354 THE ORCHID REVIEW. 



formed a fine soil, became sodden, and the plants failed to thrive." The 

 lesson seems to be that the compost should be of the right mechanical 

 ■composition, and the drainage perfect, and then water can be supplied in 

 the usual way — that is, when the plants require it ; not indiscriminately, 

 or with a hose, whether they require it or not, as the American system was 

 described a short time ago. No wonder the material becomes "soggy" 

 under such conditions. 



The question of the best compost is not yet settled, however, for I see 

 at page 348 that Mr. Cragg swears by bracken rhizomes and rough peat, 

 with a surfacing of sphagnum moss, and that he secured a Cultural 

 Commendation for a group of twenty-five Odontoglossum crispums at a 

 recent meeting of the R.H.S. I also note in a recent account of the 

 " Orchids at Walton Grange " {Gard. Chron., p. 318) that the writer 

 remarks :— " In the matter of potting material for Orchids Mr. Stevens is 

 of opinion that the old plan of using peat and sphagnum is as good as any, 

 and more than one house of Odontoglossums in excellent condition is so 

 potted. As an extreme use of peat, there is a very fine example of high 

 cultivation in a small house of Odontoglossum Pescatorei, with remarkably 

 fine bulbs, and which are potted entirely in the earthy peat generally used 

 for Rhododendron beds." After this one may ask, What's in a compost ? 

 and why trouble about best fibrous peat when such results can be obtained 

 with the common or garden variety ? 



But even here the new compost is not ignored, for the writer hastens to 

 explain : — " Nevertheless, Mr. Stevens gets good results with his plants 

 potted in a mixture of peat and Oak-leaves, and for some things the 

 Oak-leaves are used almost unmixed, and with good results, as, for 

 example, in the matter of a shelf full of good plants of Sophronitis 

 grandiflora, finely grown and well-bloomed; and a lot of Miltonia 

 vexillaria, M. X Bleuana, and others of that class, for which a large 

 proportion of leaves is used with marked benefit." 



Now the quality of the Walton Grange Odontoglossums is well known, 

 and I suspect that the secret of Mr. Stevens' success lies in his complete 

 mastery of all the cultural details, for it is quite evident that the question 

 of compost is only one of several details which must receive proper 

 attention in order to get the best results. It is, however, none the less 

 interesting to find that the question of compost is being grappled with in 

 this way, for it may lead to more definite information as to the require- 

 ments of these plants, and a better idea as to the common causes 

 of failure. 



