January 10.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
199 
climbers, with scarlet, yellow flowers, a native of 
Rio Janeiro. All the species of the family are beau¬ 
tiful, but they blow principally in summer, while i 
bicolor presents us with its pretty, tubular, monopita- 
lous blossoms, chiefly in winter. It will thrive 
against a pillar, or trained up a stake, or round a 
trellis in the greenhouse, being fully as hardy as the 
others, or rather more so; but it looks more luxu¬ 
riant, and blooms more profusely, when encouraged 
to grow in a forcing-house in the spring, exposed to 
light under glass during summer, and let in a tem¬ 
perature from 45° to 50° early in October, when its 
blossoms will begin to open generally in November, 
and continue doing so for several months. They 
should be slightly pruned back when done flowering, 
before they get a lift with a little heat in the spring; 
and, during summer, they must, if upon a trellis, be 
carefully aud systematically trained, or they will soon 
become a mass of confusion. Young cuttings taken 
off in February and March, and encouraged with a 
little bottom-heat before struck, and after they are 
potted off, will make nice plants for the succeeding 
winter. Equal proportions of turfy peat and loam 
will suit them well, witli the addition of a little silver 
sand and a few pieces of charcoal. Drainage must 
be properly secured, or the plants will get sickly. We 
have all along supposed that this matter, of first im¬ 
portance, would be attended to. R. Fish. 
HOTHOUSE DEPARTMENT. 
EXOTIC ORCHID ACE a:. 
Syringing. —In our last week’s paper, we detailed, 
at considerable length, the very important operation 
of watering orchids with the watering-pot. This 
week we shall write on the no less essential operation 
of applying water with the syringe. We have in¬ 
cidentally alluded to it in the calendar of monthly 
routine work, and at page 77, in the present volume, 
will be found a description of the kind of syringe we 
consider the best for watering orchids overhead. 
Syringing in Winter. —During the dark days of win¬ 
ter, the operation of syringing requires considerable 
judgment. A large number of orchids will be at rest, 
requiring but little water, especially those in pots. 
Others, on logs, must be syringed on such mornings 
as the sun is likely to shine. There are, however, a 
few plants, even in pots, that are much benefitted by 
the free use of the syringe at all seasons of the year. 
Huntleya violacea, and II. meleagris, are two plants 
much improved by this mode of treatment; and the 
reason they are so improved is evident enough, when 
we consider the situation in which they grow natu¬ 
rally. Dr. Schomburgh found them growing on 
moist rocks, near to a cataract, on a river (Essequibo, 
we believe) in British Guiana. In such a situation, 
the spray of the cataract,, or the air heavily laden 
with moisture, continually kept them in a moist 
state; but, as they grew in the crevices of the rocks, 
the water continually drained away. In our orchid 
houses, with the help of the syringe, and a moist air, 
we imitate these natural conditions sufficiently well. 
All we have to do is to see that the plants are well 
drained, and to syringe them in winter once a day, 
at least, and in summer morning and evening. With 
this treatment, these two plants will flourish and 
grow surprisingly. 
All the Indian tribes that have no pseudo-bulbs, 
require more syringing in winter than those that 
have such reservoirs of vegetable life to sustain them. 
The generic or family names of such as we mean 
| are— Aerides, Angracum, Phalcenopsis, Renctnthera, 
j Saccolabium, Sarcanthus, and Vanda. All these have 
a simple stem, clothed with leaves. If exposed to a 
high dry heat, the leaves and stems will shrivel much 
more than is beneficial to their health; therefore, 
whenever a shrivelling is perceived, let them have a 
gentle syringing, thoroughly wetting the whole plant. 
This will revive them, and keep them fresh and 
healthy. 
Syringing in Spring and Summer. —It is during 
these two growing seasons that the syringe is most 
beneficial, and when they should be deluged almost 
with showers from the syringe, taking the precaution 
to allow them to become dry once a day. Thev are 
sure to become dry enough during the night. * Let 
the water from the syringe be milk-warm rain water, 
and let it fall gently upon the plants; thus imitating 
natural showers of rain as much as possible. We 
have found the plants much refreshed in summer by 
a gentle syringing, when it was actually raining out- 
of-doors. In truth, if such a thing could be managed, 
we should be glad to expose them, during the gentle 
warm showers of summer, to the rain that falls from 
the clouds. We are quite sure it would do them 
good. 
It is, however, the plants on logs that benefit most 
by the use of the syringe, both in winter and summer. 
Of course, they require the most when they are 
making fresh roots and growths; but even when at 
rest they must be syringed occasionally, to prevent 
the roots and pseudo-bulbs from shrinking too much. 
In that state, the finest rosed syringe must be used, 
to prevent so much water falling upon the plants (if 
any) below. 
During the seasons when the syringe is used most 
freely, should any of the plants have perfected their 
growth, and consequently require less water, place 
such in a corner of the house by themselves, and 
syringe them less frequently. Towards the end of 
summer, the whole of the plants ought to be per¬ 
fecting their growths, excepting the Indian ones 
above mentioned, and the Huntleyas. These grow, 
more or less, all the year, but others must have an 
entire rest; therefore, cease syringing so much as 
soon as you think there is a fulness and ripeness 
about the pseudo bulbs, showing that they have made 
the growth for the year. If you continue syringing 
as much as ever, there is danger of starting them 
again into growing prematurely, and then you will 
have weak, puny shoots, and injure both the flowering 
and growth for the ensuing season. It is impossible 
to give any particular time when to cease syringing, 
or watering at the root with a garden pot: experience 
and observation must guide the cultivator. In gene¬ 
ral, we may say the quantity of water, whether ap¬ 
plied witli the garden pot or syringe, ought to be 
considerably lessened towards the end of summer— 
that is, about the end of August. The pseudo-bulbs 
ought to be then fully formed; and, whenever that 
is the case, they require much less water. By the 
middle of October, the water ought to be entirely 
withheld, excepting just enough to prevent the plants 
from shrivelling. 
Dipping in the Cistern. —Plants growing in baskets 
cannot be effectually watered, either with the garden 
pot or syringe. The only effectual way of giving the 
water, is to take them down, and dip them in the 
cistern, or some other vessel that will allow them to 
be sunk deep enough. If they are growing freely, 
they may be left in the water long enough to tho¬ 
roughly soak the material in which they grow, whe¬ 
ther it be peat or sphagnum. Let them stand a few 
