2B4 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. r March 24, issi. 
watering it well. Place a square of glass on the pot, then re¬ 
move it to a Cucumber house or propagating frame in which a 
temperature from 65° to 75° is maintained. If bottom heat can 
be given the seed will germinate more quickly than otherwise. 
With proper attention the seedlings will begin to appear in three 
weeks or a month, but some may be five or six weeks or even 
longer. The glass should not be removed (ill the plants touch it, 
then gradually raise it until it can be dispensed with. As soon 
as the seedlings have made corms the size of a small pea they 
should be pricked out into other pans prepared as before, only the 
soil employed may be rougher. 'They should be an inch apart 
each way in the pans. Again assign them a warm place near the 
glass, keep them there till they are well established, which will 
be in about two months. Then shift them into 3-inch pots sepa¬ 
rately, employing the same compost as before, return them to the 
house, and keep the soil moist. If green fly appear recourse must 
be had to fumigation or syringing. The plants will grow freely, 
and should receive their final shift before becoming root-bound. 
Pots 5 to 6 inches in diameter are suitable, placing a crock over 
the hole, then 2 inches in depth with broken bones, adding a small 
portion of Clay’s fertiliser to the soil. Keep the corm just above 
the soil, which must be pressed firmly round it. Transfer them to 
a frame in an open situation, plunging the pots in coal ashes as 
near the glass as possible. Shade during the hottest part of the 
day, and close the frame early in the afternoon. The plants may 
remain there till the middle of September, then remove them to 
a greenhouse. If desired to bloom early place them in an inter¬ 
mediate house near the glass. While in bloom a dry atmosphere 
is necessary, or the colours will run. Mark the best, so that they 
may be grown into fine specimens the second year. 
After flowering remove the plants to a frame from which the 
frost can be excluded, gradually lessen the supply of water until 
the leaves turn yellow and fall; then give the plants a rest for five 
or six weeks, after which they should be shaken out and repotted. 
The corms should rest on the surface of the soil, then place in the 
frame again, and the lights may be kept off except in wet weather 
for the first month until the new growth commences. The soil 
must at first be only moderately moist, afterwards increasing the 
supply of water in proportion to the progress of the plants, but until 
they are in full growth and well furnished with foliage the greatest 
care must be taken to guard against excessive watering. The 
reason I believe why so many fail in growing Cyclamens is be¬ 
cause they allow them to receive a check in their early stages. 
Another cause of failure is placing them outside in the sun till 
the corms are dried, and then they will not start freely into growth 
again.—( Read by Mr. II. Slaney. Florist, Nether Edge, at a Meet¬ 
ing of the Sheffield Gardeners' Improvement Society.) 
THE MOTH ORCHIDS. 
Richness and diversity characterise the vegetation of most 
tropical insular climates, for in such positions exist the chief re¬ 
quirements of vegetable life—heat and moisture, the former being 
constantly present, but the latter usually most abundant at 
particular seasons, when the plants grow with extraordinary 
luxuriance and rapidity. Such a region is that of the Indian 
Archipelago or Malayia, including the islands of Borneo, Sumatra, 
Java, and the Philippine group, where a high temperature prevails, 
which is softened and rendered beneficial to plant life by the 
humidity arising from a tropical ocean and heavy periodical rains. 
In consequence of these favourable conditions plants are abundant 
and diversified, many of the large natural orders prevailing in the 
tropics being strongly represented. Numerous beautiful species 
have been found and introduced to this country, but undoubtedly 
many more remain to be discovered, for large tracts still exist that 
have not been thoroughly explored by collectors or botanists. 
From the Philippine Islands in particular we have received among 
many other plants some handsome Orchids ; and though they 
are comparatively few, their beauty, especially in the case of one 
genus, would encourage the expectation that others may yet be 
found equal to, or perhaps surpassing, them in floral attractions. 
Several species of Aerides, Dendrobium, Vanda, and Saccolabium 
have been obtained thence and are greatly prized, but their 
charms fade in comparison with the aristocrats of the Orchid 
world, the lovely Phalasnopsids or Moth Orchids, which have their 
home in those islands. Not only do they rank among the most 
beautiful of their immediate congeners, but in the whole range of 
flowering plants there are few that equal, and fewer still that in 
chaste elegance can be considered to surpass, the principal species 
of Phalasnopsis. Their claims to attention are not rested upon 
brilliantly coloured flowers, for pure white and soft tints prevail; 
but it is the delicacy of these shades, the wax-like substance, 
elegant form, and durability of the flowers, with broad handsome 
foliage and a graceful habit, which entitle them to such pre¬ 
eminence. 
