THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION.— September 23, 1856. 457 
Peristeria elata (the tall Dove Plant).— I am very 
glad to have to report this noble and truly handsome 
Orchid as one that will grow well under a cool treatment. 
The flowers are on a tall, stout spike; they are about an 
inch and a quarter across, and are like white wax, with 
lilac specks on the base of the lip. The sepals and 
petals are very stout, waxy-like, spreading-like wings; 
the column has two spots on each side like a pair of 
eyes; hence the inside of the flower bears a striking 
resemblance to a dove with its wings expanded. It is 
from this likeness that the natives, ignorantly irreverent, 
name it “ el Spirito Sancto,” the Holy Spirit plant. It 
is much esteemed by them in consequence. The pseudo¬ 
bulbs are as large as a swan’s egg, or even larger, and 
are of a beautiful green colour. The leaves are often 
three feet long, lance-shaped, and drooping towards the 
end. When in flower the whole appearance is very 
grand indeed. The way to manage it in a cool house 
is to pot it in April, just as the young shoots begin to 
appear, in a mixture of fibrous loam, leaf-mould, sandy 
peat, and potsherds, adding a number of pieces of char¬ 
coal, broken to the size of walnuts. In potting, place 
two or three inches of broken pots at the bottom, cover 
them with some of the rough pieces of the compost, 
then put iu a portion of the mixture, turn the ball 
out of the old pot, and pick out as much of the old soil 
as possible; examine the roots, and cut away all that are 
dead or decaying; then place the plant in the middle of 
the new pot, observing that its size is proportioned to 
the size of the plant; fill in amongst the roots the new 
compost, filling up to nearly level, but not quite to the 
rim of the pot, keeping the pseudo-bulbs above the soil 
entirely, and finish by gently striking the pot two or 
three times on the bench to settle the soil amongst the 
roots; then place the plant iu the house, as near to the 
glass as the leaves will permit, but give no water for a 
fortnight. If the days are sunny it will be advisable to 
shade the plant till new roots begin to appear; they 
will be seen pushing out under the last-made pseudo¬ 
bulb ; water the plant as soon as they appear, but only 
round the sides of the pot. They must never be 
watered very freely at any time, for the bulbs, if once 
over-watered, rot very suddenly at the base, gradually 
decaying upwards, and thus one year’s growth is lost. 
As soon as the summer’s growth, or, in other words, the 
new pseudo-bulbs are fully grown, then cease watering 
altogether. This will happen during the dark season of 
winter, when most Orchids require a severe rest, and 
this one particularly so. If the plant has beon well 
grown, and its new bulbs perfected and duly rested, it 
will flower the summer following. The flower-stem will 
be seen starting conjbintly with the young shoot. If it 
is not seen, then that bulb will not flower that year: it is 
in vain to look for it afterwards. All that can be done 
then is to repot it, and grow it on freely another year. 
Observe that, whether it flowers or not, it must be potted, 
for it is quite possible to grow a good bulb and a strong 
flower-stem the same season. As the flowers are so 
beautiful and unique, the plant is worthy of every care. 
Phaios albus (white-flowered).—A beautiful plant 
from the mountainous districts of Nepaul, where it is 
found growing on trees in damp, shady situations on the 
Khooseea Hills, at an elevation of three thousand feet 
above the sea. It is well known that Nepaul is very 
moderate (compared with the plains of India) in tempera¬ 
ture; hence this plant does not require what cultivators 
in this country give to it—the heat of the Indian Orchid- 
house ; hence they fail in growing it satisfactorily. No 
Orchid can be more easily grown, providing it has rest, 
shg.de, and water at the proper season, remembering, 
also, that it will not bear the least stimulating. Every 
process of growth must be gentle and gradual. 
The plant should be dormant all through the winter, 
kept in a house not more than 50° in temperature. It 
will even bear the heat in that state to go down at night 
to 40°. In the spring, as soon as the buds at the base 
begin to swell, then repot it in fibry peat, mixed with 
charcoal, and well drained, observing to keep the base 
of the long pseudo-bulbs just level with the soil. The 
roots generally die annually ; hence, at the time of pot¬ 
ting, it will be necessary to support the stems with sticks, 
one to each pseudo-bulb. After it is potted place it again 
in the .house, choosing the most shady part, but give 
no water till fresh roots are emitted; then keep it pretty 
moist, and when the leaves begin to unfold themselves, 
and have advanced to nearly their size, then syringe 
freely almost every day until the flowers begin to appear. 
After that only water at the roots until the flowers decay, 
then reduce the water and the heat till the leaves turn 
yellow, when water must be withheld altogether through 
the winter months unless the pseudo-bulbs shrivel, when 
a little moisture may be given, to keep them plump and 
fresh till the repotting season returns. The flowers are 
large and pure white, excepting that the labellum is 
pencilled with purple. The pseudo-bulbs are very long 
(often three feet) and small, seldom thicker than a goose- 
quill, and the leaves are of a beautiful silvery green. 
Pleione maculata (spotted).—The Pleioues are a 
genus of Orchids lately separated from Coelogyne. They 
are the Crocuses of the upper parts of India. Formerly 
they were grown in the hbttest Orchid-house, but are 
now found to thrive much better in a lower temperature. 
P. maculata is a dwarf Orchid, with spotted pseudo¬ 
bulbs growing on the surface of the soil. The flowers 
are white, and the lip is spotted and blotched in the 
most exquisite manner with a variety of colours. 
P. pra5cox (early-flowering).—This is very like P. 
maculata , only it flowers much earlier, and has different 
pseudo-bulbs. 
P. Wallichiana (Dr. Wallich’s).—This is also a dwarf 
plant, with larger pseudo-bulbs than the preceding, and 
of a darker green, and more thinly spotted. The 
flowers are rose and white, also spotted slightly with 
dark rose. It is a beautiful species. 
The whole of this genus is from the Khooseea Hills, in 
Nepaul. Like the Crocus of Europe, the bulbs are 
annual, that is, the old one decays and dies as soon as 
the new one is fully formed; also, the flowers appear 
before the leaves. When at rest, of course they 
should be kept moderately dry, and in the cool tem¬ 
perature of about 45° to 50°; in that they will flower, 
and after blooming will begin to grow, that is, put forth 
leaves. Then is the time to repot them. The compost 
proper for them is a mixture of fibrous peat, sand, loam, 
and half-decayed leaves, with a small portion of river 
sand. Choose pots in proportion to the number of 
bulbs for each. Drain well, and pot them so as to leave 
the pretty pseudo-bulbs fully exposed. As these plants 
grow in open plains, the pots should be placed in full 
light near the glass, and but little water given till the 
warm weather advances, when the roots push and the 
leaves grow; then the quantity should be increased; and 
when the leaves have nearly attained their size, they 
may be frequently wetted from the fine rose of the 
watering-pan. The new pseudo-bulbs will soon begin 
to form and swell, and when fully formed, and the 
leaves begin to change colour, the watering should be 
gradually reduced, and the heat also. When the leaves 
are quite dead, cease watering altogether, and place the 
pots and bulbs in a dry, shady place till the flowers 
appear again. 
Sophronites grandiflora (large-flowered). — This 
plant, though a native of the mountains of Brazil, has 
proved itself hardy enough to bear a cool treatment. 
Indeed, it has almost been murdered by cultivators 
hitherto, by being kept in too much heat constantly, 
which is to be much regretted, for a more beautiful 
flower no Orchid produces. The blooms are about two 
