January, 1906.] THE ORCHID REVIEW. 21 
picked into lumps, and the rhizomes taken out and cut up for draining the 
larger pots. The peat, after the dust has been well sifted out, should be 
stored loosely in sacks. Apart from the saving of time later on, this pre- 
paring of peat before-hand gives it time to become thoroughly aired, and a 
quantity is handy to be exposed to the sterilizing influence of the sun a 
week or so before it is required for mixing with the other ingredients of any 
desired compost. Assphagnum moss deteriorates quickly in sacks it is best 
not to get too great a quantity in at a time, and we have never experienced 
much difficulty in procuring it freshly gathered. I prefer the double- 
headed, brown sphagnum, as it is better ripened and does not grow so 
quickly. 
The temperatures to aim for during the month should be as follow :— 
East Inp1AN House.—Day, 65° to 70°; night, 60° to 65°. 
CaTTLEYA Hovuse.—Day, 60° to 65°; night, 55° to 60°. 
INTERMEDIATE House.—Day, 55° to 60° ; night, 50° to 55°. 
Coot Hovuse.—Day, 50° to 55°; night, 48° to 50°. 
These are the temperatures which one should endeavour to keep during 
sunless weather, i.e., by the use of the heating apparatus only, and the 
lowest temperatures should be registered in the morning. They will rise 
considerably with solar heat, and during very cold weather a drop of a few 
degrees will do no harm, as it is better to keep the temperatures uniformly 
lower than to have the pipes at a very fierce heat fordays together. In the 
event of their dropping by any accident very much lower than those 
advised, every effort should be made to get them up as quickly as possible, 
as itis when the houses remain cold for a long time that harm ensues. 
Particular care should be taken not to let the temperatures down after a 
heavy watering ; it is better to keep them a little higher when watering has 
been done to much extent. 
DAMPING AND VENTILATION.—In the hot houses, where a large amount 
of fire heat will, of necessity, be used, damping down will have to be done 
to a good extent, but very much will depend upon the structure of the 
house, and the manner in which the damping down is performed. It is 
advisable to have a hosepipe fixed in each house, which makes damping an 
easy matter and, at the same time, ensures its being thoroughly done. 
Some houses will smell fiery, while others with a much higher temperature 
will be beautiful and mellow. If a house is well provided with moisture- 
holding material, such as coke or sand on the lower staging, with vegetation 
of some kind or another on the floor, and a good supply of piping, a high 
temperature can be secured, which will be of a healthy order. We find 
damping once a day during the winter sufficient in our houses, excepting 
during periods of hard frost. It may not be found necessary to damp the 
Odontoglossum house even once a day, as there is less artificial heat to lift 
