History

"Orchids for everyman and the Mullingar
connection"



In 1843, the first manual on the cultivation of tropical
orchids was written, and then published, in the heart of Ireland!
The author/printer/publisher was John Charles Lyons, JP, of Ladiston
near Mullingar, Co.Westmeath . He built his own printing press(
now in the county Library, Mullingar), and grew orchids in a glasshouse
that he heated and watered by filling it with a stream, his own
invention. Lyon's little manual is a fascinating period piece, so
much so that it was republished in 1983 in a fascimile edition..............available
in Mullingar library.