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when judged from the 'standpoint of an European orchid grower 

 who has the all important factors to good cultivation under direct 

 control, such as heat, moisture, and insect pests. Theoretically it 

 docs seem that there should be no difficulty in growing orchids here, 

 especially those that occur wild at low elevations in this region, or 

 that come from regions having a similar climate, equally well if not 

 better than is done in glass houses in Europe, but that such is not 

 the case, with a very few exceptions, nobody who has had expe- 

 rience of the work under both conditions will deny. I have in my 

 time seen several botanic gardens, including those of the Mauritius, 

 Peridenia, Buitenzorg, and Calcutta, all of which have a worldwide 

 reputation for their collections of plants, but I can truly say that in 

 none have I seen even the species that are found wild within a mile 

 or two of the gardens equal to plants of the same kind when grown 

 under glass in Europe. I have also seen dozens of private and 

 trade collections in the East and of those I can only say the same. 

 The family is such an immense one, and varying so much in then- 

 requirements, that it is impossible to give detailed instructions ap- 

 plicable to all. One has but to take up any of the numerous books 

 on the subject written by experts to realise how wide is the field. I 

 propose at the present to deal with only one genus, that of Calanthe, 

 because they are easily obtainable and there is at the present time, 

 and has been for some weeks past, a considerable show of these in 

 the Pinang Botanic Gardens which have 4 caused much interest. 

 There are two distinct sections of this melius one with evergreen 

 leaves, and the other deciduous, with pseudobulbs ; the flowers of 

 the latter appearing when the leaves turn yellow or are entirely 

 absent. All the species succeed with comparative ease in this 

 climate but the system of cultivation to be followed is not the same 

 in both sections. In the evergreen section we have at present in 

 flower 4 spectes ; Calanthe veratrifolia, with white flowers, C. Cur- 

 culigoides, yellow and orange, C. Cecilia, violet and white ; and an 

 apparently unnamed species (C. variabilis) with white sepals and 

 petals and a chrome coloured lip. All these require good soil 

 largely composed of decayed leaves and well rotten cow manure, 

 moderate shade, good drainage and an abundance of water. Under 

 these conditions they may, with the exception of C. curculigoides, 

 be had in flower nearly the whole vear through. The deciduous 

 ones require quite different treatment and only ilower once each 

 year, but with a good number of plants, and starting them into 

 growth at different times, the flowering season can be prolonged 

 over a period of several months. The best time for potting these 

 is when the young shoots are about an inch long and new roots are 

 being emitted at the base of the pseudo-bulb. They may be grown 

 in either pots or hanging baskets, or even in Coco-Xut-husks, in a 

 mixture of about two parts of leaf-mould to one of broken bricks 

 and old lime rubbish, with the addition of a little well decayed cow 

 or stable manure. Some plants grown in hanging pots in nothing 

 but the outer hard portion of Coco-Nut-husks chopped in small 

 pieces half an inch square have done very well, but with 

 such material manure water must be applied once a neck as 



