ge THE ORCHID REVIEW. 
bulbs and tie to the stake, and fill in with soil, finishing off so that the 
bases of the young growths are level with, or a trifle higher than the 
rim of the pot. When completed they should be placed ina light and warm 
position in the East Indian house, syringed sparingly for a week or two, but 
giving no water otherwise until the growths have advanced considerably. 
They are very rapid growers, and soon fill the pots with roots, and conse- 
quently should not suffer for want of water when in full growth. When 
about to flower they may be placed in a lower temperature, and afterwards, 
if the weather be propitious, may be stood outside in the sun, to ripen their 
newly-formed bulbs, still giving abundance of water until the leaves fall 
away. 
For beautifying our Orchid houses, or decorating (in a cut state) the 
drawing-room in the dull and cheerless days of winter, few Orchids can 
compare in usefulness with the deciduous Calanthes, especially when com- 
prising such remarkably handsome and highly coloured varieties as are so 
well grown in the celebrated Burford Lodge collection. In the immediate 
neighbourhood of large smoky towns they are hardly worth their pot room, 
the flowers, if they survive until they expand, presenting a very washed-out 
appearance, owing to insufficient light. Nearly every grower has his own 
pet way of treating these, but, as far as my experience teaches, success 
depends more on the accommodation at command than in any particular 
compost or special mode of treatment. I have seen some very fine plants 
growing in rough loam and broken cockle shells, though certainly I should 
not recommend this as compost, but simply quote this as an instance to 
show that, given a good situation and the proper treatment with regard to 
watering, success does not depend on any particular kind of compost. A 
good way to start them is to shake all the old soil away from the roots, 
cutting the latter back to within two inches, and then pack them in a box 
on a layer of leaf mould, stand in a light warm spot, where they can be 
examined easily, and kept moist until the roots are sufficiently advanced to 
need potting. The compost may consist of two-parts peat to one of good 
fibrous loam, adding a sprinkling of powdered cow dung and sufficient sand 
or finely-broken crocks to render the whole porous. The pots should be 
half-filled with drainage, over which a la 
placed to keep it free from dirt. 
say, 
yer of leaves or moss should be 
The bulbs may be grown either singly— 
one in a 48-sized pot—or three large or five smaller ones in a 32-sized 
pot. The material should be pressed firmly round the base of the young 
growths. Do not mound the soil above the pots, but leave a space below 
the rim for the purpose of holding water, and for top-dressing later on if the 
root action becomes extraordinarily vigorous. Calanthes delight in a hot 
and moist atmosphere, such as is usually found i 
n a cucumber house, where 
they often do well if out of the way of the syrin 
ge in the early stage. For 
