well up above the foliage, and thus produce the grandest appearance we have as yet. 
seen in any Cattleya. 
Cattleya Mendelii succeeds well in a compost of peat, with the addition of a 
little sphagnum moss, and requires good drainage. We have found it to do best. 
in pots, with the plant well elevated above the mm, but it can be grown with 
success either on a block or in a basket suspended from the roof of the house. 
The temperature of the Cattleya-house suits it best. 
This is a grand plant for exhibition or decorative purposes, as ‘the pure white 
and magenta of its flowers are exceedingly effective amongst the other species of 
Cattleya which flower at the same time of year. The flowering season is May and 
June, after which time C. Mendelii begins to make its growth. It should then 
receive a moderate supply of water—not too much, ‘as an over bountiful supply is. 
apt to cause the young growths to rot. After the annual growths are completed 
the plants should be gradually dried off, only giving them sufficient water to keep 
them from shrivelling. | 
_ The species of Cattleya are all subject to white scale and thrips. These insect 
pests may, however, be easily removed by careful sponging, either with water or a 
little insecticide ; they should be cleaned off as soon as discovered, as if allowed to. 
establish themselves they disfigure the leaves and bulbs, and so spoil the appearance 
of the plants. _ Cleanliness and good cultivation are the chief points to be considered 
in the successful keeping of Cattleyas. 
Vanna Lown, &c.—One often hears that Vanda Lowii does not bloom until it 
attains a large size. This, however, is erroneous, for we have flowered it when not 
more than two feet high; and we have also seen a plant of about the same 
size in the collection of Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., with a flower spike some four 
or five feet long, in full beauty, with its two bright orange-yellow flowers at the base, 
the rest of the blossoms being of a bright brownish-crimson colour. This was a most 
extraordinary spike for so small a plant. When the specimens attain a larger size 
they often produce six of these long spikes, which extend to seven feet in length. 
We have one now showing this number of spikes, but the plant is fully five feet 
high. We were glad to see in this collection a grand mass of Epidendrum nemorale: 
meajus, which is figured in the first series of Warner’s Select Orchidaceous Plants, 
but we never expected to see such a specimen as that in the collection of Sir Trevor 
Lawrence, which must have been three or four feet across, and had eighteen spikes of 
its beautiful rosy and mauve-coloured flowers. This plant was well worth going to- 
see, as were many others: indeed, the fame of this collection is so widely spread 
that it is almost needless to comment upon it; suffice it to say, that it is the 
finest and best kept collection we know of. At the time of our visit we were 
pleased to see some fine plants of Cattleya superba with their splendid deep rose 
and crimson flowers; this is one of the most distinct and beautiful of all Cattleycs,. 
and had been grown in the East India House, suspended from the roof—B. S. W. 
