bo OKCHID-GROWER S MANUAL. 



much more vigorously into the air, and suck up the moisture, 

 whereas, if their roots are covered too much, they are very 

 apt to rot. Mr. R. Warner has invented a flat block made of 

 ordinary pottery clay, with holes in it, and his plants are 

 thriving well on these. 



Various materials are used for forming baskets. Some- 

 times they are made of copper wire, which is verj^ durable. 

 Others are made from the ordinary material in use for making 

 flower-pots — these are very good indeed, and have a neat 

 appearance. We have some very good ones of this descrip- 

 tion ; they are round, about six inches deep, with holes in 

 the bottom, and made of the ordinary pottery clay ; they are, 

 moreover, very useful, as they last a long time, and the plants 

 do well in them. We have also for some years used small 

 earthenware pans of difterent sizes for many kinds of Orchids 

 with very beneficial results ; they have three holes in their 

 sides, and are attached to the roof of the house by means of 

 wires ; they are deep enough to allow of sufficient drainage to 

 be put in them, as well as peat or moss, and we find the 

 plants do well in them, much better than on blocks, as they 

 do not dry up so quickly. We have saved many delicate 

 plants in this way. We, however, prefer generally those 

 made of wood, on account of their rustic appearance, and, 

 besides, the roots like to cling to the wood. 



We have found teak wood to be the best for making 

 baskets, as it is hard and durable. The best baskets are those 

 of square shape, made of proportionate even-sized rods 

 without the bark, of which we give some sketches on page 35. 

 The wood should be cut into short lengths according to the size 

 of the basket required. They should not be too large, for there 

 are two objections to this : one is, that they take up much 

 space ; the other, that the plants do not require much room. 

 After the wood is cut into proper lengths, the pieces should 



