April 17. j 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
37 
These two circumstances naturally direct the cultivator 
how to proceed. 
Soil. —Sandy fibrous loam, and half-decayed tree- 
leaves, in equal parts, and thoroughly mixed, form a 
light rich compost suiting these plants exactly. 
Potting. —Let the pot be well-drained in the usual 
way, and proceed to pot the plants by turning them out 
of their old pots, shaking ofi' gently all the old soil; 
then fill the new pots so as to allow the pseudo-bulbs to 
be just covered ; work in with the hand the compost 
round the bulbs, and press it rather firm ; give a gentle 
watering, and place them in a hot, damp stove, pretty 
close to the glass. They will not require much water 
for the first three weeks or a month, but when they put 
forth new roots and shoots they must have a more liberal 
supply. When the flower-stems or leaves have attained 
a considerable strength, and the roots are in active ope¬ 
ration, then pour on the water abundantly, but see that 
the drainage is perfect, that the water may not lodge in 
the soil too long; for, if it does, the soil will become 
soddened and sour, and the tender ends of the roots 
will perish, the leaves will turn yellow, and the new 
pseudo-bulbs, instead of being larger than those of the 
previous year, will be much less. Should the same 
misfortune happen another year, the bulbs will idti- 
mately perish. This shows the necessity of perfect 
drainage , and applies to plants generally, as well as 
orchids. When the growing season is over, which may 
; be known by the size of the new bulbs, and the decay¬ 
ing of the flower-stems and leaves, the supply of water 
must be gradually lessened; and when the leaves are 
quite dead, no more must be given, and the heat must 
be lowered considerably, so as to induce a state of rest. 
The growing season should extend from March to Sep¬ 
tember; and the resting period through the remainder 
of the year. 
Gramjiatophyi.lum multjfloruji (Many-flowered G.); 
Manilla.—Sepals and petals brownish, margined with 
green ; lip yellow, with rich brown spots and stripes. This 
is a noble plant; the flower-stems rise to the height of two 
feet or more ; they are much branched, and the flowers 
are large and numerous, thus rendering it a truly fine 
object. The finest plant we believe in cultivation be¬ 
longs to H. Schroeder, Esq., of Stratford Green. It 
has numerous shoots, and last year produced two mag¬ 
nificent flower-stems, each bearing more than a hundred 
flowers. Very desirable. 63s. 
There is a variety named O. multijlorum tigrinum, 
and a fine one it is, but unfortunately very scarce. The 
sepals and petals are light green, clear and bright, 
spotted with reddish-brown ; the lip is yellow, variegated 
with rich scaiiet. It cannot, however, be purchased at 
present. 
G. speciosum (Showy G.) ; East Indies.—A noble 
plant whicli has hitherto baffled the utmost skill of cul¬ 
tivators to make it flower ; neither have we any account 
from collectors of their having seen it in flower in its 
native localities. We have seen plants of it more than 
six feet high in several collections, but none have as yet 
flowered, though, for the purpose, the utmost skill by 
the best cultivators has been put into requisition. We 
should recommend to our fellow-labourers a great diver¬ 
sity of treatment; liberal supplies of beat and moisture 
when growing, and a more severe treatment when at rest. 
No doubt, from the grandeur of the plant, it is a splendid 
object when in bloom. We have suggested to one emi¬ 
nent cultivator, who possesses two very fine specimens 
growing in large pots, the experiment of planting it out in 
a bed heated with hot water; growing it freely by means 
of bottom-heat, and a high degree of moisture; and then 
taking it up, hanging it from the roof, giving no moisture 
for three or four months, till every leaf turns yellow, and 
the plant, in appearance, almost dead; then, in the spring 
of the year, planting it out again, and subjecting it to a 
repetition of the same bottom-heat and moisture. This 
experiment is certainly worth trying, and we have not 
much doubt would end in causing the plant to bloom. 
Hoclletia Brocklehurstiana (Mr. Brockleburst’s 
H.) ; Brazil.—Sepals and petals rich brown, spotted and 
striped with chocolate; lip pale yellow, thickly spotted 
with beautiful light purple. The flowers are produced 
on stems, rising from the base of the pseudo-bulbs, two 
feet high. Each stem, when strong, bears seven or eight 
flowers, each flower measuring three inches across. 
This description will convince our readers that this is a 
very fine species, especially when it is added that the 
flowers emit a powerful, agreeable fragrance-. 31s. 6d. 
H. vittata (Ribbon H.); Brazil.—Sepals and petals 
yellow, distinctly striped with chocolate ; lip yellow, also 
striped with rich orange. This, also, is a fine species of ' 
great beauty, but rare. 84s. 
Culture. —During the time we had the charge of the 
orchideous plants belonging to Mr. Brockleburst, we 
had the pleasure of flowering, for the first time in Eng¬ 
land, the first-named species. We cultivated it in a 
basket hung up to the roof, thinking it was a plant that 
would flower in the same manner as a Stanhopea, or a 
drooping species of Peresteria. It proved, however, to 
be neither, but a new genus named by Dr. Bindley 
Houlletia Brocklehurstiana, in honour of a French bota¬ 
nist, Houllet, and Mr. Brockleburst. It is now found 
to grow and flower best in a pot. Though a native of 
the Brazils, it does not require the hottest part of the 
orchid house. When growing, 70° to 75° by day, and 
65° by night, are the right temperatures,. When at 
rest, the heat need never exceed 60° by day, and may 
be allowed to fall down to 50° at night. 
Soil. —Rough fibrous peat, with all the fine parts 
sifted out of it, two parts, and chopped sphagnum one 
part, with a due admixture of pieces of charcoal and 
broken potsherds. This is a suitable mixture for great 
numbers of orchids. 
Potting. —The time for this important operation is 
when the plants begin to grow, which generally hap¬ 
pens, if the plants are rightly managed, in March. 
When growing, keep up a moist atmosphere, and water 
freely, especially when the new growths are half made. 
The growing season should extend to the end of Sep¬ 
tember, and then the resting season must commence ; 
all water should be then withheld, but a degree of mois¬ 
ture should still be kept up in the air till mid-winter, 
and then even that must be discontinued, the object 
being to give a certain absolute rest without the pseudo¬ 
bulbs and leaves shrinking too much. 
Huntleya meleagris (Speckled H.); S. America.— 
63s. 
H. violacea (Violet-coloured H.) ; Guiana.—At page 
199, of the 3rd vol. of The Cottage Gardener, under 
the head “ Orchids requiring peculiar treatment,” the 
description and culture of these plants is mentioned, 
and therefore we need not repeat it here. 
Lacuena bicolor (Two-coloured L.); Guatemala. 
Sepals and petals greenish yellow, the petals are striped 
with three violet stripes ; the lip is white, with a purple 
blotch in the centre, and a few spots of the same colour. 
The flower-stems spring from the base of the pseudo¬ 
bulbs ; they are frequently two feet long, and the flowers 
are thickly placed upon them. It is a desirable plant. 
42 s. 
The cultivation of this plant is the same as that above 
described for Houlletia, excepting the plants must be 
potted high, to allow the flower-stems to issue out above 
the rim of the pots. They must either be allowed to 
hang down over the pots, or they may be supported 
horizontally with sticks. The latter method shows off 
the flowers to the greatest advantage. T. Appleby. 
