April 3.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
9 
HOTHOUSE DEPARTMENT. 
EXOTIC ORCHIDACEiE. 
plants that thrive well in pots— ( Continued from 
p. 386). 
Epidendruji selligerum (Saddle lipped E.) ; Mexico. 
—Though not very showy, this species is desirable on 
account of its powerful perfume. The flowers are 
brownish with stripes of pink, numerously produced on 
long racemes. 21s. 
There is a variety with a purple shade much hand¬ 
somer than the original species. 31s. Gd. 
E. Skinnerii. See Barkeria Skinnerii. 
E. Stamfordiancm (Lord Stamford’s E.) ; Guatimala. 
—The flowers are pale yellow with streaks and spots of 
rich brown. The flowers, unlike the rest of the genus, 
spring from the base of the pseudo bulbs. They emit 
a pleasant perfume. The flowers are in branching 
panicles, and last a long time in bloom. It is a very 
desirable species. Strong plants 42s. 
E. verrucosum (Warty E.) ; Mexico.—The whole 
flower is of a pinky hue; the sepals and petals are thinly 
spotted with crimson, the lip is very thickly dotted with 
tlis same colour. The flowers are nearly three inches 
across, and very fragrant. The flower stem is covered 
with limpid warty excrescences, hence its specific name. 
A very splendid species, but very rare. 105s. 
E. vitellinum (Yolk-of-egg E.); Mexico.—Sepals and 
petals rich orange scarlet, the lip is of a bright golden 
yellow. The leaves and pseudo-bulbs are of a milky 
green colour, by which the plant may be distinguished 
from all the genus except one species, E.glaucum. It is 
the most beautiful of the whole family. It was dis¬ 
covered by Mr. Hartweg, in Mexico, at an elevation of 
nine thousand feet above the level of the sea, conse¬ 
quently does not require the highest temperature of the 
Indian house. It is a truly desirable species. 42s. 
There is a variety known as E. vitellinum major, a 
fine variety, with much larger and more numerous flowers. 
The whole plant, also, is larger and stronger. 63s. 
Culture. —Compost for them : rough pieces of fibrous 
peat and chopped sphagnum in equal parts, with about 
one-fourtli added of broken potsherds and small pieces 
of charcoal. In potting use plenty of drainage, the pot 
at least one-third full of broken potsherds, place a little 
moss over the drainage, and fill the pot to the rim with 
the compost well mixed; then place on it the plant, 
after clearing it of all dead roots, decayed leaves, dirt, and 
insects ; pack the compost neatly about the roots, round¬ 
ing it off so as to leave the plants on a little hillock in 
the centre of the pot. Fix the plants firmly with short 
hooks to the round pseudo-bulb; sticks to the long¬ 
stemmed varieties. These plants generally begin to 
grow about March, and then is the time to pot them. 
All the species that ai’e natives of Demarara and the 
West Indies require a higher temperature than those 
i from the cooler regions of Mexico and Guatimala, yet 
i the difference is not so much but they may be grown in 
! one house. Those from the warmer regions in the 
warmest part, and the others in the coolest. During 
the time of growth the temperature should be 70° to 75° 
by day, and 60° to 65° by night. Whilst they are 
growing a moist atmosphere should be kept up, by 
having the paths, walls, and stages, almost constantly 
wet. The plants must be watered moderately at first, j 
hut more abundantly as the new pseudo-bulbs advance ; 
in size. Care must be taken that the water does not 
i lodge in the hearts of the young leaves, especially during 
the night. They should also be gently syringed when j 
growing, not with a driving force, but with a gentle 
shower as fine almost as dew sent gently through the , 
very finest rosed syringe. When in flower the syringing 
must be withheld, as it would spot and spoil the beauty j 
of the blooms. As soon as the bloom is over the 
syringing must be renewed till the summer growth is 
perfected. This may he known by the full size of the 
pseudo-bulbs or stems, and an evident inclination they 
will shew to cease swelling or growing. As soon as this 
state is perceived, the syringing and watering at the 
root must be gradually reduced. This will generally 
happen about the middle of September, and that is a 
proper season for the resting of these plants to commence. 
After that time no more water at the roots should he 
j applied, or only given if the pseudo-bulbs appear to 
I shrivel very much, and even then very little will be 
j necessary to keep them plump and healthy. During 
! this resting season the great care of the cultivator must 
he directed to keeping the roots from perishing through 
the winter. This can only be done by having them 
nearly dry, hut not too much so, or they would wither 
and perish. These may appear tedious particulars, 
but it is necessary, in order to be successful in the 
highest degree, to attend to the least minutise in the 
points of culture, not only for orchids, but for every kind 
i of flowers or plants. This is the winter treatment, 
which lasts till the end of February, and then recom¬ 
mences the growing and flowering season, or summer 
treatment above described. 
Eria. —This is a largish genus of not showy plants. 
Very few are worth the general grower’s attention ; we 
shall only enumerate the following: 
Eria floribunda (Many-flowered E.); Sincapore.— 
Sepals and petals white, delicately shaded with crimson ; 
lip the same ground colour with a margin of crimson 
spots. The flowers are produced on long pendant 
racemes, and are really pretty. 42s. 
E. longilabris (Long-lipped E.); Philippine Isles.— 
Sepals and petals white ; lip much lengthened, hence its 
specific name, with the same ground colour and beau¬ 
tiful tints of purple. 31s. 6d. 
E. polyura (Many-tailed E.); Manilla.—This is a 
pretty species, with flowers like clear little bells tinged 
with pink; the centre is rich purple and yellow. 42s. 
E. stellata (Starry E.) ; Java.—Flowers produced 
on long racemes rising from the base of the plant. They 
are of a straw colour spotted with reddish brown; star¬ 
shaped, and rather pretty. 21s. 
Culture. —These plants are of easy culture, only re¬ 
quiring to be grown in the warmest heat of the Indian 
house, growing them freely during summer; with a much 
less degree of heat and moisture in winter, and potting 
them when they begin to grow in the same compost as 
that described above for Epidendrums. 
Eulophia Guineensis (Guinea E.) ; Sierra Leone— 
Sepals and petals brownish green; the lip light pink, 
slightly streaked with purple. It is a handsome species. 
31s. 6d. 
This is a small genus of orchids, chiefly terrestrial. 
The only one worth growing is the above species. It 
requires a compost of turfy loam, fibrous peat, and half- 
decayed leaf-mould, well mixed with a little river sand. 
Pot the bulbs in February in this mixture, draining 
them well, and place the bulbs so as to be just covered 
with the soil, and level with the rim of the pot. Give 
a gentle watering to settle the earth about the bulbs, 
and place them in a heat by day of 70° to 75°, by night 
of 60° to 65°. As they advance in growth, give mode¬ 
rate supplies of water till the new bulbs are freely 
formed, then gradually lessen the supply, and when the 
leaves turn yellow withhold it altogether, and place 
them in a house the temperature of which does not 
exceed 60° by day, and 55° by night. This season of 
rest ought to be begun in September, and continued to 
the time of repotting in February. With this manage¬ 
ment carefully followed up, this beautiful plant will 
grow well and flower finely. 
Galeandra Bauerii (Mr. Bauer’s G.); Mexico.— 
