GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY PLANTS i6i 



the shoots three or four times during the season. The plants should 

 be hung from the roof of the house near the glass. 



Propagation. Young plants are easily raised from cuttings 

 of ripened shoots; they are also propagated by division. They de- 

 light in the same rooting medium as the Orchids. They can even 

 be tied to pieces of wood with the roots covered with moss. 



VANDA. The commonest species cultivated is V. ccBrulea. The 

 Vandas make their growth along one central axis, the growth is 

 described as monopodial and differing from many other genera of 

 Orchids in which the new growth takes place from the base of the 

 shoots. They like plenty of light and require no shade from No- 

 vember to the latter part of February. The day Winter temperature 

 should be about 70 degrees; when the temperature gets much 

 higher ventilation should be afforded. The Vandas prefer a humid 

 atmosphere. 



VIOLA (Violet). V. odorata is the parent of the numerous 

 single and double forms which are grown for their flowers in Winter 

 and Spring. 



Culture. In this section the plants are given their Winter 

 quarters in June. They are largely grown in frames from which 

 frost is excluded by banking the outside with stable litter level with 

 the sash, and running at least one i}/^-inch heating pipe in the front 

 or back part of the frame. But even under those conditions the 

 flower crop is not continuous during very severe weather. In plant- 

 ing in benches or beds, the operation is usually completed by 

 June 15. Benches are used with about 5 inches of soil. Narrow 

 and low-roofed, equal-span houses, running east and west, with 

 the benches as near the glass as possible, produce satisfactory re- 

 sults. Houses of the same order running north and south do not 

 produce as many nor as good blooms during mid-Winter. The tem- 

 perature is safe for the plants as long as frost is excluded, but 10 

 degrees above the freezing point should be the minimum for con- 

 tinuous flowering. In Winter the temperature may rise to from 

 55 to 60 degrees. Many growers advise much lower temperature. 

 Airing must be carefully attended to so as to maintain a cool, dry 

 atmosphere. A hot, moist, stagnant atmosphere suppHes perfect 

 conditions for weak, sickly growth, and is certain to encourage the 

 development of fungoid diseases. The soil should be loamy, mixed 

 with at least a sixth of rotted cow manure and a very small quantity 

 of pure bonemeal. After planting the glass is shaded with turpen- 

 tine or naphtha and white lead, allowing full ventilation. Water 



