6 THE BOOK OF ORCHIDS 



before being placed on board the steamship, but, owing 

 to the care taken by the collectors to gather them at 

 the proper season, they generally arrive in good con- 

 dition. 



All newly imported Orchids appear more or less 

 emaciated, having lost through evaporation a portion of 

 their vital fluids. The first great point to be aimed at, 

 therefore, is to bring the plants back to their normal 

 condition by slow degrees after their enforced rest. 

 Any attempts to make them suddenly plump only 

 excites the impaired cellular tissues in places, destroys 

 them in others, and generally ends in failure and total 

 loss of the plants. One of the principal points in 

 reviving dormant life in the plants is to place them, no 

 matter from what part of the world they may come, in 

 a moderately dry and cool atmosphere, giving little or 

 no water for a few days. If the plants be subjected to 

 a temperature that excites them before proper reaction 

 sets in, the consequence is that they lose their foliage 

 before the young roots appear. Each plant should be 

 carefully sponged all over, to cleanse it from dirt and 

 insects, cutting away decayed leaves, bulbs, and dead 

 roots. 



In treating of imported plants space does not permit 

 mention being made of the whole of the great Orchid 

 genera, but in some respects similar treatment is re- 

 quired by all, and those that are not enumerated must 

 be left to the judgment and intelligence of the grower 

 who has charge of the collection. I think it will be 

 sufficient as a guide if mention is made of four distinct 

 groups — Aerides, Cypripediums, Dendrobiums, and 

 Odontoglossums. In reference to the first division, 

 which will also include Saccolabiums, Vandas, Aeran- 

 thus, Renanthera, Phalaenopsis, etc., none of which 

 possess pseudo bulbs, and all, in consequence, on being 

 freshly imported, are generally in a very dry, shrivelled 



