12 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
April 1, 1908 
well in a basket with good drainage and a 
little peat or moss over its roots. Den- 
drobium delicatum is a fine variety, 
having a habit something like Kingianum, 
though the flowers are larger and open 
out better. It has beautiful large sprays 
of creamy white flowers, and possesses a 
very fragrant perfume. It is one of the 
finest of Queensland orchids, and is get- 
ting very scarce. It grows on the Main 
Range, near Toowoomba. It likes a 
shady position, and should be given 
similar treatment to Kangianum. 
Sazcochilus cecillize is another little 
favorite with beginners. It has light-pink 
flowers, is very floriferous, and possesses 
a distinct and pleasant scent. It grows 
naturally on moss-covered rocks, but does 
equally well in cultivation on trees or in 
pans containing plenty of broken crocks 
with a layer of sphagnum or other moss 
over its roots. Writer sent home to Eng- 
land a clump of this variety, and though 
the flower is small it is much prized by 
the friend who received it. 
All the foregoing are Epiphytes—i.e., 
plants which grow upon trees— but some 
of the terrestrial kinds are worth inclusion 
in any collection. 
Calanthe veratrifolia has pretty snow- 
white flowers, and makes a nice display 
in summer. A case of this variety was 
sent to England some years ago, and 
arrived in full bloom. It was sent to a 
ftower show on the Continent, and was 
awardad a silver medal by the judges as 
an exhibit of exceptional merit, Phaius 
grandifolius and Phaius Bernaysii also 
do well, and have much bolder flowers 
than the Calenthe named. They require 
a shady position, and, having fleshy roots 
like the Calanthes, should be grown in a 
compost of fibrous peat, sand, and light 
loam, with plenty of good drainage. 
The foregoing varieties do not embrace 
all that are available in Queensland. but 
are sufficient for this article. Should the 
beginner wish to add a few of the im- 
ported kinds it can be done at very little 
cost, and, as the varieties I shall name 
are hardy, with practically very little risk 
of loss. Dendrobium nobile is one of the 
greatest favorites, and it does well in an 
ordinary bush-house. During the warm 
weather, when in a growing state, plenty 
of moisture is required. After the growths 
have matured, withhold water and give 
only sufficient to prevent shrivelling. The 
Mrs. Anna Porter, 
7 Arcade, Rundle Street, 
(GRENFELL STREET ENTRANCE), 
ADELAIDE. 
Choice Works of Art and Novelties. 
Inspection invited. 
winter is the resting season, and, unless 
the plants get a decided rest to harden 
their growths or pseudo bulbs, few if any 
flowers will be given in the spring. Small 
plants can be imported from about 2s. 6d, 
each upwards. A plant of Nobile recently 
flowered in Brisbane with 502 blooms, a 
record that it is possible has not been 
exceeded in any part of the world. I 
mention this tv show how suitable our 
climate is for some orchids provided the 
proper treatment is given shem. 
Dendrobium Thrysiflorum is another 
hardy variety. It is not deciduous, how- 
ever, so does not relish the drying in 
spring that Nobile can, It must not be 
allowed to shrivel or lose its leaves, other- 
wise a certain amount of natural strength 
in the plant will be lost. Its lovely tresses 
of white and orange flowers makes it a 
good variety for showing. Dendrobium 
densiflorum and Farmeri are two other 
fine varieties of the evergreen habit, which 
do remarkably well bere under osditary 
bush-house conditicns. They, too, have 
beautiful tresses of orange and white and 
yellow respectively, and, like Thrysiflorum, 
are fine show varieties. Dendrobium wardi- 
anum possesses a truly noble flower of 
great substance. It is a waxy white, 
tipped with amethyst purple. The throat 
is ochre yellow, with two dark sanguine- 
ous blotches at the base. Like Nobile, is 
another variety which does remarkably 
well here. Cattleya labiata is another 
variety which does remarkably well here. 
It is one of the grandest of all orchids, 
and hails from Brazil. There are many 
shades of this beautiful orchid, from a 
blush rose to a deep rosy purple. It 
flowers in sheaths of four or five flowers 
to a pseudo bulb, each flower measuring 
up to 8 inches across when fully expanded. 
The throat is usually marked with yellow, 
and the lip from a light shade to a very 
dark purple, and some varieties have a 
beautifully fringed and wavy lip. Cattleya 
Trianze resembles the foregoing some 
what, likewise Cattleya Mossiee, and some 
splendid specimens are to be seen among 
YOUR MONEY 
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OR. PTICS e 
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local growers. There are quite a number 
of other popular sorts in the Cattleya 
section well worth the attention of be- 
ginners, but I must be brief, so I shall 
pass them on this occasion, but cannot 
omit Cattleya Harrisoni, which throws 
sheaths with several flowers varying in 
shade from lilac to dark magenta, with a 
yellow and well-shaped lip. It is another 
hardy inexpensive sort, which thrives and 
blooms well here. 
The slipper orchids, which are called 
Cypripediums, possess a form peculiar 
and interesting by reason of the extra- 
ordinary shape and structure of the 
flowers. The upper or dorsal sepal is 
usually large, and the brightest feature: 
of the flower, while the lip or labellum 
takes the form of a sli; per-shaped bag. 
This family of orchids is terrestrial in 
habit, and possesses no pseudo bulbs, the- 
flower spike being produced from the 
centre of the leaves, which in many species 
are beautifully mottled. Cypripeciums 
require a compost of fibrous peut, sand 
and leaf mould, and a moist, shady posi- 
tion, and do not need the rest necessary 
with some of the species named. Cypri- 
pedium, Barbatum, Insigne, Callosum,. 
Exul, Lawrencianum, Spicerianum, Ven- 
ustum, and Villosum are all doing well 
in the local collections, so that fact, 
combined with their cheapness, warrants 
my recommending them as suitable for 
beginners. Lelia anceps is another fairly 
hardy orchid that does splendidly when 
once established. It blooms in late autumn. 
when flowers are scarce. It comes from 
Mexico, and likes outside treatment. The- 
flowers are variable, and are borne on 
tall spikes of five or six flowers of a rose 
color, the lip being crimson purple, with 
yellow and red stripes. 
There are, of course, hundreds of other 
orchids which I could include in this 
article, but the foregoing is sufficient to- 
enable beginners to get together a collec- 
tion which will comprise many beautiful 
and hardy sorts that will well repay them 
for the little attention required in the- 
way of watering and other attentions 
during their growing seasons, : 
Frequently one reads of fabulous prices 
being given for orchids, and this more 
often leads the uninitiated tu suppose that 
the extreme loveliness of the flowers 
borne by the plants purchased is the 
reason for the high value. In rare cases. 
this may be so, but it is generally the 
E. BLACKEBY, 
BOOT & SHOE MANUFACTURER,. 
226 Rundle St., Adelaide. 
CUT SOLES A SPECIALITY. 
