JH1-: ORCHID WORLD. 
[Marcli, 1913. 
ORCHIDS FOR AMATEURS. 
CYMBIDIUMS may well take an 
honoured place in the amateur's col- 
lection. Their elegant foliage and 
general statel)- appearance leaves little to be 
desired, and their culture is b\- no means diffi- 
cult ; as a matter of fact, the\- have been seen 
growing vigorously m houses which at first 
sight seem quite unsuitable for Orchid cul- 
ture. No amateur need hesitate to acquire a 
representative selection from this genus, for 
whether they be species or h) brids, almost all 
give excellent results in the production of 
long-lasting flowers. 
In the way of potting material no difficulties 
will be encountered, almost an}- open compost 
will suit their requirements. Naturally, one 
desires to know which is the Dest material to 
use in order to obtain the finest results ; a 
mixture of about one-half good fibrous loam 
and the other half rough peat or osmunda 
fibre is quite suitable. The old compost from 
Cattleyas and Odontoglossums, so long as it 
IS not too rotten, ma\- be saved for working 
in with the C\mbidium mixture, and some 
slight saving in the cost of potting material is 
an item well worth\- of the small amateur's 
attention. Sphagnum moss is not really 
necessary, but when a plentiful suppl}- can be 
obtained its use is frequently beneficial during 
the hottest and driest days of summer, when 
its moisture holding nature assists in keeping 
the compost in a suitabh- moist condition 
Cymbidiums are coarse rooting plants and 
require large pots for the accommodation of 
their roots. \\ hen so treated the plants make 
rapid headway, and large specimens are 
rapidl\- produced. No doubt the finest flower- 
ing results are obtained when a strong plant 
has practically filled its pot with roots, and so 
vigorous is this root action that it is often 
found impossible to repot the plant without 
breaking the old pot and removing the pieces 
separatel}. 
Cymbidiums are among the few Orchids 
\\hich ma\- receive weak supplies of liquid 
manure without detrimental effect. But even 
with these plants careful attention is always 
required to see that they do not suffer from 
too strong a dose or too frequent application. 
Plants which have been recently potted never 
require this extra stimulation ; it is only those 
that have completely filled their pots with 
roots and need some nutriment to take the 
place of the exhausted compost. Manurial 
aid often produces \er)- vigorous growth 
during one season, often making the plant 
overgrow itself, with the inevitable result that 
diminutive growth is made during the follow- 
ing season. Oftentimes the plant is poisoned, 
and reco\ er\- well nigh hopeless. 
The following species are quite suitable for 
cool house treatment: — C. eburneum, a beau- 
tiful North Indian plant with creamy-white 
flowers borne on erect stems ; giganteum, an 
elegant species from the same country, and 
having long spikes of yellowish-green flowers 
striped with reddish-brown ; grand iflorum, 
also known as Hookerianum, a magnificent 
plant from the Himalayas, the flowers of 
which are very large, with green sepals and 
petals, and the immense lip yellow marked 
with red and crimson-purple. Lowianum is a 
Burmese species, somewhat similar to- gigan- 
teum ; the front lobe of the hp has a crimson 
blotch, but this is absent in the variety known 
as concolor ; tigrinum comes from Moulmein, 
and has olive-green sepals and petals, the lip 
marked with white and purple. Tracyanum 
is a native of Burma and is in every way a 
most desirable species ; the large flower has 
an elegant hair\' lip 
Coelogyne cristata is known to all 
Orchidists, \ et there ma\- be a few amateurs 
who have not so far included this North 
Indian species in their collection. The plant 
has the peculiar habit of crowding its bulbs to 
a remarkable degree, these frequently grow- 
ing one upon another until an almost solid 
mass is produced. The best flowering results 
are always obtained when the plant reaches 
this congested state, and has had but little 
root disturbance. As this species is so 
plentiful and, consequently, of comparative 
cheapness, there is no need to attempt its 
propagation by repeated division of the plant. 
The most satisfactory method of culture 
