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THE ORCHID WORLD. 



[February, 1915- 



CULTURE NOTES. 



WITH the month of February comes 

 a decided and welcome improve- 

 ment in the amount of daylight, 

 the additional two or three hours a day 

 having a great effect on the plants, which are 

 recommencing activity and striving to 

 recuperate themselves after the unsuitable 

 winterly weather. Many of the small, 

 unflowered seedlings have already made pro- 

 minent new growths, which are a sure sign 

 that attention to their rooting accommodation 

 IS needed, for no check should ever be 

 allowed these tender subjects. Although a 

 clean pot should be selected, it is not always 

 necessary to use a larger one, for by sub- 

 stituting new compost for some of the old 

 decayed matter ample rooting material will 

 be furnished for several months to come. 

 Much damage to the health of the seedlings 

 IS often done by attempting their cultivation 

 in over large pots. An excessive amount of 

 compost IS just as harmful to a plant as a 

 superabundant supply of food is injurious 

 to an animal ; the best results are always 

 obtained when the needs are moderately met. 



All seedling Orchids require a light com- 

 post, one in which soft fibre, living sphagnum 

 moss, and a few chopped leaves form the 

 principal ingredients. Such a mixture can 

 be easily worked in around the tender roots 

 with a pointed stick, while the surface may be 

 either trimmed with a pair of scissors or 

 covered with a layer of living sphagnum 

 moss. As seedlings are more or less m 

 growth throughout the whole year no definite 

 season for re-pottmg can be stated, but the 

 plants should be looked over every two or 

 three weeks, and all that are ready for atten- 

 tion should receive it without unnecessary 

 delay. Where a large number exist it will 

 be found a good plan to place all the newly- 

 potted ones in a separate place, where they 

 may receive the necessary treatment to 

 encourage rapid growth. Some of the 

 quicker growing hybrids, more especially 

 those of the long-bulbed section, require 

 re-pottmg every six or nine months, and often 

 reach the flowering stage in about four years. 



When once the plants are large enough to 

 flower freely they should be potted m firmer 

 material, using good lasting fibre, and with 

 perhaps less moss and leaves m the compost. 

 Their season of growth will fall into regular 

 periods, with short and necessary intervals of 

 rest. 



Oftentimes the slender bulbs, over-weighted 

 by their comparatively heavy leaves, bend 

 over and twist the basal portion, so that the 

 buds situated thereon are unable to produce 

 their new growth in a natural position. 

 Whenever the young bulbs show signs of 

 weakness m this respect one or more thin 

 sticks should be placed about the middle of 

 the plant, and each bulb neatly supported, 

 always taking care that ever)- leaf stands 

 quite clear of its neighbour. It is surprising 

 how this simple operation smartens up the 

 look of the whole house, and imparts quite a 

 professional appearance ; the plants look 

 taller, and are m every way improved. 



Something may here be said on the method 

 of arranging the plants on the staging, for 

 expert growers do not entirely agree on 

 which is the best plan. Some advocate 

 placing the largest plants at the back, with 

 the smaller ones in front, which certainly 

 allows ample freedom for the watering pot 

 and gives the attendant every chance to 

 rapidly glance over the batch and pick out 

 any requiring attention, but it has the dis- 

 advantage of causing the large plants to be 

 too near the roof glass, where they are likely 

 to be effected by extremes of temperature, 

 and the little ones too far from it, so that 

 they become drawn and weakly. The reverse 

 method, placing the smaller pots at the back 

 and the larger ones in front, certainly allows 

 every plant to be at a uniform distance from 

 the sloping roof glass, although it has the 

 disadvantage of putting the smallest seedlings 

 where they are least able to be seen and 

 often near the hot-water pipes that cause the 

 adjacent atmosphere to be unreasonably dry 

 and hot. The third method, which appears 

 to be by far the most reasonable, consists of 

 sorting out the plants into various batches, 

 according to their size ; the smallest can 

 then be arranged in neat rows on a portion of 



