lobes which enclose the column, the latter being streaked with four red rays of 
purplish crimson, and having a large raised fleshy plate on the disc, of a deep 
orange-yellow. The mid-lobe is deeply cleft in front, and undulated round the 
margin. As before remarked, this rarity comes from the Pacific side of Mexico, 
and as this part of the country is hotter than the side bordering upon the Atlantic, 
the plants under cultivation require more warmth, and we have no hesitation in 
saying that during the growing season the very warmest spot is the best for them. 
At the same time, the atmosphere should be maintained in a thoroughly moist 
condition, and the plants be fully exposed to all the sun that shines, with a free 
circulation of air. During the resting season the heat must be kept up in 
proportion, and the atmosphere should be considerably drier. At no time of the 
year, however, does this variety require, nor indeed thrive in, so low a temperature 
as the old and typical plant. The baskets in which the plants are grown must 
be well drained, and good brown peat fibre mixed with chopped sphagnum moss 
should be used for the soil. This plant in all its varieties is liable to the attacks 
of white scale, which congregates in the ancipital edges of the leaves at their base. 
If this pest is allowed to remain, the leaf turns yellow and falls away prematurely, 
thus robbing the plant of its grace and beauty; but if kept clean, the shining 
green leaves are very persistent. : 
