28o 



THE ORCHID WORLD. 



[September, 191 5. 



fingers, but press it towards the plant with 

 tlie pottmg-stick, and pot moderatel)' soft, 

 witli the aim of keeping the compost open. 

 Finish by top dressing with freshly gathered 

 sphagnum moss, which greatly encourages 

 root action. The pots should be clean and 

 well laid with crocks, upon which a few peat 

 roots may be placed. Do not make the 

 common mistake of using too large a pot, err 

 rather on the small side. 



Speaking generally, damping down should 

 be carried out two or three times a da\-. 

 Spra\ ing the plants will also pro\"e beneficial. 

 In ventilating the house alwa\-s start with the 

 bottom ventilators, and when the temperature 

 increases the top ones may be used ; a 

 draughty condition must be carefully avoided. 

 Keep the temperature as near 55 degrees as 

 possible. To have a free circulation of air 

 round the pots do not overcrowd, and always 

 stage the plants with the young growths 

 facing the light. It is also advantageous to 

 raise the plants on what is called a dummy 

 stage, thereby ensuring a circulation of air 

 round the lx)ttom of the pots, which assists in 

 keeping the compost sweet. 



PLATYCLINIS GLUMACEA. 



Illustration on page 282. 



ALTHOL'Gil the individual flowers are 

 small, the immense number produced 

 on a single spike renders this species 

 particularly useful, for when well grown man)- 

 spikes are borne. An intermediate house will 

 suit it admirabl)-, and large pans will be found 

 more suitable than deep pots. The yellowish- 

 wlutc flowers, usually borne in March and 

 April, emit a most delightful fragrance, which 

 is noticeable at some distance from the plant. 



This graceful evergreen species was 

 discovered by Cumings in the Philippine 

 Islands, and was sent by him to Messrs. 

 Loddiges, in w^hose nursery it flowered for the 

 first time in 1841. The variety valida is 

 distinguished by having much broader leaves; 

 it is also spring-flowering and sweetly scented. 



OnciJium Cavendishianum. 



ONCIDIUM CAVENDISHIANUM. 



THIS plant was discovered by Mr. G. 

 Ure Skinner in the neighbourhood of 

 the city of Guatemala, and was one 

 of the first Orchids sent to England by this 

 collector, it being included in a consignment 

 received by ]Mr. Bateman at Kn)-persley in 

 1835. A few years later plants were sent by 

 Mr. Parkinson, the British Consul in Mexico, 

 to the Woburn collection, where one of them 

 flowered in 1841, and from that time to the 

 present frequent mention is made of it in the 

 horticultural periodicals. It was collected by 

 Roezl in 1875 near Colima, in the Alexican 

 provinces of ]\Iichoacan, thus indicating that 

 it is spread over a considerable area in the 

 neighbourhood of the Pacific coast. 



O. Cavendishianum is one of a small group 

 distinguished by the absence of pseudo-bulbs 

 and by their large, thick leathery leaves. It 

 was named by Mr. Bateman in compliment to 

 the then Duke of Devonshire, the most 

 munificent patron of horticulture of his 

 time, and under whom Sir Joseph Paxton 

 commenced the modern system of Orchid 

 culture at Chatsworth. Its usual flowering 

 season is April and May. The strong spikes 

 are from 2-3 feet high, terminating in a 

 many-flowered panicle. The fragrant flowers 

 are about i h inches 111 diameter ; sepals and 

 petals sometimes wholly )-ellow, sometimes 

 }-ellow-green spotted with red ; the labellum 

 bright yellow ; column wmgs yellow spotted 

 with red. It succeeds well in an inter- 

 mediate house, and requires plenty of 

 atmospheric moisture. 



