34 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



undrained soils, they become mossy, and should be washed, say once 

 in five years, with a pound of potash to a pailful of water, and a little 

 cowdung and clay, the latter partly to show what trees have been 

 washed. They should also be lightly scraped. In a good soil 

 there is no need of scraping till they grow as old as Mr. Davis 

 has described. 



MEETING FOR DISCUSSION. 



Saturday, February 21, 1874. 



No special subject having been assigned for to-day's discussion, 

 the president called upon members to bring up any matter of 

 interest. John G. Barker, chairman of the Flower Committee, 

 said that he noticed two fine orchids upon the table, one of them 

 an ever-blooming species, and that he should be glad to hear from 

 Edward S. Rand, Jr., the exhibitor, concerning them. 



Mr. Rand said that the orchid referred to, DendrocJiilum glu- 

 maceum, was a native of the Philippine islands, whence it was 

 brought ten or fifteen years ago. The plant exhibited is one, and 

 the largest one, of only two in this country. The specific name is 

 derived from the resemblance of the spikes of flowers to the awns 

 of wheat The flowers are not showy but very delicate, drooping 

 gracefully from the extremity of a slender, curved stalk, and are 

 delightfully fragrant. Many orchids are rendered comparatively 

 unsightly by shedding their leaves before blooming, but this is 

 both evergreen and ever-blooming. The flowers last very long, 

 and are valuable for bouquets, wreaths, etc. The sheaths of the 

 leaves are delicately tinged with red. The plant is of easy cul- 

 ture in a mixture of fibrous peat and moss. The best location is 

 in the hot-house, but it may be grown very successfully with roses. 

 The plant is propagated by division of the pseudobulbs, and is of 

 very rapid growth. Unlike many other orchids in which it is diffi- 

 cult to produce " back-breaks," the plant is of symmetrical form. 

 One other species, D. JiUforme, is even more delicate tlian this, 

 and has a larger and more beautiful flower, but it is probably not 

 yet introduced into this country. 



The other orchid exhibited, Lycaste (Maxillaria) Skinneri, was 

 introduced from Guatemala about 1830. It is a cool orchid of the 



