PRO RC Pe ey fiw. 
Vor. XVIITI.] MARCH, togto. [No. 207. 
THE AMATEUR’S COLLECTION. 
_ THE winter-blooming Cypripedes have helped us through the long dull 
season very nicely, and will continue to make a display for some time yet. 
The hybrids, especially, have the merit of keeping up a succession of bloom, 
some of them commencing almost as early as C. insigne and its varieties, 
while others scarcely begin to bloom till the New Year is well in. They are 
capital plants for the amateur, being easily grown, and seldom injured much 
by fogs, in spite of their period of blooming and the fact that so many are 
grown in urban districts, where fogs are often prevalent. The-two facts are 
sufficient to account for their popularity, and as improvements are being 
made every year by hybridisation, there is evidently a great future before 
them. The use of the best varieties as parents is an important factor in 
this improvement, and already some of the older kinds are gradually being 
discarded. The number of excellent kinds now obtainable is so great that 
no difficulty need be experienced in making a useful selection, but in order 
to avoid disappointment it would be well to purchase plants in flower, or 
varieties of known reputation. 
At last there are signs of renewed activity among our plants. The 
Dendrobiums are now making a good display, especially a few of the early- 
blooming hybrids and other kinds that completed their growth early and 
have had a good cool rest. The latter is an important point in the case of 
such kinds as D. nobile, D. Wardianum and their hybrids, though severe 
drying off in the winter is not so much practised as formerly. Such ever- 
‘green kinds as D. densiflorum and thyrsiflorum should not be severely dried, 
nor yet placed in a cooler temperature than the Intermediate house. A 
little more water will be required as the buds develop, but do not attempt to 
hurry them on by placing the plants in too much heat, which will deteriorate 
the quality of the flowers. They are very beautiful when well grown, but 
it is useless to attempt them in a Cool house. 
Cattleya Triane and Percivaliana are now blooming, and ae well 
grown are very effective. The former is especially useful at this season, 
though the flowers sometimes suffer in foggy districts. A little more water 
will be required as the buds develop in the sheath, and a fairly light position 
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