SOME ORCHIDS AT KEW. 



"HE high prices formerly paid for 

 orchids drew attention to them, from 

 people knowing nothing of them and 

 latterly, as they are becoming familiar 

 from exhibition^ and extended cultivation, they at- 

 tract for their own sake. Collections worth thousands 

 of pounds are the pride of many gentlemen in Eng- 

 land, but the finest collection in the country is that at 

 the Royal Botanical Garden at Kew, on the Thames, 

 in the southern outskirt of London. This is the 

 richest institution of the kind in the world, embracing 

 75 acres, and open gratuitously to the public every 

 day in the week. Special pride is taken in the 

 palms, ferns and orchids. Of the last some of the 

 most notable are the following : 



Lalia pitinila var. 

 Day ana. The laelia 

 family is highly valu- 

 ed on account of its 

 magnificent fl ow a r s. 

 Such species as L. 

 elegatis, L. superhicns 

 and others of the same 

 type are the most 

 common in gardens. 



The subject of this 

 note is of quite a dif- 

 ferent character. It 

 is a charming plant, j 

 though small. It is a p 

 native of Brazil, and 

 may easily be recog- 

 nized by its dwarf 

 habit. The rhizomes 

 are produced rather 

 high above the sur- 

 face of the soil ; num- 

 erous pseudo-b u 1 b s 

 are given off from 

 them, the largest not 

 measuring more than 

 an inch and a half in 

 ength and about half 

 an inch in thickness. 



The leaves are two to three-inches long, and not quite an 

 inch in width. The flowers, as in the case of all the 

 laslias, are produced from the apex of the pseudo-bulb 

 from each growth, on a pedicel or flower stem two 

 inches long. The sepals and petals are of a rich mauve 

 color, each about two inches in length and curling back- 

 ward. The lip is bell-shaped and very handsome ; the 

 body of it is dark purple, except just at the point where 



L.ILIA PUMILA 



it meets the sepals and petals, where it is of the same 

 color as these : the inner portion of it is very striking, 

 being prettily striped with rose and purple toward the 

 sides, while on the bottom there are five raised ridges, 

 dark crimson in hue, and contrasting in fine style with 

 the other colors. 



This orchid may be successfully grown in an ordinary 

 cattleya house, kept at a temperature not lower than 55° 

 Fahr. during the cold months. The plants thrive in a 

 good compost of peat fibre, sphagnum moss, and brok- 

 en pots. They may be watered freely while growing, 

 but as the bulbs begin to ripen, the amount of water 

 given must be reduced, else the plants will be unduly 

 excited into premature growth, and the flowers will be 

 injured. Water may be entirely withheld during Nov- 

 ember, December and January, by which time the 



plants will be making 

 vigorous growth. It 

 is a bad plan to dis- 

 turb them except 

 when to do so is com- 

 pulsory ; therefore, I 

 would recommend 

 orchid growers care- 

 fully to top-dress 

 their plants occasion- 

 ally ; then they can 

 "■^ dispense with repot- 



" - ting for a consider- 



^n^^ able time, and the 

 - ?^^4S>» plants will be bene- 

 ^ fitted to no small ex- 

 ^va^K^£^'^ tent. 

 - Trichosina siiavis is 



a useful orchid, and 

 can be easily grown 

 in the cool house. 

 It is a native of Bra- 

 zil, of distinct habit. 

 The leaves spring 

 from a rhizome ; the 

 leaf-stalks are about 

 six inches long and at 

 the ends bear two 

 leaves from four to 

 six inches long and of a yellowish green color. The 

 flower-spike is produced from between the two leaves, 

 each spike bearing six or eight flowers, sweet scented, 

 as the specific name implies. The flowers are of a some- 

 what creamy white color, much like those'of Ca^logyne 

 ociilaia in shape, but slightly smaller. The lip is very 

 handsome and of the same color as the body of the 

 flower, and barred with a rich chocolate color. This 



