488 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



better. Mr. Lobb always said that one of the most striking sights 

 he could remember was seeing a number of soldiers marching down 

 from the hills with spikes of this beautiful Orchid entwining in their 

 head-dresses. 



Mr. W. Cobb asked whether an exception was not made with 

 regard to the apphcation of manures in the case of Cymbidiunis. 



Mr. Alexander replied that Cymbidiums certainly responded well 

 to the application of manure. 



Mr. McBean inquired at what time of year Mr. Alexander com- 

 menced to shade Vanda coerulea, and when he begun to expose them 

 to full light in the autumn. 



Mr. Alexander said that he usually found it necessary to afford 

 some shading towards the end of February, and did not expose the 

 plants to full light until about the end of September, or early part of 

 October. 



Mr.W. H. Hatcher asked what was the minimum winter tempera- 

 ture for Vanda coerulea at Westonbirt. 



Mr. Alexander said 50° during severe weather, when the moisture 

 must be kept in accordance with the heat, this being the most important 

 point. 



Mr. GuRNEY Wilson expressed the pleasure it had given him to 

 listen to the able paper just read, for he firmly believed the methods ad- 

 vocated were the best — as indeed they all must, when they remembered 

 the splendid health and vigour of the plants in the Westonbirt collection. 

 He thought all growers would reap better results if they studied more 

 carefully the various climates in which Orchids had been collected. 

 He felt sure Orchids grown under the conditions advised would with- 

 stand without injury a far wider range of temperature than that to 

 which they were usually exposed. One genus that had proved very 

 difEcult was Sobralia, and scarcely anyone had really succeeded with it. 



Mr. W. Cobb said that the Sobralias grew and flowered well in 

 his houses at Eusper, where they were grown in the Odontoglossum 

 house on the top centre stage. They Vv^ere reported every two years. 



The Chairman, in winding up the discussion, said it seemed to 

 him that one of the causes of failure among ordinary growers was 

 that they tried to grow different kinds of Orchids in one house. The 

 result was that if a particular method of cultivation was used, certain 

 kinds would go forward while others would go backward. He thought 

 the whole course of that most interesting paper was to point to the 

 fact that they ought to try and take up smaller subjects and do them 

 thoroughly well, according to the advice given them. He had 

 himself some very large plants of Sobralia, which grew all the year 

 round, and he never could give them a time of rest. If Mr. 

 Alexander could have told them how he would suggest to keep 

 back the growth of tlie Sobralias he should have been very much 

 obliged to him. Meanwhile, on behalf of that Conference of the 

 B.H.S., they thanked him very much for the paper he had read that 

 day. 



