DIFFICULTIES TO OVERCOME
Some of the difficulties which the cultivator of Orchids has to contend
against arise from the fact that his houses have to accommodate plants
which have been brought from widely separated countries, or from
different altitudes in the same region. They therefore require very
different cultural conditions, especially in the matter of temperature.
Consideration of the climatic conditions under which the plants are
found growing in their native habitats is very helpful to all engaged in
Orchid culture. Many problems have already been worked out by the
experience of cultivators, but some of the conclusions have been arrived
at only after costly failures. In the early days of Orchid culture,
before the advent of the modern Orchid house with its improved methods
of ventilation and means for the promotion of humidity, the great
mortality among cultivated Orchids was caused by excessive heat and
drought. Even at the present day more mischief is done by excessive heat
than by cold treatment.