60° and 65°, and in winter from 45° to 60°. A genial moist atmosphere must be kept up in the hottest houses during the growing season, with a free circulation of air admitted very cautiously by well-guarded ventilators. In winter, when the plants are at rest, little water will be necessary; but in the case of those plants which hae no fleshy pseudo bulbs to fall back upon for sustenance, they must not be suffered to become so dry as to cause the leaves to shrivel. In the Mexican house the plants will generally be able to withstand greater drought occasion all, being greatly assisted by their thick pseudo bulbs In the cool/ or odontoglossum house a considerable degree of moisture must be maintained at all times. for in these the plants keep growing more or less continuously For potting or basketing purposes, or for plants requiring block culture, the materials used are light fibrous peat, special lea -mould, osmunda or poly podium fibre and living sphagnum moss, which supply free drainage for the copious supply of water required. Good turfy loam is also used for some, such as cyprzpedzums and cal ant hes. Indeed the composts now used are varied considerably according to the particular group of orchids. The water shoul, however, be so used as not to run down into the sheathing bases of the leaves. While in flower, orchids may with advantage be removed to a drier and cooler situation, and may be utilized in the drawing-room or boudoir. Of late years not only have many fine hybrids been raised artificially between various species, but some remarkable bi generic hybrids (between what are considered two distinct genera) have also been produced (indicated in the list below by *). To keep a valuable collection of orchids in good condition requires the services of an expert orchid grower. The following is a select list of genera in cultivation:- ULTURE

to the surface. The pots should be placed in pans full of water,

which they will absorb as required. A shady place is desirable, with temperature of 50° to 55° by night and 65° to 70° by day, or they may be set on a shelf in an ordinary propagating pit The spores may be sown as soon as ripe, and when the young plants can be handled, or rather can be lifted with the end of a pointed flat stick, they should be pricked out into well-drained pots or pans filled with similar soil and should be kept moist and shady. As they become large enough, pot them singly in 3 in pots, and when the pots are fairly filled with roots shift on into larger ones The best time for a general re potting of ferns is in spring, just before growth commences. Those with creeping rhizomes can be propagated by dividing these into well-rooted portions, and, if a number of crowns is formed, they can be divided at that season. In most cases this can be performed with httle risk, but the gleichenias, for eam le, must only be cut into large portions, as small divisions of the rlliizomes are almost certain to die, in such cases, however, the points of the rhizomes can be led over and layered into small pots, several in succession, and allowed to remain unsevered from the parent plant until they become well-rooted. In potting the well-established plants, and all those of considerable size, the soil should be used in a rough turfy state, not sifted but broken, and one-sixth of broken crocks or charcoal and as much sand as will insure free percolation should be mixed with it The stove ferns require a day temperature of 65° to 75°, but do not thrive in an excessively high or close dry atmosphere. They require only such shade as will shut out the direct rays of the sun, and, though abundant moisture must be supplied, the atmosphere should not be overloaded with it. Ferns should not be allowed to become quite dry at the root, and the water used should always be at or near the temperature of the house in which the Plants are growing. Some ferns, as the different kinds of (Jymnogramme and Cheilanthes, prefer a drier atmosphere than others, and the former do not well bear a lower winter temperature than about 60° by night. Most other stove ferns, if dormant, will bear a temperature as low as 55° by night and 60° by day from November to February. About the end of the latter month the whole collection should be turned out of the pots, and re drained or repotted into larger pots as required. This should take place before growth has commenced. Towards the end of March the night temperature may be raised to 60°, and the day temperature to 70° or 75°, the plants being shaded in bright weather. Such ferns as Gymnogrammes, which have their surface covered with golden or silver powder, and certain species of scaly-surfaced Cheilanthes and Nothochlaena, as they cannot bear to have their fronds wetted, should never be syringed; but most other ferns may have a moderate sprinkling occasionally (not necessarily daily), and as the season advances, sufficient air and light must be admitted to solidify the tissues. Hardy British ferns belonging to such genera as Asplenium, Nephrodium, Aspidium, Scolopendrium, have become fairly popular of late years, and many charming varieties are now used in borders and rockeries. Spores may be sown as above described, but in a much lower temperature.

