PACKING OEOHIDS FOB CONYEYANCE TO EXHIBITIONS. 45 



each flower spike, with a piece of wadding round the stick 

 at the points where the ties come. 



Sohralia macrantha is a bad plant to travel if not properly 

 tied. There should be a strong stick to each flowering 

 growth, which must be tied firmly ; and also one to the flower 

 stalk, with a piece of wadding close to the flower ; then tie 

 the stalk firmly to the stick, and allow nothing to rub against 

 the flowers. 



Peristeria elata should be treated in the same way as 

 above recommended for Phajus. 



Cypiipediums require a small stick to each flower stalk. 

 All the Lycastes, and other Orchids that flower in the same 

 way, require similar support for their individual flowers, 

 which, if kept separate, wiU travel safely without more 

 trouble. 



The best means of conveyance for Orchids is decidedly a 

 spring van with a cover on the top. In placing the plants in 

 the van, I always put some hay between each pot, to keep 

 them firm and prevent their rubbing against each other ; 

 this, moreover, helps to retain the heat in the pots, and also 

 prevents draughts from reaching them, and thus the roots 

 are not subjected to any great check through change of 

 temperature. 



An opportunity occurs here to remark upon the paucity of 

 Orchids at our great London exhibitions of the present day, 

 as compared with former years. It is true several of the large 

 contributors are dead, and their collections are dispersed ; some 

 few have rehnquished their culture, and others have removed 

 to a distance, but there still remains ample material in the 

 numerous rich collections in the vicinity of the metropolis to 

 again furnish a glorious bank of flowers, such as formerly 

 greeted the eye at famous Chiswick and the Regent's Park 

 Botanic Gardens on exhibition days ; and I am fully persuaded 



