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XL. Method of Cultivating the North American and other 

 hardy Orchideous Plants. In a Letter to the Secretary. 

 By Mr. Stewart Murray, Corresponding Member of the 

 Horticultural Society of London, Curator of the Botanic 

 Garden at Glasgow. 



Read February 7th, 1826. 



Sir, 



I have much pleasure in complying with your request, that 

 I would communicate to the Horticultural Society a descrip- 

 tion of the mode I have adopted in this Garden for the culti- 

 vation of hardy Orchideous Plants, which you appeared so 

 much to approve, when you visited Glasgow last autumn. 



About the middle of February last, I made choice of a well 

 sheltered border, nearly the lowest in the garden, and facing 

 towards the south. The original soil was first taken out 

 to the depth of sixteen inches, and a wooden frame fixed in 

 the border ; this was twenty-two feet long, nine feet and a 

 half wide, two feet and a half high at the back, and fifteen 

 inches high in front. Moveable glass lights were fitted to 

 cover it. The inside of the frame was then filled to the 

 ground level, with a compost made of the following materials : 

 one-third of leaf mould, one-third of turfy peat recently 

 taken from the moors and partly full of the roots and stems 

 of the common heaths ; the remaining third was composed, 

 half of Sphagnum and half of sand. The whole was well broken 

 and mixed together, but not riddled. The roots were then 



vol. vi. 3 G 