The following is

775

a select list

of genera '-Acineta

Cy mbidium Peristeria

Ada Cypripedium Pescatorea

Aerides Cyrtopodium Phajus

Angraecum Dendrobium Phaio-calanthe*

Anguloa Diacrium Phalaenopsis

Anoectochilus Disa Pilumna

Anselha Epidendrum Platyclinis

Arachnanthe Eulophia Pleione

Arpophy llum Eulophiella Pleurothalhs

Barkcria Galeand ra Polystachya

Batemannia Gongora Promenaea

Bifrenaria Grammatophyllum Renanthera

Brassavola Habenaria Restrepia

B rassia Houlletia Rodriguezia

Brasso-Cattleya* Ionopsis Saccolabium

Broughtoma Ipsea Schomburgkia

Bulbophyllum Laelia Scuticaria

Burlingfonia Laeho-Cattleya* Sobraha

C alant e Leptotes Sophro-cattleya*

Catasetum Lissochilus Sophronitis

Cattleya Lycaste Spathoglottis

Chysis Masdevalha Stanhopea

Cirrhopetalum M iltonia Thu nia

Cochlioda Mormodes Trichopilia

Coelia Odontoglossum Trichosma

Coelogyne Odontioda* Vanda

Comparettia Oncidium Zygo-colax*

Cycnoches Pac hystoma Zygopetaluni

PALMS -These form charming table and drawing-room plants when quite young. When more fully developed, and long before their full growth is attained, they are among the most decorative plants known for the conservatory and for subtropical gardening. They are easily cultivated, but should not be allowed to become dry. The soil should consist of about 3 parts turfy loam, I part leaf mould, I art coarse silver sand, with enough chemical or other manure added to render the whole moderately rich. The older plants will occasionally require the roots pruned in order to keep them in as small pots as possible without being starved. This should be done early in the spring, and the plants heavily shaded until feeding roots are again produced. It is of advantage to afford stove culture while the plants are quite young. A little later most of the genera succeed well under moderately cool conditions The foil owing genera are among those most commonly cultivated: Acrostichum Davallia Osmunda

Ac tiniopteris Dicksonia Onoclea

Adiantum Gleichenia Phlebodium

Alsophila Gymnogramme Platycerium

Aspidium Hymenophyllum Polypodium

Asplenium Lastrea Pteris

Blechnum Lomaria Scolopendrium

Cheilanthes Lygodium Todea

Cibotium Nephrodium Tricho manes

Cyathea Nephrolepis Woodward ia

VI. F runs

Fruit-Tree Borders.-No pains should be spared, in the pre-Acanthophoenix Cha maerops Martinezia

Acant horhiza Cocos Oreod oxa

Areca Corypha Phoe n1x

Bactris (feonoma Pritc hard ia

Brahea Hyophorbe Rhapis

('alamus Kentia Sabal

Caryota Latania Stevensonla

Leroxy lon Ln istonia Th rinax

C ha maedorea

FERNS -These popular plants are usually increased by means of their spores, the “dust " produced on the back of their fronds.

The sports should be sown in well drained pots or seed pans on the surface of a mixture of fibrous slfted peat and small broken crocks or sandstone; this soil should be firmly pressed and well-watered, and the spores scattered over it, and at once covered with propagating glasses or pieces of sheet glass. to prevent water or dry air getting paration of fruit-tree borders, to secure their thorough drainage. In case of adhesive clayey subsoil this can generally be secured by placing over the sloping bottom a good layer of coarse rubbly material, communicating with a drain in front to carry oH the water, while earthenware drain tubes may be laid beneath the rubble from 8 to ro ft. apart, so as to form air drains, -and provided with openings both at the side of the walk and also near the base of the wall Over this rubbly matter, rough turfy soil, grass-side downwards, should be laid, and on this the good prepared soil in which the trees are to be planted.

The borders should consist of 3 parts rich turfy loam,

the top spit of a pasture, and 1 part light gritty earth, such as road-grit, with a small portion (one-s1Xth) of fine brick rubbish. They should not be less than 12 ft in breadth. and may vary up to 15 or 18 ft., with a fall from the wall of about 1 in in 3 ft. The border itself should be raised a foot or more above the general level The bottom of the border as well as that