en looked upon too much as a craze.
Ruinously high prices have been asked for novelties, and "collectors"
have been ready enough to pay them in the hope of obtaining unique
varieties. This fact alone has frightened off average people.

It is hoped that the present volume will induce thousands to commence
the culture of the cooler species, as it clearly indicates the
simplicity of the cultural principles whilst explaining in full all the
principal details.

Thanks to the experiments of former workers, we are no longer dependent
entirely on the introduction of plants from other countries. Seedling
Orchids are raised as freely as seedling Fuchsias, and home-raised
seedlings, as a rule, thrive better than introduced species in the
artificial cultivation we have to offer them. Readers will find the
details of cross-breeding and seed-raising set out in the following
pages at considerable length.

The author is one of the greatest Orchid specialists the world has
known. As a practical cultivator in the old Pine Apple Nurseries of
Messrs. Henderson, he had the good fortune to flower many species for
the first time after their introduction, and ever since those early days
he has continued to specialise in these plants. He is secretary of the
Orchid Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society, and in 1897 he was
included in the first sixty horticulturists who were selected to
receive the Victoria Medal of honour in commemoration of Queen
Victoria's Jubilee.

Our grateful acknowledgments are made to Lieut.-Col. Sir G. L. Holford,
K.C.V.O., for his kindness in affording us facilities for getting the
illustrations. Every plant illustrated is a first-rate specimen of its
kind, and all have been photographed in Sir George Holford's collection
at Westonbirt, which is so well cultivated by his grower, Mr. H. G.
Alexander.

THE EDITOR.

CONTENTS

PAGE

INTRODUCTION, 1

CHAP.

I. THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF ORCHID CULTURE, 3

II. STRUCTURE OF ORCHID FLOWERS, 6

III. DIFFICULTIES TO OVERCOME, 8

IV. STRUCTURE OF THE ORCHID HOUSE, 9

V. THE POTTING AND BASKETING PROCESS, 22

VI. REMOVING USELESS LEAVES AND BULBS, 31

VII. PROPAGATION BY DIVISION, 34

V