296 FLOWER GARDEN. 



moisture, and then filled up with oblong pieces of spongy 

 peat, between two and three inches in length, and more 

 than an inch in breadth and depth. Chips of rotten sticks r 

 and tufts of decayed hypnum or sphagnum, and the mix- 

 ture of fibrous roots which may be grubbed up in any 

 wood having a light or sandy soil, may often be used with 

 advantage, for the growth of Dendrobiums, and for all 

 wicker baskets suspended by wires from the rafters, where 

 peat would be apt to get too dry and hard. Some kinds are 

 the better for being fostered with the bottom-heat of a tan- 

 bed. The roots are generally thrown out near the surface : 

 a principal point in the culture consists in encouraging the 

 development of these ; the compost of peat and other sub- 

 stances should therefore be raised several inches above the 

 margin of the pot, so that the superficial roots may have 

 free scope. It is not necessary that the peat used should 

 be dried : in general it is found to answer best when it is 

 rather soft and spongy. When the peat is dry, it is dim- 

 cult to get wooden-pegs to penetrate without breaking the 

 peat, particularly for Stanhopeas, or plants requiring to be 

 piled high up. The plants may be piled on the peat from 

 six to eighteen inches, according to the size of the plant, 

 and of the pot used. Stanhopeas are found to flower best 

 when planted on rough peat, a considerable height above 

 the edge of the pots or flats used, so as to allow the flowers 

 to come out from the crevices of the peat. They are also 

 cultivated successfully in baskets of copper-wire, made 

 with the work very open, and filled with sphagnum moss. 

 The former method is particularly adapted for a warm, dry 

 atmosphere ; and the latter for a warm, moist atmosphere. 

 In wire-baskets, likewise, amongst rough peat, the various 

 species of Epiphyllum, with Drymonia punctata and Brug- 

 mansia floribunda, may be successfully cultivated* 



