November 23, 1893. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
463 
success, also to name some of the species or varieties which have 
been proved by many years’ experience to be the most reliable and 
satisfactory for the purpose. _ 
The Orchids that may be had in flower at the particular season 
now under consideration can be classed under three heads ;— 
Firstly, Those which flower naturally in late December, or that 
require little assistance to induce them to do so. Secondly, 
Those which usually flower in November or January, and that 
may be retarded or hastened sufficiently to cause the production 
of the flowers when desired, or to prolong the usual period. 
Thirdly, There are some Orchids almost continuously in flower, 
or which blossom at ditferent seasons and occasionally yield their 
attractions in midwinter. Upon the first group we 
must chiefly depend for our Christmas display, and 
to them the principal attention will be devoted in 
these notes. With regard to the second group there 
is more uncertainty and risk, as the majority of 
Orchids do not readily submit to the ordinary pro¬ 
cesses of hastening or delaying the flowering period. 
In either there is often much danger of losing the 
blooms, and even the plants themselves, unless of 
naturally vigorous habit, will frequently suffer to a 
serious extent. Forcing, as commonly understood and 
practised, can be safely adopted with very few, and 
temperatures and the due but not excessive supply of moisture, 
while near large towns a still greater difficulty is found in the 
poisonous fogs that too frequently spoil all our hopes just as they 
are on the point of being realised. One essential must be kept in 
view in the preparation of such plants for winter flowering, and 
that is to have them as sturdy as possible with firm, well-developed, 
and matured leaves, or in the case of the partially deciduous kinds 
to ensure plump, thoroughly ripened stems or pseudo-bulbs by a 
previous season’s careful culture. The avoidance of excessively 
high temperatures, with great quantities of moisture and insufficient 
ventilation, or exposure to light, is absolutely necessary to ensure 
the required condition, and happily the present season has been in 
many respects most favourable to the maturation needed. The 
hot bright weather has imposed a severe tax upon 
growers in many ways, but it has permitted a free 
and continuous ventilation which with attention to 
supplying sufficient water to prevent the ill effects of a 
parched atmosphere on delicate foliage, has ensured a 
ripening that will enable the plants to endure their 
winter’s trials with less danger. 
It is a common mistake with beginners in Orchid 
culture to fancy that their success must largely 
depend upon the accuracy with which they maintain 
certain temperatures for each month as given in the 
Fig. G7.—LJiLIO-CATTLEYA STATTERIANA. 
these chiefly the deciduous kinds bearing large pseudo-bulbs as 
storehouses of nourishment, such as the Dendrobiums of the nobile 
and Wardianum types, the Calanthes and a few others. Even with 
them the truth of the old adage, “ The more haste the less speed,” is 
often exemplifled, and “hasten slowly” may serve as a useful 
motto for Orchid growers who wish to secure plants in flower 
before their usual season. In the third group a long list could 
be given of Orchids that have been had in flower during December, 
for in large collections some will produce occasional flowers at all 
seasons ; but these may be termed the accidents, and the only sorts 
to be relied upon in this group are those which flower almost con¬ 
tinuously throughout the year, some of the hybrids being remark¬ 
able examples of this character, especially Cypripedium or Seleni- 
pedium Sedeni, for I have had vigorous plants of this which have 
not been without flowers expanded or showing for nearly three 
years. __ 
As regards the winter treatment of Orchids to yield flowers 
freely and retain them as long as possible, the difficulties that 
cultivators have to contend with are chiefly in the regulation of 
guide books and calendars. In this they misunderstand the 
object of the writers, who, if they are practical men, usually 
try to furnish some indication of what is required to be varied 
according to circumstances by the judgment of individual culti¬ 
vators. Nothing leads to more disastrous results in the winter 
culture of Orchids than endeavouring to keep up a fixed tempe¬ 
rature by hard firing when outside the thermometer may be down 
extremely low. Fuel is consumed wastefully, and the air in the 
houses is dried to such an extent that water has to be distributed 
liberally, ventilation is impossible, and the plants are exposed to 
a “stewing” atmosphere, effectually weakening the growth and 
foliage already made, and frequently encouraging the production, 
of unseasonable growths at the expense of the plants themselves, 
the flimsy leaves seldom properly mature, and a good period of 
flowering can never be reasonably expected under such conditions^ 
It is far better to allow a fall in the warm houses of 5 or even 10 
in exceptionally severe weather, reducing the supply of moisture 
proportionately, without permitting the plants to suffer in any 
way, than to parboil them for the delusive satisfaction of preserving 
a regulation temperature. 
