ANCECTOCHILUS. 123 



j ust described on a frosty night ; but during mild weather it 

 will not do them any more harm than taking them to a 

 flower-show. It was for years our custom, when living 

 ■with the late C. B. Warner, Esq., at Hoddesdon, to show 

 Ancectocliili at the Regent's Park and Chiswick exhibitions 

 under bell-glasses, and we never found them injured by any 

 such changes. We, however, always took care to prepare 

 them before starting, by not giving them too much water, 

 and by putting them in a cooler house, which should be done 

 with all plants of a tender kind before they are taken to a 

 show ; they will seldom sustain injury if treated in a proper 

 way before leaving a warm house. The plants in question 

 were shown for several years, and were grown without bottom 

 heat and under bell-glasses in the shade. We mention this 

 to show how many years Ancectocliili may be grown on, when 

 subjected to the treatment best suited for them. 



When they get out of health we have found that the best 

 way is to turn them out of their pots and examine the roots ; 

 if in a bad state below, wash the stem and roots, and repot in 

 fresh soil. Thus treated we have known them to improve and 

 do well for some time, provided they have not been allowed 

 to get too much out of order before being seen to ; if so, there 

 may be little hope that the care bestowed on them will 

 be of any use. These plants, unlike some Orchids, have no 

 thick woody pseudobulbs to support them ; their small fleshy 

 stems require constant attention to keep them in a thriving 

 state, but with care they may be grown to perfection. The 

 flowers are small and unattractive, and their development 

 often injures the plants by weakening them, on which account 

 -we always pinch them off when they appear, and find that 

 this induces the stems to make lateral shoots freely. 



These plants require to be grown in a warm house or pit, 

 \yhere the temperature ranges, in winter, by night from 05^^ 



