QO 



THE ORCHID WORLD. 



[January, 191 5. 



characterised by its roundish, compressed 

 pseudo-bulbs, each bearing a single dull 

 green leaf about a foot or more long, very 

 leathery and thick m texture, channelled 

 above and prominently keeled beneath. As 

 a rule, from fifteen to twenty flowers are 

 borne on a long, more or less branched, 

 arching scape during the winter months, a 

 season when their appearance is very 

 acceptable. We once had an imported plant 

 in our nursery having an arching spike of 

 4/2 feet long, bearing as many as forty- 

 four flowers, the lips of which were each 

 quite two inches across and of a deep golden- 

 yellow, with a reddish-brown blotch on each 

 side at the base. The reflexed and wavy 

 sepals and petals are greenish-yellow, heavily 

 marked with large transverse blotches of rich 

 purple-brown, thus presenting a remarkable 

 contrast to the striking colour of the lip. 



The successful cultivation of On. splen- 

 didum is a little troublesome to some 

 amateurs, who find that when the pseudo- 

 bulbs have made about half their growth 

 they suddenly begin to lose their plumpness, 

 become watery, and at length rotten. We 

 have come to the conclusion that these plants 

 do not require such a large quantity of water 

 during the growing season as is generally 

 prescribed for them. When it is considered 

 that the pseudo-bulbs and leaves are very 

 thick and fleshy, and constantly contain 

 abundance of moisture, it stands to reason 

 that if too much water be given, the tissues 

 become gorged and cannot perform their 

 natural functions, with the result that the 

 water becomes decomposed and the pseudo- 

 bulbs prematurely decay. This evil might, 

 however, be avoided by means of a dr\- 

 atmosphere, as evaporation could then go on ; 

 but this process is rendered impossible in an 

 atmosphere already heavily laden with 

 moisture. We therefore recommend for this 

 species a tolerably warm and dry atmosphere, 

 as much light as possible, and a moderate 

 supply of water during the growing season. 

 When this is at an end a cooler temperature 

 will help to mature the growths, which if well 

 developed ought to produce a crop of flowers 

 presenting an aspect difficult to surpass. 



AERIDES. 



THE elegant drooping racemes of 

 fragrant, wax-like flowers, and the 

 comparative facility with which the 

 spccies can be cultivated in the glass-houses 

 of Europe, have always secured for Aerides a 

 large amount of favour from Orchid 

 amateurs, so that in most collections the 

 genus IS represented by its most admired 

 species. From a botanical point of view, 

 however, it must be admitted that a more 

 perplexing genus as regards the limitation 

 of species is scarcely to be found throughout 

 the Orchideas, for it includes an unknown 

 number of " forms," some of them perhaps 

 natural hybrids, which m many instances 

 approach each other so closely that it is 

 extremely difficult to define clearly the 

 differences that separate them, or to determine 

 the specific characters by which the one may 

 be distinguished from the other, if species 

 they are, but nevertheless showing some 

 characteristic in habit, in the inflorescence, 

 or in the colour of the flowers, by which they 

 are recognised as distinct by horticulturists. 

 Many of these " forms " fall naturally into 

 groups, each of which is represented by a 

 well-recognised species that may be regarded 

 as the type of the group ; Aerides odoratum, 

 A. multiflorum and A. falcatum are instances 

 of such ; around each of these well-marked 

 species may be grouped a number of forms 

 that can only be distinguished from the 

 type by characters of scarcely sufficient value 

 to be considered specific. 



The essential characters of Aerides may be 

 thus expressed : — 



The sepals are spreading, the lateral two 

 broader than the upper one, and adnate at 

 their base to the foot of the column. 



The petals are similar to the upper sepal, 

 rarely different. 



The labellum is affixed to the foot of the 

 column, is three-lobed, and produced into a 

 spur that is usually turned upwards on the 

 back of the labellum. 



The column is short and thickish, produced 

 more or less at its base into a foot ; the 

 anther is beaked. 



