THE DISA GRANDIFLORA, 
838 
Sowing the Seed. 
I do not think it a good plan to sow it on its own pot, as the 
abundance of water which the Disas require would wash away 
all the seed, which is only like so much snuff. My method is to 
get an ordinary seed-pan, put in sufficient drainage to keep the 
soil sweet, place some of the roughest peat on the crocks to keep 
the drainage open, then fill in with more peat and lumps of 
sandstone, imitating a miniature rockery, and give it a good 
watering with hot water to kill any insects that may be lurking- 
in the soil. The seed should then be scattered evenly over the 
surface, covering very slightly with a little sand and dusty peat; 
put through a very fine sieve, give it a gentle watering to settle 
the seed, place a bell-glass over the pan, and put it in a tempera¬ 
ture of about 55 deg. at night. The seed should be shaded at all 
times when the sun is on the house, and the compost must be 
kept fairly moist. The seedlings will begin to appear from two 
to three months after sowing. They seem to germinate best near 
to the lumps of sandstone. I have even seen them on the top 
without a particle of soil near them. I have a nice potful of 
seedlings, about three years old, some of them with four and five 
leaves on each. I sowed another pan last year (1897), and about 
eighty seedlings have already germinated. These will remain in 
the seed-pan until they are two years old; then they will be 
pricked out round the sides of 5-inch pots, using a rougher com¬ 
post than was used in sowing the seed. My practice is to let 
them grow in this way for a year; then put them into thumb- 
pots, plunging them in a large pan of cocoanut fibre or sphagnum, 
so as to keep the roots cool and moist. When they have got well 
rooted in the thumbs they may be transferred into a little larger 
pot, and so on as they require it. They may show a spike of 
bloom in the fifth or sixth year, according to the strength of the 
growth. It seems a long time to wait, but nevertheless it is most 
interesting to watch the tiny blade of grass (as it looks) when it 
first appears until the flowering stage is reached, when there may 
be one or two plants flower in the batch, which will repay the 
cultivator for all the trouble and care bestowed on them. The 
best varieties are easily detected by being of a deep red colour 
near the base of the annual growth. The majority of them are 
of lighter colour, and the flowers from these will be a little 
washy in colour and not so refined. In purchasing established 
