THE ORCHID REVIEW. 53 
CULTURE OF DENDROBIUMS. 
Mr. James CypHer, of the Queen’s Road Nursery, Cheltenham, is well 
known to be one of our most successful cultivators of Dendrobiums, and the 
following notes of a paper read by him before the Birmingham and Midland 
Counties Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement Association will doubtless prove 
acceptable to our readers, as they embody the method of culture followed by 
an acknowledged expert :— 
In the successful cultivation of Dendrobiums here are several impor- 
tant points which must be strictly adhered to, especially the use of small 
pots, pans or baskets in which to grow them, as many growers fail through 
having too much material about the roots. Plenty of heat and moisture 
should be given during the growing season, and the plants must be kept 
perfectly clean and free from insect pests, especially thrip and red spider, 
both of which are very destructive, and soon disfigure and weaken the young 
growths. During hot weather, the plants should be thoroughly syringed 
twice daily, taking care to get at the under side of the leaves, where the 
insects usually attack them. 
The best compost I have found to consist of good fibrous peat and fresh 
sphagnum, in equal parts, with a liberal addition of broken crocks and char- 
coal, and the soil should in most cases be renewed annually, as the roots 
will not enter sour material. Good drainage must always be given, and new 
clean pots or pans, using them as small as possible, according to the size of 
the plants. I generally use pans in preference to baskets, as they are easily 
broken when the plants require shifting, but it is almost impossible to get 
plants out of baskets without injuring many of the tender roots, while 
if the old basket is placed inside a new one, the old compost becomes 
exhausted. 
Galvanised wire should never be used for suspending the choice varieties, © 
as the growths are frequently injured by contact with it. I have several 
times noticed bulbs of Dendrobiums almost ruined by contact with the 
wires during hot sunshine. If the roof wires on which the plants are sus- 
pended be galvanised, they should receive two coats of white paint. 
A constant supply of rain-water is another very important matter, as the 
plants will not thrive if frequently watered with hard water. In all Orchid 
houses provision should be made for storing all the rain-water possible, and 
if in large open tanks so much the better. The water used for dipping should 
be of about the same temperature as the house in which the plants are 
’ grown, and this can be secured by having a small tank over the hot-water 
pipes, which should be kept filled. I do not care to have hot pipes con- 
stantly running through the large tanks. In dipping the plants great care 
should be exercised, especially during winter and early spring, when the 
young growths are starting, or they may be broken or damaged. They 
