April  11,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
297 
Angraecum  fastuosum. 
rim  with  crocks,  a  little  peat  and  freshly  gathered  sphagnum  moss 
being  placed  on  the  surface.  A  better  plan  is  to  establish  the  little 
plants  upon  small  blocks  of  Tree  Fern  stems  and  insert  these  in 
pans,  filling  up  with  crocks  and  giving  a  very  slight  surfacing  of 
moss.  Cork  may  also  be  used,  but  the  Fern  stems  are  better.  Being 
a  small  grower  and  not  particularly  strong,  too  decided  a  resting 
season  is  bad  for  it,  and  occasional  waterings  should  be  given,  even 
in  winter.  In  summer  a  good  clear  light  is  essential,  and  an' 
intermediate  temperature. 
The  genus  Angrsecum  was  established  in  1822  by  Aubert  du 
Petit  Thouars,  to  include  certain  species  of  epiphytal  Orchids  found 
in  East  and  West  Tropical  Africa,  Madagascar,  and  the  adjacent 
islands,  and  in  a  work  published  by  that  botanist  several  of  the  species 
now  in  cultivation  were  described.  It  was  then  believed  that  the 
geographical  range  of  the  genus  was  very  limited,  but  species  have 
since  been  found  in  Japan  and  the  West  Indies.  Their  headquarters 
are  Western  Tropical  Africa,  from  Sierra  Leone  to  the  River  Gaboon 
the  opposite  side  of  the  great  continent  about  Zmzibar,  in  Madagascar, 
the  Comoro  Islands,  Bourbon, 
and  Mauritius.  They  are  essen¬ 
tially  heat  and  moisture-loving 
■Orchids,  and  with  the  excep¬ 
tion  of  the  Japanese  Angraecum 
lalcatum  they  need  the  warmest 
compartment  of  the  structure 
devoted  to  such  plants.  Being 
epiphytal  in  habit  the  majority 
require  to  be  grown  in  baskets 
or  on  blocks  of  wood ;  but. 
those  of  vigorous  habit,  such 
as  A.  eburneum  and  A.  sesqui- 
pedale,  are  usually  grown  in 
pots  with  abundance  of  pot¬ 
sherds  as  drainage,  good  fibrous 
peat  and  sphagnum,  or  the 
latter  alone,  that  moss  also 
being  employed  when  the  small 
forms  are  grown  in  baskets  or 
on  blocks.  As  with  all  Orchids 
of  similar  habit  and  from  similar 
climates,  abundance  of  water  is 
required  during  growth,  and 
a  less  amount  when  at  rest  ; 
in  other  respects  they  may 
be  treated  like  most  of  their 
allies. 
Vanda  cserulescens. 
This  is  a  delightful  plant, 
and  one  worthy  of  all  care.  The 
blossoms  are  not  as  large  as 
those  of  V.  cserulea,  but  have 
the  same  charming  tint  of 
blue  that  is  so  uncommon  and 
attractive  among  Orchids.  The 
growth  is  small,  and  the  plants 
do  best  when  established  in 
baskets,  and  suspended  near 
the  roof  ventilators  of  a  warm 
moist  house.  There  are  many 
varieties  of  it,  but  none  are  to  my  mind  prettier  than  a  good  form 
of  the  type.  This  was  one  of  the  plants  sent  to  illustrate  Mr. 
White’s  paper  on  Orchids,  that  are  little  known  and  rarely  culti¬ 
vated.  That  this  is  true  of  the  species  some  may  be  inclined  to 
doubt,  but  I  heard  someone  expatiating  to  a  friend  upon  it  as  a 
small  Vanda  caerulea,  so  apparently  it  is  unknown  to  some  who 
profess  to  teach  others.  Mr.  White’s  paper,  by  the  way,  was  read 
at  the  Drill  Hall  meeting  on  March  26th. 
Trichocentrum  tigrinum. 
This  is  one  of  the  pretty  dwarf  free  flowering  Orchids  that  are  not 
nearly  as  much  grown  as  they  deserve.  They  have  a  great  charm  for 
those  who  look  for  beauty  as  distinct  from  mere  size  and  gorgeous 
colouring.  The  plants  are  only  a  few  inches  high,  and  the  flower 
spikes  appear  in  early  spring  at  the  base  of  the  bronzy  leaves,  each 
bearing  two  or  three  blossoms.  The  sepals  and  petals  are  greenish 
yellow,  blotched  something  like  Odontoglossum  Oervantesi  with 
purple  brown,  the  showy  lip  pure  white  with  a  yellow  crest  and  a 
bright  purple  area  at  the  base. 
