124 THE ORCHID REVIEW. [APRIL, 1907. 
was figured. Sir Joseph Hooker remarked: ‘‘ The beauty of the terrestrial 
Orchids in the Australian Colonies is proverbial. In spring and summer 
the meadows are in many places enamelled with them, and it is no unusual 
thing to find thirty or forty species in a comparatively limited area, com- 
prised under the genera Diuris, Thelymitra, Prasophyllum, Glossodia and 
Pterostylis, and in such quantities that bouquets may be made of them in 
any number, and I feel assured that in no other part of the world may so 
many different Orchids be found in a given small area as in the Australian 
Colonies. Unfortunately, though easily procured and transported to 
Europe, they are cultivated there with great difficulty, flowering once 
only, if at all, and disappearing for ever after, a result probably due to our 
uncongenial seasons.” | R. A. 
ORCHIDS FOR AMATEURS. 
(Continued from p. 88). 
A FAVOURITE method with many amateurs of increasing their collections is 
to purchase imported plants and establish them, and this is particularly 
the case with Dendrobiums, Odontoglossums, Cattleyas, and some others. 
The deciduous species of the former, being imported when at rest, suffer 
little under the process, and flower profusely soon after being potted up. 
Imported Orchids, if obtained in good condition, and taken proper care of, 
soon establish themselves, and there is always the chance of obtaining 
some striking varieties. | Now is a good time to obtain such plants, as they 
arrive when danger of frost is over, and are likely to start away quickly 
into growth, and establish themselves before the winter comes round, which 
is a matter of no little importance. 
As soon as received the plants should be taken in hand. Do not 
lay them about under stages, as they have had knocking about enough 
already. The first thing is to go over them and remove any dead oF 
decaying portions, and do any cleaning that may be necessary. They 
should not be potted up at once, but may be placed singly in small pots 
with a few crocks only, or placed on a layer of moist sphagnum moss, t0 
plump up. They should be kept just moist, shaded from direct sunshine, 
and given a temperature rather below that which they will ultimately 
require. Do not suspend them the wrong way up, or deluge them with 
water, or put them in too much heat at first. 
If a moist genial atmosphere is provided the plants will gradually plumP 
up, and the young growths and roots soon begin to push. The appearance 
of young roots is a sign that the time to pot has come, as these will at 
once take possession of the new compost. The plants may not all start at 
once, indeed they seldom do, but they should be looked over at intervals, 
and those taken in hand that are in the proper condition, just as in the cas¢ 
