Decemf.er 18 
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
199 
greenhouse. So great is the desire for the sweet foliage, 
that some wish to devote a bed for them alone; in this 
case, no mode is so good as cutting the plants down in 
autumn, covering with ashes or leaf-mould, tlien a good 
thickness of hay or moss, and thatching neatly with 
straw, or garden mats, to tlirow off the wet. These will 
throw up strong, vigorous shoots. R. Ejsu. 
CUr/rURE OF orchids that will BEAR 
COOL TREATMENT. 
{Couiiniii:d J'rovi jhkjc Kio.) 
Heat. —The species of Orchids enumerated below 
have been found to thrive and flower well in the follow¬ 
ing temperatures. Winter, when at rest, 50'^ to 55° by 
day, and 15° to 50° by night. In warm, sunny weather, 
with plenty of air, the thermometer may be allowed in 
the day to rise to OO'-"; but by no means let that heat be 
e.Kceedcd, or prematuro growths might bo excited, which 
young shoots would be sure to damp off if many dark, 
damp days should succeed the wnirm, sunny ones. Sum¬ 
mer, day, 55° to 05°, and 50° to 55° by night. Now, these 
degrees of heat are not at all distressing to the most 
delicate constitution, therefore, any one desirous of culti¬ 
vating these most beautiful plants, and possessing a 
tolerably good greenhouse, may grow them without any 
dread of their suffering in health. There are, as my 
list will show, a sufficient number to fill a small liouse 
by themselves, or, if the house is too large, one end 
may be appropriated to them, and the remaining space 
filled with the ordinary inhabitants of the greenhouse; 
or they may he mixed with them, and such as are grown 
in baskets may be suspended from the rafters, here and 
there, above the other plants. Whichever method is i 
followed, the cultivator must pay attention to the follow- > 
ing points :—Never to place an Orchid so near to a ' 
greenhouse plant as to render it liable to be wetted with ' 
the water given to that plant, either overhead from the ' 
syringe, or the watering-pot, or any more than is, neces¬ 
sary at the root. Unseasonable wetting, or watering, is , 
peculiarly injurious to Orchids grown in a lower tempera- ; 
ture than ordinary. Then, again, constant watchfulness i 
must be exercised in seeking for and destroying all ( 
kinds of insects and vermin that will infect and prey ; 
upon the tender shoots and roots of Orchids. The I 
common cockroach will live and multiply even in such ' 
a low atmosphere, and our hardy brown and black ' 
slugs, or snails, will be found more numerously than in | 
a liigher temperature. Wood-lice may be kept under by i 
keeping a toad or two in the house. The various kinds ■ 
of Coccus, the scale-like insects, will soon congregate in 
great numbers on the Orchids, unless kept under by : 
frequent spongings. Even the common Green Ely, or ! 
Aphides, will sometimes attack the young shoots and ' 
flower-stems; and the pernicious Thrip will bite and feed ' 
upon the leaves, both young and old. All these tiny 
enemies are very annoying and destructive to the health ; 
and well-being of the plants. A constant war must be ! 
waged with them. Tobacco-smoke, and tobacco-water in | 
which soft-soap has been dissolved, are exceedingly j 
useful, judiciously applied, as destructive agents to j 
many of these pests, especially the white and brown j 
scale, the Green Fly, and the Thrip. ' 
I now conclude these few brief cultural remarks, 1 
wliich i intreat the cultivator, or intended cultivator, to ! 
study, mark, and learn, and put into practice, as near 
as circumstances will allow. 1 shall now proceed to 
give the names of such species as 1 have either grown 
myself, or seen grown by Mr. Edwin Wheeler, success¬ 
fully, in the low temperature above given, which is 
much less than they have hitherto been supposed to 
require. 
BARKERIA SPECTABILIS (The Showy Baekeria). 
Native of Guatimala, where it is found in elevated 
situations, growing on branches of trees. It has pseudo¬ 
bulbs three to four inches long and about as thick as a 
common quill, growing in clusters. 'The leaves are 
sharp, oval-shaped, liglit green, and deciduous, falling 
oft'when the growth is perfected. The flowers are large 
and beautiful, and finer and brighter coloured in a low 
temperature. In a high, close temperature, the flowers 
ai'o thin and paler in colour; the pseudo-bulbs grow 
weak and less every year, and finally pine away, and 
the ])lant perishes. It should be grown in a rather 
small basket, and suspended from the roof of a cool 
house, where it has plenty of air. So managed, the 
pseudo-bulbs will grow stronger every year; the spikes 
of flowers would be longer and more flowers produced. 
This is one of the very best Orchids for a cool treatment. 
BLETIA HYANCINTHINA AND B. SHEPHERDII. 
Both these lovely species are hardy greenhouse plants, 
j rarely cultivated as pot-plants. They belong to what are 
j termed the terrestrial class of Orchids ; their leaves and 
flower-stems die down annually, and their pseudo-bulbs 
remain alive under ground; hence, when at rest, they 
take up little room, and the pots may be laid on one 
side, under the stage or on a shelf, so as to be kept at 
j rest through the winter. Examine them in the spring, 
and if any signs of grow'th are visible, shake them out 
of the old soil, and I'epot them in a compost of sandy 
i peat and leaf-mould, in equal parts. Drain well, and 
. give a gentle watering to settle the soil and stimulate 
growth. The supply of water must be moderate for the 
' first few weeks, till the leaves have attained some size, 
and then water freely. Let them have plenty of light 
I whilst growing, and when the flowering season is over, 
and the leaves begin to turn yellow, gradually decrease 
the supply of w'atei', aud, finally, cease it, cut down the 
leaves, flow'er stems, &c., and place them again in their 
winter quarters. The flowers are of a lovely purple, and 
last a considerable time in bloom, therefore, they are 
worthy of all the above care. 
CALANTHE VERATRIFOLIA (Yehateujmeaved 
Cal.anthe ). 
This is also a terrestrial Orchid, native of Java, ever¬ 
green even through the winter. It has beautiful pure 
white flowers, produced on long spikes, aud lasts a long 
time in bloom. It thrives well in fibrous loam aud peat 
intermixed with pieces of charcoal. It sends out a | 
shoot from the base of the preceding one that flowers, 
aud generally, whilst blooming, the ne.xt shoot makes 
its appearance. The leaves of the flowering-shoot con¬ 
tinue green through the winter and then decay. Whilst | 
growing, occasional waterings with liquid-manure will 
be of great use to stimulate growth, and thus increase 
the size and strength of the leaves. This stimulation 
must, of course, only be applied during the warm 
summer months; but the plant must be watered the ! 
rest uf the yefir with rain water ; repot in spring, using 
plenty of drainage, and give as much light as possible, 
by keeping the plant near to the glass. 
C. vESTiTA {Clothed Cahmthe ).—A beautiful species, j 
with large flowers of a creamy-white colour, and a large 
spot of crimson in the centre. It has ])seudo-bulbs, 
oval-shaped, and of a silvery-grey colour. I have never 
seen this lovely species grown in a cool house; but I 
have no doubt that it will thrive well in such a place, 
providing it is kept dry in winter, aud no frost allowed 
to reach it. Jt loses its leaves every autumn, and the 
flower-stems spring from the base of the bulbs. In a 
hot stove these flowers are produced in winter; but, 1 
imagine, in a cool house they would remain dormant 
till late in the spring. The pseudo-bulbs should never 
