THE ORCHID REVIEW. 23 
them. A plant well exposed to the light will not become drawnand weakly, 
making, perhaps, long, green leaves which are unable to support their own 
weight. On the contrary, they will be robust and sturdy, and of about the 
same proportions as that of the growth made in their natural habitat. Plants 
so grown will not only bear looking at, but will also bear a considerable 
amount of what gardeners term hardy rough treatment with uopauity, 
seeming to revel therein. 
A good many inmates of this department will now be showing their 
flower spikes for blooming at a later date. Amongst them will be 
Odontoglossum crispum, O. triumphans, O. Hallii, O. luteopurpureum, 
O. polyxanthum, and O. Pescatorei, but the mere fact of these showing 
their flowering spikes need not prompt the cultivator to alter the treatment 
one iota. They should still receive the same cool and airy treatment, and 
still be kept moderately short of water at the root; they will then come 
along slowly but surely, and make a finer show when they bloom, inasmuch 
as the blooms will be of a better quality than would result if any forcing 
tactics were followed. It is just at this period that slugs and yellow thrip 
area particular nuisance. They discover the young tender spikes and will 
soon devour or permanently disfigure them unless prevented from doing so. 
‘With the judicious help of Richardson’s X.L. all vapour insecticide, thrip 
should really be no trouble whatever, but in spite of this boon one may 
often see Odontoglossum spikes totally destroyed by the depredations of 
these pests. Should there be any fear whatever, I strongly advise the use 
of Fowler’s tobacco powder. This should be sprinkled down the axils of 
the leaves, and no thrip will there exist. So likewise should the spike, 
after it has emerged from the axils, be dusted over at intervals ; this acts as 
a preventive, and prevention is better than cure. It also acts asa great 
preventive against attacks by slugs, snails, aphides, &c. 
The flower spikes of several other species will be further advanced, in 
fact, some few may already be in bloom, whilst others are fast approaching 
that state. Amongst these will be found Odontoglossum gloriosum, O. 
odoratum, O. X Andersonianum and its varieties, Ruckerianum and 
hebraicum. As regards the watering of these last-named kinds, or any 
other species that may be in a like condition, I may say that the supply 
should be somewhat increased. Very weakly plants should, of course, not 
be allowed to bear a spike, or they will suffer greatly by shrivelling, no 
matter how much water they receive. Strong plants will yield their harvest 
of bloom without showing any signs of stress whatever, but they should, 
of course, be given rather more water as they grow and develop, otherwise 
we all know that the plant would suffer, no matter how strong it may be. 
_ Several complaints have recently reached me of the flower buds, and 
sometimes the whole spikes, of some of the above-mentioned species turning 
