LIST OF COOL ORCHIDS. 135 



the surface of the pots covered with fresh living sphagnum ; 

 this not only preserves an equable state of moisture at the 

 root, but also gives a neat and clean appearance to the plants. 

 Speaking of sphagnum, I would here observe that no Orchid 

 pot should be allowed to go without a layer of living sphagnum 

 moss over the peat or other compost it contains. There are 

 but few Orchids that will not root freely into living sphagnum, 

 and it is quite exceptional to meet with unhealthy, shrivelled 

 plants where sphagnum is freely used as a top-dressing. For 

 all cool Orchids, more especially, it is a sine qua non. It is 

 a mistake to keep hardy or half-hardy Cypripediums as dry as 

 dust when at rest. In their native habitats they obtain an 

 abundant supply of moisture at that particular season, and in 

 cultivation the compost in which they are grown should be 

 kept moderately moist. The worst treatment these plants 

 can receive is to allow them to become dust dry, and then to 

 deluge them with water. That hardy Orchids can be grown 

 well has been demonstrated beyond a doubt by Mr. Needle, 

 gardener to H.E.H. Comte de Paris, at Twickenham, and we 

 hope to hear of others taking up the culture of the many lovely 

 species that come to us from N. America, the Cape of Good 

 Hope, and the south of Europe. In their native habitats, 

 most of the hardy Orchids are found growing in close con- 

 tiguity to damp Moss, Grasses, or Sedges, often in spongy 

 morasses, bogs, or other sub-aquatic situations; still it is 

 exceedingly rare to find any attempt being made to grow 

 them in similar positions here at home. Plant them out in a 

 position shaded from the blazing noon-day sun, amongst 

 Moss and herbage, the close contiguity of which assists their 

 growth by preventing undue evaporation, not only from the 

 soil in which they may be planted but also from the plants 

 themselves. We here append a list, and Lindley's synopsis 

 of all the species of hardy Lady's Slippers with which we 



