July  24,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
73 
Orchids  of  Commercial  Value  * 
Laelia  crispa  superba. 
Herein  we  have  an  autumn  flowering  Orchid  of  high  merit. 
The  lip  of  this  variety  is  velvety  purple  shading  almost  to  mauve, 
and  is  beautifully  crisped  and  fimbriated.  L.  crispa,  the  species, 
is  a  Brazilian  plant,  and  was  introduced  in  1826  by  a  Sir  Henry 
Chamberlain,  who  sent  plants  to  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s 
Gardens  at  Chiswick.  The  pseudo-bulbs  are  8in  to  12in  high, 
bearing  a  stout,  solitary  leaf  nearly  a.  foot  in  length.  The  spikes, 
rising  from  a  yellowish  green  sheath,  carry  four  to  six  flowers. 
The  sepals  are  white,  and  the  petals,  which  are  broader,  have  wavy 
and  crisped  margins,  being  coloured  purplish  at  the  base. 
The  Week’s  Cultural  Notes. 
Pleiones  are  now  growing  freely,  and  the  roots  must  not  be 
allowed  to  suffer  for  want  of  water.  They  like  a  sunny  corner 
in  the  intermediate  house, 
and  should  be  looked 
after  as  regards  insects. 
Later  on  the  foliage  will 
be  seen  to  turn  colour  pre¬ 
paratory  to  falling,  and 
this  is  the  time  to  slightly 
decrease  the  moisture 
supply.  The  different 
species  flower  consecu¬ 
tively  over  a  long  season, 
and  a  collection  of  them 
is  very  interesting. 
A  useful  overflow  for  the 
cool  house  now  is  a  frame 
or  pit  in  a  shady  corner  of 
the  garden.  Just  an  or¬ 
dinary  garden  frame  may 
be  used,  placing  a  brick 
under  each  corner  to  allow 
a  current  of  air  to  pass, 
and  tacking  a  narrow 
piece  of  perforated  zinc 
around  this  to  prevent 
mice  or  other  small 
animals  entering.  The 
floor  must  be  well  covered 
with  sharp  ashes,  smiths’ 
ashes  for  preference,  and  a 
little  soot  and  lime  may 
be  sprinkled  over  this. 
The  plants  themselves 
may  be  stood  upon  in¬ 
verted  flower  pots  of  vary¬ 
ing  height,  to  bring  them 
up  to  the  proper  level. 
This  will  be  a  capital 
place  for  any  of  the  cool 
species  to  finish  their 
growth.  The  crispum  Laslia  crispa 
and  similar  species  of 
Odontoglossum.Oncidiums  . 
of  the  macranthum  section,  Epidendrum  vitellinum,  Ada  auran- 
tiaca,  and  many  others  may  be  all  placed  in  it  to  then  own 
benefit,  and  this  will  give  more  room  in  the  house. 
The  frame  should  be  damped  early  in  the  morning  avoiding 
wetting  the  surface  of  the  compost  wherein  the  plants  are 
growing.  If  this  is  done,  it  will  bo  difficult  to  see  which  plants 
require  water  at  the  roots.  These  should  be  seen  to  fail ly  early 
in  the  day,  and  watered  not  with  the  spout  of  the  can,  but  with 
a  rose  syringe,  this  forcing  the  water  into  the  compost,  and  en¬ 
suring  a  thorough  moistening  of  the  whole  of  the  roots.  A  very 
fine  spray  may  be  given  overhead  several  times  daily,  and 
the  pots,  floor  and  sides  of  the  frame  kept  always  moist  by 
syringing. 
Look  out  for  all  the  Dendrobium  as  they  finish  their  growth. 
It  is  early  yet,  but  in  a  very  few  weeks  D.  aureum  and  others 
will  be  finished.  As  soon  as  the  last  leaf  has  formed,  they  must 
be  placed  in  the  full  light  to  ripen,  and  still  kept  moist  As  the 
foliage  turns  colour,  reduce  the  water  supply,  and  place  the 
plants  in  a  vinery  or  greenhouse  to  pass  their  resting  stage. 
No  Dendrobium  will  flower  freely  without  proper  attention  to 
these  details.— H.  R.  R. 
