BASKETS AND POTS 27 
as to the fact that the air has better access to the roots 
than when the plants are in pots. Hence it is that for 
suspending plants of small and medium growth, Orchid pans 
made in the same way as the flower-pot are found to be 
a convenient substitute for baskets, as they are not so liable 
to decay as wood-baskets. 
Stanhopeas, Lueddemannias, Acinetas, and some other 
Orchids which produce their flower spikes directly from 
the base of the growth, must be grown in baskets to admit 
of the proper production of their flowers, which, if grown 
in pots, are sent down into the compost and lost. Gon- 
goras, Cirrhzeas, and similar genera, which produce slender 
spikes of flowers of drooping habit, are also best in baskets, 
as they produce their flowers much more freely when the 
plants are suspended. 
The Orchid pan, for suspending, is also equally good for 
Masdevallias of the Chimezera section, a large number of 
Bulbophyllums and Cirrhopetalums, and generally for plants 
of small stature which would be too far away from the glass 
if placed on the stage. For the bulk of the collection 
the grower has to use the ordinary flower-pots, which are 
still unsurpassed for general purposes. The elaborately 
designed pots, perforated with holes or slits, which were 
used for Orchids years ago, are not necessary, for there is no 
defect in the ordinary flower-pot which cannot be overcome 
by the careful and skilful practitioner. 
Rafts and cylinders of teak-wood made in the same 
manner as baskets are useful for some species, but it has to 
be remembered that plants on rafts are liable to suffer from 
lack of sufficient moisture-holding material around them. 
Broughtonia sanguinea, however, is never so happy as when 
