PROGRESS OF ORCHID CULTURE 5 



temperature were made in the first half of the nineteenth 

 century, one of the first to grasp the truth in this direction 

 being Joseph Cooper, who was gardener to Earl Fitzwilliam 

 at Wentworth. But a considerable time elapsed before the 

 more rational treatment, which meant less artificial heat and 

 more ventilation, became general. The culture was further 

 improved by the introduction of the hot-water system of 

 heating Orchid houses, a method which is now almost 

 perfect and has done more to further Orchid-growing than 

 anything else. 



The spread of information respecting the climatic con- 

 ditions of the countries in which the plants were collected 

 also helped cultivators in this country, and the articles 

 published in the Gardeners' Chronicle in 1851 by the late 

 B. S. Williams, and subsequent articles by other experts, 

 were of great service. 



The latter half of the nineteenth century was the most 

 important era in the development of Orchid cultivation. A 

 remarkable feature was the beginning of that industry which 

 has now attained such widespread popularity, namely, the 

 raising of hybrid Orchids from seed. The first hybrid 

 Orchid, Calanthe x Dominyi (obtained from a cross be- 

 tween C. furcata and C. Masuca), flowered with Messrs. 

 James Veitch & Sons in October 1856. The same firm 

 subsequently produced many fine hybrid Calanthes, Phala- 

 nopsis, Cattleyas, Laelias, and Laeliocattleyas. Many of 

 these are now standard garden plants, whilst the work of 

 hybridising and raising hybrid Orchids has become general. 



Another notable event in Orchid culture during the 

 period mentioned was the commencement of the Cool-house 

 or Odontoglossum Section of Orchid Culture. In 1863, 



