I02 



THE ORCHID WORLD. 



[February, 1915. 



column yellow, the under side much spotted. 

 From Mr. A. W. Jensen, Lindfield, Haywards 

 Heath, comes a peculiar form of Odonto- 

 glossum crispum having four sepals and five 

 petals, while the column carries three anther 

 caps, each complete with the usual amount of 

 pollen. Capt. Robert G. E. Twiss, Birdhill, 

 Limerick, sends two distinct varieties of the 

 elegant Cypripedium Hitchinsiae (Charles- 

 worthii X msigne), in which the broad dorsal 

 sepal IS white, with rose ■ spotting ; also 

 Cypripedium Leeanum Albertianum, one of 

 the best varieties of this hybrid, and of 

 special interest on account of the tendency it 

 has of producing twm-flowered spikes, one 

 plant in the Birdhill collection having this 

 season produced ten such examples, a fact 

 well worthy of being placed on record. 



PLEIONES. 



THE Pleiones are alpine plants, inhabit- 

 ing the lower and middle Himalayan 

 zones, where they have a vertical 

 range of 2,500-10,000 feet, also the summits 

 of the Khasia Hills and the mountains of 

 Arracan and Moulmein at 3,000-7,000 feet 

 elevation. Most of the species are abundant 

 in their respective habitats, grow'ing on moss- 

 covered rocks and banks and covering the 

 lower part of the trunks of lofty trees, 

 sometimes 111 partial shade, sometimes fully 

 exposed. As horticultural plants they are 

 highly valued on account of the brilliant 

 effect produced by masses of their delicately- 

 coloured flowers in the autumn and winter 

 months ; the flowers are, however, of 

 comparative short duration. 



Pleiones in their native habitats live under 

 climatic and other conditions which, with the 

 exception of temperature, cannot be even 

 approximately imitated artificially. The 

 following method is, in a great measure, 

 founded upon experience derived from 

 observation of the behaviour of the plants 

 under the altered conditions of their environ- 

 ment in glass-houses. 



The pseudo-bulbs should be re-potted 

 about a fortnight after they have flowered, 



that is to say, set in shallow pans in a compost 

 of two-thirds fibrous peat and one-third 

 chopped sphagnum to which a little leaf- 

 mould and sand should be added. Some 

 growers prefer a smaller proportion of peat 

 and substitute fibrous loam with a small 

 quantity of dried cow manure. The pans 

 should be filled to within one-half of their 

 depth with broken crocks for drainage, upon 

 which it is usual to place a layer of sphagnum 

 for the two-fold purpose of keeping the 

 compost damp and preventing its sifting 

 through the drainage. The remainder of the 

 pan should be filled to withm half an inch of 

 the rim with compost, in which the bulbs 

 should be placed with their roots half an inch 

 below the surface ; the spaces between the 

 bulbs, and between them and the rim, should 

 be covered with sphagnum for retaining 

 moisture. 



The pans should then be suspended near 

 the roof-glass of any house in which an 

 intermediate temperature is maintained, and 

 water withheld till the plants commence 

 growing, or given only in sufficient quantity 

 to keep the surface sphagnum alive. As the 

 roots and foliage develop the waterings must 

 be more frequent and more copious, and may 

 be supplemented occasionally by a little weak 

 liquid manure. Pleione lagenaria, P. praecox 

 and its variety Wallichiana, may then have a 

 light position in the Cattleya house. P. 

 Reichenbachiana and P. maculata require 

 a little more heat. P. humilis and P. 

 Hookeriana, coming from a high alpine 

 region, should be placed close to a ven- 

 tilator or in a cooler house. When the 

 foliage begins to turn yellow, the waterings 

 must be diminished in frequency and quantity 

 till only sufficient is given to keep the bulbs 

 plump. While in flower Pleiones may be 

 kept in the Cattleya house or in the cool 

 house, provided the temperature does not fall 

 below 45 degrees Fahr. 



Mr. R. a. Rolfe.— The Kew Bulletin 

 notifies the appointment of Mr. Rolfe to the 

 grade of Assistant, First Class, in the 

 Herbarium, Kew, with effect from November 

 6th last. 



