802 THE ORCHID REVIEW. [OctTopzr, 1906. 
a comparatively dry atmosphere ; the flowers will then last much longer, 
-and fade naturally without any spotting. Flowers spotting with damp is. 
already a hint that the conditions are not healthy for the plant. 
Some Cattleyas, and especially C. labiata, will sometimes lose the leaf 
-and the top of the pseudobulb, through rot, after the flowers have been cut 
off. This usually happens if a remnant of the sheath has been left, but not 
‘necessarily because water has lodged there. It is a safeguard to 
‘remove all the sheath and flower stalk from C. labiata to obviate the risk 
-of any water lodging there, but the fact of the plant having this tendency to 
‘rot appears to call for a particularly dry atmosphere at the period of bloom- 
“Ing, and after. 
Some years ago I had charge of a collection of Orchids in Seine et 
‘Marne. For the most part the plants had just been recently imported, and 
‘had all their native vigour, and they were grown solely for the intrinsic 
decorative worth of their blooms. There were included about two thousand 
“vigorous specimens of C. labiata, which were invaluable for table and room 
“decoration during the shooting season. These practically filled one house. 
My first autumn found me slicing off the tips of scores of bulbs that had 
flowered and had decayed down from the sheath. The advice which was 
-offered me from many quarters was contradictory, some telling me to cut 
‘the flower stalk through the sheath, taking care to injure the sheath as 
‘little as possible, as it was necessary that the sheath should remain and 
-wither back naturally, while others recommended removing the thing com- 
‘pletely. The second autumn found me resolved that there would be no 
more rotting of bulbs, if atmospheric dryness would prevent it, nor yet was 
there. The plants were carefully provided with water at the root when 
“necessary, but the house was not damped once in three weeks or a month 
-on end, and there was not a speck of rot visible anywhere, notwithstanding 
‘that parts of the sheaths and flower stalks were left indiscriminately ; 20 
‘was there a speck of damp anywhere on the blooms, which lasted longer 
and dried up naturally, where not cut. And I was satisfied that I had dis- 
-covered the cause of my previous year’s trouble. This treatment was; of 
‘course, only possible because the house was devoted to practically one 
“species, but still the lesson is there. 
There are a considerable number of Orchids blooming or coming into 
‘bloom this month, and in all cases one should try to have the atmosphere 
on the dry side when the flowers are expanded. The Brazilian Oncidiums, 
~which will include ©. varicosum Rogersii, O. Forbesii, &c., will be best 
accommodated in the driest part of the Intermediate house, and so also will 
‘the autumn-flowering Miltonias. Lelia pumila should also have 4 light 
airy position in which to expand its flowers. Vanda ccerulea, a difficult 
-Subject to keep in robust health, should open its flowers in a dry corner of 
