AND THEIR MANAGEMENT. 423 



Phalcenopsis. 

 P. ainabilis and P. Stuartiaiia are the best species for 

 an amateur to commence \\ith : the}- are probably the 

 easiest to grow, and are fulh' as beautiful as any others. 

 In spring, about April or ]\[a\', the plants should be 

 examined at the root, and all dead and decaying matter 

 brushed or washed away. This may be done without dis- 

 turbing the living roots that cling to the teak and cannot 

 be removed without risk. \\'e have often taken awa)' all the 

 drainage and sphagnum, washed the roots and inside of 

 the baskets or pans, and replaced the drainage and moss, 

 without loosening a single live root. Should the plants 

 require a shift into larger receptacles, the roots must be 

 carefully removed by drawing a thin knife between them 

 and the teak bars. It is a difficult operation and requires 

 considerable patience, or the roots will be injured if not 

 quite destroyed. Messrs. Hugh Low and Co., of the 

 Bush Hill, Nurseries, Enfield, have long been famous for 

 their success in importing and cultivating Phaljenopses. 

 The more popular species are represented in their 

 nurseries by the thousand, and when in blossom the}' form 

 a picture of the greatest beauty. 



P. amabilis [Lindl.). — A synonym of P. Aphrodite. 



P. amabilis {Blume). — Probably the finest species as regards 

 the size and purity of its flowers, and certainly one of the 

 loveliest Orchids in 'cultivation. Its light green, oblong leaves 

 are very thick and leathery, healthy plants being ornamental 

 even when not in blossom. Its strikingly beautiful flowers are 

 from 4in. to 5in. in diameter, and are produced on stout, long, 

 arching, purplish-coloured racemes. The petals are much 

 broader than the sepals, which they overlap, both being pure 

 white. The three-lobed lip is chiefly white, the front margins 

 of the side lobes having a yellowish tinge ; the middle lobe is 

 pear-shaped, the extremity separating into two yellow filaments, 

 which curve upwards. It was introduced in 1846 from Java and 

 Borneo, where it is found attached by its roots to the trunks 

 of trees. It flowers at all seasons of the year, generally from 

 March to October. Syn. P. graudiflora {Lindl.). (B. M., t. 

 5184.) 



P. antennifera (RM. /.). — A variety of P. Esnicra/da. 



P. Aphrodite (Rchb. /.). — A beautiful, free-flowering species, 

 the flowers, if kept dry, remaining fresh for several weeks. It 

 has thick, elliptical, lance-shaped, fjrownish-green leaves, divided 



