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jrOUBNAL OF THE EOYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



of good, coming as they do from high altitudes, where fresh air 

 is constant and pure both day and night. As evidence of the 

 hardiness of this Orchid, during the severe winter of 1894 I 

 remember on several occasions finding in the early morning 

 1 deg. and 2 deg. of frost in the house, the soil in the pots quite 

 crusted over, and the young growths black and drooping ; but a 

 sprinkling of cold water from a fine rose-can or syringe soon 

 restored the plants to their proper colour and firmness, care 

 being also taken not to let the sun shine on them for several 

 days. The boiler that was working the houses then was a little 

 beneath its work, consequently the Disa house only got a small 

 share of heat. But in that same year there were over forty spikes 

 of bloom, and some of the spikes had seven, eight, and nine 

 flowers upon them, proving that the low temperature did not 

 affect them in the least. 



Many times from December to February the house opens at 

 35 deg. Some growers are quite alarmed if the thermometer 

 falls below 48 deg. at night. But I am told that on the Table 

 Mountain frost is very prevalent, and I have found out from 

 experience that a little will not do them any harm, providing 

 the rhizome does not get frozen through, as it is of a fleshy 

 nature, and would soon perish. 



Treatment when in Bloom. 



The usual time for Disas to flower is in June and July. I 

 have had them out by the first week of the latter month, and 

 exhibited them at our local show the last day in August by 

 keeping them shaded from the sun, and in as cool a place as 

 possible. 



This shows what a most useful Orchid it is, as it lasts so 

 long, and comes into bloom at a time of the year when most of the 

 Orchidaceous plants are over, and are making then new pseudo- 

 bulbs for another season's work. 



If arranged with such things as Eulalias, Cyperus natalensis, 

 and Ferns, some on the staging and others elevated on pots, the 

 effect, when they are in bloom, is most lovely; and when a whole 

 group is seen in this way, it is a sight not easily forgotten. When 

 fully expanded they require keeping a little drier, both at the 

 roots and in the atmosphere ; but when the flowers are in the 

 bud state a slight spraying over once a day is most beneficial to 



