February 14, 1895. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
131 
and of considerable length, the flowers being set rather widely apart. 
The flowers are white, except the lip, which has the yellow blotch 
common to most Coelogynes. The pseudo-bulbs are 4 to 5 inches 
in length, the dark green lanceolate leaves which are produced in 
pairs are from 8 to 10 inches long. The plant has an erect habit 
of growth, and when in flower is very attractive. The flowers are 
produced very freely in winter and early spring, and last a long 
time in full beauty. C. flaccida requires an intermediate tempera¬ 
ture—the Cattleya house suits it very well—and should be well 
rested. It was introduced from Nepal by Dr. Wallich, and flrst 
flowered at Wentworth in 1833. A handsome plant carrying ten 
spikes is now in flower at Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea.—A. 
Masdevallias. 
I There is probably no more interesting or fascinating genus of 
Orchids in cultivation than Masdevallias, and certainly no other 
The roots then, and how to conserve them, must be the grower’s 
first care. Anyone who has had a little experience with Orchids 
will have noticed how these delight in rambling about over the 
hard porous surface of the pots where they are fully exposed, often 
quite dry, and have nothing of a close nature about them. Here 
then is the cue for root preservation, and in preparing the compost 
for these beautiful plants growers must keep in mind the necessity 
of providing for a constant supply of air to the roots, at the same 
time checking too rapid evaporation, and providing the necessary 
nutriment. The plants must not be dried at the roots at any 
season, but no stagnant moisture must be allowed to collect 
about them. They all thrive in a cool house during the 
summer, and must have a light airy position shaded from bright 
sunshine. 
The winter temperature must not be allowed to fall much below 
50° for the Chimaera group, while 45° is quite low enough for the 
Fig. 21.—LA)LI0-CATTLEYA DECIA, 
contains such a wondrous variety of form or beautiful combina¬ 
tions of colouring. 
The lover of the grotesque will delight in such exquisite little 
gems as M. Estradas and M. trochilus, or the wonderful 
M. Chimaera, while those who look for brilliant colour and simple 
form will find ample to please them among the Harryana and 
Lindeni section. Masdevallias as a genus are not difiScult to culti¬ 
vate, but they show the results of indifferent treatment sooner 
than many others. For instance, an Odontoglossum, or even a 
Catt'eya, may not have a sound root in the pot in which it is 
growing, and yet an inexperienced person would not for a time 
detect anything wrong by the appearance of the pseudo-bulbs or 
leaves, because the stored-up nutriment in the former keeps the 
plant going for a time without much assistance from the roots, and 
may perhaps produce a few flowers. Masdevallias, on the other 
hand, if once the roots get in a bad way, show the effect almost 
at once, as they have no pseudo-bulbs to sustain them, and are 
naturally more sensitive to atmospheric changes. 
Harryana and Veitchi sections, and in fact for any cool house 
Orchid. The chief insect enemy to Masdevallias is the yellow 
thrip, and unless constant war is waged against these they soon get 
the upper hand, ruining the appearance of foliage and flowers. 
M. amabilis, M. Harryana, M. Chelsoni, M. Veitchi, M. ignea. 
M. coccinea, and M. Lindeni will be found a good selection of the 
showy flowered types. These are natives of Peru and New 
Granada except Chelsoni, which is a hybrid raised by Messrs. 
Veitch & Sons from M. Veitchi and M. amabilis. M. tovarensis 
is the only well known white flowering kind, and was recently 
described in the Journal of HorlicuUure. 
M. Chimsera, M. Backhouseana, M. Bella, and M. Wallisi are 
amongst the most marvellous productions of the whole Orchid 
family, and I hope to refer to the culture of these more 
fully in the near future. Of the small flowered section 
M. triaristella and M. triangularis, as well as those named 
above, are free flowering, elegant, and very interesting species, 
—H. R. R. 
