150 



THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 



in quality and moderate in price, while 

 their rosebuds are rubbish. 



The genera of which cultural direc- 

 tions follow embrace all the orchids 

 that are desirable or essential for the 

 commercial man to handle. All can be 

 grown easily and profitably, and the 

 different genera, species and occasion- 

 ally a variety, cover the entire season, 

 giving you every form, color and shad- 

 ing of this gorgeous family, which 

 may be called the birds of paradise of 

 ! iora's Kingdom. The student or spe- 

 cialist in orchids -wishing to learn of 

 every known species and variety 

 should obtain the volume on orchids 



written some years ago by Benj. S. 

 Williams, London, Eng. 



The "peat" so often mentioned in the 

 following directions is not the same 

 material which is found in many parts 

 of Europe. That "peat" is the surface 

 soil, where some of the ericas are or 

 have been growing, and after the vege- 

 table matter has been shaken out it is 

 merely a lump of fibrous roots of no 

 fertilizing benefit, but merely a me- 

 chanical medium. Tuis quality of peat 

 is seldom found here, but a very good 

 substitute is found in the chopped-up 

 fibrous roots of our strong growing 

 native ferns, a good quality of which 



Mass of Cattleya Trianae, grown on wooden block. 



is sold by several firms, and this is the 

 "peat" referred to below. 



I trust the would-be grower of or- 

 chids will dispel from his mind the 

 idea that there is any secret or mys- 

 tery in growing orchids. The cardinal 

 qualities that will grow a house of 

 roses will grow orchids attention to 

 the requirements of the plants, clean- 

 liness, air, light, moisture, but above 

 all, with orchids study the time and 

 length of time the plants need resting. 

 The latter is the most essential part of 

 orchid culture. 



The following cultural directions 

 have been prepared and written by Mr. 

 Wm. Hewson, whom I now have the 

 honor to employ. He began his orchid 

 experience with the fine collection at 

 Goodwood, the grand home of the 

 Duke of Richmond, afterwards being 

 constantly associated with orchid cul- 

 ture in several places in the vicinity of 

 London. After arriving in this coun- 

 try he was the practical cultivator of 

 the wonderful collection of Mrs. Mor- 

 gan, of New York, during the last 

 three years of its existence. Since 

 that time and always he has been an 

 orchid enthusiast, and they have never 

 been absent from his charge. What 

 he says about them is plain and to 

 the point, and can be understood by 

 all, and I have proof, and with the 

 utmost confidence say, that every word 

 of his can be confidently relied upon 

 and followed. WM. SCOTT. 



Best Orchids for Commercial Purposes. 



All baskets or racks should be made 

 of red cedar, or hardwood, and should 

 be put together with copper wire or 

 copper nails, to prevent rusting. 



AERIDES. This beautiful genus is 

 a native of India and the Indian archi- 

 pelago, and requires a rather high 

 temperature. They can be successfully 

 grown suspended from the roof of a 

 palm house, where a temperature of 

 60 to 65 degrees can be maintained 

 during the winter months. Their rest- 

 ing season is from about November to 

 March, after which period the tem- 

 perature can rise 10 or 15 degrees as 

 the growing season advances. They 

 can be grown in either pots or bas- 

 kets, but I prefer the latter. Fill the 

 pots or baskets two -thirds full of 

 clean broken potsherus or charcoal; 

 place your plant well up and finish off 

 with a good top dressing of live, clean 

 sphagnum moss. Care should be tak- 

 en to keep the plants clean; remove all 

 decayed matter from their roots and 

 replace with fresh when occasion re- 

 quires. Give a liberal supply of water 

 during their growing season; in fact, 

 they should never be allowed to be- 

 come dry, or the leaves will shrivel. 

 The white and brown scale are deadly 

 enemies to this class of plants, and 

 should be watched for, or the plants 

 will soon become useless. 



Aerides Fieldingii, a very free flow- 

 ering species with bright, rose colored 

 spikes, commonly called the fox-brush 

 orchid. It generally blooms during 



