THE ORCHID REVIEW. 39 
FLOWERS FROM AMERICA. 
WE have frequently received very interesting flowers from our American 
readers, sometimes in excellent condition, but too often, in spite of 
the most elaborate precautions in packing, they can only be described as 
unrecognisable. A recent mail brought us a box containing a Cattleya 
flower most carefully packed, with the stalk inserted into a small phial 
of water through a hole in the cork, but, unfortunately, the flower arrived 
in a semiputrid state. This flower was accompanied by the request for 
a report as to its condition on arrival, and a few notes on the question 
generally may be interesting. 
It would of course be useless to send flowers in this way which do 
not last more than a week in a fresh condition, also old flowers of other 
species, and it would be much better to press them flat between two 
pieces of blotting paper, for flowers sent in this way often give a better 
idea of what they have been than when sent as cut flowers; the chief 
exceptions being those which turn brown or black in drying. Odonto- 
glossums, Oncidiums, Dendrobiums, and the Cattleya group, preserve 
their colours for long periods if dried quickly, but fleshy flowers, like 
Lycastes and Zygopetalums often change colour. 
Flowers sent in the ordinary way should be gathered when quite young, 
a little moist green moss placed round the stalk, and this again wrapped 
in a small piece of oiled silk, and then fastened to the box to prevent it 
shaking about. The flower is best protected by a little thin tissue paper. 
Cotton wool is best avoided, but if used at all, should never be allowed 
to touch the flowers, as it sticks to them. Too much moisture only hastens 
decay, and thus does more harm than good. In a few cases where these 
points have been carefully attended to, flowers have arrived almost as 
fresh as if cut only the previous day, but much depends upon the nature 
of the flower sent, and its age, for no kind of packing will preserve a 
flower which would have withered in the same time if left on the plant. 
Sometimes boxes get delayed in transit. A recent mail brought a letter 
announcing the despatch on the same day of flowers of Lelia and 
Cypripedium. The box arrived a week later, when the former was dried, 
but a little mouldy at the base, and the latter had lost its colour and become 
brown, as possibly it might have been by that time if left on the plant. 
On one occasion a box was slightly over weight on account of the amount 
of moss used and was kept back a few days until it had sweated down, 
and the result need not be described. 
The art of sending cut flowers long distances by post seems to consist 
in preventing damage by crushing and shaking, and in guarding against 
dessication by too rapid evaporation on the one hand, and decay by too 
