>. 
evidence of the advance the plants make before they get to their full strength and 
vigour. In the variety before us the sepals and petals are of a delicate rose, 
veined with a beautiful dark tint of the same colour, while the lip is very broad, 
large, and splendidly coloured, the prominent parts of a rich dark crimson-magenta, 
paler and veiny at the tip, and beautifully veined with crimson on the yellow 
ground-colour of the throat. The blooming season is in May and June, the flowers 
continuing in perfection for three or four weeks, if kept free from damp and in a 
dry place. We have a house set aside specially for Orchids when in flower, and 
in it very little moisture is used, by which means we seldom get the flowers 
spotted or prematurely decayed. | 
There is another fine form of Lelia purpurata with white sepals and_ petals 
that are quite flat, not at all recurved; this variety has a rich dark crimson- 
magenta lip. We exhibited this form with nine flower spikes at the Regent's Park 
Exhibition, and it produced a grand effect. There are many other fine varieties. 
Lelia purpurata when well cultivated is a good looking plant, and even when 
not in bloom it is an object of attraction, on account of its stately evergreen foliage. 
It is a native of Brazil, and is found growing on the branches of trees on the out- 
skirts of the forests where the plants get light, and are yet shaded from the burning 
sun. They are best grown in the Cattleya-house, and will thrive either in pots or — 
baskets, but we find the pot system the best, as they are strong growing plants, 
and require ample space to bring them to perfection. They are the better for being 
moved about, especially if they are required for exhibition. There are ho more 
showy Orchids for exhibition purposes, and this is especially true of such varieties 
as that now before us. 7 3 
We find that they thrive best in good fibrous peat, and some live sphagnum 
. Moss on a part of the surface; when in a growing state the moss keeps them moist 
without too much water being given whilst they are making their growth. Tn 
watering them be careful not to wet the young shoots. The pots should be three 
parts filled with drainage, which must be formed of broken pots and lumps of charcoal 
intermixed. The plants must be elevated about two inches above the rim of the 
pot. The best time to pot them is after they have done blooming just as they 
begin to make new growths, and before the roots start, when they will soon commence 
to work into the clean sweet peat. If the plant is in a sufficiently large pot, and 
the soil about it is sweet and clean, it will not require re-potting, but it will 
benefit the plants greatly to give them some fresh fibrous peat just before they 
begin to root, as the old soil is apt to become hard and inert through constant 
watering. They require to be kept moist during the growing season, but must not 
- even then be soddened with water. In winter only just sufficient must be given 
them to keep them moist, and to prevent their stems and leaves from shrivelling. 
