THE NURSERY-LIST 373 



the wild ; when the plants fail, they are discarded and new importa- 

 tions substituted. 



Seeds. In no class of cultivated plants is propagation by seeds 

 more difficult and tedious than it is with orchids. In all cases, 

 fertilization must be performed by hand. In England, the length of 

 time required for the capsules to ripen varies from three months to 

 a year. Good seeds form a very small proportion of the whole, 

 and it occasionally happens that the contents of a capsule will not 

 produce a single plant. This, however, as well as the difficulty 

 experienced in England in rearing plants to the flowering stage, is 

 primarily due to the deficiency of sunlight, and in such a bright 

 climate as that of the United States would not be likely to occur. 

 Various methods of sowing are in vogue, such as sprinkling over 

 pieces of wood and cork or tree-fern stem, and on the top of moss 

 and peat, in which established plants of the same or a nearly related 

 species are growing. The last is probably the best, but it is always 

 advisable to try several methods. Of course, the material on which 

 the seeds are scattered must always be kept moist and shaded. 

 The period between germination and the development of the first 

 root is the most critical in the life of a seedling orchid. After they 

 are of sufficient size to handle, they are potted off into tiny pots, 

 and as they gain strength, are given treatment approximating that 

 of adult plants. 



The above represents the former gardener's method in the growing 

 of orchids from seed. At the best it was inexact and unreliable. 

 It is now thought that the free germination of orchid seeds requires 

 the presence of the root fungus that is associated with the growing 

 plant. The exacter method now employed is described as follows 

 by Hasselbring in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture : " It is 

 absolutely essential that an association of the seed with the proper 

 root-fungus be brought about. In practice, this has often been 

 accomplished by the sowing of the seeds on pots containing the 

 parent plants. This method, however, has many disadvantages. 

 The plants cannot be repotted while the seedlings are growing, 

 and the seeds are likely to be washed away in watering, since they 

 cannot be readily protected by a proper covering. Better suc- 

 cess can be secured by the use of straight-walled glass jars with 

 loose glass covers. These are filled with finely chopped sphagnum, 

 which is well pressed into the jar. The whole is then sterilized in a 

 steam-box for one hour on three successive days in order to kill 

 bacteria and spores of molds which are likely to overrun the seed- 



