uch to the plants being placed near to the glass of the roof, as to the
fact that the air has better access to the roots than when the plants
are in pots. Hence it is that for suspending plants of small and medium
growth, Orchid pans made in the same way as the flower-pot are found to
be a convenient substitute for baskets, as they are not so liable to
decay as wood-baskets.

Stanhopeas, Lueddemannias, Acinetas, and some other Orchids which
produce their flower spikes directly from the base of the growth, must
be grown in baskets to admit of the proper production of their flowers,
which, if grown in pots, are sent down into the compost and lost.
Gongoras, Cirrhaeas, and similar genera, which produce slender spikes of
flowers of drooping habit, are also best in baskets, as they produce
their flowers much more freely when the plants are suspended.

The Orchid pan, for suspending, is also equally good for Masdevallias of
the Chimaera section, a large number of Bulbophyllums and Cirrhopetalums,
and generally for plants of small stature which would be too far away
from the glass if placed on the stage. For the bulk of the collection
the grower has to use the ordinary flower-pots, which are still
unsurpassed for general purposes. The elaborately designed pots,
perforated with holes or slits, which were used for Orchids years ago,
are not necessary, for there is no defect in the ordinary flower-pot
which cannot be overcome by the careful and skilful practitioner.

Rafts and cylinders of teak-wood made in the same manner as baskets are
useful for some species, but it has to be remembered that plants on
rafts are liable to suffer from lack of sufficient moisture-holding
material around them. _Broughtonia sanguinea_, however, is never so
happy as when grown on a horizontally suspended raft without the least
potting material.

The great trouble with suspended Orchids, and one which precludes the
cultivator employing this culture for so many plants as he could wish,
is the drip they cause to the plants on the stages. No Orchid should
have another plant suspended above it; if it is not possible to avoid
this, the relative positions of the suspended plants should be changed
as often as possible; water should only be given them by "dipping" the
plants, and they should be allowed to drain thoroughly before being
again suspended. As many of the suspended plants as possible should be
arranged on each side of the path, and in other sit