208 
Sept., 1892. 
THE CULTIVATION OF ORCHIDS. 
water, and during the summer they will need attention twice 
a day, independently of damping the paths and stages or 
syringing. In the winter and during the resting period 
the supply must be gradually reduced. In the summer and 
growing season the material on the shelves and the paths 
must be kept well moistened. 
For supplying the plants and syringing, rain water is 
the best, and it must always be used about the temperature of 
the house ; this can be managed by storing it in tanks in 
the house. Hard water should be avoided except for damping 
purposes, as, though lime is not injurious to some orchids, 
it disfigures the foliage. The best way to water well 
established and healthy growing plants is to provide the 
house with a small tank on wheels if possible, as it can 
be easily moved about; fill this with rain water and plunge 
the pots into it, and keep them there until they are thoroughly 
saturated. 
REST. 
The best plan to adopt with regard to watering is to care¬ 
fully observe the habits of the plants themselves; when they 
show a tendency to stop growing or to rest, water should be 
gradually withheld; only giving just enough to prevent shrivel¬ 
ling. In a dry atmosphere, flowers as well as bulbs and 
foliage continually suffer from excessive evaporation, a state 
of things we should endeavour to avoid as much as possible ; 
therefore a sufficient amount of moisture must be supplied, or 
the plants will suffer far more than they would from being 
furnished with too much moisture, although more than will 
prevent the bulbs and leaves from shrivelling is decidedly 
injurious to the plants when at rest. When they commence 
to grow and to produce roots, they should be encouraged by 
the application of more moisture, both at the roots and in 
the atmosphere, no matter at what time of the year this may 
occur. If the moisture has been reduced in consequence of 
most of the species contained in the house being at rest, and 
if one or two species that require extra heat, except when at 
rest, commence to grow, they should be removed to a more 
humid atmosphere, as for instance a moderately warm green¬ 
house or intermediate house, where they should be suspended 
or staged as near to the glass, i.e„ light, as possible ; for 
during the dull period of the year they require all the light 
they can possibly get. 
VENTILATING AND SHADING. 
In warm moist districts ventilation can be given much 
more liberally than in cold, exposed, or dry situations, and to 
these varying circumstances are due the different opinions on 
the advantages to be derived from free ventilation. Wherever 
the climate is suitable, and when the weather is favourable. 
