August 30, 1894. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
195 
exception of E. bicorHutum, will do well. E. atro-purpureum has 
brown sepals and petals and a broad white lip, stained at the base 
with yellow and purple. The varieties, roseum and album, as the 
names imply, differ slightly in colour from the type. E. aureum 
has pseudo-bulbs and foliage resembling Cattleya Trianm. The 
flowers appear in early spring on short racemes at the top of the 
pseudo-bulbs ; they are small, the sepals and petals orange red, the 
lip lighter in colour and streaked with bright crimson. 
The well-known E. bicornutum is a difficult Orchid to keep in 
health. It is, however, a species worthy of all care, and certainly 
the most chaste and beautiful Epidendrum in cultivation. The 
hollow inflated-looking pseudo-bulbs are a foot or more high, and 
from the tops of these the spikes are produced. The flowers are 
pure white, with the exception of a few crimson spots on the 
labellum. A healthy newly imported plant should be obtained if 
possible, and established in a pot or basket filled with clean pot¬ 
sherds, simply surfaced over with a little sphagnum. There will 
be nothing in this that can possibly become sour, therefore re¬ 
potting will be seldom required. If a little fresh moss is added 
annually the plant will grow fairly well in this for a number of 
years ; but the home-grown pseudo-bulbs will probably not be so 
large as those on the plant when imported. A light position in the 
East Indian house, with abundance of moisture at the root and in 
the atmosphere, is the best for this Orchid. Frequent spraying 
with tepid water while growing tends to keep thrips in check and 
the foliage clean and healthy. 
E. Brassavo’se produces a raceme 18 inches in length, bearing 
many flowers ; each of these measures inches across the sepals and 
petals, brownish yellow ; the lip is straw coloured tipped with 
mauve. This is a distinct species, well worth growing. E. 
cochleatum is a singular Orchid, and one of the oldest in cultiva¬ 
tion. The pseudo-bulbs are similar to those of a dwarf Cattleya, 
and with the leaves deep green. The raceme is produced in summer 
from the top of the pseudo-bulb, and bears a succession of flowers. 
The sepals and petals are elongated, somewhat resembling those of 
a Cirrhopetalum ; the lip is bright magenta, rounded, broad at the 
base and tapering to a point. 
Another beautiful summer flowering kind is E.nemorale. The 
large drooping panicles of pale mauve flowers frequently attain a 
length of 30 inches, and are delicately perfumed. This Orchid, 
like the majority of Epidendrums, enjoys a light sunny position ; 
it should be carefully watered during the winter, as it is then 
usually growing and must not be dried. E. prismatocarpum should 
be more extensively grown ; it is a beautiful and fragrant Orchid, 
easily cultivated. The flowers vary considerably, but the typical 
blossom has sepals and petals about equal in size, lanceolate and 
pale yellow, with spots of crimson and purple ; the lip is light rose 
with a whitish margin. Many more might be named, as F. 
dichosmum and its variety amabile, E. fragrans, and a host oi. 
others did space permit, but enough has been mentioned to show 
there is no lack of good kinds in this division of the genus. 
Quite a distinct section of Epidendrums are those species with 
reed-like stems, the leaves being arranged on most of these in a 
distichous manner. These if strongly grown require ample head 
room, and are for this reason unsuitable for small low houses. 
Where, however, there are large central stages they fill up well, 
and either in or out of flower are ornamental. The fact of a small 
house only being at command need not, however, deter anyone 
from growing this class ; they thrive well if trained up the rafters 
a few inches from the glass, and in this position such kinds as 
E. evectum are, when in flower, exceedingly attractive. This 
species is an almost continuous bloomer, and very easily grown ; it 
thrives in a Cattleya house temperature, and the flowers are bright 
red, produced in large loose panicles. 
E. myrianthum is a very fine Orchid which blooms most 
satisfactorily in a cool house. The stems are long and very slender, 
and from the apices of these the branched racemes of deep pink 
flowers are freely produced in summer. A somewhat similar 
species in habit to the last named is E. rhizophorum, the stems are 
frequently 8 or 9 feet in length and require training on a trellis of 
some kind. The flowers are large and abundant on the racemes. 
It is not often this Orchid is seen in good condition, but when well 
flowered the effect of the scarlet and yellow blossoms is quite 
gorgeous. I have known this plant to be in flower from April to 
August, as the individual blossoms last a long time in perfection, 
and the racemes are produced successively. This is also true of 
E. Wallisi, the racemes of delicately fragrant flowers ^being 
produced from the axils of the leaves over a considerable period. 
Both these species thrive in the Cattleya house, as also does 
E. falcatum. Epidendrums Frederic! Gulielmi, paniculatum and 
syringothyrsus are easily grown in the cool house if given a light 
position and abundance of air. 
All the tall growing species of Epidendrum require abundance of 
water at the root in summer ; the winter supply must be regulated 
according to the growth, in no case allowing the plants to get quite 
dry. The ordinary mixture of peat and sphagnum is a suitable 
compost for all except E. bicornutum. The size of pots or baskets 
will depend on the habit of the species, using the larger sizes for the 
most vigorous growers, and keeping the weaker growing kinds 
rather pinched for root room.—H. R. Richards. 
RIPENED WOOD. 
If your readers are not tired of this subject I would fain reply to 
your correspondents’ amusing banter. Before doing so, however, I 
desire to correct a printer’s error appearing in my last (page 160). At 
the end of third paragraph, when alluding to the present promise of 
fruit buds, I am made to say, " Notwithstanding our house had no 
sun, ikc.” The word “ house” should read “having.” 
But to return. “ E. K.” (page 180) is so delightfully orthodox that 
I am unwilling to disturb his complacency, but Mr. Raillem is too acute 
not to perceive the weakness of his case, and consequently abuses the 
plaintiff’s attorney— i.e., myself and my methods of culture. Let me 
