86 orchid-growbb's manual. 



abundance of fresh, sweet air, without draughts or sudden 

 chills, a Kberal supply of moisture, and full exposure to the 

 light, with shade from the direct burning rays of the sun, I 

 am fully persuaded that the "spot " will never be troublesome. 

 On the other hand, if any plants are attacked, they should be 

 immediately taken out of the material, and every particle of 

 decaying or decayed root removed, and the whole that remains 

 sound should be well washed with warm water ; after this 

 they should be re-potted in some good sweet soil, the 

 instructions given above for the treatment of healthy 

 plants being otherwise followed out. 



In 1860, a gentleman bought of me some plants of 

 Phalcmopsis, which were the finest grown plants I had seen, 

 and they did beautifully with binn for some time, growing very 

 fast — ^in fact too fast, for they got sappy, and their leaves 

 became spotted, as did also those of some others he had. 

 Some time after I went to see them, and he asked my opinion 

 respecting them. Upon inquiring how they had been treated, 

 he told me that he gave them a great deal of water over the 

 leaves, and kept the roots wet ; this was during winter. I 

 ■went several times to see them during the following spring, 

 and advised him to treat them as recommended for Pha- 

 lanopsis in these pages. These plants have quite outgrown 

 the spot, and are now among the finest round London. 



When at Hoddesdon, I had two Phalanopses which became 

 affected with spot in the winter. I cut ofi" one of the leaves, 

 and sent it to Dr. Lindley for his opinion as to the cause of 

 the evil. His reply was, that the plants had been kept too 

 moist during the cold dark days of winter — a fact which I have 

 never since lost sight of. He was quite right, for it was a 

 sharp winter, and these two plants had been kept wet by 

 placing the bottom of the block on which they grew in a pan 

 of water to keep off the cockroaches. In that way, too much 



