98 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  31,  1902. 
it  being  the  only  one  of  that  shade.  The  temperature  in  the 
Cattleya  labiata.  house  is  just  right  for  the  Vanda,  which  succeeds 
best  if  planted  in  baskets  suspended  from  the  roof — thereby  also 
economising  in  bench  room,  so  well  needed  for  other  things. 
Lselias  anceps,  autumnalis,  and  albida,  all  Mexican  species, 
are  rich  flowering  saleable  sorts,  which  can  to  advantage  be  grown 
in  baskets.  They  demand  a  moderate  temperature,  and  there¬ 
fore  succeed  well  in  the  coolest  part  of  the  Cattleya  house. 
Cymbidium  eburneum  gives  a  fine  white  flower  of  good 
substance  and  form,  and  blooms  in  rich  profusion.  No  doubt 
this  plant  will  become  very  valuable  when  better  known.  It  has 
not  yet  been  grown  commercially  to  a  very  great  extent.  It 
wants  a  moderate,  airy  temperature,  and  plenty  of  moisture 
about  the  roots. 
Coelogyne  cristata  is  a  very  fine  white  flower  with  a  yellow 
centre.  It  is  said  of  this  Orchid  that  it  has  not  given  full  satis¬ 
faction.  My  experience  has  been  that  if  grown  rather  cool  and 
not  allowed  to  become  too  wet  it  will  bloom  freely,  and  its  right 
place  is  with  the  Cypripediums.  It  is  valuable  for  table 
decorations,  and  keeps,  when  cut,  for  a  long  time. 
The  Phalsenopsis  family  contains  several  splendid  species,  all 
worthy  of  commercial  culture,  and  pay  well  when  a  warm,  moist, 
and  in  all  respects  suitable  house  is  provided.  P.  Schilleriana, 
P.  amabilis  and  P.  Stuartiana  are  among  the  best. 
Lycaste  Skinneri  is  the  best  of  its  class,  and  good  for  the  local 
market,  but  easily  spoiled  in  packing.  Because  of  its  easy  culture 
it.  has  been  called  the  “  amateur’s  favourite.” 
Odontoglossum  crispum  gives  us  the  most  varieties  for  the 
commercial  market,  and  is,  therefore,  the  best.  I  am  sorry  to 
say  that  this  noble  species  has  often  been  found  difficult  to 
handle.  It  grows  well  on  a  very  high  elevation  of  the  Andes, 
where  the  atmosphere  is  cool  and  damp,  and  seldom  rises  above 
60deg  Fahrenheit.  Thus  its  natural  climate  is  hard  to  imitate, 
and  the  plants,  therefore,  suffer  from  our  hot  summers.  It  is 
clear  that  a  special  house  should  be  provided  for  this  species. 
Face  the  house  north,  shade  it  from  the  sun,  keep  it  moist  with 
low  temperature,  and  your  plants  will  succeed  admirably. 
Odontoglossum  grande  is  another  good  kind,  with  very  large 
yellow  and  brown  flowers.  The  market  for  this  Odontoglot  is, 
as  yet,  limited  to  a  certain  extent,  but  it  is  worthy  of  culture 
for  variety.  Miltonia  Roezli  is  a  very  desirable  sort,  for  which 
good  prices  are  obtained.  It  wants  lots  of  moisture  about  the 
roots,  and  a  warmer  temperature  than  the  majority  of  its 
relations.  The  flowers  are  very  large  and  effective,  almost  pure 
white,  with  purple  and  yellow  towards  the  bottom. 
Oncidium  varicosum  and  its  varieties  are  all  good  fall 
flowering  kinds.  The  flowers  are  produced  on  long  overhanging 
branch  shoots,  not  unlike  a  gigantic  Adiantum  frond.  O. 
splendidum  and  tigrinum  are  valuable  for  the  late  winter  months, 
with  their  large  yellow  and  brown  flowers.  Thev  will  like 
O.  varicosum,  do  well  together  with  the  Cattleyas  during  their 
growing  period,  but  want  a  long  rest  in  a  cool  house  when  their 
flowering  period  is  over. 
Cypripediums  are  easier  to  propagate  by  division  and  seeds 
than  most  other  Orchids.  We  have  at  the  present  time  only  a 
few  varieties  of  commercial  value.  C.  insigne  (one  of  the  best), 
C.  barbatum,  C.  callosum,  C.  Boxalli,  C.  villosum,  and  C.  Law- 
renceanum  are  among  the  best.  Here  is  a  great  field  open  for 
the  thoughtful  and  skilful  hybridiser,  who  may  be  sure  of  success. 
