10 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
dead block of wood. Although we may fix our Orchids to blocks of 
wood, or secure them in baskets, pots, and pans by means of suitable 
fibrous material, all these means soon become mere mechanical devices 
for keeping the plants in any desired position. The essential point 
always to be borne in mind is never to let the plant suffer through an 
insufficient supply of food material. 
The Supply of Nutriment. — In supplying nutriment to the plant 
care must be taken that it is not carried to excess. Some cultivators 
use far too large a pot with an unnecessary amount of compost, fully 
believing that by so doing the plant will benefit accordingly. Any- 
one who has had experience in the feeding of animals knows how 
injurious is an over- abundant supply of food, and with plants there 
is little difference. Too large a supply of compost turns sour long 
before its constituent nutriment is required by the plant, and thus 
it becomes a source of danger by preventing the extension of the 
roots, and even causing rapid decay. Considering the many sizes of 
pots and pans used in a collection, it is almost impossible to lay down 
any definite rules, but a little practical experience will soon show 
when the plant is in need of food, and then the cultivator must decide 
whether something in the way of top-dressing or inserting fresh 
compost in needful places may be effected. This may be required 
every two or three months in the case of small plants, and less 
frequently with large ones. Speaking generally, all Orchids require 
a thorough re-potting once every year. There is an old saying, " It 
is the master's eye that fattens the cattle," and this may be applied 
with equal truth to Orchid cultivation, for it is the practised eye of 
the cultivator that decides just when a plant requires a fresh supply 
of food. 
Almost all Orchids are shade-loving plants. Their habit of dwelling 
on trees or on the ground below is a guide to the way we should treat 
them when under artificial conditions. During the summer season, 
when growth is vigorous, the foliage of the forest protects them from 
the burning rays of the sun, while the fall of the leaf in autumn 
allows the diminished power of the sun to ripen up the bulbs and 
prepare them for their winter rest. Thus it will be seen how much 
depends on the correct application of artificial shading. It must 
always be in accordance with the requirements of the plants beneath. 
Where the cultivation of Orchids from various climates is attempted 
in one small house considerable difficulties and disappointments are 
sure to arise, hence one cannot too strongly urge the commencing 
amateur to decide upon the maintenance of some definite climate 
and then to select plants suitable to it ; by this means will success be 
best achieved. Odontoglossums are well-known examples requiring 
a cool, moist, and shady atmosphere ; Cattleyas may be selected for 
a warmer and lighter house ; Mexican Laelias require considerable 
light, as well as ventilation, only a slight shade during the middle 
part of the summer days being necessary ; and there are a few genera 
which can be cultivated successfully only in high temperatures with 
an abundance of atmospheric moisture. 
