March 6.J 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
med it down with a stick or your own fingers, lifted the 
pot, and gave it a downward stroke on the bench to settle 
all right within, and then passed your open palm over the 
surface to remove any extraneous earth, and with a look 
as much as to say, Hav’nt I done well ? And for com¬ 
mon ephemeral things, we would at ouce reply in the 
affirmative. But when you get used to it you will pack 
your fibres nicely, without wasting much more time; 
while the pleasure of thus tending a favourite plant must 
| he felt to be known. 4. The soil in general should be 
| as high in temperature, or nearly so, as the plant en¬ 
joyed previously. Cold soil has injured many a fine 
plant. I have said nothing of cutting roots, because 
that chiefly applies to particular times and instances. 
Generally, when after a period of rest, fresh growth is to 
be induced. 
6th. Immediately after treatment. —Whatever system 
of potting has been adopted, a greater excitement to 
growth then usual should be given. If well watered 
previously to potting, and a largish shift given, little 
water will be wanted at the root for a time; but that 
j should be several degrees warmer than usual; and fre¬ 
quent syringings in bright weather should be imparted, 
accompanied with shading, if necessary. If a small shift 
was given, water will be wanted more freely at the root; 
and here, as well as in the other case, a higher tempera¬ 
ture should for a time be maintained until fresh growth 
has freely commenced, when air and exposure may be 
more freely given. 
I intended as I promised to have said something 
more in detail on the one-shift system; but its leading 
features have already been referred to, and its chief 
peculiarities may be noticed before long. R. Fish. 
HOTHOUSE DEPARTMENT. 
EXOTIC ORCHIDACEzE. 
plants that thrive well in pots —Continued from 
page 323. 
Dendrobiuji Paxtonii (Mr. Paxton’s D.); East Indies. 
—Sepals and petal, clear bright yellow, lip the same 
colour, with a deep crimson spot in the centre. This is 
a very fine species, grows strong, and flowers freely. 
The pseudo-bulbs are generally three feet high before they 
flower. 42s. 
D. sanguinolentum (Blood spotted D.); East Indies. 
—We described this species under the head Orchids that 
grow well in baskets. Since then we have cultivated it 
in a pot, and tied the psuedo-bulbs upright to small 
green sticks, and the plants grow well and flower freely. 
D. Speciosum (Showy D.); New South Wales.—Sepals 
and petals and lip of a creamy white, beautifully striped 
and spotted with pink. It is a plant that grows strong 
and freely, and must be large before it flowers. It 
requires about two months high temperature, and then 
the heat of a greenhouse for the rest of the year. Indeed, 
it is a query whether, with judicious management, the 
greenhouse treatment will not be best for it all the year. 
Mr. G. Walker, of Eastwood, near Nottingham, a suc¬ 
cessful bloomer of orchids, writes in the Gardener’s 
Chronicle, “ My Dendrohium Speciosum, with a constant 
greenhouse treatment, will have nine very fine spikes of 
flowers expanded in a few days.” To such as have no 
stove this is welcome news, as they may cultivate easily 
in a greenhouse this very fine orchid. At the same 
time, we cannot forget that at Chatsworth there was, some 
years ago, a very large plant of this species cultivated in 
j the orchid house, amongst Dendrohiruns from India, and 
' other Indian orchids; and in that climate and situation 
j it flowered more freely even than Mr. Walker’s. Neither 
must we forget the large plant of this kind in the orchid 
house at the London Horticultural Society’s garden, 
357 J 
which was described in The Cottage Gardener about 
this time last year; besides some others that we have 
noticed from time to time. The fact is, the plants must j 
be of some age and a considerable size, and then with a 
proper routine of culture, a growing moist season, and a 
long period of rest, they will grow and flower most 
satisfactorily, even in a common stove or orchid house. 
10s. 6d. 
D. sulcatum (Furrowed D.); India.—Sepals and petals j 
pale yellow, lip orange, with two small spots of red j 
S near the base. The flowers are produced on short 
racemes, near the top of the flat-furrowed pseudo-bulbs. 
It is a pretty growing species, and the flowers are 
slightly fragrant. 42s. 
D. taurinum (Bull headed D.); Manilla.—The whole 
flower is of creamy brownish hue, but finely margined 
with purplish lilac. The petals are curiously twisted 
like a corkscrew. When the flowers are open they bear 
some likeness to a bull’s head, whence its specimen 
name. It will not flower till the psuedo-bulbs are very 
strong. The plants are something like the more common 
species, D. undulatum, in habit. It is very scarce. 105s. 
D. tortilis (Twisted D.) ; Java.—This is a new 
species, and very little known. The flowers are of a 
pale yellow, almost white. Mr. Mylam, gardener to 
S. Rucker Esq , has under his care a fine plant, and he 
informed us “ that when it was better known, it would 
be considered one of the most valuable of the genus, 
both on account of beauty, free flowering, and its long 
season of blooming.” It was introduced by Messrs. 
Veitch, of Exeter, and is yet very rare. 105s. 
D. veitchianum (Mr. Veitch’s D.); Java.—Flower of 
a buff colour. This species is very much like D. 
Chrysotoxum, excepting that the stems, or psuedo-bulbs, 
are square and much shorter, and the flowers of a paler 
hue, and more densely flowered. It is a good addition 
to the genus. New and rare. 84s. 
Culture. —In order to be successful in their culture, 
the tyro must know that the climate of their native 
country consists of three seasons ; a wet one, a dry cool 
one, and a dry hot one. These follow in regular succes¬ 
sion, year by year. In the rainy season the Dendrobes 
grow, in the comparatively cool one they rest, and in the 
highest dry hot one they flower; and it is a remarkable 
fact, always to be borne in mind , that in localities in the 
warm regions of the earth, where the dry hot and even the 
cooler climate occasionally prevails, no epiphytal orchids 
are found. The rainy season must take place also, 
hence, in our artificial climate in our orchid house, to 
succeed well we must, in a degree, imitate these pecu¬ 
liarities. We must have a season of growth, a season of 
flowering, and a season of rest; and the best times, as 
we are situated, for these seasons will be to have the 
flowering season in the early part of the year, the growing 
season during our summer, and the resting season in our 
winter. This is not exactly the natural way in which 
they succeed each other, but experience proves that it is 
| the best and most practicable lor this country. 
Like all the rest of the tribe, this genus should be 
potted when they begin to set forth new shoots. These 
shoots ought always to spring from the base of the last 
made shoots, close to the compost. Frequently shoots 
| will break out near the apex of thepsuedo bulbs; unless 
i wanted for increasing the number of plants, these should 
all be rubbed off as soon as they appear ; if left on they 
will prevent or weaken the proper shoots from the base 
of the last made bulbs. 
Compost. —The same mixture of rough fibrous peat, 
chopped sphagnum, broken potsherds, and pieces of 
charcoal, as recommended for Cattleyas, will answer well 
for Dendrobes. It should be in a moderately dry state 
when used. These plants love plenty of pot room, but 
the pots should be wider than deep. They must be well 
: drained, and raised a little in the centre of the pots. 
