APBIL 18, 1912. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



15 



a light framework of slats inside the 

 case and let the supporting legs of this 

 stand in saucers of water, to provide 

 needed moisture and at the same time 

 l^eep snails, etc., from crawling up 

 about the seed pots or pans. This 

 framework should bring the pots mod- 

 erately near the light. Pots or pans 

 four to five inches in diameter are bet- 

 ter than larger ones. Fill them with a 

 mixture of chopped sphagnum and os- 

 munda fiber. Over this lay a small 

 square of burlap or coarse Turkish 

 towel. Tuck this closely around the 

 sides of the pots, so as to leave a 

 smooth, firm surface. Moisten this 

 with a fine sprayer and then scatter 

 the seed evenly over it. Keep the case 

 moderately close for the first few days, 

 )iut a crack of air should be given each 

 day. Do not allow the pot surfaces to 

 become in the least dry, but use a fine, 

 misty sprayer to moisten them. A 

 sheet of paper should be kept over the 

 glass to exclude all sunlight. 



Potting the Seedlings. 



Seed sown in spring will germinate 

 sometimes within a month. Most of 

 the cattleyas, laelias and cypripediums 

 will start within three or four months, 

 but occasionally it takes a whole year, 

 so it is not well to be of too nervous 

 a temperament when raising orchid 

 s edlings. The house where seedlings 

 are raised should have a night tempera- 

 ture of 65 to 70 degrees, and it is im- 

 portant that no sunshine or rushes of 

 air should strike the seeded pots. Just 

 as soon as the seedlings can be made 

 out, they should be carefully pricked 

 off with a sharp-pointed stick. It is a 

 good plan to use a lens to assist in this 

 work. If they are placed in thimble- 

 sized pots, each of these will easily hold 

 ten or twelve seedlings. If thimble 

 pots are not obtainable, use thumb pots. 

 The compost of fern fiber and fresh 

 sphagnum should be chopped quite 

 finely. 



After potting, place the small pots 

 in a case. Elevate them on inverted 

 pots, which should stand in saucers of 

 water to ward off the attacks of snails 

 and various larvae. Keep them quite 

 close for a time. Spray freely and, as 

 they start to grow, gradually accustom 

 them to more air and light. As growth 

 advances the little seedlings can be 

 placed, singly, in thimble pots and later 

 in thumb pots, or they can be placed 

 in fewer numbers in small pots or pans 

 until potted off singly. "When once 

 they get into single pots they make 

 vapid growth, and there is usually little 

 trouble with them beyond the care 

 given to the ordinary cattleyas. Pot- 

 ting may be done whenever the plants 

 need it, whether in midsummer or mid- 

 winter, instead of waiting until spring, 

 as is too often done. 



Waiting for Returns. 



Where a quantity of seed is to be 

 sown and sufficient cases permit its use, 

 burlap or coarse bath towel stretched 

 across the insides of the cases so as to 

 present a firm surface will make an ex- 

 cellent medium on which to sow orchid 

 seeds, and I have had these almost 

 green with cattleya seedlings. Care 

 must be taken to remove seedlings from 

 pots or pans in which fungus is spread- 

 ing, or it will soon overcome and de- 

 stroy all the little plants. Careful air- 

 ing and watering will obviate this 

 trouble in large measure. 



The question is often asked, "How 

 long will it take orchids to flower from 



Gittleya Trianae at W. 'W. Horlacher^s, Daytoa, Ohio. 



seed?" Much depends on the nature 

 of the cross. Usually five to seven 

 years are required, but I have bloomed 

 some within three years, first-class 

 crosses too. In certain cases, again, it 

 may take eight or ten years to flower 

 them, but five years would be a fair 

 average. Seedlings produce such an 

 abundance of growths, some bulbs 

 breaking treble and large numbers 

 double, that it is necessary to cut out 

 some of these in order to induce earlier 

 flowering, 



Eaising orchids from seed is a pleas- 

 ant pastime. Commercially, it has 

 proved profitable in Europe, and there 

 is no good reason why it should not be 

 considerably extended here. The long 

 waiting for returns may discourage the 

 majority, but he who makes a judicious 

 selection of crosses, choosing varieties 

 which he knows will meet with a de- 

 mand in the local market, will make a 

 good interest on his investment, and 

 there is always the likelihood that some 

 seedlings will produce flowers of such 

 outstanding merit that they will com- 

 mand fancy prices from wealthy ama- 

 teur connoisseurs. W. N. Craig. 



PHAKffJNOPSIS. 



The magnificent warm house orchids, 

 the phalsenopsis, make a glorious dis- 

 play at this season, and if they could 

 only be grown with as much ease as 

 cattleyas or cypripediums, and were as 

 inexpensive, they would at once jump 

 into the front ranks of commercial or- 

 chids. They enjoy a hot, moist house 

 and must have some shade, even in 

 winter. Too much is often applied, 

 however, in summer. This causes superb 

 leaves to be produced, but the flower 

 spikes are usually disappointing, Phal- 



senopsis do well in pans or baskets. 

 Bather deep baskets are particularly 

 good. Sphagnum moss and fern fiber 

 make a suitable compost and the drain- 

 age must be good. These plants do not 

 need repanning often, and great care 

 is necessary when it is done, or the 

 plants will be injured. The two finest 

 commercial phalsenopsis are P. amabilis, 

 of which Bimestadiana is a superior 

 form, pure white in color, and P. Schil- 

 leriana, which ias lovely variegated 

 leaves and much branched spikes of 

 soft, mauve-colored fiowers. Fifty to 

 seventy-five flowers are sometimes car- 

 ried on a spike, and occasionally many 

 more. 



A TELEPHONE TAI.K. 



The Wrong Way. 



A, a retail florist, wishes to call B, a 

 wholesaler, and give an order for stock 

 on which A is running low, and this is 

 the way he sometimes goes about it: 



A removes the' receiver and, without 

 giving the operator time to reply, he 

 jangles the hook up and down rapidly, 

 at the same time calling — "Hello! 

 Hello! What's the matter! Why 

 don't you answer, and not keep me 

 waiting all day?" He seems to think 

 he is the only one that "Central" has 

 to answer, forgetting that she is prob- 

 ably fully as busy as he. 



"Central," noting the continued 

 flashing on A's line, answers as quickly 

 as possible, although somewhat ruffled 

 by his impatience. When A hears her 

 polite "Number, please," he starts on 

 a tirade against the telephone company 

 in general and her in particular. "Cen- 

 tral," however, has no time to listen 

 [Concluded on page 60.] 



