134 
THE ORCHID WORLD. 
a stunting effect, and m our short growing- 
season we must make the best use of the arti- 
ficial means at our disposal to procure all the 
growth possible consistent with good texture, 
and this calls for mature experience and good 
judgment. Some successful growers give 
much less ventilation in the warm departments 
than others, allowing instead a generous sup- 
ply of air at night when the weather is at all 
genial, and no doubt this method has much to 
recommend it. But to enter into that now will 
lead me into questions of culture that had 
better be discussed in detail another time, and 
in the meantime perhaps some of our growers 
will be good enough to give us their experi- 
ences in the matter. 
The shading of Odontoglossums calls into 
question the consideration of heat in another 
way, viz., how to keep it down during the 
summer. To grow Odontoglossums with any 
hope of getting the best out of them they must 
receive light during the autumn, the winter and 
the spring. During summer these plants (I 
am speaking of adult flowering plants) grow 
but little, and the growth they make during 
the hot weather is thin and watery, and wants 
discouraging. Odontoglossums flower for the 
most part in April, May and June, and will 
have made a growth of a few inches by August 
and September, when they are re-potted. 
They re-establish themselves quickly with the 
cooling season and the dewy nights, and grow 
steadily and sturdily all the winter, finishing 
their bulbs about February and March, when 
they begin to throw up their spikes ; and the 
quality of the inflorescence will depend upon 
the amount of light and fresh air they have 
received during these months. During the 
summer shading will have to be applied very 
effectively in an endeavour to keep the tem- 
perature down, and light during the hotter part 
of the day will become a secondary con- 
sideration. 
Dendrobiums are light and heat loving 
plants, and, v^'hile much discretion will have to 
be applied after re-potting in the spring, they 
will later enjoy an abundance of light, heat 
and atmospheric moisture to hasten their 
growth, and from the latter part of August — 
if healthy and well rooted — shading may 
be entirely dispensed with, applying full 
ventilation during the warm part of the day. 
Dendrobiums are mostly semi-deciduous, but 
at this period they will have plenty of foliage, 
which, under this treatment, will make a big 
appeal trj the roots, and the plants will now 
require more water at the roots than at any 
other time of the year. To give Dendrobes 
this treatment, and so get the best out of them, 
it is necessary to grow them in a house or 
division by themselves, or with plants that are 
heat loving and deciduous, or partly so, such 
as Thunias, Mormodes, Catasetums, and such- 
like. Ripening ^\•ith sun and air is a more 
natural and reasonable way and more effective 
than shading late into the autumn and then 
drying them off in a cool house. Bulbs that 
?re evidently half finished will make up well 
with short internodes, be thick and of fine 
ripened texture, will be floriferous, and break 
strongly and freely the ensuing season. 
Cypripediums, as a class, do with less light 
•and air than epiphytals, and are, with few 
exceptions, of easy cultivation. The warmer 
section enjoy plenty of heat, but light is of 
more importance to them all during the autumn 
and winter. They have no well defined period 
of rest, and grow very little during the very 
hot weather, but they make rapid progress 
from August onwards until they flower. Most 
growers find little diflficulty in growing them, 
for even in towns and smoky districts they are 
grown with much success ; but the first-class 
grower gets quite a different character into 
his flowers, particularly if he is favoured with 
natural advantages. 
Phalaenopsis are particularly sensitive to 
strong light, and require close shading from 
early spring until late autumn. They enjoy, 
however, plenty of solar heat, and should be 
so shaded as to be protected from the sun's 
rays without being deprived of its warmth. 
The kinds of shading in general use are 
wooden lath blinds and tiffany, or canvas of 
various thicknesses, and they may be said to 
enjoy equal popularity. The wooden blinds 
may fulfil the double purpose of shading dur- 
ing the day in summer and of giving protection 
from frost dliring the night in winter ; whereas 
the cloth blind does not lend itself so well for 
giving protection from cold, becoming quite 
unworkable when a frost follows rain. The 
