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The Dendrobiums are among the most beautiful and charming of our Indian 
Orchids, many of the species being of a most graceful habit of growth, and by 
their brightly coloured flowers imparting a remarkably picturesque character to our 
Orchid houses. Some of them, moreover, have delicately fragrant blossoms, In very 
many cases they bloom most profusely, and with their long pendent stems look well 
suspended from the roof of the house. Our present subject belongs to this latter 
class, and is one of the most showy and beautiful of the species. 
Dendrobium superbum, which is more commonly known in gardens as Dendrobium 
macrophyllum, is a deciduous plant, losing its foliage just as it begins to blossom. 
It is a noble object when growing, producing stems from two to three feet long, 
furnished along each side with flowers growing in pairs; these flowers are four inches 
across, with sepals and petals of a lively magenta-rose, and a lip similar in colour, 
but with a purplish crimson throat. It blooms during February and March, the 
individual blossoms lasting about a fortnight in beauty. ‘It thrives best when orown 
in a basket, and suspended from the roof. If hung up when in blossom, amongst 
the foliage of the other plants, the flowers are shown off to greater advantage, as 
it naturally blooms without foliage. It grows well in the East India Orchid house, 
and requires a good amount of heat and moisture during its growing season. After 
growth is completed it will do well in the Cattleya house during the dormant period, 
and when it begins to show its flower buds a little water may be given to induce 
the buds to swell and develop fine flowers. When the flowering season is over it 
may, if required, be placed in fresh sphagnum moss. It is a free growing plant, 
and thrives best suspended near the glass ne the full light, but shaded from the 
burning sun. It is, indeed, absolutely necessary to give it all the light possible ; 
and, in summer, a slight syringing when the house is closed‘ will tend to keep the 
red spider and thrips in check. 
Denpropium Hitiu.—There is in the collection of R. Wyatt, Esq., Lake House, 
Cheltenham, a very fine specimen of this cool Orchid, which has been bearing numerous 
spikes of blossom, some of the spikes being as much as twenty inches in length. The 
specimen was a most beautiful object, with its long racemes of creamy, white blossoms, 
which proceed from the apices of its thick fleshy pseudobulbs; it has, moreover, 
dark green foliage. This plant was growing in the conservatory, and had continued in 
bloom for about two months, so that it is a most useful subject for winter decoration. 
It is a very old Orchid, but is worth cultivating, especially as it will grow m a 
conservatory or in any cool house. There was also in the same collection a very 
_ fine variety of Cypripedium villosum, one of the best we have seen, the flowers 
being wonderfully bright in colour, and of large size. Of Lycaste Skinneri there was 
a well-grown plant, with very fine flowers, the sepals and petals being broad and pure 
white, and the front portion of the lip bright magenta, with the throat white. 
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