342 THE ORCHID REVIEW. 
CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS FOR NOVEMBER. 
By H. A. Burperry, Orchid Specialist, King’s Heath, Birmingham. 
CAREFUL stoking must now be the order. All departments will now require 
warmth from the hot-water pipes, and the aim should be to have a 
sufficiency of heat regularly, and no more, for too much is nearly as 
injurious as too little. 
WATERING.-—A few words on this important subject may here be useful, 
for it is work which is rather perplexing to beginners at this season. Of 
course all, or nearly all, Orchids rest during the winter months, and there- 
fore much less water is required, but when rest is implied it does not 
necessarily mean that absolute drought should be resorted to in all cases. 
It is easy to give either too much or too little water during the winter, and 
it is not easy to say when or how often to water, as the conditions of the 
weather and the circumstances of each plant vary so much. The golden 
tule should be to give enough to keep the plant plump. Shrivelling of the 
pseudobulbs may be right in some few instances, but for the majority it is 
bad practice—I mean excessive shrivelling. Of course, when a group of 
plants is being kept dry, because inactive, slight shrivelling may occasion- 
ally take place, but there is very little, if any, harm in that. 
In order to make the subject of winter watering as plain and easy as 
possible, let us divide our Orchids into three classes. The first is the 
deciduous ones, amongst which will be found the following :—Thunias, 
Mormodes, Catasetums, Cycnoches, Chysis, Barkerias, Anguloas, Cyrto- 
podiums, the deciduous Calanthes, some Dendrobiums, and a few others, 
particularly those having large and succulent pseudobulbs. These are all 
capable of withstanding great drought from now onward until the new 
growths appear some time in the spring ; they should therefore occupy 
the dryest and lightest position in their respective houses, and practically 
receive no water throughout the winter other than the moisture the atmo- 
sphere willconvey to them. Of course, if they should appear to be shrivelling 
excessively, a slight surface watering may be given, but not on any account 
should the compost be saturated. The second class will include the other 
pseudobulbous species, such as Cattleyas and Lzlias, Odontoglossums, 
Oncidiums, Ccelogynes, Epidendrums, Lycastes, Maxillarias, Trichopilias, 
Stanhopeas, and similar kinds. For these I also recommend a very dry 
winter treatment, but they will not withstand so much hard drying as the 
previously mentioned kinds. The third class includes those species which 
have no such marked season of inactivity. Many of these have pseudo- 
bulbs, such as Zygopetalums, Miltonias, Cymbidiums, Cochliodas, and 
various individuals from other genera which may be growing quite naturally, 
such as Lelia purpurata, Odontoglossum crispum, &c., together with a great 
