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THE ORCHID WORLD. 



[October, 1913. 



There are only three kinds more for me to 

 mention. The charming white Cephalan- 

 thera pallens grows in goodly numbers in 

 open situations, and not in its usual habitat 

 under trees. The Green Man, Aceras 

 anthropophora, is rather rare, but when found 

 forms large patches generally. I also found 

 the White Butterfly, Platanthera chlorantha, 

 but in a locality not hitherto recorded, on Cap 

 Corse, for Briquet says it is only to be founti 

 in the Forest of Aitone, many, many miles 

 away. Many botanists know of the island's 

 rich exotic flora, of almost tropical luxuriance, 

 but not much has been written of Corsica's 

 Orchids, so I hope these notes of what 1 

 personally noticed will be of use. 



ORCHIDS FOR AMATEURS. 



OCTOBER may well be called the month 

 of Cypripediums, for they are now 

 making their finest display. Of the 

 first few plants purchased by amateurs one 

 is almost sure to be a Cypripedium, and it 

 would oftentimes be far better if these 

 easily-grown plants formed the greater part 

 of the collection during the first twelve 

 months. Amateurs so often purchase plants 

 that are difficult to cultivate, even in the hands 

 of experts, and the failure that nearly always 

 results is quite disappointing enough to so 

 discourage the young beginner that the 

 growing of Orchids is cast on one side as 

 being both expensive and unsuitable, except 

 to only a few possessing elaborate houses 

 and plenty of labour. 



Now Cypripediums are no more difficult 

 to grow than ordinary greenhouse plants, and 

 anyone having a small glass structure in 

 which the atmosphere can be kept moist, and 

 with fairly certain means of maintaining a 

 genial temperature of about 50 degrees, will 

 be fully rewarded for the small amount of 

 trouble which he will find necessary to 

 produce good results. Even in the severest 

 weather these plants are safer than many 

 others. With a night temperature as low as 

 40 degrees no harm will come to many a 

 variety, and we may even go so far as to 

 say that there are hundreds of varieties which 



will pass safely through a' winter's night if 

 only the frost is kept out of the house, and 

 the atmosphere in not too moist a condition. 

 This is more than can be said of many other 

 greenhouse plants. 



Of course, the writer is fully aware that 

 there are many varieties of Cypripediums 

 which require a minimum temperature of 50, 

 or even more, degrees to keep them i*n the 

 best of health, but there is no need for the 

 amateur just commencing the cultivation of 

 Orchids to purchase these heat-loving kinds, 

 especially while there are numerous varieties 

 quite suitable to his modest requirements. 



Many remarkable specimens have been 

 grown in vineries, fruit-houses, and ordinary 

 greenhouses used for the wintering of general 

 out-door bedding plants. One sometimes 

 thinks that these structures are more suitable 

 than specially built houses, but this may be 

 on account of the large amount of moisture 

 almost always to be found in them. 

 Amateurs must not forget that Cypripediums 

 are terrestrial in habit ; that is, they grow 

 naturally on the ground where there is 

 usually plenty of moisture. The chief fault 

 to be noticed when an amateur is just 

 commencing Orchid culture is that he keeps 

 his plants much too dry, and even when he 

 has a house specially set apart for the 

 cultivation of Cypripediums there is often 

 the same defect. He is afraid to over-water 

 the plants, and, consequently, they do not 

 thrive so well as when grown along with 

 geraniums, etc., in an ordinary house that is 

 continually damp. Those amateurs who have 

 gained further experience by visiting some of 

 the large collections will recollect how moist 

 the Cypripedium house was kept by frequent 

 damping down of the floor and syringing the 

 staging and in between the pots. Here again 

 we may remark how much more may be 

 learnt by practical experience than by pages 

 of reading. 



Our illustration shows a well-flowered plant 

 of Cypripedium insigne carrying 26 blooms. 

 That this plant is exceptionally well-grown 

 will be readily admitted, but it is quite 

 possible, and, in fact, no difficult task, for an 

 amateur to produce similar specimens in 



