OCTOBER, 1913.] THE ORCHID REVIEW. 305 
roots. The following will provide a satisfactory rooting medium: Two 
parts of osmunda fibre,-one part Art fibre, and one of polypodium fibre. 
Care must be taken to pot the plant firmly, and not to overwater it, as it is 
rather more subject to rot than some of the other species. Lastly I am 
positively convinced that much benefit is afforded the plants if the house be 
damped every three or four days in the summer evenings with a weak 
solution of manure water, of course not touching the plants themselves, 
merely spraying the path and stages. C. ALWYN HARRISON. 
ORCHIDS AT BRUGES. 
A visir to the extensive establishment of Messrs. Sander & Sons, Bruges, 
completed our Belgian trip, and proved particularly interesting and 
instructive. Great progress has been made during the past five years, 
especially in the seedling department, to which we first made our way, 
Mr. F. Sander, who acted as guide, remarking that we might as well begin 
at the beginning. On passing into the first house we found thousands of 
tiny seedling Cattleyas and allies, in various stages. The seeds are sown 
on polypodium fibre and canvas, and the seed beds were in many cases 
green with tiny globules, all from choice crosses. The work of pricking 
them off was in progress, and for this delicate work girls are employed, and 
become exceedingly expert, placing the tiny seedlings on three-inch pots of 
prepared compost—some eighty or ninety on each—with the utmost 
regularity. The tiny leaves soon begin to push, and when more room is 
required they are pricked off again. Successive batches were pointed out, 
some done the day before, some a week old, some a month old, and others 
six or seven weeks old, showing an interesting progression in size. The 
seedlings are now potted separately in }-inch and 4-inch pots, these being 
then bedded out in square pans of sphagnum moss to keep the compost 
from drying up. The temperature ot the house is maintained from 20° to 
22° Centigrade (68° to 72° Fahr.). It may be added that the usual trouble 
is experienced with the fly that attacks Orchid seedlings, which is 
continually being brought in with the polypodium fibre and sphagnum 
moss, so that there seems to be no method of stamping it out, though the 
usual means are taken to keep it in check. A toad was observed on the 
floor of one of the houses, and these are excellent vermin killers, in fact Mr. 
Sander has encouraged his men to bring them in by a small payment. 
As the seédlings progress they are taken into other houses, and the next 
house contains hundreds of boxes of sphagnum filled with the tiny pots, 
each containing a flourishing little seedling. A large number of albino 
Cattleyas were pointed out, from the well-known C. Mossiz Wageneri 
down to the recent C. Warscewiczii alba, and all under numbers, which are 
carefully entered in a record book. It was very interesting to go through 
