236 



CASSELL'S POPULAE GARDENING. 



cliin, and so unstable, as to be in a state of continual 

 oscillation. The flowers are arranged in a circle, 

 and all look outwards, and on whatever side the 

 umbel is regarded it still presents to the eye the 

 same row of grinning faces and wagging chins." 

 Cirrhopetalums have seldom lived any length of 

 time after being imported, yet their requirements 

 are few ; they thrive best upon blocks, with a little 

 Sphagnum Moss, or in shallow baskets well draiaed ; 

 and enjoy plenty of heat, moisture, and light, but 

 not full exposure to the sun. During the resting 

 season never allow the plants to suffer from drought, 

 for we are fully 

 persuaded that 

 this has been the 

 stumbling-block to 

 the cultivators of 

 this genus. East 

 Indian House. 



G. chinense. — 

 The rhizoTie is 

 creeping and root- 

 ing at every joint ; 

 pseudo-bulbs small, 

 ovate, bearing a 

 single, oblong-ob- 

 tuse, dark green, 

 leathery leaf ; scape 

 stout, erect, as long 

 or longer than the 

 leaves; bearing an 

 umbel of large 

 flowers of a most 

 peculiar appear- 

 ance ; the lip and 

 upper sepal are 



purple ; the lateral sepals are very much elongated, 

 and tawny-yellow. June and July. China. 



C. Cumingii. — This is a less robust plant than the 

 preceding ; pseudo-bulbs small, oblong ; leaves soli- 

 tary, oblong, thick and leathery, and dark gi^een 

 above ; scape slender, much longer than the leaves, 

 bearing an umbel of beautiful reddish-purple flowers, 

 the peculiar arrangement of which must be seen to 

 be understood. Spring and earlj^ summer. Philip- 

 pine Islands. 



C. Fahudii.-^ A bold-growing species, with nar- 

 rowly-oblong pseudo-bulbs, which spring at inter- 

 vals from a creeping rhizome, and are enveloped in 

 a large sheath ; the leaves are large, broadly-lanceo- 

 late, tapering at the base, and bright green ; scape 

 radical, shorter than the leaves, bearing several 

 la,rge sheathing scales. Umbel of flowers six to 

 twelve ; these are very large ; the dorsal sepal is 

 about four inches long, reddish -brown, dotted with 

 deep red ; petals and lateral sepals about half the 



Chysis BRACTESCEifS 



length of the dorsal ; the former directed backwards 

 with the dorsal sepal, and, like it, prolonged into a 

 slender cylindrical tail; lip ovate-lanceolate, and, 

 with the column, deep purple. Summer months. 

 Java. 



CcBlogyne.— A large genus of epiphytal plants, 



exclusively Asiatic ; some of the species are natives 

 of the tropical islands in the Indian Archipelago, 

 but by far the greater number are to be found in 

 the sub-ti'opical regions of Northern India. The 

 name Coelogjme signifies " hollow- stigma," and this 



is really its chief 

 feature of distinc- 

 tion ; they all pro- 

 duce pseudo-bulbs, 

 and many of them 

 large and showy 

 flowers, and as these 

 in many instances 

 appear in the very 

 depth of winter and 

 early spring they 

 become doubly 

 valuable. 



The majority of 

 the species should 

 be grown in pots, 

 for although all 

 will grow upon 

 blocks, they do not 

 make such fine 

 specimens under 

 this latter system. 

 Coelogynes enjoy 

 a moderate amount 

 of heat during the growing season, especiaUy towards 

 autumn, in order to finish up their pseudo-bulbs, 

 when a cooler temperature is necessary, and when, as 

 a matter of com-se, less water must be given them. 

 The soil for these plants should be fibrous peat and 

 living Sphagnum ]\Ioss in about equal proportions, 

 with the addition of a little sharp sand, whilst the 

 drainage must be kept in thorough working order. 



These plants commence to grow immediately after 

 the flowers are past, and any surfacing or re-potting 

 necessary should be done at this time, in order that 

 the new pseudo-bulbs may reap the fidl benefit of 

 the change. The mountain species from Northern 

 India wiH thrive best in the Brazilian House, but the 

 kinds from the Indian Islands require a little more 

 heat, and should therefore be placed in the East 

 India House. 



C. cristota—T^his, is perhaps the finest and most 

 admired species in the genus, and no one who 

 commences the cultivation of this order of plants 



