Marcu, 1907.] THE ORCHID REVIEW. 7 
Species, such as D. crassinode, D. Wardianum, D. Findlayanum, that 
are given the credit of dying out after a few seasons, can be made to grow 
freely if they are only rejuvenated by propagation from time to time. The 
process is so simple and takes up so little room that it has always been a 
puzzle to me why growers will labour on with:worn out plants. Any node 
that has not produced flower will produce growth. As a rule the higher 
nodes break much quicker than those towards the base, so for preference 
choose the higher ones, as they also generally come stronger. Cut the 
bulbs up into single nodes, leaving most of the stem below the node to 
allow of it being placed upright. Pots or pans filled with sand is all that 
is necessary; slightly press the severed portions into the sand, so that the 
node is not buried, label correctly, and stand them in a hot moist house. 
A shelf in a propagating house in an ideal place for them, some will come 
away quickly and others will remain dormant for a considerable time, but 
they invariably come, and if a few are done each year there are always 
young plants at hand to take the place of those that have been flowering 
heavily for several seasons and are exhausted. 
CALANTHES.—Most of the deciduous section of this popular genus will 
be starting and ready for. potting towards the latter part of this month, 
though some of the late flowering varieties will be better potted a week or two 
later. A great deal depends on the position in which the bulbs have been 
placed since they passed out of flower, as to whether they will be ready for 
potting about the third week in this month or early in April, but when the 
young growths are about an inch in height is the time to pot. The compost 
used by us is made up of two parts loam and one part good leaf soil with plenty 
of coarse sand and small crocks. A fair drainage is essential, but I do not 
believe in half filling the pots with drainage. Calanthes want more soil 
than could then be given, though some of the weaker growing varieties, such 
as Victoria-Regina, Oweniana and Sandhurstiana, require more drainage 
than do Veitchii, Bryan, Alpha, Bella and others. And when seven inch 
and larger pots are used, in which several bulbs are grown together, more 
drainage should be given, I prefer using four to six inch pots, then the drain- 
age for the strong growing varieties should be rather less than one third of the 
depth. Retain about two inches of the old roots, as they will be found very 
helpful in giving a certain amount of rigidity to the bulbs. In addition to 
this the long bulbed section should have the support of a neat stake. Pot 
firmly, keeping the soil below the rim of the pot, the base of the new growth 
being just below the level of the compost. The materials should be fairly 
dry when used containing only enough moisture to make it work nicely. 
My reason for preferring smail pots is that I like to have one bulb per 
pot to start with, as when grown thus the light has a much better chance 
of getting round the plant, a very important point. The single bulb 
