296 FLOWER GARDEN. 
moisture, and then filled up with oblong pieces of spongy 
peat, between two and three inches in length, and more 
than an inch in breadth and depth. Chips of rotten aticks, 
and tufts of decayed hypnum or sphagnum, and the mix- 
ture of fibrous roots which may be grubbed up in any 
wood having a light or sandy soil, may often be used with 
advantage, for the growth of Dendrobiums, and for all 
wicker baskets suspended by wires from the rafters, where 
peat would be apt to get toodryand hard. Some kindsare 
the better for being fostered with the bottom-heat of a tan-. 
bed. The roots are generally thrown out near the surface: 
a principal point in the culture consists in encouraging the 
development of these; the compost of peat and other sub- 
stances should therefore be raised several inches above the 
margin of the pot, so that the superficial roots may have 
free scope. It is not necessary that the peat used should 
be dried: in general it is found to answer best when it is 
rather soft and spongy. When the peat is dry, it is diffi- 
cult to get wooden-pegs to penetrate without breaking the 
peat, particularly for Stanhopeas, or plants requiring to be 
piled high up. The plants may be piled on the peat from 
six to eighteen inches, according to the size of the plant, 
and of the pot used. Stanhopeas are found to flower best 
when planted on rough peat, a considerable height above 
the edge of the pots or flats used, so as to allow the flowers 
to come out from the crevices of the peat. They are also 
cultivated successfully in baskets of copper-wire, made 
with the work very open, and filled with sphagnum: moss. 
The former method is particularly adapted for a warm, dry 
atmosphere; and the latter for a warm, moist atmosphere 
In wire-baskets, likewise, amongst rough peat, the various 
species of Epiphyllum, with Drymonia punctata and Brug. 
mansia floribunda, may be successfully cultivated. 
