of several Genera of the Orchiddcece. 17 



most instances removed a considerable distance from the earth, 

 it becomes, then, the cultivator to study the habits and constitu- 

 tions of such plants, and to place them in an atmosphere and situ- 

 ation as much in imitation of their native habitats as possible. 

 To give directions for the treatment of different genera and spe- 

 cies, separately, would occupy too much space, varying as they do 

 in their localities, from those that vegetate in the dense forests of 

 Brazil, to those found growing on barren rocks on the coast of 

 New Spain, let, an intelligent horticulturist will at once con- 

 ceive that plants, from both localities, can be accommodated in 

 one hot-house. 



The system which I have uniformly practised with success, in 

 growing the genus Cattleya, Epidendrum, Oncidium, Rodrigue- 

 zia, Pleurothallis, and others of the same nature, is to have cork 

 or bark boxes made, say ten inches square by six deep, tapering 

 towards the bottom; these should be filled to the brim with a 

 mixture of turfy peat, broken potsherds, decayed wood, or /Sphag- 

 num palustre. In planting, those kinds with pseudo-bulbs should 

 always be raised a little above the level of the box, so that the 

 base of the bulb stands free of the compost; and in no instance 

 should the roots of any of the kinds be buried deep, as they are 

 apt, from superabundance of moisture and exclusion from the at- 

 mosphere, to decay; which is also the case with the young shoots 

 when planted in a pot of earth, like a blanched daffodil, as we too 

 often see them. All that is requisite is, to pack a few pieces of 

 turf about the base, just so as to keep the plant steady, when the 

 roots will run over the surface and cling to the cork in all direc- 

 tions. 



Many of the small and delicate species succeed well by fixing 

 a little moss round their roots, and binding them with copper wire 

 to a piece of birch wood, allowing the bark to remain, afterwards, 

 suspending the whole from one of the rafters. From the droop- 

 ing habit of the flower-stems of many of the kinds they oi'ten take 

 a perpendicular direction; and, for want of an aperture to escape, 

 coil themselves around in the pot or box, and ultimately decay. 

 Instances of this kind are often met with in the Stanhojicrt ele- 

 gans, Acroptera Loddigesu', Gongora atropurpurea, and Tribra- 

 chia pendula: the evil is easily avoided, by planting in small bas- 

 kets, made of brass or lead wire, and hanging them up; the racemes 

 will then find their way through the openings, and hang down in 

 graceful festoons. 



The genera Zygopetalon, Peristeria, Ornithidium, Catasetum, 

 Cyrtopodium, and their allies, will all thrive well in pots, provided 

 they are well drained and filled with porous, decomposible, vegeta- 

 ble material, as pieces of decayed willow wood, mixed with sphag- 

 num and siftings of peat soil. Water must be given sparingly at 

 the I'oot; in fact it may almost be dispensed with, if the plants 

 VOL. IV. NO. I. 3 



