ORCHIDS 



AND THEIR MANAGEMENT. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



In no branch of Horticulture has more rapid progress 

 been made during the last half-century than in the 

 cultivation of Orchids. With the facilitated steamship 

 passages of the present day, species that a few years 

 ago were comparatively scarce, and represented by only a 

 few plants in cultivation, are in many cases annually im- 

 ported by thousands, and are translated from their native 

 habitats in as many days as it formerly took months. 

 Moreover, they are brought practically to the doors of our 

 glass-houses at a cost of fewer shillings than not many 

 years ago would have been represented by pounds. This 

 increased facility, combined with better arranged houses, 

 and the enlightenment of the grower especially in the art 

 of hybridisation, has to a great extent been responsible 

 for the increased measure of popularity Orchids now enjoy. 

 For many years this advancement was principally con- 

 fined to enthusiastic amateur cultivators, and it is to the 

 liberal support of these gentlemen that we are most 

 indebted. Of late years, however, many of the most 

 popular and useful species have been extensively grown 

 in nurseries to supply the cut-flower market. As an 

 illustration of the extent of the industry, it may be 

 cited that one firm alone has no less than 100,000 

 Odontoglossums under cultivation. As these were mostly 



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