GENERA AND SPECIES 81 
be substituted for Osmunda fibre, if it is of good quality. 
So far as it has been tested, Osmunda fibre has an advantage 
over other fibres, in that it is more durable, retaining its 
fibre intact longer than any other. Osmunda fibre and 
Polypodium fibre in equal proportions, with an addition of 
leaves and Sphagnum-moss, make an excellent material for 
all young, epiphytal Orchids, the finer Polypodium fibre, 
if well worked in, giving substance to the more open 
Osmunda fibre. 
For very small plants it is well to rub the mixture 
through a coarse sieve, but after the early stages the use 
of the sieve should be discontinued, and the compost care- 
fully mixed with the hands, 
CHAPTER XX 
ENUMERATION OF THE PRINCIPAL GENERA 
AND SPECIES IN CULTIVATION 
Acanthophippium.—A small genus of terrestrial plants 
with oblong pseudo-bulbs, and broad, plicate leaves. Scape 
erect, flowers ventricose, yellow and reddish-purple. Warm 
house. Pot in equal parts of turfy loam, peat, and leaves. 
Rest dry after the leaves fade and growth is completed. 
The most familiar species are A, bicolor, A. javanicum, and 
A, striatum. 
Acineta.—The species of Acineta are epiphytal Orchids 
with stout pseudo-bulbs and broad, coriaceous leaves. The 
flowers are produced in pendulous racemes; they are 
F 
