Decejibek 4. 
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
163 
those larger plants that have been grown on in the 
manner indicated above, by tradesmen intending them 
for specimens, and these must be paid for in proportion 
to the care and trouble involved. Largish plants, treated 
in the common way, will do very well for standing on 
the shelves of small greenhouses, will bloom profusely if 
kc{)t in the same ]iots, and supplied with top-dressings, 
and weak, cool manure-waterings, and even, at times, by 
receiving very small shifts ; but, as a general rule, they 
I will not do, when line, large, healthy symmetrical speci¬ 
mens are the ultimate objects aimed at. 
Pottlwj, Soil, &c.—1 have mentioned about the 1st of 
April for choosing a plant, because the jjlant at that 
time will be exposed to little danger in the carriage, 
and the best growing part of the year is before us to 
make the most of. When received, it should be kept in 
nice growing circumstances, in rather more heat than 
an airy greenhouse, for eight days or so, and then be 
potted and kept with less air until the roots are getting 
into the fresh soil, when air may be given freely. Need 
[ mention that the pots should be clean? if new, steeped 
in water and dried previously, and that good drainage 
and a sweet, well-aired soil are indispensable. 
The soil should be rough, but squeezed firmly together 
For a ()-inch pot, for instance, much of it should be fibry 
pieces of the size of large peas, and larger pieces should 
be introduced as the shifts are larger. For such a size, 
the greater portion should be fibry heath-mould, nearly 
a half of fibry hazel-loam, with a sufficiency of silver- 
sand, and lots of crocks and charcoal to keep it open. 
Small, hard nodules of clay arc very good for this 
purpose. I like all such compost to be sweet, but not 
to have the fibre decomposed, as lately mentioned. I 
cannot always get what I like, but the loam I should 
prefer for potting would bo an inch of tbe turf oti' a 
hazelly loamod pasture, where the grass is short and 
almost as hard and fine as small needles. Wherever 
such is found, the fibres are so matted that it can be 
scarcely torn asunder, and in a twelvemonth would suit 
even an ejiicure in potting. Young plants should have 
rather more j)eat, and, as they get older, rather more 
loam. 
Position and Temperature .—When fresh potted, it is 
always advisable to keep the jdants more close for a 
time, and to give slight syringings to encourage free 
growth. Wiien ultimate effect, rather than present 
gratification, are the object, all flowers must be taken 
off young plants as they appear. Almost all the species, 
by the time they are two and rising three years old, may be 
said to be ever blooming; but even when they get to a 
large size, say, in a 10 or 12-inch pot, or larger, if it is 
desirable to have a very dense mass of bloom at one time, 
the bloom-buds must be removed, and topping the shoots 
take place sometime previously, to be regulated by the 
time the great display is wanted. Training must begin by 
the time the plant gets into a 4-inch or 6-inch pot, tying 
down and out the side-shoots, and using small twigs 
for supporting tlie others in their place, and stopping 
all shoots, where more are wanted to make tbe plant a 
dense bush. They very easily take a pendulous form, 
and a plant some fifteen inches above the pot looks very 
beautiful as a cone, the base of the cone, from the flower¬ 
ing branches hanging over it, being pretty well as low' 
as the base of the pot. Before the jjlant is very large, 
this thumb-and-finger stopping will in general be suffi¬ 
cient; but to keep a large plant in health for a long 
period, it would be required to be pruned back pretty 
freely every season after the principal blooming was 
over, and then to be placed in a close pit, or frame, to en¬ 
courage it to grow freely; and then, provided that fresh 
growtii was well ripened before autumn, there is every 
chance of a free blooming next spring and summer. In 
winter, the plant should have a nice open position, and 
seldom, for any length of time, be under 40*“'. Air 
should bo given pretty freely; but when the external 
atmosphere is 40° and below it, the air should chiefly 
be given at the top of the house. When the air is dry 
and frosty, none should bo allowed to strike the jflant 
directly, by opening the front sashes. In cold, foggy 
weather, as we have had this November, little air should 
be admitted, and to keej) that in motion—as well as for 
changing the visible fog inside the house into invisible 
vapour—a sharp fire may frequently be used, but not 
enough to raise the temperature of the house much. I 
have had plants frozen to the shelves, and without 
much injury ; but a low temperature for any length of 
time would be fatal, and more especially if that plant 
was at all growing anything freely. In spring and early 
summer the plants will bloom nicely—and, provided the 
sun does not strike on the pot too fiercely, no better 
place for them could be found than an open greenhouse. 
When tbo chief time of flowering is over, a cold pit 
that could bo kept closish after the nipping and prun¬ 
ing would be better than a greenhouse. When growth 
is freely proceeding, more air and full sunlight should 
bo given in autumn. The glass may even stand off all 
day in September, when the w'eather is a little cloudy, 
and even at night, when there is no risk of rain; but 
deluges, or extreme bright sunshine, without the inter¬ 
mission of glass, are not desirable. When the pots arc 
well shaded, however, the tops stand the sun better. In 
the extreme noon-day heat, it is better to place the glass 
over them, with i)leuty of air back and front, and the 
glass slightly shaded. When thus well hardened, the 
plants should get into the greenhouse by the first or 
second w'eek in October. I trust these desultory re¬ 
marks will so far meet the wants of several inquirers. 
Iv. Fish. 
ORCHIDS WHICH WII.L BEAR COOL 
TREATMENT. 
Many persons have told me that they would not 
grow these interesting plants becanse they require such 
excessive high temperature, and that colds and coughs, 
in consequence of such temperatures, were almost sure 
to visit the cultivators of Orchids. Though I consider 
this an erroneous idea (for few men have spent more 
time in the Orchid-house than I have without taking 
cold), I shall not combat it, but suppose it to be true. 
Well, then, if the heat is too high for the personal 
comfort of the too-fearful lover of Orchids, I can assure 
him, or her, that there are a large number of very 
beautiful Orchids that may be grown well, and flowered 
better, in a house, the temperature of which need be no 
higher than that of a common Geranium-house. I 
intend to give a list of such as I know, from experience, 
have for several years been grown in such a com¬ 
paratively low temperature. 
In my former papers on Orchid-culture, in the earlier 
volumes of The Cottage Gaedener, I stated, that two 
houses were indispensably necessary; one to grow the 
East Indian species, and the other for such as come 
from the more moderate climate of South America. To 
these I may now add a third house, for growing such 
Orchids as experience has proved hardy enough for a 
common greenhouse. 
Avoidance of Draughts. —The essential difference 
in cuituro is, that those in the lowest artificial tempera¬ 
ture require, during their season of rest, to be kept dry, 
and also no heavy draughts of cold winds should be 
allowed to play on or through them. Hence, in giving 
air to reduce the thermometer, or, in other words, the 
internal heat of the house, it is much more in accordance 
with true science to give or let in cold air below the 
plants, and to let out the heated air through openings in 
the highest part of the house. Sudden changes are 
