ORCHID ACM. 



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for the extreme beauty of its leaves, which look like rich 

 velvet, embroidered with metallic colours in a kind of net- 

 work. A. setaceus has leaves of velvet of a dark green hue, 

 covered with golden network of great beauty. A. Lohbianus 

 has leaves of a similar colour and character, but, in addition, 

 they are ornamented with a broad line of gold down the 

 centre; the striking appearance of the leaves renders the 

 small white flowers insignificant. These plants flourish best 

 in a mixture of moss and turfy peat, well drained by pieces 

 of broken pots placed at the bottom of the shallow pans in 

 which they are grown : they require heat, moisture, and 

 shade, and when even these requisites are obtained, they 

 flourish still more by having a bell-glass over them, but 

 this must be occasionally wiped, or tilted on one side, to 

 allow the superabundant moisture to evaporate. The roots 

 are increased by division. 



There is another genus very similar to the above, named 

 Dossinia, of which the species marmorata is equally striking 

 and beautiful ; the velvet leaves are not green, but copper- 

 coloured, with the veins of a golden hue ; it is a native of 

 the Indian Archipelago, and requires similar treatment to the 

 species of Ancectochilus which are cultivated in this country. 



