94 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE 



Cultivators should ignore this new and late attempt to produce 

 growth and proceed along the usual lines of withholding water 

 and resting the plants. Under these circumstances the late growth 

 is just kept from shrivelling through the Winter, and when the 

 Spring arrives and more genial conditions prevail it will advance 

 rapidly. The finest forms of D. Wardianum come from Burmah 

 and Indo-China, the dwarfer and smaller flowered forms coming 

 from Assam and the Khasia Hills. The species first flowered in 

 this country in 1858. There are numerous fine varieties of 

 D. Wardianum, differing from the type in form and colouring, 

 but the most distinct variety is D. W. album, or D. W. candidum, 

 apparently identical, with large flowers that are pure white except 

 for the yellow disk. 



Best Hybrids 



During the ten years 1890- 1900 hybrid Dendrobiums were 

 brought forward in large numbers and raisers were very busy intro- 

 ducing new and beautiful plants of widely diverse parentage. But 

 more recently the interested amateur has tried his prentice hand on 

 the cool Cypripediums and gone on to be more or less successful 

 with Odontoglossums, and so the hybrids of these genera have 

 become popular in turn and fewer new hybrid Dendrobiums have 

 appeared. This has one redeeming feature, it has kept the genus 

 from being flooded with a crowd of worthless forms and the 

 majority of the most beautiful hybrids in cultivation are to be 

 purchased at quite reasonable rates. It is only in the case of 

 extraordinarily fine varieties or a new cross of high merit that the 

 prices rule high. All are easily cultivated and flower with great 

 freedom. The following form an excellent selection : — 



D. AiNSWORTHii [D. aureum x D. nobile\ raised at Manchester 

 in the first instance, first flowered in 1874; it has white sepals and 