It is almost needless to say more in praise of the Phalasnopsids, 
as they are so well known and so generally admired when in good 
condition. Unfortunately, however, this desirable result is not 
too frequently attained ; and so it often happens that, accom¬ 
panying the admiration, we frequently hear the difficulties at¬ 
tending their cultivation deplored as a grave defect—that is, of 
course, by those who have been unsuccessful with them. On the 
other hand, some growers’ experience is quite the contrary to this, 
and with little more than ordinary care the best results are ob¬ 
tained—namely, healthy growth and abundant flowers. This is 
one of the peculiarities of the genus, and is not easily accounted 
for. I know au instance where two gardeners have charge of 
establishments a few hundred yards apart. Both are careful 
intelligent men with a good knowledge of Orchid culture ; yet 
one has very satisfactory Phalsenopsids, and the other can only 
keep them alive, though both collections are apparently treated 
in a very similar manner. Still, taking them generally, there are 
fewer failures with these Orchids now than there were a few years 
ago, for their requirements are becoming better known ; and 
though the plants appear to display strange partialities for parti¬ 
cular places, yet undoubtedly this is chiefly due to the grower’s 
careful observation of little items in their culture that others 
might consider of no importance. The habitat of the Phalsenopsids 
gives a good indication of their requirements, but when growing 
under artificial circumstances many facts have to be taken into 
consideration. A moderately high temperature is necessary in the 
first place, the house devoted to East Indian Orchids being suit¬ 
able ; but where a structure can be specially devoted to them it is 
more satisfactory, as the treatment can be regulated with greater 
precision. This advantage can only be enjoyed where the collec¬ 
tions are unusually large and no expense is spared to obtain them 
in the best condition, as in some nurseries and a few gentlemen’s 
gardens. Where the means and stock are more limited the plants 
must be grown with other Orchids, then needing a little additional 
care to ensure their success. They may be even grown in an 
ordinary plant stove ; but though good results have been occasion¬ 
ally obtained in that way, it is not a course to be recommended 
where there is an Orchid house. However, in the absence of this 
convenience a few specimens may be tried in the stove if a suit¬ 
able position be selected. Some have tried cool treatment for 
Phalasnopsids, but not, as far as I have seen, with encouraging 
results : indeed it seems so opposed to the conditions under which 
they exist in their native haunts that success could scarcely be 
expected. At the same time the excessively high temperatures 
which some growers consider necessary, too often accompanied 
by a corresponding deficiency of moisture in the house, are more 
hurtful than otherwise. To ensure the health of the plants the 
temperature in which they are growing should not at any time of 
the year be allowed to fall below 60°; and from the present month 
on through the summer—the season of growth—the minimum day 
temperature should be 70°, allowing a rise above that to 85° with 
sun heat. The minimum night temperature for the same period 
may average 5° lower than the first-named, which will also be 
suitable for the autumn and winter treatment. 
As to the method in which “ Moth Orchids ” are grown, there is 
little to suggest a preference for baskets, blocks, or pots, as in all 
they will succeed nearly equally well under judicious culture, 
but for small plants nothing is better than the shallow pots or 
small pans now employed in many nurseries, especially in Messrs. 
Yeitch & Sons’ at Chelsea. These suit the Phalasnopsids as well as 
they do many other Orchids, and being neat in appearance, easily 
kept clean, and permitting the ready shifting of the plants when 
necessary, they have much to recommend them, as many gar¬ 
deners have long ascertained. In the case of either baskets or 
pots thorough drainage is needful, for the plants being epiphytal 
are impatient of stagnant moisture at the roots ; and further, 
during growth a very liberal supply of water is required, which 
renders careful attention to this matter of still greater importance. 
Clean potsherds must be used freely, the larger pieces at the 
bottom and the smaller on the surface, which for pots should be 
within an inch or two of the rim ; over them place the compost, 
consisting of sphagnum moss, a few pieces of fibrous peat, pot¬ 
sherds, and nodules of charcoal, raising it 2 or 3 inches above the 
rim of the pot or edge of the basket in the centre. Upon this 
secure the plant, which for some time after the operation will 
need carefully shading and supplying with water. When estab¬ 
lished Phalsenopsids require plenty of light, but cannot endure 
exposure to the sun, as the foliage is apt to become scorched, 
thereby both disfiguring and injuring the plant. A light material 
should be used for the blind, so that it may not cause too deep a 
shade, also placing the plants on the sunny side of the house if 
