of air around them that we do not always have 
in our greenhouses. 
In the matter of Cattleyas, etc., which this 
General Culture is dealing with primarily, we 
recommend looking the plants over at least 
once a week for a good watering. If they are 
dry by weight or condition of the compost, a 
watering is in order and in the case of a few 
plants, an easy method is a quick dipping in 
a pail or tub. Where a collection consists of 
more plants, a hose is the best. Assuming that 
the plants are potted uniformly (the same depth 
from the rim of the pot to the compost) then by 
filling up that space with water all of the plants 
receive the same amount proportionately even 
though in different sized pots. Through the 
winter always pick a nice, bright sunny morn¬ 
ing for watering—never the afternoon. You 
will sometimes find—especially during a dull 
spell—that your plants are heavy and damp 
when inspection time comes. If so, pass them 
up until the next time. During spring, summer 
and fall, because of a drier condition the plants 
will require more water, and it is beneficial to 
syringe them in addition to the watering. A 
hose nozzle, set fine, is good to use, and this 
should be done on nice sunny days early in 
the morning and if the day continues to be hot, 
a repetition is good in the afternoon when the 
sun heat is off the glass. Do not let the bulbs 
shrivel for lack of water. After repotting, water 
should be given sparingly until root action or 
new growths appear. Daily syringings on nice 
days are quite safe for repotted plants. In 
syringing with a hose nozzle one should sweep 
over the plants as quickly as possible. In this 
way the leaves and bulbs get a bit of water 
with practically none added to the compost. 
Damping the walks, stagings, and spaces be¬ 
tween the plants is beneficial during hot, dry 
weather, and also helps during dull winter 
weather when the houses are dry from fire 
heat. Care must be exercised in syringing 
through the winter and should not be done on 
any but bright sunny days and never past noon. 
Resting period. This subject is gone into 
more fully throughout the booklet under the 
separate cultural directions on the various 
genera. 
Regarding Cattleyas and more specifically, 
species of Cattleyas and Laelias, my father, 
John E. Lager, states in some of his notes that 
many species, especially the Colombian Cat¬ 
tleyas, have little or no resting periods in their 
native states. In cultivation however, species 
do require a resting period, particularly C. 
Gigas, etc., and we do practice this procedure 
with good results. After a species has flowered, 
it rests, and during this dormant stage we use 
water sparingly until new growths and root 
action appear, at which time we again start 
it in its regular growing routine. Hybrids, be¬ 
cause of the varied influence of their parents, 
have for the most part, no resting season. It is 
interesting to note in connection with this sub¬ 
ject, that seedlings up until the time they reach 
maturity, whether they are species or hybrids, 
have no resting season and should be grown 
continuously and never checked. 
Heating and Temperatures. Heating is a 
necessary evil and until the day we all have 
our Orchid houses controlled with a not too 
future, practical air-conditioning system we 
must always exercise caution in the use of fire 
heat, whether it be hot water or steam. We 
divide Orchids as a family into three classes, 
as regards temperature; namely the warm, in¬ 
termediate, and cool class. For minimum heat 
we recommend for the warm section a night 
temperature of 62 to 65 degrees with a day 
reading of 65 to 70 degrees. For the intermedi¬ 
ate a night minimum of 60 to 62, and a day 
reading of 65 degrees. For the cool, a night 
minimum of 50 degrees with a day reading of 
55 degrees. Please bear in mind that these 
recommendations have been taken from our 
own experiences and that in higher, dryer alti¬ 
tudes or lower, more humid localities, this table 
would necessarily have to be changed to suit 
local conditions. Through the months when 
heat is necessary, sunlight through the day- 
plays a very important part. On a nice sunny 
day little fire heat is required, and with sun- 
heat, temperatures can be allowed to go con¬ 
siderably higher than would be safe with the 
use of fire heat. No plants should be grown in 
close proximity to heating pipes. Benchings or 
stagings should be so constructed as to cut off 
direct radiation from pipes, and where a bench 
is located a short distance from heating pipes, 
it is wise to arrange a baffle or tray on which 
could be placed coke, charcoal or other ma¬ 
terials which could be syringed from time to 
time. In the case of high stagings, heat has a 
chance to circulate and is absorbed. 
In cold, damp, raw weather care must be 
exercised in connection with heat and moisture. 
It is especially important that little water 
(damping) be used to maintain the house in a 
happy condition. Do not syringe on such a 
day. If in doubt—play safe, on the dry side. 
Benching and stagings. While there are 
many types employed for the average small 
house, we recommend flat, slat benches rather 
than step types. They are inexpensive, of easy 
construction, have greater capacity and allow 
for full light to all plants on any part of the 
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