76 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



February, 1907 



A Group of Rare Odontoglossums 



work is now being done in this direction, and there can be 

 small doubt that fine forms will be brought to light. 



It is an utter impossibility within the limits of a descriptive 

 article to give anything more than the most general hints as 

 to the cultivation of such an immense group as the orchids. 

 In a broad sense the general treatment should consist in keep- 

 ing up the periods of rest and activity natural to each variety, 

 and rigidly observing these whatever the plant may seem 

 inclined to do. When passing into its dormant condition the 

 specimen will naturally demand a great slackening in the 

 water supply, and with the return of active growth the amount 

 of moisture must needs be increased. The beginner is, no 

 doubt, wise if in the first instance he accustoms himself to the 

 growing of fully established specimens. The newly imported 



A Particularly Fine Specimen of Miltonia Vescilaria 



examples call for a considerable amount of attention if they 

 are to be successfully started. As soon as received all old 

 leaves must be removed from the pseudobulbs, and the plants 

 placed just as they are in the shady part of a cool house. 

 Here they should be allowed to remain for two or three days, 

 the atmospheric moisture being all sufficient for their needs. 

 After the lapse of the stated period the plants may be potted 

 and nursed until they start into growth. Of course even the 

 most careful grower will lose a number of his plants at times, 

 and one can in nowise be sure of the fate of a specimen until 

 it has been fully established. Still, orchids are such eccen- 

 tric things that the amateur often rejoices in the "beginner's 

 luck," which falls to his share, while the old hand is mourning 

 the loss of many treasures. 



The Interior Color of Walls 



^^'^ p^^ g^ QLOR is the quality which gives agreeable- 

 ^$'/^^^^^^} '^ess to walls. The pattern of the covering 



ft^^^r^* material is a matter of the primest impor- 

 ^^^y^^Jv^ tance; but a good pattern may be ruined by 

 >^I^^Wx^^t^ ^ coloring. The importance of color 

 j^^j^^^^S/^ is, therefore, supreme. It is not only the 

 first step toward making the room agree- 

 able, but it is the decisive step. Once fix the color of the 

 walls, and it will be impossible to avoid the chosen tint if an 

 harmonious ensemble is to be obtained. 



The selection of the colors for a series of rooms is a matter 

 dependent on many circumstances. Professional decorators 

 are apt to view the subject by rule of thumb, and glibly give 

 advice as to the best colors to use in north rooms, south 

 rooms, well-lighted rooms, dark rooms, rooms for men and 

 rooms for women. For one who has no idea what to do 

 such advice is very heartening, no doubt, but it entirely 

 ignores the personal element which, after all, is one of the 

 most important things In the decoration of the house. 



One good general rule lays at the foundation of all in- 

 terior color schemes, and that is that the first thing to be con- 

 sidered in choosing the color of a room is the quantity of light 

 within it. Rooms lighted from the north, for example, are 

 very differently lighted than those facing the south, even if 

 the amount of opening surface be Identical. Warm, bright 

 colors are suited to north rooms, cool soft tints to south 

 rooms. That Is to say, warm reds, golden browns, and golds 

 are colors for north rooms, while blues, water greens, and 

 silvery hues are adapted to south rooms. The whole phi- 



losophy of household color schemes is summed up in these 

 differences. 



Within the limitations thus set there is wide scope for indi- 

 vidual treatment. The home maker, intent on arranging her 

 color schemes, may now draw on her individual preferences 

 and choose the colors she likes best, always keeping in view 

 the basic conditions set by the quality of illumination. If 

 one is completely at sea — and a good color sense is by no 

 means so common as many suppose — it will be necessary to 

 depend on professional advice, a very good thing in itself, 

 but its following takes away much of the Individuality which 

 comes from personal choice and direction. The color of a 

 wall, however, is too important to experiment with, for, once 

 chosen, it Is apt to be retained until the end. 



There Is still another very important matter to be con- 

 sidered, and that is the relationship of the colors of various 

 rooms to the immediately adjoining apartments. The ten- 

 dency of the modern American interior Is to be as open as 

 possible, the rooms often not separated at all, but connected 

 with spacious openings. This is particularly true of the mod- 

 ern hall which Is apt to be a central apartment Into which all 

 the others open. 



The single final rule to be observed is that of harmony, ab- 

 solute, general, perfect. There must be no discordant notes. 

 There must be no clashing of tints and tones. There must be 

 no sudden changes. There must, in short, be a harmony that 

 can be seen and be felt. It is impossible to generalize far- 

 ther; but this, the most difficult task of all, is the wall deco- 

 rator's supreme test. 



