ORCHIDS : HOW TO GROW THEM SUCCESSFULLY. 153 



point should not be more than four feet, and the nearest not less than 

 one foot from the glass. I greatly prefer, and strongly advise, stages 

 of an open nature, that is to say, a simple greenhouse stage formed of 

 slats of wood, with a space of one or two inches left between each slat 

 so that the air can circulate freely up between the plants. This question 

 of open stages I consider of great importance, if really good results are 

 to be obtained. The air plays a most vital part with these essentially 

 air-loving plants, and the freest circulation which the outside conditions 

 permit is at all times of the utmost importance. It has sometimes been 

 thought that the principal point necessarily lay in the keeping of the 

 house and the plants in a particular wet and humid condition, because 

 of the rains and the exceptionally heavy dews of its native habitat. This 

 explains the origin of closed stages covered with some moisture 

 retaining material and kept constantly saturated on which the plants 

 were stood. The idea however has proved to be wrong and misleading. 

 I do not advise anyone who may be growing fairly good plants under 

 such conditions to too suddenly change their methods of culture, or 

 for that matter to change at all, still I am convinced that the idea 

 of closed stages is wrong in principle for any orchid house. It is right 

 of course, especially in summer to introduce large supplies of moisture 

 which they in nature so much enjoy, but we must allow the air to play 

 its counteracting part in our houses, just as it does in their native trees at- 

 home, and it is quite unable to accomplish this when the plants are placed 

 on air-proof stages in pots. The air must freely circulate around and 

 beneath them as well as above, in order to grow hardy, healthy plants. 

 SUMMER TREATMENT. The treatment during the summer months 

 is extremely simple and consists principally in shading well from the 

 sun's rays, admitting large volumes of air, both night and day, whenever 

 the outside conditions are at all seasonable, and keeping plenty of 

 moisture distributed about the house and plants. But, fond of moisture 

 as O. crispum undoubtedly is, the compost in which it is growing 

 should not be kept continually in a state of saturation. I have proved 

 beyond doubt that it does not pay to keep them so. When one comes to 

 think, there seems something most unnatural about it. O. crispum is 

 not found growing in bogs and marshes, but high up in the branches 

 of trees, exposed to the full breezes, where it is morally certain they 

 must sometimes get dry as well as wet, roots and all. That they like 

 moisture and cannot get on for long without is well known, but I 

 prefer to see my crispums get pretty dry at the roots before I 

 again water them ; the watering they receive in the meantime is over- 

 head syringing with tepid water once or twice daily, according to 

 requirements. This syringing is sufficiently heavy to thoroughly wet 

 the foliage, and to moisten the surface of the compost, but not heavy 

 enough to saturate the whole mass. The temperature of course should 

 be kept as low as the weather will admit. 



