76 
THE FLORIST’S JOURNAL. 
species, by resting them. But when plants of this description 
are forced to grow in the winter, I have always seen the 
plants grow very weak in the summer, or not grow at all, 
and very often the pseudo-bulb which they made in the win¬ 
ter was very weak, and seldom or ever flowered. Therefore, 
all those persons who wish to have their plants looking 
healthy in the summer, will do well not to attempt to grow 
their plants in the winter, for, in my opinion, we ought to follow 
nature as near as possible; in all respects in nature the plants 
have a rest at certain seasons of the year, although we cannot 
get them to rest at the same period as they do in their native 
country; we must watch them, and when they show a disposi¬ 
tion to rest we must give it them; they will not all rest at the 
same time, nor grow, nor flower ; but in the winter season the 
growing-house should not be kept so high as in the summer, 
a temperature of 60° of artificial heat is equal to a temperature 
of 80° or 90° of natural or sun heat; therefore, a high artificial 
temperature in the winter, even in the growing-house, must be 
very destructive to vegetation. With respect to the species 
grown on logs, the logs should be in proportion to the size the 
plants grow to. The moss used for logs for this tribe of 
plants should be small, neat, green tufts of moss, and not put 
on too thick, as the roots of all the smaller species of maxillaria 
are all very small and wiry ; therefore the nearer they are to the 
wood the better in the growing season. The plants on logs will 
require to be syringed every morning and evening, and even in 
the middle of the day, to get them to grow firm, as many of 
the smaller species are very beautiful, even as fine as many of 
the larger species, although their flowers are not quite so large. 
All this genus is to be found inhabiting trees and rocks in Brazil, 
Jamaica, and other parts of South America, in Mexico and 
Guatimala. I shall now enumerate some of the principal 
species belonging to this curious genus. 
Maxillaria stapelijlora, stapelia-flowered. This is a neat 
little species; the flowers are large for the size of the plant; 
the pseudo-bulb is small, of a light green, with two leaves at 
the apex of the bulb, and two smaller leaves at the base; the 
flower-stem comes out from between the bulb and the sheathing 
leaf, and is pendant, with from three to ten flowers on each 
spike; the sepals are green, spotted with very dark brown; 
