76 
BARBACENIA SQUAMATA. 
Few plants are able to bear the want of water for a longer period without 
sustaining injury. And, except during the period of the most active growth, much 
moisture appears to be inimical to their welfare. It ought to be sparingly applied 
at all other seasons, and, even then, it will be necessary to use it cautiously. The 
soil must be well drained, so that no superfluous moisture may stagnate about the 
roots. After they have completed their growth, they must be preserved as free 
from wet as possible. To induce them to develop an abundance of bloom, a dry 
and cool situation is indispensable during the latter part of summer, and through- 
out the winter. On the approach of spring they must be removed to a warm and 
humid stove, or placed in a pit with a steady bottom-heat. In stoves, where there 
is the conveniency of rockwork, they may be planted along the front, or in some 
part where they will not be far removed from the eye. But it is as a pot-plant 
that it appears most likely to succeed best. 
Propagation will probably be attended with difficulty unless seed can be 
matured, and we are not aware that any has yet ripened. 
The generic name was given by Vandelli, in honour of Barbacena, a governor 
of Minas Geraes, in Brazil. The wood-cut below shows the whole plant, in one 
of the handsome vases manufactured by Mr. Falcke, of Battersea. 
