THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 
275 
By the twentieth of August, Carnations, Stevias, Antir- 
rhinums and Mignonette should be in their permanent 
quarters, and the first named, viz : Carnations should not 
be pinched later than August 1. 
Hydrangea cuttings should now be taken, and half- 
ripened shoots from the base of the plant will root in the 
■sand in al.iout three weeks ; afterwards jjlace in the small- 
est size pot they will go in, and then pot on into three-inch 
pots, \\hen they have filled the latter with roots gradu- 
.all\' dry off and la\- the pots on their sides under the 
bench of a cool house or in a cool cellar to keep from 
hard frost. 
In spring place in five-inch pots and put in a strong 
soil and grow one immense head of bloom a foot across. 
These are useful plants for Easter work. If larger and 
more bushy plants are required, they will have to be 
grown on all winter and occupy valuable sjiace and the 
growths will need pinching to induce a bushy plant, but 
the immense bloom in a five-inch pot is ideal for the 
amateur and this is to whom these instructions apply. 
Orchid Culture' 
By Sidney R. Wells, New York 
IT has been my good fortune to have charge of dif- 
ferent collections of orchids for over twenty years. 
In some places we have had special houses for 
almost every species and in some we have had all those 
different species in one house. It may surprise some 
when I say that they have done as well collectively. 
I will speak on the general management of a house 
containing a number of varieties. Perhaps, before go- 
ing any further I had better quote the different genera 
to which I refer : Cattle3'a of all species, Brassovola, 
Catasetum, Ctrlogyne, Cymbidium, Calanthe, C\pri- 
pedium, Selenipedium, Dendrobium, Epidendrum, 
Lselia, Lycaste, Alaxillaria, Miltonia, Odontoglossum, 
Oncidium, Peristeria, Platyclinis, Phakenopsis Stuarti- 
ana, Renanthera, Sobralia, Stanhopea, Stenoglottis, 
Trichoplia, Vanda, and others. 
The aspect for the house in which a general collec- 
tion is to be grown should run east and west, having 
ventilation on the north and south sides at the ridge. 
Side ventilation, unless in the walls under the bench, 
is not desirable, as too much draught is caused. The 
atmosphere must be moist and still ; draughts must not 
be permitted, especially in winter. In summer we must 
ventilate the house so as to retain all possible humidity ; 
otherwise we will have sickly plants. Dampening the 
benches and floors of the houses about three times 
■daily will usuall}- keep good growing conditions. 
The benches of the orchid house should be in tiers, 
so as to give each plant all the light possible. Plants 
are also easier to water when on a step stage, where 
one can use the hose for watering without fear of in- 
juring the young growths which may be pushing up. 
To my idea the arrangement of orchids in this manner, 
looks better than when they are placed on a flat bench. 
The temperature for the house with a general collec- 
tion should range in winter from 55 deg. to 58 deg. at 
night, and 60 deg. to 65 deg. in the day time, allowing 
it to run up to 70 deg. if the sun shines. If allowed to 
go higher than those figures some genera such as Odon- 
toglossum, Oncidium and Miltonia will soon show ill 
effects. For a summer temperature, 60 deg. to 65 deg. 
at night, and 68 deg. to 75 deg. by day, with 75 deg. to 
85 deg. in sun, I have found suitable. 
Shading is a matter which must be seen to in due 
time. Although most orchids in their natural state 
grow in the full blaze of the tropical sun, it must not 
be thought that any will stand the full blaze of the 
sun through the glass of the greenhouse. They will 
not stand the sun early in the year, especially in Feb- 
ruary, when there come a few days of clear weather 
after a couple of weeks of dull, snowy weather. If 
they have not a light shade by that time, it will be seen 
that quite a number of leaves will turn yellow. There- 
fore, shade the sunny side of the orchid house, about 
the middle of February, and vou will be on the safe 
E.xtracts from paper read before the Tluffalo. N. V., Florists' Club. 
side. An orchid ])lant that has several times more 
bulbs than leaves is not worth much, perhaps not the 
room it is taking in the house. 
The watering of orchids should be done as soon as 
the night dampness has gone off in the morning. In 
winter time the orchid house can be watered earlier in 
the day than in summer, because with fire heat, no 
dampness will occur. Some varieties of orchids need 
looking over every day to see whether or not they 
require water, especially such varieties mentioned be- 
fore. If they are given a good soaking about twice a 
week in the summer time it will be found sufficient, 
although it will be wise to examine them daily if the 
weather is bright and sunny. Personally, I have found 
that orchids require more water in winter than they do 
in summer, quite contrary to the writers of some 
orchid ]:>ooks, who are mostly Europeans. 
Conditions in Europe are different than in this coun- 
tr}'. The winters here are of longer duration and more 
severe than in Europe and the more we use fire heat 
the more we must water. Sometimes, on a sunny day, 
even in winter, it is a good idea to give the plants a 
spray with the hose, without fear of harm ; in fact, they 
will benefit thereby. Of course, in summer it is a good 
rule to give the plants a good spraying about noon in 
bright weather. One important thought must be kept 
in mind : Do not keep an orchid plant continuously 
saturated. Always let them be on the dry side before 
watering, as no plant will thrive in sour compost. 
With regard to potting orchids, use the smallest re- 
ceptacle into which the plant can be easily placed, as 
over-potting is as bad as over-watering, the plants suf- 
fering in the same manner. A good compost to use is 
one of two parts of Osmunda fiber, and one part of 
Sphagnum moss. Some growers use Osmunda fiber 
entirel}' ; but I prefer the above mixture for orchids 
generally. The main reason for my preference is that 
one can, with it, tell more easily when the plant needs 
water. It is easy to see when the moss is dry, but the 
Osmunda fiber has the same black look whether wet or 
dry and to be sure whether the plant needs water one 
has to examine it closely, by lifting the pot, or feeling 
the compost. 
Some orchids grow best in pots, and some in baskets. 
Cattleyas usually are more satisfactory in pots. Den- 
drobiums and some other kinds are best in baskets. 
If an orchid is in a basket, hang it up, especially if it is 
of an Oncidium varicosum type ; otherwise you will 
have to use extreme vigilance to keep the slugs from 
getting in, thus causing no end of trouble. Baskets are 
a rendezvous for all kinds of orchids pests, and once 
there, it sometimes takes months to get rid of them. 
One does not know that they are there until he sees 
flower spikes or leaves eaten oft'. So bear in mind, as 
soon as you put a plant in a perforated pot or basket, 
hang it up. 
