OECHIDS. 



85 



be regarded as the head-quarters of the species) thrive 

 under green-house treatment, and many of those 

 marked Green-house will succeed equally well in the 

 warmer atmosphere of the stove. The strong-grow- 

 ing sorts do well with their rhizomes fastened down 

 on pans of well-drained fibroiis loam and leaf-mould ; 

 the smaller ones with more slender rhizomes need to 

 he attached, by means of wire or some similar con- 

 trivance, to cones or mounds of fibrous peat. The 

 smallest growers, with smedl thread-like rhizomes, 

 are quite at home fixed on fibrous tree-fern stems, 

 like those of Dicksonia antarctica, for example. Moss- 

 covered porous pieces of rock afford suitable quarters 

 for the latter section, and the slender root-stocks soon 

 attach themselves. Stagnant moisture is obnoxious 

 to all the Polypodies, although all like an abundant 

 supply of moisture when growing. "When the plants 

 are more or less at rest, water must be more spar- 

 ingly administered, but they must never be allowed 

 to get dry. Shade is enjoyed by all ; if grown in 

 too light a place the fronds will not attain so large 

 a size, nor will the plants grow as freely as when 

 shaded. The hardy kinds do almost in any soil, 

 provided good drainage, abundant moisture, shade, 

 and shelter be accorded them. 



OECHIDS. 



By William Hugh Gower. 



Dendrochilum.; — ^A small genus, the members 

 of which are found growing high up in the forest 

 trees in the Malayan Archipelago. Pot-culture 

 suits them best, and the compost should be about 

 equal parts of rough fibrous peat and Sphagnum 

 raoss. They require an abundant supply of water, 

 and very little drying off is requisite when the 

 growth is completed. East Indian House. ' 



D. Jiliforme. — A dwarf compact and elegant plant, 

 producing small, smooth, oval pseudo-bulbs, about an 

 inch and a half high, deep green, bearing a single 

 narrowly-lanceolate deep green leaf. The racemes 

 are borne upon a slender stem, which is about a foot 

 long and arching. Upon this the small yellow flowers 

 are arranged in double rank, the whole having the 

 appearance of a chain of gold. June and July. 

 Philippine Islands. Now called FlatycUnis Jiliformis. 



D. glumaceum. — ^Although this species cannot boast 

 of gaudy colours, it is nevertheless a very graceful 

 plant. Pseudo-bulbs ovate, some two inches high, 

 dark green, and bearing a solitary broad dark green 

 leaf, which bears some resemblance to that of the 

 Lily of the Valley. Flowers small, ivory-white, 

 arranged in a distichous manner upon a long slen- 

 der spike, delicately perfumed — something between 



Heliotrope and Hawthorn. Winter and spring. 

 Philippine Islands. Now called FlatycUnis glumacea. 



X)isa. — A large genus of terrestrial plants, many 

 of them very beautiful, but cultivators have hitherto 

 failed to keep them alive any length of time. They 

 are peculiar to South Africa, saving a few species 

 which axe found in Abyssinia. 



These plants require a plentiful supply of moisture 

 in the air, and free ventUation. The soil should be 

 a mixture of rough peat. Sphagnum moss, and leaf- 

 mould in about equal parts, with a little sharp sand 

 added. The plants should not be raised above the 

 rim of the pot. When growing they enjoy a copious 

 supply of water ; but after flowering and growth are 

 finished, encourage them to lie dormant by placing 

 them in a frame under a north wall, or some similar 

 position. Here, however, the surroundings should be 

 kept moist by filling in between the pots with 

 Sphagnum, which should be frequently syringed. 

 When growth commences again, which will be about 

 the month of October, more water will be required, 

 and caxe must be taken to keep away green fly and 

 thrips when growing. Peruvian House. 



D. grandiflora, and its variety superia, are at once 

 the most difficult to manage and the most gorgeous 

 in colour of all cool-house Orchids. Dr. Harvey 

 says of this plant, " It is the pride of Table Moun- 

 tain, where it grows in great profusion on the 

 borders of streams and water-pools which are dry 

 in summer, producing its gorgeous flowers in 

 February and March. The stems grow two and a 

 half feet high, and are furnished with a namber of 

 broad grassy leaves, and terminated by from one to 

 four splendid flowers, measuring from three to five 

 inches across. The lateral sepals are of a bright 

 crimson, the dorsal one paler on the outside, blush- 

 coloured and delicately veined with crimson within." 

 Under cultivation in this country it is usually about 

 midsummer when the fiowers appear, which last for 

 several months in full beauty. Cape of Good Hope. 



Spipbora. — ^A genus containing one species only, 

 nearly allied to Polystachya, its chief distinction 

 being the attachment of the pollen-masses, which 

 are four in number, and attached to a small short 

 caudide. Should be grown upon a block. Brazilian 

 House. 



E.pubescens. — A dwarf compact plant, with tufted 

 ovate pseudo-bulbs, bearing two to three oblong- 

 linear leaves, which are dark green. The raceme 

 rises from between the leaves, and is erect, bearing 

 numerous bright yellow fragrant fiowers; the lip, 

 which is erect, and stands uppermost, being streaked 

 with reddish-purple. It is a, perpetual bloomei'. 

 The original form was introduced from Algoa Bay, 



