THE ORCHID REVIEW. 247 
by preference, such as Dicranium, Mnium, Bryum argenteum, etc.). 
Then the seeds are sown on and between these plants of moss, and the 
pots placed in a case or frame containing a little water, so that the earth 
in the pots becomes thoroughly moist. Whilst moisture is thus always 
ensured, at the same time the soil is prevented from becoming saturated. 
Then the case is put on a hot-bed of moderate temperature, with no 
ventilation for a fortnight, and with slight shade from the sun.” 
The method followed by the Count du Buysson is a very simple one, 
and is practically a reproduction of what occurs in a natural state. Its 
success may be taken for granted, though it would appear that the interest 
of watching the seedlings through their various stages of development is 
lost. 
‘The plan I have adopted,” says he, ‘‘ for managing these Orchids is 
very simple. Besides the tubers that I transplant just when their leaves 
begin to turn yellow (unfailing mark of their maturity), I moisten the 
stems bearing the capsules, and place them in my conservatory in pots 
full of sand, and so the seeds ripen. I scatter them over the lawn, 
removing the stem, among my clumps of trees, choosing as far as possible 
a soil and situation similar to the spots whence I gathered them.” 
In a little brochure published last year on this subject, entitled, Unser 
heimischen Orchideen, M. Alexandre Wurtenberger speaks of the seeds of 
Bavarian Orchids as follows :-— 
“ Although the various genera of Orchids generally manifest different 
requirements with regard to the soil, all the species may be sown in the 
same composition; it may be in a mixture of one part leaf-mould, one 
of sand, and two of loam. Sowing must be done in early spring, in small, 
well-drained cases which are filled with this compost, properly propor- 
tioned and sifted. The earth is smoothed down with a small board, then 
covered all over with two inches of snow, and it is on this that the 
Orchid seed is sown. Then the cases are moved into a place where 
the snow melts rapidly, after which on the surface of the soil a light 
layer of chopped moss is spread, and a plate of glass put over the box. 
Finally, the seeds are placed on a hot-bed. At the end of some weeks 
the seedlings appear; the moss covering is then carefully raised and 
shade given, If the cold is to be maintained, and the seeds left to 
germinate, as it does in Nature, this takes a longer time. When the 
plants can be taken hold of with the tweezers, they must be pricked out 
into other boxes, and in a similar mixture of earth to the former, but 
with the addition now of a little lime. ; a 
“Then the growth and development of the seedlings 1s hastened by 
: as ' = d, at the end of some 
placing the pricking-out boxes on a hot-bed, ei , : 
weeks, they can be transported into borders specially prepared to le 
them. They must then be drawn from the box where they were pricke 
