14 TiMEHRI. 



shading of scrim canvass on wire netting. By stretching 

 this about two feet above the glass, free circulation of 

 the heated air is always obtained, and if the ventilation 

 of the house is effe6led by leaving slits immediately 

 underneath the glass roof the temperature inside is never 

 excessive. 



In the forest, the air is kept damp by continual exhala- 

 tions from the foliage, and this condition maybe imitated 

 in the orchid house by having stages covered with ferns 

 beneath the hanging baskets. Nothing in the way of 

 watering with the syringe, hose or garden engine, can pro- 

 duce such an effe6l as the constant distillation carried on 

 by such banks of plants. Then, the condition of the 

 ferns and mosses is always a good indicator of the 

 sufficiency or otherwise of the amount of moisture, as the 

 least sign of curling at the tips shows the want of water. 

 It is of the greatest importance to many species that they 

 should never become dry, and although some are better 

 for a rest after flowering, even these can hardly endure 

 the arid conditions ot the height of the dry season in 

 Georgetown. 



In regard to mounting and receptacles, these are of 

 little consequence as compared with the surroundings. 

 Boards, logs and baskets of greenheart, are equally admis- 

 sible, as well as pots and even wire baskets. Attention 

 must be paid to drainage where pots are used, as orchids 

 cannot endure stagnant water about their aerial roots. 

 The best filling material is burnt earth ; this retains 

 moisture for a longer period than anything else and is 

 always congenial to the plants. Avoid everything that 

 savours of decay, whether the dry rot of wood or the 

 sourness of cocoanut busks. Only in a close house, 



