EASILY CULTIVATED ORCHIDS. 



159 



orchids, especially the terrestial species of strong growth . 

 The fibrous part must, however, in every case be separ- 

 ated from the pure earth, and that alone used. It is 

 therefore cheap- 

 er and less 

 troublesome to 

 obtain t h e best 

 fibrous loam to 

 start with. Sand 

 is not so much 

 used now as it 

 was some years 

 ago. Mixed with 

 peat and sphag- 

 num it has a ten- 

 dency to render 

 the whole com- 

 post too close 

 and hard for 

 most orchids and 

 to lose that 

 spongy character 

 which they so 

 much delight in. 

 It is useful, how- 

 ever, in all com- 

 posts o f which 

 loam forms a 

 part. The coars- 

 est variety of sil- 

 ver sand is the 

 best. 



It is a great ad- 

 vantage to be 

 able to always 

 use soft water for 

 watering and 

 syringing or- 

 chids. Where 

 that is not possi- 

 ble river or 

 spring water 

 should be stored 

 in opentanksand 

 exposed for at 

 least a day to the 

 atmosphere be- 

 fore using. For 

 the damping of 

 paths, walls, 

 stages, etc., any 

 kind of water, of 

 course, suffices. 



Perhaps to no 

 particular in or- 

 chid growing i s 

 so much of the 

 superiority of 

 modern growers over their forerunners due, as to the 

 better appreciation of the necessity of fresh air for their 



Fig. 2. Cypripedium Lath.^mianum. (See page 161. ) 



plants. Whilst it is important that sudden chills, 

 draughts and drying currents of air be avoided, it can- 

 not be too strongly laid down that a constant and plenti- 

 ful supply of 

 fresh air is abso- 

 lutely essential. 

 It is the best plan 

 to have, besides 

 the ordinary 

 movable sashes 

 on the roof, ven- 

 tilators that may 

 be opened and 

 shut at will let in 

 the walls near the 

 bottom so that 

 the air before 

 reaching the 

 plants is made to 

 pass over the 

 heating pipes. 

 Except during 

 the three or four 

 hottest months 

 we find these 

 bottom ventila- 

 tors are sufficient 

 to maintain a 

 good atmosphere 

 in all but the 

 coolest house. 



CYPRIPEDIUMS. 



At present no 

 genus of orchids 

 approaches the 

 lady slippers in 

 popularity, this 

 being due not 

 only to their 

 beauty and va- 

 riety, but in a 

 great measure to 

 the ease with 

 which they are 

 grown. There 

 are numer o u s 

 amateur collec- 

 tions around 

 London consist- 

 ing almostentire- 

 ly of this genus. 

 For t h e begin- 

 ner, there is none 

 so likely to give 

 complete satis- 

 faction. Most of 

 the species have 

 exceedingly handsome foliage, and being of robust, 

 healthy growth, and not deciduous, they have a pleasant 



