4 THE ORCHID REVIEW. 
DIES ORCHIDIAN&, 
I NOTE with particular pleasure the two beautiful examples of good culture 
so admirably figured in the last two numbers of the Review. Mr. Woodall’s 
Vanda ceerulea is superb, and his notes on its culture should be read by 
every grower of this useful autumn-flowering Orchid. It is well that a 
photographic illustration of the plant to which a First-class Certificate was 
awarded should be preserved. Similar remarks must be made with respect 
to Mr. Bennett-Poe’s beautiful plant of Selenipedium caudatum Wallisii, 
which deservedly secured a Cultural C d ing 
to note that these satisfactory results were both obtained by rational 
treatment—by imitating as far as posible the essential conditions under 
which these plants grow in a wild state. Were this rule more frequently 
followed, I believe that failures would be much less frequent than at 
present. The majority of such cases arise from subjecting plants to 
conditions which they have not been accustomed to in a state of nature— 
frequently through ignorance—hence they refuse to thrive, and often die 
outright. There is nothing remarkable in this, for even in a wild state 
plants only thrive where the conditions are suitable; elsewhere they are 
crowded out by a host of competitors. The cultivator may protect his 
plants from the struggle for existence, but he cannot make them grow under 
unsuitable conditions. Some people like to find out the proper treatment 
for themselves, and frequently succeed, but it may safely be affirmed that 
a knowledge of the essential conditions under which a plant grows is the 
surest and quickest guide to success. 
ion. It is furtheri 
Another matter to which I cannot avoid alluding, especially as it has a 
distinct hearing on the preceding remarks, is the frequent appearance at 
recent meetings of the Royal Horticultural Society of those quaint and 
beautiful plants, the Pescatoreas and their allies. It used to be remarked 
that no one could grow them for long, and even when they succeeded for a 
time they would suddenly go back for no apparent reason. Then it came 
out that Messrs. B. S. Williams & Son had succeeded in growing them for 
years, under conditions which have been detailed in the Review, and that 
others who had adopted a method of treatment in accordance with the 
conditions under which they grow naturally also found no difficulty with 
them, and now that their culture is no longer regarded as hopeless, I hope 
to see more of them in the future. They are a particularly interesting 
group, and seem to keep growing and throwing up occasional flowers 
throughout the year. 
These points serve to emphasise the remarks made by Mr. Burberry 