T.  tigrinum  needs  very  little  in  the  way  of  compost.  If  grown 
in  pots  or  pans  these  must  be  very  small  and  filled  almost  Jto  the 
Angbjscum  fastuosum. 
Cypripedium  Mastersianum. 
As  a  flower  for  table  decoration  this  Cypripedium  would  be 
difficult  to  surpass,  as  I  do  not  know  a  species  that  so  improves  under 
artificial  light.  The  green  dorsal  sepal  has  usually  a  margin  of  a 
lighter  tint  or  else  pure  white  ;  the  petals  are  rather  stiff-looking, 
bright  reddish  purple,  with  markings  of  a  deeper  hue,  the  lip  pale  red. 
The  plants  thrive  best  in  a  shady  position  in  the  hottest  house,  and 
should  be  potted  and  watered  as  advised  for  Cypripediums  generally. 
It  was  introduced  from  the  Malay  Archipelago  some  years  ago, 
and  recent  importations  have 
made  it  more  plentiful  than 
formerly. 
Orchid  Potting. 
Nothing  has  done  so  much 
towards  giving  flowerless 
Orchids  the  name  of  unsightly 
plants  as  the  slovenly  and 
untidy  methods  practised  in 
potting  them.  Fortunately  it 
is  not  so  much  the  custom  as 
formerly,  and  when  young  men 
in  charge  of  Orchid  houses  take 
an  interest  in  keeping  them 
smart  and  tidy  their  good  work 
shows.  But  not  everyone  has 
had  the  requisite  practice,  and 
without  this  Orchid  potting  is 
rather  a  difficult  task  for  a  time. 
Tne  chief  difficulty  at  first  will 
be  found  in  so  fixing  the  plants 
that  they  cannot  rock  about, 
and  the  compost  so  that  this 
does  not  swill  out  of  the  pots. 
There  is  a  knack  of  using 
the  blunt  dibber,  without  which 
it  is  impossible  to  obtain  good 
results,  and  this  is  best  gained 
— not  by  pulling  about  valuable 
plants,  but  by  practising  with 
empty  pots  and  oompost,  or 
even  with  newly  imported 
plants,  that  usually  have  no 
roots  to  speak  of,  and  are  in 
consequence  not  easily  injured. 
Then  when  a  little  experience 
has  been  gained,  established 
specimens  may  be  taken  in  hand. 
To  take  an  instance  of  an  Orchid 
that  is  easily  potted,  I  may 
mention  small  plants  of  Lycaste 
Skinneri.  As  a  rule  these  are  fairly  well  supplied  with  roots,  that 
will  be  of  great  assistance  in  fixing  the  plants. 
The  pots  chosen  should  allow  of  a  margin  of  an  inch  all  round  the 
pseudo-bulbs,  and  filled  about  two-thirds  of  their  depth  with  crocks. 
Over  this  a  layer  of  rough  sphagnum  and  the  larger,  rougher  roots 
from  the  peat  should  be  laid.  Take  the  plant  in  the  left  hand,  and 
wrap  a  little  peat  and  moss  around  the  roots  directly  under  the  base 
of  the  pseudo-bulbs.  Place  it  in  position,  with  the  bulbs  slightly 
above  the  rim  of  the  pot,  and,  still  holding  the  peat  and  moss  in 
position,  sprinkle  a  few  bits  of  crocks  in  the  margin,  Ihe^  by 
degrees  bed  the  peat  and  moss  in  tightly,  and  when  filled  trim  off  the 
surface  to  a  neat,  cone-shaped  mound. 
This  is  the  simplest  form  of  Orchid  potting,  and  will  vary  in 
different  species.  Some  of  the  more  scrambling  growers,  such  as 
Lselia  superbiens,  will  have  to  be  tied  into  shape  and  firmly  secured 
before  adding  the  compost ;  others,  such  as  the  Bulbophyllums,  and 
even  some  of  the  Coelogynes,  must  have  the  greater  part  of  the 
compost  laid  in  before  placing  the  plants  in  position,  simply  dibbling 
in  a  few  bits  of  peat  and  moss,  and  fixing  the  bulbs  and  rhizomes 
with  copper  wire  pegs.  Not  to  occupy  too  much  space,  details  of 
many  other  species  must  be  left  out,  to  be  treated  of,  with  the  class  of 
compost  needed,  under  their  respective  names. — H.  R.  R. 
