88 THE ORCHID REVIEW. 
ofroom. A plant of Lelia anceps with about three leads may sometimes 
be seen occupying an enormous basket about 12 inches square, which, it is 
needless to say, is a shocking waste of house room. If the creeping rhizome 
has become too long, let it be severed, leaving five or six pseudobulbs to 
support the lead. The back pseudobulbs taken away will break again, and 
should be placed in with the plant; by these means a greater number of 
leading bulbs are being constantly added. Do not half bury the pseudo- 
bulbs, but let the rhizome from the oldest to the newest bulb be on a level 
with the compost. If buried, the eyes, which are dormant, soon decay. 
Lelia anceps Sanderiana and L. a. Schreederiana, when seen in all 
their beauty, are Orchids not easily eclipsed. They must, however, be 
strong to bloom well. The primary points of cultivation to bear in mind 
are: Do not allow them to ramble over the side of the pot or basket 
into space for more than one season’s growth, and give them during summer 
the full sun, plenty of water, and an abundance of air. Should there not 
be a Mexican house set apart for the sun-loving kinds, Lelia anceps and 
its varieties are then better if grown in baskets or pans, so that they may 
be suspended near the roof of the Cattleya House. If however there be a 
house unshaded to accommodate these, together with a few other sun-loving 
Orchids, then they are better if in pots on lattice-wood stages. 
Lelia autumnalis, L. albida, L. furfuracea, and L. Eyermaniana, all 
most useful species when well grown, greatly enjoy the sun, heat, anda 
corresponding amount of air and moisture, but at the same time will not 
withstand so much direct sunshine as is so enjoyable to the afore-named 
_ species. These four beautiful kinds should therefore be partially shaded 
from its direct rays in summer. Conditions similar to that of the ordinary 
Cattleya house is, I find, best adapted to them. The roots are now pushing 
forth, and the necessary re-potting or top-dressing should be done. These 
short-bulbed Lzlias are surface rooting kinds, and a great depth of 
compost, however good and fibrous it may be, becomes not only unnecessary 
but positively distasteful to them. During the summer they delight in 
water in large quantities, on the condition that it passes away again freely. 
To use a well-known phrase, “it should run through like a sieve.’ To pot 
shallow, say the compost to be only an inch in depth, and at the same time 
to secure each portion of the plant firmly, is a little difficult of accomplish- 
ment. But firm in position the plant must be, or it can never grow well. 
Patience and practice, with the aid of a few small sticks and pegs, soon 
overcome this difficulty. 
Lelia majalis is frequently grown on blocks or rafts of wood suspended 
in the Mexican house. I find this system does very well for a few years, 
oe = ae a rule block culture results in deterioration. To keep this species in 
al ae health it is oo in small pans, or baskets, with 