In  the  past,  when  the  demand  for  choice  flowers  and  variety 
was  not  so  great  as  it  is  to-day,  most  of  our  Orchids  belonged  to  a 
limited  number  of  private  individuals;  consequently,  few  flowers 
found  their  way  to  the  flower  stores  or  came  before  the  general 
public.  The  few  Orchid  flowers  then  to-  be*  seen  were  looked 
upon  more  as  curiosities  than  as  an  article  of  trade.  The  price, 
also,  was  beyond  reach,  and  although  they  were  much  admired  for 
their  beauty,  it  seemed  that  Orchids  never  would  become  popular, 
as  the  supply  was  limited.  The  grower  would  not  invest  capital  or 
spend  much  of  his  time  on  a  plant  for  which  he  thought  there  was 
no  market.  Difficulty  was  also  experienced  in  finding  a  person  com¬ 
petent  to  grow  this,  then  little  known,  plant.  The  grower  must 
therefore  personally  take  charge  of  and  look  after  his  plants,  and 
he  would  rather  do  that  than  entrust  his  comparatively  large 
investment  in  the  hands  of  an  inexperienced  or  incompetent 
assistant.  The  retail  merchant  or  storekeeper  was  equally  careful 
in  buying  flowers  lie  had  small  chances  of  selling,  or  to  take  an 
order  for  goods  lie  was  not  sure  to-  be  able  to-  fill.  Under  those 
conditions,  the  risk  was  naturally  great  on  all  sides. 
But  times  have  changed  in  the  last  ten  years.  It  is  hard  to  say 
where  we  are  going  to-  stop.  Orchid  jilants  number  well  up  in  the 
millions;  flowers  are  cut  and  sold  in  much  greater  number,  at  a 
profit  to  the  grower  of  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars”,  and  still  the 
demand  is  ever  increasing. 
Plants  can  never  be  cheaper,  or  the  supply,  I  believe,  more 
abundant  than  at  the  present  time.  Here  are-  a  few  of  the  reasons . 
Orchids  cannot  be  propa^- 
gated  by  cuttings  to  over¬ 
production,  as  is  the  case 
with  mast  other  plants. 
It  is  a  very  slow  process, 
indeed,  to  propagate 
them  by  division,  and  it 
takes  several  years  for 
the-  most  of  them  to  at¬ 
tain  their  flowering 
period  from  seeds.  We 
must,  therefore,  depend 
almost  entirely  upon  im¬ 
portations  from  their 
native  growing  places. 
But  even  there  the  sup¬ 
ply  is  getting  smaller 
year  by  year,  and  it  is, 
perhaps,  but  a  question  of 
time  when  it  will  become 
altogether  exhausted. 
The  immediate  cause  is 
the  thoughtless,  uncon¬ 
scious  and  “  don’t  care  ” 
Orchid  collectors,  the 
cutting  down  of  the 
forests,  and  the  needs  of 
the  ever-increasing  popu¬ 
lation  in  these  districts. 
On  the  strength  of  this 
we  may,  therefore,  say 
that  an  over-production  of 
this  equally  interesting 
and  beautiful  genera  is 
next  to  impossible.  The 
opportunity  for  the 
Orchid  grower  was  never 
better  than  it  is  to-day. 
The  demand  is  always  in- 
creasing,  and  the  supply 
superba.  nearly  always  limited. 
Orchid  growing  has  be¬ 
come  a  trade  of  no  mean  reputation.  May  it  continue  to 
prosper,  thus  making  a  change  in  the  monotony  of  the  every¬ 
where  appearing  Rose  or  Carnation. 
Years  ago,  when  I  was  a  little  more  connected  with  the  com¬ 
mercial  world  than  I  am  now,  not  more  than  10,000  Cattleya 
Trianse  and  as  many  Cypripedium  insigne  sold  in  Greater  New 
York  every  year,  and  all  those  were  grown  in  the  vicinity  of 
New  York  City.  New  York,  however,  is  not  the  only  city  with 
a  demand  for  Orchids,  and  the  New  York  growers  are  not  the 
only  ones  that  can  grow  them.  No,  the  field  is  open  over  this 
whole;  broad  land  of  ours.  , 
We  have  a  long  list  of  varieties,  equally  as  good  as  the 
Cattleya  Trianae  and  the  Cypripedium  insigne,  only  waiting  to 
be  introduced,  and,  when  that  is  done,  I  am  positive  they  will 
become  popular,  appreciated,  and  dearly  loved  bv  the  intelligent 
and  flower-loving  public.  In  making  up  a  collection  it  is,  ot 
course  necessary  to  choose  such  plants  or  varieties  as  promise 
to  bloom  through  the  whole  or  greater  part  of  their  respective 
blooming  season. 
To  be  continue'*. 
*  Read  by  Eobt.  Karlstrom  before  the  Hartford  (Conn.)  Florists'  Club,  January 
28.  1902. 
