July  5,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
3 
Brassias. 
^Orchids  that  produce  bright  showy  flowers  are  the  most  likely  to 
become  popular,  and  the  absence  of  bright  colours  probably  accounts 
•for  the  unpopularity  of  Brassias,  These  Orchids,  nevertheless,  have 
many  good  points.  They  last  a  long  time  in  bloom,  are  easily  grown, 
with  purple  streaks  and  spots.  B.  verrucosa  is  a  distinct  and  attrac¬ 
tive  species,  which  does  well  in  a  cool  house.  The  flowers  are 
greenish  white,  the  lip  pure  white,  with  the  excaption  of  the  singular 
warty  protuberances  that  are  thickly  produced  upon  it. 
Burling  toniaa. 
Though  by  no  means  difficult  to  grow,  Burlingtonias  are  no  always 
seen  in  as  good  condition  as  is  desirable,  A  frequent  cause  of  failure 
is  potting  the  plants  in  a  mixture  of  peat  and  moss,  such  as  used  for 
pseudo-balbous  Orchids  generally.  They  are  also  often  kept  too  dry 
at  the  roots  and  in  the  atmosphere  both  during  the  growing  season  and 
in  the  winter.  Frequently,  too,  white  scale  robs  the  plants  of  their 
strength.  With  such  species  as  B.  decora,  which  produces  its  bulbs 
Fig.  1,— BRASSIA  BRACHIATA. 
and  produce  their  flowers  very  freely.  These  latter  are  also 
quaint  in  appearance,  and,  considering  the  habit  of  the  plants,  are  of 
comparatively  large  size.  The 'cultural  requirements  of  Brassias  are 
of  the  simplest  and  most  ordinary  description.  Grown  in  an 
intermediate  temperature  with  peat  and  sphagnum  for  a  rooting 
medium,  abundance  of  water  while  growing,  and  a  decided  period  of 
i^fst,  they  will  be  a  source  of  satisfaction  and  pleasure. 
B.  antherotes  is  a  fine  species,  possibly  the  best  in  the  genus.  The 
healthy  vigorous  spikes  bear  a  large  number  of  flowers.  The  sepals 
are  long,  slightly  twisted,  yellow.  The  petals  are  shorter,  similar  in 
c  flour,  but  with  a  dark  brown  blotch  at  the  base.  The  lip  is  yellow 
with  chocolate  markings.  Each  flower  is  upwards  of  6  inches  across. 
Brassias  Giroudeana,  brachiata  (fig.  1),  and  Lawrenceana  are  all  very 
much  alike.  The  flowers  are  a  pale  greenish  tinge  at  first,  deepening 
in  colour  with  age  to  golden  yellow  spotted  and  barred  with  brown. 
They  usua’ly  flower  in  order  as  named.  In  B.  maculata  the  sepals 
and  petals  are  more  equal  in  length.  The  lip  is  large  and  prominent. 
at  some  distance  from  each  other  upon  the  rhizome,  it  is  a  mistake  to 
allow  them  to  ramble  away  year  after  year,  getting  farther  and  farther 
from  the  compost.  Burlingtonias  require  a  rooting  medium  similar  to 
that  used  for  distichous-leaved  Orchids — viz.,  a  layer  of  sphagnum 
over,  thorough  and  effective  drainage,  and  a  few  pieces  of  potsherd 
or  charcoal  mixed  with  the  layers  of  moss.  They  all  thrive  in  baskets 
or  shallow  pans  suspended  from  the  roof  in  the  Cattleya  house.  When 
newly  imported  B.  decora  and  its  varieties  should  be  placed  in  pans 
filled  with  crocks,  no  moss  being  given  at  first.  After  one  set  of 
pieudo-b  libs  have  been  made  fill  up  with  moss  and  charcoal  to  the 
usual  convex  mound.  The  rhizome  should  then  be  notched  half  way 
through  between  each  bulb,  and  these  disposed  equally  all  over  the 
surface  by  tying  or  pegging  down.  Light  surfacings  of  moss  should 
be  given  yearly;  any  pseudo-bulbs  that  are  spent  must  be  removed 
and  their  places  filled  by  pegging  down  the  last  year’s  growth.  B.  Can¬ 
dida  and  B.  fragrans  are  more  compact  in  their  growth,  and  do  not 
need  this  special  treatment. — H. 
