THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
211 
a-half apart, and a slight watering given to settle the soil around 
them. Place them in any frame or pit, or even in a greenhouse, 
close to the glass, and they will strike freely, and continue rooting 
all the winter. 
The tops will not grow much if kept near the glass, and plenty 
of air allowed them ; nor is this desirable, as the dwarfer the plants 
are, the more novel and beautiful they look. In March prepare 
some compost for potting them, by mixing three parts sandy loam, 
some fine lime rubbish, a very little leaf-mould, or lumpy peat and 
sand. Take the plants from the pans with little balls of soil, by 
raising them gently with the potting stick, and place them singly in 
four-inch pots, well drained. Set them in a frame or pit, with their 
tops only four or six inches from the glass, and where the frost can 
be excluded, keeping the frame close for about a week or ten days, 
after which they must be gradually inured to a circulation of air. 
Tilting the sashes at the sides, by placing the tilter between them 
and the rafter, will be found to answer better than sliding, or only 
tilting at the back. The object is to give strength without drawing 
the plants up, and, by keeping the glass close to their tops, to cause 
them to set flower-buds, which they will readily do under such 
treatment ; and by planting out in time, which with me is about the 
beginning of June, every plant, if well managed, will have its head of 
bloom perfectly formed, and beginning to expand. 
Kalosanthes look best planted in circular or oval beds, placing 
the tallest in the centre, and gradually descending to the edge ; the 
last row should be placed in the ground a little deeper than the 
rest, and should slightly incline outward, in order to give a rounded 
appearance. Any good border soil seems to suit them, but if poor, 
some fresh loam and leaf soil should be added. I always water the 
plants well before turning them out of the pots, and the bed also 
when necessary. Some green moss laid upon the surface of the bed 
gives it a neat appearance, and prevents evaporation. 
ON THE PROPAGATION OF ORCHIDS. 
HERE are different modes of propagating the various 
kinds of Orchids. Some are easily increased by 
dividing them into pieces, or by cutting the old pseudo- 
bulbs from the plants, after the latter have done 
blooming. Such plants as Dendrobiums are increased 
in this way. The best time for dividing the plants is just as they 
begin to grow, or when they are at rest. They should be cut 
through with a sharp knife between the pseudo-buds, being careful 
not to harm the roots. Each piece should have some roots attached 
to it. After they are cut through they should be parted, potted, 
and put in some shady part of the house, without receiving much 
water at the roots till they have begun to grow and make fresh 
ones ; then they may have a good supply. Dendrobium nobile, 
Pierardi, pulchellum, macrophyllum, Devonianum, and similar 
July. 
