6 



OECHIDS. 



the broken potsherds should be washed : after this is done, 

 select a pot according to the size of the plant ; do not give 

 them too much pot room. Some plants will require shift- 

 ing once a-year; others it will not be necessary to shift 

 oftener than once in two or three years : but if a plant 

 become sickly or soddened with wet, the best way to bring 

 it into a healthy state is to turn it out of the pot or basket, 

 and wash the roots carefully with some clean water, cutting 

 off such of the fibres as are dead ; then to repot it, not 

 giving it much water till ^the plant begins to make fresh 

 roots. The best pots are those in ordinaiy use. Some 

 employ slate pots, but they are not, in my opinion, so good 

 for Orchids as those made of clay. 



In potting large plants, there should be a small pot 

 turned upside down in the bottom of the large one ; then 

 fill in with potsherds or charcoal broken up into pieces, 

 about two inches square for large plants ; — smaller plants 

 should not have pieces so large ; then introduce potsherds 

 till within three or four inches of the rim, and afterwards 

 put on a layer of moss to prevent the peat from impeding 

 the drainage, and to let the water pass off quickly. This 

 is of great importance, and if it is not attended to the water 

 will jecome stagnant, and the soil sodden, which is fatal to 

 the growth of the plant. The grand point to be observed 

 in the successful culture of Orchids, as well as of other 

 plants, is good drainage ; without that it is hopeless to try 

 to keep the plants long in a healthy condition. The best 

 material for potting the different kinds of epiphytes in is 

 good, rough, fibrous peat and sphagnum moss ; after the 

 layer of moss is applied, then fill up with peat. This 

 should be broken into lumps about the size of a hen's egg : 

 I always use broken potsherds or charcoal mixed with the 

 peat. The plant should be elevated above the rim of the 

 pot two or three inches, taking care to have all the pseudo- 



