﻿THE ORCHID REVIEW. 



Vol. XII.] SEPTEMBER, 1904. [No. 141. 



THE AMATEUR'S COLLECTION. 



Our notes at pp. 154, 155, chiefly referred to the structure of the Orchid 

 house and the necessary arrangements for heating, ventilation, shading, and 

 damping down, in other words the provision of a suitable atmosphere, on 

 which more than anything else successful Orchid cultivation depends. We 

 now come to the selection of the most suitable plants, beginning with the 

 Cool house, which is the usual one with those who have only a single house 

 not divided into compartments. 



At the head of the list we should place Cypripedium insigne as the 

 amateur's Orchid par excellence. In fact we know of people who make no 

 pretence to be Orchid growers who yet cultivate this plant. We have seen 

 it thriving in an ordinary greenhouse, a vinery, or a stove, sometimes being 

 put into a shady cold frame during the summer months ; in ordinary com- 

 post, and invariably producing a crop of flowers when the autumn comes 

 round. We have even heard of its being successfully grown in a window 

 case. In fact it is very accommodating as regards treatment. And its 

 flowers are striking in shape, and excellent for cutting, as they last a long 

 time in water. Some of the best spotted varieties are very handsome, and 

 the yellow forms of which the original Sanderse is still the best, con- 

 trast with them very effectively. The upper part of the dorsal sepal is 

 almost invariably white, and the lower (except in the yellow varieties) 

 green, more or less heavily blotched with purple brown, the spots, however, 

 being clear purple when they extend into the white area. The pots should 

 be well drained, with a layer of moss over the crocks, and a mixture of 

 fibrous loam and peat, with a little silver sand and moss to keep it open, 

 forms an excellent compost. A few small lumps of charcoal may also be 

 added. The compost should be pressed in firmly among the roots, and only 

 moderately watered for a short time, but when established a liberal supply 

 of water should be given, especially during the growing season. 



No other species of Cypripedium thrives as well as C. insigne under cool 

 treatment, but C. villosum, C. Boxallii, and C. Spicerianum may be grown 

 in this house, though a warm and shady situation should be selected as far 



