40 
THE ORCHID WORLD. 
[Xovember, 1912. 
filled their pots with roots and will require 
further attention. Although no plant should 
remain for long in a starved condition there 
is undoubtedly a season for every Orchid 
when this operation of re-potting may be 
best accomplished. 
For the most successful cultivation of 
Odontoglossum crispum the plants should be 
divided into two sections, according to their 
size. All plants m less than four inch pots 
should be cultivated under "growing" con- 
ditions, and those in larger pots under 
" flowering " conditions. Some further ex- 
planation is probably needed. Small plants 
are of little utility, either for sale or for pro- 
viding flower ; these must, therefore, be grown 
on as rapidly as possible. Large plants are 
expected to yield decorative results, and the 
treatment accorded should be such that 
every encouragement is given them to produce 
good spikes of flower, and these of lasting 
quality and good substance. 
The growing treatment. The potting 
material should be fairly loose, and consist 
of about one half of either peat, osmunda, 
A.I. fibre, or polypodium, or a mixture of 
several is somewhat better, and about one 
quarter sphagnum moss and one quarter oak 
or beech leaves. The whole should be 
thoroughly mixed and chopped up ; a good 
method is to run it through a chaff-cutter. 
This compost should be lightly worked in to 
within about half an inch of the top of the 
pot, the surface may be either trimmed with 
a pair of scissors or else covered with a layer 
of finely chopped sphagnum moss. By 
damping the compost before use it will be 
found to be much more pliable and less likely 
to damage the tender roots of the plant. 
The potted plants should be placed in a 
shady house where there is an abundance of 
moisture and a minimum temperature of 50 
degrees. If the leaves assume a bronze or 
purple tint it is a sign that they are receiving 
too much sunshine. Plants which are grown 
in an airy and bright position ripen their bulbs 
to such a degree that they become hard, and 
make very slow growth afterwards. The 
floor, staging and all exposed material in the 
house should be frequently damped down ; 
and on all favourable occasions the plants 
should be lightly syringed overhead. Any 
flower spikes should be pinched out as soon 
as they appear, but if the owner is very 
anxious to see the variety of the plant, then 
the flower spike may be disbudded, leaving 
only one or, at the most, two buds. By this 
method of cultivation the plants will make 
three bulbs, each one considerably larger than 
the last, in the course of two years. 
The flowering conditions are somewhat 
more easily maintained, for the pots, being 
larger, will require less water, and the atmo- 
sphere need not contain quite such a constant 
supply of moisture. The compost must be 
of a firmer and more substantial nature, one 
that will last a year, or in the case of very 
large plants two years. The difficulty of 
obtaining really good peat is yearly increas- 
ing ; its place has, however, been taken by 
other materials which yield excellent results. 
In the majority of collections these results are 
considerably better, and there is no doubt that 
much of the improvement in the cultivation 
of this species is due to the more suitable 
composts which are now obtainable. 
There are one or two methods of potting 
that have given excellent results and leave 
little room for further experimentation. 
Break or cut the peat or other fibre in lumps 
about the size of hen's eggs, and carefully 
shake out all surplus dust. After placing a 
few crocks at the bottom of the pot work in 
the lumps of fibre with a potting stick, using 
at the same time a liberal supply of sphagnum 
moss to fill up the crevices. 
Another method is to make a mixture of 
one half osmunda, one quarter polypodium, 
and one quarter sphagnum. This is used to 
fill up the larger part of the pot, the top inch 
or so of space being afterwards filled up with 
A. I. fibre and sphagnum moss fairly well 
compressed. Finally, the surface may be 
trimmed with a pair of scissors. This method 
has a very neat appearance and seems 
particularly beneficial to the young roots, 
which much dislike entering a rough, dry 
lump of osmunda fibre. When, however, the 
osmunda lumps are beneath the surface they 
rarely become so dry as to be distasteful to 
