28 PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 



grown on a horizontally suspended raft without the least 

 potting material. 



The great trouble with suspended Orchids, and one which 

 precludes the cultivator employing this culture for so many 

 plants as he could wish, is the drip they cause to the plants 

 on the stages. No Orchid should have another plant sus- 

 pended above it ; if it is not possible to avoid this, the 

 relative positions of the suspended plants should be changed 

 as often as possible ; water should only be given them 

 by " dipping " the plants, and they should be allowed to 

 drain thoroughly before being again suspended. As many 

 of the suspended plants as possible should be arranged 

 on each side of the path, and in other situations where 

 there are no plants immediately under them. 



Narrow rafts 4 inches wide and i foot or so in 

 height are suitable for Angrcecum infundibular e, A. inibri- 

 catum, and other scandent Angraecums of similar growth. 

 These should be fastened to the rafts with some good 

 Sphagnum-moss between the plant and the raft on the 

 lower half, the base of the plant and the raft being after- 

 wards fastened in a flower-pot with Sphagnum-moss, the 

 raft leaning at a slight angle. Sphagnum-moss can be 

 added on the upper part as the plant grows, and, when 

 sufficiently rooted up the stem, it can be severed half-way 

 up when the base will produce new growths. 



STAKING OR FIXING ORCHIDS 



Some years ago, when large specimens were favoured, it 

 used to be the practice to stake or " stick " the plants, as it 

 was called, some of them exhibiting almost as many sticks as 



