September, 1912 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
141 
Dendrobium nobile lends itself readily to propagation from little shouts 
which appear on the lower part of the stems 
the orchid has very few. Dur¬ 
ing the summer katydids and 
grasshoppers will eat the buds 
and soft growth, making a 
screen over-door and ventila¬ 
tor advisable. But at all times 
one must watch out for slugs. 
These crawl up the sides of 
the pots and feast on the 
young roots and tender leaves. 
They are easily discouraged, 
however, by a generous 
sprinkling of air-slaked lime. 
The various kinds of scale are 
really the most troublesome 
pests to guard against, as they 
spread rapidly if once allowed 
a foothold. Good fortune has 
blessed this house in this re¬ 
spect, for in all the ten years of its operation, this is the first that 
scale of any kind has made its appearance, and it has been in¬ 
troduced undoubtedly on some recent addition to the stock. 
Unlike the majority of plants, orchids are injured rather than 
encouraged by too much light as soon as the days begin to get 
the least bit warm. Two large trees, near enough to the house, 
shade partially the glass from eleven to four in summer without 
interfering with the overhead light, thus making further precau¬ 
tion unnecessary except for the few weeks before the trees are 
fully leafed out in the spring. When exposed to full sunlight, 
however, the glass should be well coated with the regular whiting 
preparation used in all fern houses. , 
Orchid plants cost anywhere from a dollar and a half each to 
almost any figure you choose to pay; but the original outlay is 
made once for all, for barring some unfortunate accident, many 
varieties will last as long as the man and can be easily propa¬ 
gated to increase the stock. Dendrobium nobi'e with its hybrids 
lends itself nicely to the ordinary propagating from little shoots 
that appear on the lower part of the stems, while others must be 
increased by detaching a well-developed lead of three pseudo¬ 
bulbs. Such a lead is clearly shown in the central photograph 
and should be detached with a sharp knife from the parent root 
just where the small cross indicates. The young plant should 
then be placed in as small a pot as will accommodate the roots, 
packed hard with moss, and set away on the shelf to grow. The 
saying is that unless an orchid can be picked up by the head it 
has not been properly potted, and though this sends cold shivers 
through the heart of an ordinary “dirt gardener,” he will very 
soon realize that it is the only way to handle these plants, just as 
the only way to pick up a rabbit is by the ears. 
The coarse, stiff foliage of most of the orchids makes it possible 
to crowd the plants that are not blooming very close together, 
and as most of the roots flower but once a year, this fact is of 
real importance in making the most of available space. On the 
120 square feet of bench room in this house, besides palms and 
other tropical plants, there are 277 orchid roots in fifty-three va¬ 
rieties, many of which are only curious and not good for blooms. 
And yet last year were cut 400 salable sprays and single flowers, 
a truly gratifying return for the small amount of labor ex¬ 
pended. By more careful arrangement and by utilizing the raft¬ 
ers for hanging baskets, the number of plants could easily be 
doubled and the greenhouse probably made to pay for itself as 
well as supply numbers of flowers for home use. 
As each variety has its special time for blooming only judicious 
selection is necessary to produce the heaviest crop either summer 
or winter. The simplest way for the beginner is to purchase 
those varieties which the commercial florist finds most profitable 
and then add others as he be¬ 
comes more familiar with the 
sub j ect. Those which have been 
found most satisfactory in this 
house are : Dendrobium nobile 
and its hybrids; Laelia an- 
ceps;; Laelia grandis; Pha- 
laenopsis amabilis; Cattleya 
Loddigesii var. Harrisoniana; 
C. labiata; C. Percevaliana; C. 
Warneri; C. Schzvederi, and 
C. speciosissima. Besides these 
varieties of Cattleya, the fol¬ 
lowing will give a succession 
of bloom all the year: C. 
Trianm; Schroederiana; Mos- 
siae; Mendelii; gigas; Chryso- 
toxa; Gaskelliana; Bowringe- 
ana. 
Watering is accomplished by a stand-pipe fitted with a universal swing 
gas fixture carrying a spray nozzle 
A well developed lead. The cross shows where it should be detached 
for propagating purposes 
