THE ORCHID REVIEW. 213 
bulbs to become badly spotted, and frequently entails the total loss of the 
plant. For this reason they are all really best grown in baskets and 
suspended. Another reason is that the flowers being short stemmed and 
drooping are better seen and appreciated if so grown. Peat two parts to 
one of moss I find to be a good compost. T. tortilis, T. marginata, T. 
lepida, and T. crispa are all good and well worth growing, and are more or 
less in bloom at this time of the year. T. (Pilumna) fragrans and T. 
nobilis are both lovely things, and similar in habit to the above, requiring 
exactly the same treatment. 
Thunias will by this time have finished pincmane, and should be re- 
moved to a sunny, airy house, so that any that have not bloomed may still 
grow, and at the same time get well ripened and hard, for Thunias will not 
bloom successfully next year without it. When well bloomed they are very 
graceful. Barkerias are also only worth seeing in bloom when grown well, 
and this cannot be done if shaded like most other Orchids. They like te 
be suspended in full sunshine, and copiously syringed when growing, and 
they are therefore good companions for the above. 
Mormodes luxatum eburneum will bloom during the latter end of the 
month. Special care should be taken with it, as it is one of the most chaste 
and lovely of Orchids, and by no means common. When the flowers are 
past, it should at once commence its ripening or maturing process, which 
is facilitated by being suspended in a light, airy position, and water gradually 
reduced. It will hardly withstand the full rays of the sun just yet, until 
properly matured. 
The earliest plants of the Disa grandiflora are now in bloom, and its 
beautiful flowers are always welcomed. Its culture is frequently not at- 
tempted at all because it has a reputation of doing badly ; others give it up 
after trying and failing once. I would advise all to try again until they 
succeed. It is a most showy, and certainly a most useful, species if sum- 
mer exhibition has to bedone. The principal points to bear in mind in its 
cultivation are as follows :—A cool, moist, and shady house or pit during 
summer ; plenty of water at the roots, but not too much, as is sometimes 
given. What potting or propagation requires to be done should be atten- 
ded to between now and September, as the right conditions present them- 
selves. The small side shoots should be used for propagating purposes. 
During winter a position in an ordinary greenhouse temperature should be 
accorded, and, although they should never become dry, they should be 
watered sparingly, giving only enough to keep the foliage green, and plump, 
and healthy. The general conditions of the Cool Orchid House, neither in 
winter nor summer, seem to suit them well, and very rarely indeed are they 
grown well there. The best soil is a sandy peat. 
