ORC 



[ 592] 



ORC 



mindful of the roots, and bruise or injure 

 them as little as possible. Perhaps some 

 roots will be found adhering very firmly 

 to the sides of the pot, to part them from 

 \vhich we have used a long, thin-bladed 

 knife, thrusting it carefully down between 

 the root and the pot. In very bad cases 

 we have found it necessary to break the 

 pot ; but this must be done very gently, or 

 the very act of breaking may destroy the 

 roots. The plant being cleared from the 

 pot, shake away all the old compost; then 

 examine the roots closely, and cut off all 

 the dead ones. This is a convenient op- 

 portunity, also, to look after insects, espe- 

 cially the white scale, the most pernicious 

 of all vermin to orchids, excepting, per- 

 haps, the black thrip. With a brush 

 clean them all off, and wash the whole 

 plant with strong soap-water. Your plant 

 is now ready for potting. Choose a pot 

 of the proper size : generally speaking, 

 orchids, to grow them well, take larger 

 pots in proportion to their size than any 

 other class of plants. Let your pots be 

 perfectly clean both inside and out. Lay 

 a large piece of potsherd over the hole at 

 the bottom of the pot ; then place some 

 rather smaller pieces of the same, and 

 over these the smallest ones. Altogether 

 the pot ought to be three-parts filled with 

 this drainage. This point is of the utmost 

 importance, for if the plants are not su- 

 perlatively well -drained they will not 

 thrive long or satisfactorily. Over this 

 drainage place a thin layer of charcoal, 

 and then a layer of the turfy peat, mix- 

 ing with it some broken pots and char- 

 coal. Introduce the plant now, and spread 

 the roots, if many, all over the surface of 

 the compost, working it amongst them, 

 gradually filling it in till the pot is full, 

 and keeping the body of the plant well 

 up ; raise the compost up about two or 

 three inches above the level of the edge 

 of the pot in proportion to its width. A 

 small pot need not have the plant above 

 one inch raised, a middling plant two 

 inches, and for the largest-sized plant 

 three inches will be sufficient. The whole 

 of the plant, pseudo-bulbs and all, ex- 

 cepting the roots, ought to stand clear up 

 above the compost. It will be loose and 

 ready to tumble over if of such kinds as 

 Cattle'yas or Dendro'biums ; to prevent 

 which, thrust into the compost some 

 stout sticks, and tie each pseudo-bulb to 

 each stick firmly. These will secure the 

 plant, and give it a neat, tidy appearance 



Orchids in Baskets. A. considerable 

 number of species require baskets, be- 

 cause the flower-stems are pendent, and, 

 consequently, naturally require a position 

 to allow the flowers to grow down. In 

 "act, some send the flower-stems perpen- 

 dicularly down through the soil or com- 

 )ost. Now, if these are grown in pots, 

 he flower-stems run down into the soil, 

 and there perish. It is true they have 

 >een grown in pots on a hillock built up 

 six inches or a foot above the rim of the 

 pot, and then part of the flower-stems 

 manage to find their way to the outside 

 of the little mound ; but a considerable 

 number descend straight downwards, and 

 soon rot for want of air and light. By 

 growing them in baskets this evil is pre- 

 vented, and every raceme (bunch) of 

 lowers arrives at perfection. 



The baskets should be of a size suit- 

 able for small plants small ones re- 

 quiring only small baskets, middling 

 ones the middle-sized, and large ones 

 n proportion. The way to basket the 

 plants is this: Have the peat or com- 

 post prepared exactly as for potting 

 above-mentioned; cover the bottom of 

 the basket with a thin layer of moss 

 green would do, though we prefer white, 

 or sphagnum. This moss is to prevent 

 the peat from dropping through the 

 openings between the rods forming the 

 bottom. Then place a portion of peat 

 upon the moss. In the next place, pre- 

 pare the plant by taking it out of the old 

 basket or pot, or perhaps off from a log. 

 Do this as carefully as possible, without 

 injuring the living roots. If the old peat, 

 in which it has been growing, perhaps, 

 for years, is very hard, and the living 

 roots are so firmly attached to it that they 

 cannot be detached without breaking 

 them, take the plant and put it into the 

 cistern, and let it remain there till the 

 peat is thoroughly soaked. Take it out, 

 and setitin some convenient place to drain 

 off the water. If this is done a full week 

 before you intend to re-basket the plant, 

 it will be all the easier to do ; the object 

 being to soften the peat so as to be able to 

 pick away, with a small-pointed stick, as 

 much of the old peat as possible. Exa- 

 mine, also, the pseudo-bulbs and leaves, 

 and clean them thoroughly from dirt and 

 insects. Prune away all dead roots, and 

 then the plant will be ready to be put in 

 its new habitation. Place it in the middle 

 of the basket, and fill in all round it with 



