294 THE ORCHID REVIEW. (SEPTEMBER, 1913. 
THE AMATEUR’S COLLECTION. 
By C. Atwyn Harrison, F.R.H.S. 
TuIs month is one of the busiest for the Orchid grower, for preparations 
must now be made for the ensuing winter. With this object in view, the 
house must be thoroughly overhauled, the paths, staging, and roof glass 
washed, the pots scrubbed, dead leaves cut away, and the plants sponged, 
after which they should be placed in their winter quarters, with Cypri- 
pedium insigne, C. villosum, Odontoglossum crispum, and O. Pescatorei at 
the coolest end, and the hybrid and choicer things at the warmest. As an 
extra safeguard the staging should be well syringed with a strong solution 
of some insecticide, applying it more especially in the corners, and where 
the wooden lathes overlap and intercross, these being favourite haunts of 
woodlice and slugs. 
Although fire-heat will probably not yet be required, yet it will be found 
advisable to test the heating apparatus one evening to ensure its being in 
proper working order for use in the following month. The following 
average temperatures will be found conducive to the healthy growth es 
the plants during the autumn :— 
Day, 55° to 65° Fahr; night, 53° to 60° Fahr. 
Obviously with such a comparatively low degree of warmth, a consider- 
able quantity of fresh air can still be admitted, and it is of the utmost 
importance that the atmosphere should always feel pure and buoyant, 
especially for Cool house Orchids. Until the nights become chilly a little 
air can be left on, which is of more value than many growers imagine, for 
it enables the plants to recoup after a hot and, perhaps, airless day. 
Damping and syringing must now be done in moderation; a slight spray 
over the leaves about nine a.m. and a good damping down about five p.m. 
will usually prove sufficient. As to watering, growing plants will probably 
need a good dose of water every third day, and those at rest once a week, 
but obviously these matters depend so much upon the weather that no hard 
and fast rules can be given. 
The liquid shading that was applied to the roof glass in May must be 
washed off towards the close of this month, for the blinds will afford all the 
protection necessary, and should only be lowered when the sun is shining 
directly on the house, for if overshaded now weak and_ unsatisfactory 
flower spikes will be produced by the winter-flowering Odontoglossums, as 
light is an important factor in their development. 
Odontoglossum grande is now pushing up its flower spikes, and should 
be kept as close to the roof glass as possible and exposed to the full sun. 
This is an ideal species for an amateur’s house, producing strong spikes of 
immense yellow and brown blossoms, which will continue several weeks 
