THE ORCHID REVIEW. 5 



very tiny pots, scarcely large enough to hold them. What little compost 

 they contain is simply peat and moss. It is not leaf soil that is responsible 

 for from two to five spikes from one pseudobulb of Odontoglossum crispum, 

 which was noted in several instances ; spikes were pushing from the apex 

 as well as from the base on either side. Nor is it from the great amount of 

 water administered, for great care in watering is observed, and at the date 

 of our visit (November 4th) every plant was fairly dry. Fresh air, the one 

 most essential thing, is not denied them, but is copiously admitted, and 

 entirely through the bottom ventilators, which are very ample. Some of 

 these Odontoglossum crispum spikes were splendidly branched, reminding 

 one more of O. Pescatorei. Suspended from the roof were grand examples 

 of O. Rossii, some bearing seed pods, which have in no way affected the 

 size or flowering of this year's growth. Many plants of Sophronitis grandi- 

 flora in four inch pans have over 20 flower buds. 



The use of hot water pipes in the Cool House is limited to taking the 

 chill off the coldest air, and fog — the terror of growers in or near smoky 

 districts — is here welcomed as the best aid to sturdy growth. 



Mr. Rickards' methods, and indeed the general appearance of his plants, 

 seem to approach more nearly that of our Continental neighbours than of the 

 majority of English cultivators, and when we find Odontoglossums thriving 

 in districts differing so widely in their climatic conditions there can no 

 longer be any reason to believe that there is any inherent difficulty in their 

 cultivation, if cultural methods are intelligently adapted to local conditions, 

 to which end the more liberal interchange of experiences so largely aided 

 by the horticultural press cannot fail to be of inestimable service. 



It should be added that Mr. Rickards is an amateur in the truest sense, 

 as he attends to the Orchids himself, the gardener only attending to the 

 fires, and damping down or other routine work in Mr. Rickards absence. 



H. A. B. 



Phaius fragrans.— A figure and note of a new Phaius bearing the 

 above name is given by M. Grignan in Le Jardin for December 5th (p. 359, 

 fig. 162). It is said to have been discovered in Madagascar by M. Warpur, 

 and to have the flowers smaller and more numerous than in P. Humblotii, 

 and almost of the same colour. They are also said to be agreeably fragrant. 

 No description is given, nor is it stated in what collection the plant flowered 

 —a particularly unsatisfactory method of publication. The segments are 

 shown as widely spreading, as in P. Humblotii, and the lip three-lobed, 

 with some small spots on the front lobe, and some larger ones on the 

 side lobes. 



R. A. R. 



