SEED SOWING va 
pot, is best, the subject being chosen for the good quality 
of the peat, Osmunda fibre, or whatever material the 
plant may be growing in. The Sphagnum-moss on the 
surface should be clipped very short, the plant thoroughly 
watered with rain water, and allowed to drain for a 
few hours. The seeds should be sown a few at a 
time, on the point of a knife or thin strip of hard 
wood or ivory, and carefully and evenly distributed over 
the surface of the material in which the selected plant 
is growing. In all cases the number of the record in the 
stock-book should be attached, a small celluloid tablet 
fastened by a thin wire being the best label, as it is clean 
and durable. Hybrids of Lelia, Cattleya, and other true 
epiphytes should be suspended in a warm, intermediate 
house, and Cypripediums and terrestrial Orchids may be 
sown in a similar manner in the pots of either the seed- 
bearing subject or similar kinds and placed in a moist, 
sheltered corner of a house, in which a genial warmth is 
maintained, the plants being elevated on inverted flower- 
pots. Once the seeds are sown, the plants fostering them 
should never be allowed to get dry. 
Odontoglossum seeds come up best when sown on the 
surface of established plants in the manner described. 
To ensure the best results two or three sowings of each 
should be made, and the plants bearing the freshly sown 
seeds placed in different parts of the house, some being 
suspended and others placed on the stage. 
The maintenance of a continual and even amount of 
moisture after sowing, and until the seedling plants send 
forth roots, is of the highest importance. To water either 
with a spouted or a rose pot overhead would wash the seeds 
