372 THE ORCHID REVIEW. 
CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS FOR DECEMBER. 
By H. A. BuRBERRY, Orchid Specialist, King’s ‘Heath, Birmingham. 
THE temperature should now be as follows :— 
Coot Housr.—Day, 50° to 60° ; night, 45° to 50°. 
INTERMEDIATE HousEe.—Day, 55° to 65; night, 50° to 55°. 
East Inp1an Housr.—Day, 60° to 70°; night, 55° to 60°. 
Tue Coot Housr.—Ventilate as freely. on all occasions as the outside 
conditions permit. Water very sparingly in all cases, no matter whether 
the plant is dormant or making growth. The roots of any Orchid, if 
examined after the winter has passed, will be found more healthy and more 
numerous on those plants that have been rather dry than on those kept wet ; 
therefore the former have more power, and soon run away from the latter. 
Once a day will now be necessary for damping down, and even that may not 
be required if the weather is damp and mild. 
THE CATTLEYA, INTERMEDIATE, AND East Inp1AN Hovuses.—The 
above advice is equally applicable to these, excepting that the greater the 
amount of fire heat necessary, the greater also must be the supply of 
moisture distributed for evaporating purposes. Damping down will there- 
fore be required once a day or more, according to circumstances. 
Focs.—These have been so prevalent this autumn that Iam afraid Orchid 
growers in large manufacturing towns, where smoke and noxious fumes are 
prevalent, have lost the chief beauty of their autumn and winter blooming 
plants. The grower is almost helpless in the matter; whatever his special 
treatment during a fog, he cannot wholly save the blooms, buds, and foliage. It 
is granted by all that the house should be then rendered as air-tight as possible, 
so that the fumes are shut out as well as can be. But whether to keep the 
atmosphere moist or dry seems still a debatable point. I have found a 
smaller loss from my plants with a moist atmosphere than adry one. Other 
well-known growers recommend the reverse order of things. I should like 
to hear a census of opinions on this matter. 
The Dendrobiums should by this time have become quite matured and 
hardened, and capable of withstanding great drought. Several of the 
earliest to bloom, such as D. x Cassiope, D. X endocharis, D. moniliforme, 
D. aureum, &c., will now have their flower buds pretty far advanced, and 
should be removed from their dry resting department to an intermediate 
temperature, so that they may come on slowly but surely. To put them in 
strong heat and to water heavily at this juncture would mean ruin to the 
crop of flowers, and most likely to the plants as well. It is only a few of 
the very earliest that may be selected for blooming before Christmas. 
Endeavour to keep the bulk back well into the new year, and better flowers 
and healthier plants will result. 
