n04 THE ORCHID REVIEW. [APRIL, 1903. 
ORCHIDS IN THE UNITED STATES. 
Jutius Roeurs, of the Exotic Nurseries, Rutherford, N.J., famous 
amongst Orchidists all over the States for the quantity and quality of his 
Orchids, occupies an ideal position for the cultivation of these lovely plants, 
for elevated only a few feet above the sea level, and situated close to the 
Hackensack Marshes, the humidity is very great. Seeking out the 
Nurseries and enquiring for Mr. Roehrs, I briefly stated that I was a 
Britisher, taking a holiday, and being fond of Orchids would he allow me 
to look through his houses. Mr. Roehrs, who is a fine type of the 
American citizen, was kindness itself, and personally showed me through 
the place, and after spending a very pleasant afternoon gave me permission 
to come again whenever I liked. It was in these more leisured visits that 
I had time to notice their methods of culture and the results more closely. 
For instance, during one of my visits they were right in the midst of 
re-potting several hundred Cattleya Mossie. The compost consisted solely 
of black, hard Osmunda fibre, and a little charcoal. The man, securing 
one of the plants to be re-potted, gathered a handful of the bulbs in one 
hand, then turning the pot upside down, gave it a smart tap on the bench, 
and pulled it out cf the pot, and with a stick or his fingers poked a lot of 
the old compost away from the roots; then with his knife or shears he 
cclipt away what he considered dead roots—but which I considered full of 
vitality—and, placing a handful of crocks at the bottom of a clean pot, 
fixed the plant in position, and with a blunt stick pushed the new compost 
in and amongst the roots, and, in less time than it has taken to write this, 
the plant was re-potted. No moss over the crocks, and no. surfacing of 
moss ; indeed, out of all the thousands of Orchids grown on the place not a 
trace of moss was to be seen, and on enquiring the reason I was informed 
that it was expensive to get, and that they grew quite as well if not better 
-without it. 
Another house, about 100 feet by 15 feet, was literally ablaze with 
Cattleya Harrisonie in bloom, and, as may be imagined where several 
thousand blooms are open at the same time, it was not difficult to pick out 
many good varieties ; one in particular which Mr. Roehrs, jun., handed to 
me I have never seen equalled, either before or since. It was perfect in 
form, and quite four and a half inches across, and I have ever since 
regretted not bringing it home. Almost without exception the C. 
Harrisonie were grown on rafts or blocks of wood, with very little 
compost about the roots. All were in the rudest of health, and bulbs overt 
two feet long were quite common. I should mention hére that Mr. Roehrs’ 
principal object in growing Orchids is to supply cut flowers for New York 
amarket, and noticing several of the C. Harrisonie with the new bulb 
