THE ORCHID REVIEW. [November, x 9 2i. 
>48 
Odontoglossum house, the best known probably are O. crispum and O. 
Pescatorei, but these have now been bred into other genera, until there are 
hybrids of all the shades of colour and of great diversity in size and form, 
but the treatment given the old species is still the treatment of the 
Odontoglossum house with its numerous and varied occupants. Cattleyas 
and Odontoglossums are not usually grown in the same house, because the 
former usually enjoys ten degrees more warmth; and there is another 
peculiarity about the Odontoglossum taken in bulk, and that is that it 
begins to grow when the Cattleya leaves off in the autumn, and the “ tuning 
up ” need not be so carefully followed up, but it must not be forgotten, as it 
is a potent health giver. 
I am convinced from my own observation that the prevalent mistake 
unade by the beginner is overwatering, and this is a mistake that any young 
gardener is prone to make. Orchid roots are very easily killed if too long 
wet, and this is a calamity that one must avoid. Over-potting is another 
rpitfall waiting for the beginner. These and the many other matters 
connected with Orchid growing should be dealt with month by month in 
the Orchid Review, and in the simplest possible way. An Orchid detests 
being coddled and made a fuss of, and while there are certain kinds difficult 
do keep up to concert pitch, the great majority, and these include the most 
beautiful and the most useful, are as easily managed as many ordinary 
greenhouse plants. I would ask all in doubt to write to the genial Editor 
of this paper, who, I am sure, will do his very best to help all he can in 
cultural and other matters. In this way other beginners will benefit and 
early discouragement be side-tracked. There is a reluctance among small 
beginners about visiting trade collections for fear of being importuned to 
buy expensive plants, but there is little foundation for this fear. I know no 
one in the trade who will not welcome a visit from anyone interested in 
Orchids, and a visit to an Orchid establishment, be it private or trade, is the 
best and most directed kind of instruction. No collection can boast of every 
plant being in perfect health, but there is a great pleasure in coaxing plants 
back to that condition, and I know several amateurs who take exceptional 
pride in this. 
Miltonia spectabilis. —This species was originally sent from Brazil in 
1835 to the Birmingham Botanical and Horticultural Society, by a Mr. 
Fry, but is said to have first flowered in this country in the celebrated 
nursery of Messrs. Loddiges, at Hackney, in 1837, and shortly afterwards 
with Mr. George Barker at Birmingham. The genus Miltonia was 
established for its reception by Lindley, and a month later Messrs. Knowles 
and Wescott described it under the name Macrochilus Fryanus, which naW 
ranks as a synonym. 
