one 



[ 001 ] 



ORG 



until the buds at the bottom of each 

 psuedo-bulb begin to appear. 



Cleansing the Leaves. Take down the 

 plant from its high position; if the moss, 

 or peat, whichever it may happen to be 

 growing in, is dry, give it a good soaking 

 in the cistern, the water of which is at 

 a temperature of 70. Whilst it is 

 soaking, all dead leaves are to be care- 

 fully removed, and every part of the 

 plant thoroughly washed with a sponge. 

 If the leaves are thick and leathery, 

 the sponge is to be rubbed over them 

 several times with a heavy hand. In 

 fact, it might be called a good scrub- 

 bing ; being careful, of course, not to 

 injure it. For more tender leaves, we 

 have, very lately, used something else. 

 We observed that the sponge, though 

 used ever so lightly on these tender 

 thin leaves, injured them slightly. 

 Happening to observe a piece of thick 

 leather, such as soldiers' belts are 

 made of, it was taken and wrapt round 

 the end of a small stick, fastening it 

 firmly to it with some small copper 

 wire, leaving half-an-inch of it project- 

 ing beyond the stick ; it had then the 

 appearance of a brush made of leather. 

 With this instrument the leaves were 

 washed, and it was so soft and pliable 

 that it did not injure the youngest or 

 tenderest leaf, yet effectually washed 

 the dust and dirt off from the leaves. 

 This washing not only clears off the 

 parasites, and any other obstruction, 

 but also destroys insects, particularly 

 the red spider and black thrip, two of 

 the most pernicious enemies to orchids. 

 Let every part of the plants be well 

 cleansed leaves, stems, and psuedo- 

 bulbs. Not only will the plants look 

 better, but they will be greatly benefited 

 in their health. 



Potting. Generally speaking the 

 months of January, February, and 

 March, are the proper times, but as 

 there is no rule without exceptions, 

 some orchids require potting at all 

 seasons of the year. The beginner 

 may know when to pot his plants by 

 this observation : Whenever they are 

 determined to grow, they must be 

 potted. The only precaution neces- 

 sary to observe, in the dark seasons, 

 will be to use the stuff you pot them 



in (for it can hardly be called soil) in 

 a moderately dry state, and give no 

 water excepting a sprinkling to settle 

 the compost. 



In the first place, have ready a 

 quantity of broken pots or potsherds 

 of several sizes; next, procure some 

 good turfy peat, knock it into pieces 

 with a heavy hammer, crushing the 

 finer soil entirely out of it ; then pass 

 it through a fine sieve, and what re- 

 mains in the sieve is the best stuff for 

 orchids ; it is light, open, and porous. 

 Next, have some charcoal at hand 

 broken into pieces no larger than a 

 hen's egg, nor smaller than a hazel 

 nut. Another article, and you will 

 have all you need for pots and baskets : 

 this is white bog moss or sphagnum, 

 which should be partially chopped with 

 a sharp hatchet, and the dust also 

 sifted out of it. W r e have a great ab- 

 horrence for anything close or fine 

 about orchids, excepting terrestrial 

 ones. 



Having all in readiness, take your 

 plant, turn it out of the pot carefully, 

 be mindful of the roots, and bruise or 

 injure them as little as possible. Per- 

 haps some roots Avillbe found adhering 

 very firmly to the sides of the pot ; to 

 part them from which 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 conve- 

 nient opportunity, also, to look after 

 insects, especially the white scale, the 

 most pernicious of all vermin to orchids 

 (excepting, perhaps, 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 per- 

 fectly clean both inside and out. Lay 

 a large piece of potsherd over the hole 



