ORCHIDS. 



567 



growth has been obtained, the pieces may be 

 removed to form new plants. A few Orchids 

 are propagated most readily by cuttings of the 

 ripened pseudo -bulbs, 3 or 4 inches in length, 

 placed in pots in a warm growing house, and 

 treated like cuttings of other plants. Thunias, 

 many Dendrobiums, Epidendrums, and others 

 may be multiplied by this means. 



Hybrids. — Artificially -raised hybrid Orchids 



now receive much attention from growers, both 

 amateur and professional, and many new and 

 beautiful hybrids have been obtained. Some 

 startling crosses have been accomplished, and 

 it would appear that Orchids differ in this 

 respect from other plants, which do not 

 hybridize unless the species are closely allied. 

 Bi -generic hybrids — namely, Sophro- cattleya, 

 between Sophronitis and Cattleya; Epiphronitis, 



Fig. 687.— Development of Cattleya, from the Seed to two-year-old Plant. 



1, Seeds. 2, Seedling (6 months). 3, Seedling (9 months). 4, Seedling (12 months). 5, Seedling (16 months). 6, Seedling (2 years). 



1 and 2, Greatly enlarged. 3-6, Natural size. (From Veitch's Manual of Oixhidaceous Plants, by permission.) 



between Epidendrum and Sophronitis (fig. 686); 

 Phaio-calanthe, between Phaius and Calanthe; 

 and Epicattleya, between Epidendrum and 

 Cattleya — have been produced, and still more 

 startling hybrids are said to be maturing. 

 Cypripediums have hitherto received most at- 

 tention, as they ripen their seeds well, which 

 germinate freely, and the plants flower quickly. 

 Although it is easy to get the seed-vessels to 

 ripen, they do not always contain good seeds, 

 and even when the seeds are good, it is often 

 a difficult matter to get plants from them. It 

 is the practice to sow the seeds on the surface 

 of the pots containing the parent plants, care- 

 fully recording the cross and date. After the 

 seeds have been sown, water must be supplied 

 with care, dipping instead of watering the pots, 

 and allowing the water to soak upwards so that 



the seeds are not disturbed. The seeds do not 

 thrive when sown in soil specially prepared 

 for them. The seedlings should appear in 

 due course, and as soon as they are fit to 

 handle they should be pricked off into thimble- 

 pots containing finely-chopped peat and sphag- 

 num, three or four round the rim of each, and 

 afterwards plunged, ten or a dozen together, in 

 sphagnum moss in seed-pans of convenient size. 

 These operations require much care and patience, 

 which may be rewarded with results of the 

 greatest value or the reverse (fig. 687). 



Pruning Orchids. — Some Orchid-growers ad- 

 vocate the cutting away every year of all the 

 old pseudo-bulbs of some Dendrobiums, the 

 plants being then placed in a hot swampy 

 house to make their growth. Pruning of a less 

 drastic character, and which ought to be resorted 



