October 23. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
49 
and at least got under cover—a heath, an epacris, or an 
azalea will not show the bad effects of standing out too 
loug so soon as some other things, but the injury will 
he more permanent. If the pots are plunged, the danger 
would not he so great as when the roots are exposed. 
This holds true of all greenhouse plants, hut especially 
such as these. If the wood is well ripened, it requires 
considerable cold to injure the tops, hut the pots, when 
exposed alternately to wet and dry, and standing free 
all round, are so easily cooled, greatly by evaporation, 
that the roots at the side of the pot are frequently 
injured at night, though no trace of the extreme cold 
they have suffered be observed in the morning. Another 
reason why standing out late in autumn is dangerous, 
is owing to the frequent showers that generally fall 
then, not that they themselves, unless very cold, do 
any harm—quite the reverse ; only that, they render all 
criteria as to watering, or not watering, a mere matter 
of hap-hazard. I have seen instances of azaleas and 
heaths next to immediately injured from this cause, 
and which was not discovered until after turning the 
plant out of the pot. It was found that the lower and 
middle parts of the hall were as dry as dust, while for a 
couple of inches on the surface it was moist enough. 
The cold and drizzling showers that a plant will endure 
when turned out in the open ground, must not be taken 
as the rule of what a neighbour plant will stand, that is 
exposed to the open air in a pot. Saving from heavy 
rains must now form an element in our systems of tem¬ 
porary protection. I have seen large plants of green¬ 
house azaleas pass the winter in the open air, protected 
merely by the dense branches of overhanging trees, and 
these plants flowered the following season rather well, 
for the buds were matured in summer; but in every 
case in which these plants are exposed to a low tempe¬ 
rature, you run the risk, if nothing worse, of changing 
them from evergreen to deciduous, as most of the leaves 
will fall before the blossom expands. Next to these, 
nay before them, Cinerarias and Calceolarias must be 
secured. Both will bear a low temperature, and be none 
the worse for it, provided frost and damp be excluded. 
With plenty of light and air, a damp atmosphere will do 
them little harm. Moist, stagnant air now is their 
ruin, and more so during the winter. If necessity forces 
us to keep them close in winter, our only safety will be 
in the lowness of the temperature, if it is just above 
freezing. Cacti will be quite safe if dry, and where 
frost cannot reach them. Few of them will have had 
any water for a month past, and they will want little 
or none for four months to come. We must except 
the truncatus, and winter-blooming kinds, which will 
now be showing their buds. These must have the 
warmest position in the house. Chrysanthemums , when 
grown in earnest, should now be either housed, or 
placed under temporary protection, that the buds may 
not be injured. The sooner they are protected, and 
watered alternately with manure and clear water, the 
finer will be the flowers. 
Preliminaries. First, Cleanliness. —This should extend 
to the pots; all green, slimy, fungous matter should be 
scoured off, and the pots dried before being housed. 
Not that in a well-drained pot the dirt on the outside 
does any great harm, farther than having the tendency 
to spread itself and grow, but then the look of nice, 
clean pots is more cheering than green, slimy ones. 
The branches, also, should not be forgotten. Any accu¬ 
mulation of dust, or insects, or withered leaves, must be 
duly got rid off before placing them in their confined 
winter quarters. Tying and training should also be 
attended to, as it can be more easily done than when 
all have been nicely arranged, though, to be sure, there 
will be many wet days, and cold ones too, when doing 
such things will be next to a luxury. And, lastly, for 
good plants designed to be grown as specimens, it is 
now far too late to tbink of fresh potting, but the plants 
wiil be benefited, and neatness and tidiness promoted, 
by scraping a little of the old surface soil from the pots, 
and placing on a little fresh of the compost in which the 
plant most delights. When washing or scrubbing the 
pots, be careful that none of the filthy water finds its 
way into the soil, as, in many cases, it will do more 
harm than can be neutralized by the best drainage and 
the best preparation of compost. B. Fish. 
HOTHOUSE DEPARTMENT. 
EXOTIC ORCHIDACEiE. 
orchids that thrive well in pots —(Continued from 
page 24). 
Stenorhynchus speciosus (Showy S.); W. Indies.— 
Flowers a bright red, growing from the midst of the 
plant on tall stems, sometimes a foot high. The leaves 
grow in a compact mass, close to the soil; they are 
broad-spear-head-shaped, nearly six inches long, and of 
a lively green. As the flowers appear in the autumn, 
and last through the greater part of the winter, they 
render this plant very attractive during that dull season 
of the year. They are easily propagated by division, 
and, therefore, several plants may be grown for the 
purpose of decorating either the orchid-house or the 
stove, at a time when flowers are comparatively rare. 
Good strong blooming plants maybe had for 7s. 6d. each. 
Spiranthes grandiflora (Large-flowered S.); St. 
Vincent.—Flowers white and green. A handsome 
herbaceous plant, with tall flower-stems, worth culti¬ 
vating. 21s. 
S. picta (Painted-leaved S.); Trinidad.—Flowers 
greenish yellow. The leaves are the chief recommen¬ 
dation of this plant. They are, as it were, beautifully 
painted in blotches and streaks with white upon a green 
ground in a most pleasing manner. 10s. 6d. 
There are several more species belonging to the two 
genera we have noted above, but for want of sufficient 
attractions in foliage and flowers, and as we profess 
only to notice such as are really worthy of cultivation, 
we shall omit them here. Further information about 
them will be found in The Cottage Gardeners Dictionary. 
Culture. — All the plants belonging to these two 
families are what has been denominated terrestrial 
(growing on or in the ground) in their native habitats, 
and consequently require a corresponding treatment in 
their general management. 
Soil. —The earth that accompanies the roots when 
they are brought over to this country is remarkably like 
our common yellow loam. Observing this, we adopted 
loam pure and unmixed to grow them in, and we find it 
suits them much better than any compost, using only the 
turfy part, partly decomposed, in a roughish state, ex¬ 
cepting a thin cover of finer soil on the surface. 
Drainage. —This must be perfect and open; to effect 
which, place a large oyster shell, or a large potsherd, 
over the hole at the bottom of the pot, then a layer of 
larger pieces over it, and a third layer of smaller pieces 
upon them, and cover this drainage with a thin layer of 
sphagnum or other moss. The drainage need not 
occupy more than one-fourth of the depth of the pot, 
because though these plants will not bear stagnant water, 
yet they require a body of soil to grow in, and contain 
their large clusters of long fleshy roots. 
Potting. —The soil should be well aired, and nearly 
as warm as that in which they grow at the time of 
potting. Early spring is the best time. All being 
ready, proceed to work by bringing the plants to the 
potting bench, placed in some warm shed or room; turn 
them out of their pots carefully, clear away all decayed 
roots and loaves, and shake off as much of the old soil 
