THE ORCHID REVIEW. 247 
he knows in a moment, on stepping inside, whether the ideal conditions are 
there or not, the ‘‘ smell,” the “ feel,” is enough. The existing state of the 
outside weather is his sole guide to action. As the weather changes day by 
day, or it may be hour by hour, so does he shape his treatment. He has no 
hard and fast rule to follow from which it is a crime to depart. He isa 
close follower of Dame Nature. Call his methods ‘ finger and thumb” if 
you like, but depend upon it he is the most successful cultivator. 
Some few species have now completed their season’s growth, and many 
more are fast approaching that stage. When growth is finished at this 
early season, it is generally advisable to remove, if possible, such plants 
from the house in which such a large number are still growing actively. If 
a department exists in which these early species can be accommodated, 
where they may gradually receive more light, air, and less moisture, so 
much the better. If not, they should be grouped together in the same 
compartment, giving them a position by the door or some other place so 
that they may have their special requirements the more easily and surely 
attended to. Do not withhold the water too suddenly at the root, but 
allow them to lapse into a dormant state slowly and gradually. 
The foregoing remarks will apply to a few Cattleyas which will either 
have finished their growth by now or will do so some time during this month. 
The two principal ones are C. Gaskelliana and C. Warscewiczii (gigas), 
which will not only have completed their new growths, but have flowered 
also, and desire nothing more than to be kept quiet. Either species may 
be re-potted immediately after blooming—if required—or may be left over 
until early spring. The same remarks will also apply to C. Rex and C. 
Warneri. 
A few Dendrobiums will also have their pseudobulbs completed, and 
will demand cooler and more airy conditions. Dendrobiums are more 
impatient in this respect than Cattleyas, as are also Thunias, Pleiones, 
Ccelogynes, and other East Indian mountain species. Dendrobiums and 
Cattleyas are apt to break a second time the same year, that is to say 
they start a new growth immediately from the base of the newly-formed 
pseudobulb. However careful one may be, a certain percentage of his 
plants are almost sure to do this. It need not cause the slightest alarm or 
annoyance. Such new growth should be allowed to remain, but simply be 
unheeded, giving the plants the more airy treatment, as before advised, 
exactly the same as if no secondary growth existed. It isa fatal mistake 
to still keep the plants in an active temperature in order to bring these 
second growths to maturity, for it is unlike their natural condition abroad. 
Every Orchid enthusiast should at least try his hand at growing Disa 
grandiflora, as it is such a beautifully showy species when well-grown, and 
this month it will be making quite a brilliant show. It is not always, 
