whose 

 skill borders upon wizardry. A grower for the cut-flower market knows 

 better than this, and the only question for him is whether the cultivation 

 of Orchids will pay him a trifle better than, say, Carnations or Chrysan- 

 themums. Let us state at once that in our judgment there is no room 

 for any great extension of Orchid culture on commercial lines for cut 

 flowers, but we believe that in many cases where a grower has a 

 regular and high -class clientele he could grow a few kinds of Orchids 

 with advantage and profit, provided he, or one of his employees, has a 

 good practical knowledge of the cultural conditions necessary for them. 



The comparatively cheap rate at which glasshouses can be built 

 nowadays, the increasing economy of modern heating apparatus, and the 

 fact that so many of the kinds of Orchids especially useful for the purpose 

 under consideration do not need continuously extreme heat have all tended 

 to reduce very materially the cost of Orchid culture, and thus make flower 

 production more remunerative. 



We do not forget that a considerable number of hybrid Orchids are 

 of immense value for cut flowers, and some of these are now so plentiful 

 and reasonable in price that they come within the bounds of practical 

 politics ; but, nevertheless, the majority of Orchids grown for the cut-flower 

 trade are imported from their native lands, and offered for sale in bulk 

 at different periods of the year, chiefly in the spring, at the auction sales 

 held in London, Liverpool, Manchester, &c. 



Purchase of these imported plants is the best and cheapest method 

 of commencing Orchid cultivation, unless one is in the happy position of 

 being able to import direct from someone who can be depended upon to 

 send plants of good quality, both as regards vigour and strain. The 

 question of "strain" may appear to have little bearing upon the subject 

 when importations are concerned, as this phrase is commonly used in 

 connection with races or varieties of plants and vegetables raised annually 

 or biennially from seeds. But it does count for a great deal, as many know 

 to their cost. For instance, Cattleya labiata and Odontoglossum crispum 

 (tig. 287) are two Orchids most extensively grown, and yet some importa- 

 tions give a high percentage of plants that will never yield other than the 

 weediest of flowers, while others will give a high percentage of flowers 

 of fine form, and purity or richness of colour. These latter will secure the 

 highest prices as cut flowers, and there is always a good market for any 



