12 THE ORCHID REVIEW. [JANUARY, 1909. 
keep thrip down. Do not drown the plants; just a light spraying will 
make them look happy. 
CyYPRIPEDIUMS of the insigne class will mostly be past their flowering 
stage. These should be examined and those that require potting done at 
once. Good turfy loam, crushed crocks, and one-third leaves suits this class 
first-rate. Some growers object to using loam, but, in my opinion, there is 
no comparison between flowers grown in loam and those grown in peat. 
We have tried divisions of the same plant, grown side by side in the same 
house, under the same treatment, and in comparing flowers the loam-grown 
plants always come much finer and make much finer plants. If locality has 
anything to do with growing Cypripediums, there ought to be some 
magnificent results shown where pure air can be counted as an advantage. 
Here we lay in a very bleak position, and the only time that we get 
fresh air free from sulphur fumes is when the wind is west. We do not 
get bothered with thrip, so perhaps we have something to thank the smoky 
fogs for after all. Plants that need re-potting should be given a liberal 
shift, so as not to disturb them again for at least two years. Large 
specimens must be carefully handled, and if not broken up they can be 
dropped into a larger pot, and lumps of compost worked in between the 
roots, not just pushed down to the bottom ofthe pot. When a plant is not 
to be potted for two or three years, it is worth doing well. Orchids are not 
much trouble to pot when compared with Chrysanthemums, yet how seldom 
one sees Orchids, which will have to stand two or three years, well potted. 
and how carefully the Chrysanthemums have been potted, which have only 
to stand in the same pot for two months, and yet the Orchid flowers will 
last longer than a whole batch of Chrysanthemums and will not want half 
as much attention. If only a fraction of the attention given in potting 
other things was extended to the Orchids what a different result we should 
see. In potting we crock our pots as for ordinary plants, not half fill them 
with crocks, then gradually work lumps of material between the roots, 
filling up with finer mixture as we go on, so that the plant has the same 
rooting medium at the bottom of the pot as at the top. We do not top up 
with moss, but just finish off neatly about an inch or so from the rim, 
according to the size of the pot. If the material has been damped before 
using it will settle firmly, and not require watering for a few days after 
potting. Iam not much in favour of top-dressing. I would rather pot a 
Cypripedium than top-dress it, as Cypripediums are so different in rooting 
and growing from the majority of Orchids. It does not much matter when 
they are potted, as they are always growing and rooting. / Of course if fine 
flowers are wanted they must be potted a reasonable time before their 
flowering season. Newly potted plants should be staged by themselves, 
then no mistakes will be made in watering. Syringe between the pots each 
