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when judged from the standpoint of an European orchid grower 
who has the all important factors to good cultivation under direct 
control, such as heat, moisture, and insect pests. Theoretically it 
does seem that there should be no difficulty in growing orchids here* 
especially those that occur wild at low elevations in this region, or 
that come from regions having a similar climate, equally well if not 
better than is done in glass houses in Europe, but that such is not 
the case, with a very few exceptions, nobody who has had expe- 
rience of the work under both conditions will deny. I have in my 
time seen several botanic gardens, including those of the Mauritius, 
Peridenia, Buitenzorg, and Calcutta, all of which have a worldwide 
reputation for their collections of plants, but 1 can truly say that in 
none have I seen even the species that are found wild within a mile 
or two of the gardens equal to plants of the same kind when grown 
under glass in Europe. I have also seen dozens of private and 
trade collections in the East and of those 1 can only say the same. 
The family is such an immense one, and varying so much in their 
requirements, that it is impossible to give detailed instructions ap- 
plicable to all. One has but to take up any of the numerous books 
on the subject written by experts to realise how wide is the held. I 
propose at the present to deal with only one genus, that of Calanthe, 
because they are easily obtainable and there is at the present time, 
and has been for some weeks past, a considerable show of these in 
the Pinang Botanic Gardens which have caused much interest. 
There are two distinct sections of this genus one with evergreen 
leaves, and the other deciduous, with pseudobulbs ; the flowers of 
the latter appearing when the leaves turn yellow or are entirely 
absent. All the specie* succeed with comparative ease in this 
climate but the system of cultivation to be followed is not the same 
in both sections. In the evergreen section we have at present in 
flower 4 species ; Calanthe veratrifolia, with white flowers, C. Cur- 
culigoides, yellow and orange, C. Cecilia, violet and white; and an 
apparently unnamed species (C. variabilis) with white sepals and 
petals and a chrome coloured Up. All these require good soil 
largely composed of decayed leaves and well rotten cow manure, 
moderate shade, good drainage and an abundance of water. Under 
these conditions they may, with the exception of C. curculigoides, 
be had in flower nearly the whole year through. The deciduous 
ones require quite different treatment and only flower once each 
year, but with a good number of plants, and starting them into 
growth at different times, the flowering season can be prolonged 
over a period of several months. The best time for potting these 
is when the young shoots are about an inch long and new roots are 
being emitted at the base of the pseudo-bulb. They may be grown 
in either pots or hanging baskets, or even in Coco-Nut-husks, in a 
mixture of about two parts of leaf-mould to one of broken bricks 
and old lime rubbish, with the addition of a little well decayed cow 
or stable manure. Some plants grown in hanging pots in nothing 
but the outer hard portion of Coco-Nut-husks chopped in small 
pieces half an inch square have done very well, but with 
such material manure water must be applied once a week as 
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