This  belief  is  based  on  results  already  obtained  in  hybrids  like 
C.  Harrisianum,  C.  Leeanum,  C.  superbum,  C.  Morganise,  C. 
Clinkaberryanum,  and  lots  of  others.  Some  of  these  hybrids  are 
costly  in  themselves,  but  nevertheless  can  always  be  had  at  a 
moderate  price,  and  after  a  few  years  hundreds  of  growths  may 
be  obtained  at  little  trouble  and  small  outlay. 
A  noted  Orchid  expert  once  exclaimed  :  “  Just  fancy  a  house 
full  of  Cypripedium  Morganise  ” — which  is  a  cross  between 
C.  superbiens  and  C.  Stonei.  Just  think  of  it,  with  its  long 
robust  stems,  each  one  crowned  with  three  or  four  indescribably 
beautiful  flowers,  and  that  will  give  us  some  idea  of  what  might 
be  accomplished  w'ith  this  more  than  interesting  genus. 
Although  most  of  our  Orchids,  with  a  very  few  exceptions, 
may  be  growm  in  almost  any  greenhouse,  it  is  claimed  by  Orchid 
experts  that  a  full  span  house  from  the  north  to  the  south  is 
best.  It  should  be  constructed  so  that  the  water  from  the 
outside  may  easily  run  off,  and  all  drop  by  condensation  during 
the  winter  prevented.  Three-quarter  span  houses  to  the  south 
are  sometimes  used,  but  they  become  too  hot,  and  more 
ventilation  must  be  given.  This,  in  turn,  exhausts  the  moisture 
so  necessary  for  successful  Orchid  culture. 
In  conclusion,  and  in  this  connection,  I  wish  to  say  to  the 
retail  florist :  Do  always  try  to  keep  a  few  Orchids  in  a  con¬ 
spicuous  place  in  your  store,  and  show  them  to  your  customers, 
and  by  having  different  kinds  from  time  to  time,  I  am  sure  the 
public  in  general  will  soon  become  interested,  and  you  will  build 
up  a  trade  equally  profitable  to  yourself,  the  grow7er,  and  the 
flower-loving  public. 
Nature-Study. 
A  Nature-Study  exhibition  has  been  arranged  and  held  in  the 
Royal  Botanic  Society’s  garden  in  Regent’s  Park,  London,  since 
Wednesday,  July  23,  and  continues  till  Tuesday,  the  5th  of 
August.  The  exhibition  was  opened  by  the  Duchess  of  Devon¬ 
shire,  amid  a  large  attendance*  among  those  on  the  platform 
being  Lord  Avebury,  Sir  J.  Hutton,  Mr.  Hobbouse,  M.P.,  Sir 
J.  Cockburn,  Professor  Geddes,  Professor  J.  A.  Thomson,  Mr. 
Morrell,  M.P.,  and  Mr.  Medd  (hon.  secretary). 
“  The  Nature-Study  exhibition,”  (to  quote  from  the  Intro¬ 
duction  to  the  official  catalogue)  “  is  the  first  attempt  on  a  large 
scale  to  bring  together  a  collection  of  objects  and  teaching 
appliances  which  will  show7  the  present  methods  of  encouraging 
children  to  interest  themselves  in  the  life  of  plants,  animals,  and 
other  living  things  which  they  can  find  in  their  neighbourhood. 
Even  in  the  country,  and  still  more  in  the  towns,  ow'ing  to  the 
varied  distractions  of  modern  society,  the  eyes  of  children  are 
apt  to  wander  idly  and  aimlessly  over  the  realm  of  Nature.  The 
interest  which,  as  local  names  show',  the  country  people  used 
formerly  to  take  in  birds  and  flowers  has  for’  many  years  been 
dwindling  away.  Children  haye  learnt  to  look  upon  the  outside 
world  as  something  to  be  taken  for  granted,  and  less  wTorthy  of 
attention  than  the  contents  of  a  shop  window. 
