ORCHIDS 283 



In the 'mind of the general public, Orchids are all extremely 

 expensive plants, and require costly structures and highly trained 

 men to grow them. This impression has grown up as a result of 

 the custom which the newspapers have of publishing the records 

 of sensational sales. As a matter of fact, high prices do not rule 

 among Orchids. Many are as cheap as Carnations. Every now 

 and then a rarity appears, either through importation or hybridi- 

 sation at home, and then competition among wealthy amateurs 

 and dealers runs the price up, perhaps, to several hundreds of 

 pounds. But high prices are paid at times for special pedigree 

 rams or bulls, and they do not make sheep and oxen, as a whole, 

 expensive. 



In these days of great plant emporia, keen competition among 

 tradesmen, and auction sales, even Orchids are cheap, and the 

 matter of cost need never deter a person who wants to grow some. 



The question of accommodation is more serious. It is true 

 that there are several beautiful kinds which will do well in a cool 

 house, and some may even be associated with other plants in 

 a general greenhouse; but if a representative collection of the 

 principal Orchids is to be grown successfully, not only will a 

 special house have to be provided, but it will have to be divisible 

 into compartments, because the different genera vary a good deal 

 in the degree of heat they require. 



The Orchid specialist divides his plants into four sets, or, to 

 put it in another way, he has four types of house in which to 

 accommodate his favourites. He calls the first the "cool house/' 

 and it approximates to the ordinary "greenhouse" of the general 

 gardener; in it Odontoglossums and some of the Cypripediums 

 will thrive ; the night temperature in the winter ranges from 45 to 

 50, and the day temperature is 10 higher; in summer the night 

 temperature may range from 55 to 60, with a corresponding 

 day rise. The second is the "intermediate house," of which the 

 temperature is about 5 higher than that of the cool house; if 



