THE ORCHID REVIEW. 99 
DIES ORCHIDIANA., 
Last month I called attention to the English Orchid-grower and _ his 
methods, as detailed by his Belgian compeer. Our French cousins have 
now received a little attention. Those collections which are formed under 
English influence, we learn, are generally in a very ordinary, not to say 
mediocre, condition. The plants resemble those grown in England, in a 
similar overheated and stuffy atmosphere. Those collections, on the 
contrary, which are established under the influence of the Belgian school 
are in a state of remarkable prosperity. And why this disparity? Because 
the Belgian uses open stages, which allows the fresh air to circulate freely 
among the pots, and opens the ventilators freely as often as the outside 
temperature permits. ‘* Behold here all the great secret of the culture of 
cool Orchids.” The remark is decidedly ingenious, considering that it has 
been practised in England before even a Belgian school was heard of, as 
such. Must I prove my assertion? When the external air is at 40° Fahr. 
air should be admitted; at 45° the amount should be increased ; at 50° the 
bottom ventilators should be wide open and the top ones partially so; at 
60° as much air as possible should be admitted ; minimum temperature in 
winter 45°, maximum in hot weather, the lowest possible; avoid fire heat 
whenever possible. This is a condensed epitome of our hot stuffy treat- 
ment as applied in the best collections. And what is the result? A single 
example shall suffice. An Odontoglossum crispum flower measuring five 
inches across its broadest diameter, and the petals one and three-quarter 
inches broad. I may have occasion to recur again to the subject. 
Where are we going? I observe in the Gartenflora two new Orchids, 
under the imposing names of Grammatophyllum Guilelmi II. and Den- 
drobium Auguste Victoriz. Shades of Linneus! Is this thy immortal 
binomial system of nomenclature? By and by a variety will appear, 
which too must be distinguished. Fancy such a name as Grammat- 
ophyllum Guilelmi secundi variety Poggio Gherardo. And the thing is 
clearly not impossible. Some time ago a learned committee met to 
consider this nomenclature question, and after profound deliberation at 
many sittings recommended that names of Orchids should be given in 
accordance with botanical usage, but trivial varieties in the vernacular. 
If the above are specimens, I should say that simplicity is not a strong 
point in modern nomenclature. The same school has given to the world a 
Sirhookera—happily not an Orchid. Judging by recent developments, I 
should think a treatise on nomenclature must surely rival Mr. Pickwick’s 
celebrated theory of Tittlebats. 
A good deal of advice has at various times been given respecting the 
