184 HOT-HOUSE — AIR PLANTS. [December. 
crimson ; it is in the mornings only delightfully 
fragrant. 
Onc\dium dtispum, brownish copper colour, and profuse 
flowering. 
Onculium jxqnlio, bright yellow, spotted with rich brown. 
Oncidium luridum, flowers of a brownish -green. 
Rendnthera coccinca, a very superb scarlet flowering plant, 
but does not bloom very freely; it grows in moss, 
and must be suspended in a pot or tied to a piece of 
stick. 
Stanhbjria grandijlbra, has delicate, white, sweet-scented 
flowers. 
Stanlwpia insVjnis, yellow and white, spotted with purple, 
and delightfully fragrant. 
Vanda Roxburgh!!, flowers pale yellow. 
Zyyopetalums, all very beautiful flowering, generally of a 
yellowish green colour, spotted with brown. They 
require to be kept in a hot dry atmosphere. 
Orcliideous epiphytes generally grow upon trees, in the 
recesses of damp tropical forests, establishing themselves in 
the forks of the branches, and even upon rocks, stones, or 
decayed trees. Shade, therefore, is essential to their wel- 
fare ; consequently, never permit them to be exposed to 
violent sunshine. They require but little water at the roots, 
provided the atmosphere they grow in is very humid. The 
best soil for . them is a sandy, turfy peat, containing a large 
portion of fibrous matter ; mix with this pieces of pot-shreds 
or cork, and be careful not to place the plant deep in the 
pot j they will also grow on blocks or sticks of wood. 
Although we use and prefer small boxes (about six inches 
square) made of cork, in which they grow finely and bloom 
profusely. With some of the strong-growing kinds, we use, 
in addition to the above soil, a little leaf-mould, using always 
plenty of drainage. The house we cultivate them in has an 
eastern aspect. Shade can easily be given to them by having 
creepers trained up the rafters of the house, or an occasional 
large plant, placed in such a situation as will afford most 
shade during mid-day ; and it must be observed, that, 
although the plants are fond of moisture, they never thrive, 
except the water has a free passage from their roots. 
