cad 
most chaste and beautiful of them all are the pure white varieties, tinted with 
rose colour, which are mostly sought after by cultivators, though the many beautifully 
spotted forms produce a fine contrast when intermixed with the others. : 
The figure we now publish was taken from a well-grown specimen in the 
collection of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, at Sandringham, and, as this species is. 
named in honour of the Princess of Wales, who is a great lover of flowers, and 
especially of the Orchidacew, we are proud to be able to announce that our artist 
has been permitted to prepare an illustration of this charming plant from such a 
source. There is a very fine collection of these plants at Sandringham, and among 
them are some very fine specimens, the accomplished gardener, Mr. C. Penny, 
being most successful in flowering them with grand spikes of bloom. There are 
also numerous varieties in the collection, but the one we have figured is a good. 
example of the typical form. 
Odontoglossum Alexandre is a compact-growing plant, attaining about a foot in 
height; it is furnished with lively green foliage, and produces its blossoms after the 
growth is completed on a drooping spike which, as it overhangs the green foliage, 
has a most graceful appearance. The sepals are white, slightly tinged with pale 
rose colour, the petals are pure white, and_ the lip is white, with reddish-brown 
spots upon it, and a patch of bright orange-yellow at the base. The plants bloom 
at different times of the year, according to the period of the completion of their 
growth, and, therefore, by having a good quantity of plants, a succession may be 
kept flowering all the year round. We are never without a good show of these 
plants in bloom, and it is the same in all collections where they are grown in 
considerable numbers. The individual flowers will last many weeks in beauty. They 
are extremely useful for cutting, as they keep for a long time in water. 
As this species requires what is called cool treatment very little expense need 
be incurred in its cultivation. Indeed, any one having a small house where a 
temperature can be® kept up in winter of from 45° to 50°, with as little fire-heat as 
possible, can grow a great quantity of them, since they occupy but little space. In 
summer no fire-heat is required, unless the nights are cold, which is seldom the 
case at that season, but no draughts should be allowed to reach them, as draughts. 
are as deleterious to them as to all other plants grown in glass houses. They 
require shading from the scorching rays of the sun, but like to have all the light 
that can be given them. Under this treatment they will grow stronger and stronger, 
and flower more and more freely. 
The potting material which we find most suitable for them is good fibrous 
peat, with the finer earthy particles shaken out; they must have good drainage, in 
fact the pots must be three-parts filled with drainage material, and the plants well 
elevated above the pot rim. They are naturally free-rooting plants, but we find a 
little live sphagnum moss on _ the top of the peat causes them to root more 
freely, and as they require a good deal of moisture at the roots during their 
period of growth, the moss, if kept in a growing condition, will help to supply 
their wants. 
