SEED SOWING 71 



pot, is best, the subject being chosen for the good quality 

 of the peat, Osmunda fibre, or whatever material the 

 plant may be growing in. The Sphagnum-moss on the 

 surface should be clipped very short, the plant thoroughly 

 watered with rain water, and allowed to drain for a 

 few hours. The seeds should be sown a few at a 

 time, on the point of a knife or thin strip of hard 

 wood or ivory, and carefully and evenly distributed over 

 the surface of the material in which the selected plant 

 is growing. In all cases the number of the record in the 

 stock-book should be attached, a small celluloid tablet 

 fastened by a thin wire being the best label, as it is clean 

 and durable. Hybrids of Laelia, Cattleya, and other true 

 epiphytes should be suspended in a warm, intermediate 

 house, and Cypripediums and terrestrial Orchids may be 

 sown in a similar manner in the pots of either the seed- 

 bearing subject or similar kinds and placed in a moist, 

 sheltered corner of a house, in which a genial warmth is 

 maintained, the plants being elevated on inverted flower- 

 pots. Once the seeds are sown, the plants fostering them 

 should never be allowed to get dry. 



Odontoglossum seeds come up best when sown on the 

 surface of established plants in the manner described. 

 To ensure the best results two or three sowings of each 

 should be made, and the plants bearing the freshly sown 

 seeds placed in different parts of the house, some being 

 suspended and others placed on the stage. 



The maintenance of a continual and even amount of 

 moisture after sowing, and until the seedling plants send 

 forth roots, is of the highest importance. To water either 

 with a spouted or a rose pot overhead would wash the seeds 