“  This  decay  of  interest  in  Nature  is  not  only  a  detriment  to 
the  faculty  of  observation,  it  is  also  a  defect  in  general  cultiva¬ 
tion.  A  reader  of  English  literature  will  hardly  appreciate  its 
masterpieces  unless  he  has  stored  his  mind  with  observations  of 
Nature.  Howt  else  can  he  understand  the  numerous  illustrations 
from  nature  which  give  such  freshness  and  charm  to  the  pages  of 
English  authors,  both  in  prose  and  verse?  Even  the  student  of 
science  who  has  specialised  in  some  particular  branch  finds  out 
sooner  or  later  the  value  of  the  varied  impressions  with  which 
his  mind  has  been  furnished  by  early  intercourse  with  nature. 
“  To  revive  the  lost  or  vanishing  interest  in  the  surroundings 
of  the  child’s  home  is  the  aim  of  thoughtful  parents  and  teachers 
both  in  Europe  and  America.  The  aim  is  not  to  teach  science  or 
to  classify  knowledge  with  the  view  of  pursuing  any  particular 
branch  of  scientific  inquiry,  but  to  aid  the  children  to  look  with 
care  and  attention  at  the  life  which  surrounds  them.  The  eye 
must  be  early  trained  to  receive  correct  impressions  of  common 
objects  by  frequent  and  repeated  inspection.  Occasional,  hasty, 
and  indiscriminate  glances  are  of  little  avail,  neither  awakening 
interest  nor  leading  to  precise  observation. 
“Nature  in  this  aspect  is  not  divided  into  separate  and 
isolated  compartments  of  study,  but,  on  the  contrary,  each 
object  is  considered  as  a  part  of  all  nature,  and  special  attention 
is  directed  to  the  dependence  of  each  part  upon  others.  For 
this  reason  many  authorities  are  anxious  to  cancel  the  use  of  the 
word  science  in  connection  with  Nature-Study,  not  because  there 
is  any  room  for  careless  or  inexact  treatment  of  these  simple 
observations;  but  because, while  the  aim  of  science  is  knowledge 
of  a  special  branch,  the  purpose  of  Nature-Study  is  to  awaken  the 
interest  of  children  in  a  world  outside  themselves,  and  to  help 
them  better  to  understand  their  own  place  in  nature  and  the 
conditions  of  healthy  life. 
“  Although  Nature^Study  is  no  new  discovery  of  the  present 
time,  the  progress  of  science  has  suggested  to  the  teachers  of  it 
many  new  methods  of  instruction.  Those  who  desire  to  see  for 
themselves  what  progress  has  been  recently  made  in  this  branch 
of  school  work  will  find  in  the  Nature-Study  exhibition  an  un¬ 
exampled  opportunity.  Teachers  have  met  the  invitation  to  con¬ 
tribute  specimens  of  their  studies  in  nature  with  a  readiness  for 
which  the  committee  have  reason  to  be  deeply  grateful.  The 
exhibition  includes  examples  from  all  types  of  educational  insti¬ 
tutions  in  Great  Britain,  and  also  the  Colonies  and  the  United 
States.” 
Since  the  opening  of  the  exhibition  (notes  of  which  we  append) 
a  Conference  has  engaged  the  attention  of  n.  number  of  leading 
educationists,  eminent  naturalists,  and  the  heads  of  rural  schools 
and  colleges.  At  the  first  day’s  Conference  on  July  24,  the 
Right  Hon.  R.  W.  Hanbury,  M.P.,  President  of  the  Board  of 
Agriculture,  presided,  and  Lord  Avebury  read  a  paper  on 
“  The  Study  of  Nature.” 
We  lived,  he  said,  in  a  beautiful  world  which  it  was  fatal  to  mis¬ 
understand.  We  had  all  met  persons  with  a  university  degree  who 
thought  that  corals  were  insects,  whales  fish,  and  bats  birds,  and 
still  believed  that  the  world  is  less  than  six  thousand  years  old. 
University  authorities  seemed  to  consider  that  the  elements  of 
science  were  in  themselves  useless,  yet  it  was  important  to  know 
the  rudiment  of  all  sciences,  and  it  was  in  reality  impossible  to 
go  far  in  any  one  without  knowing  something  of  several  others, 
and  so  far  as  children  were  concerned  it  was  a  mistake  to  think 
of  astronomy  and  physics,  geology  and  biology,  as  so  many 
separate  subjects.  For  the  child  nature  w7as  one  subject,  and  the 
first  thing  was  to  lay  a  broad  foundation.  Specialisation  should 
not  begin  before  sixteen  at  any  rate.  He  would  then  submit 
