4) 
of development in the leaves and pseudo-bulbs may be marked, or the progress of a young shoot has to be observed, 
or the life-and-death struggles of a recent importation have to be watched over, and that too with a degree of care and 
anxiety that could never be felt for ordinary plants. Then there are the seasons of growth and of rest, each of which — 
has an interest peculiar to itself; since during the first the greatest change occurs in the circumstances and appear- 
ance of the plants, while during the second the greatest number of them flower ;—and thus, throughout the dreary 
months of Winter, which, in the majority of Conservatories, is the season of nakedness and inaction, the Orchidaceous 
House is gayer than in the most glowing days of Summer. * The plants too with which it is stored are evergreens in 
the strictest sense of the word, and realize the 
<4 
viret semper—nec fronde caduca 
SCarpituny 
of the Latin poet in a far higher degree than is to be seen elsewhere; for while many of their number retain the same 
leaves in perfect health and beauty for six or eight seasons together, there are none which lose them in a shorter period 
than twelve months.+ It is likewise worthy of remark, that the species which are the most unwilling to part with 
their natural advantages, are also the most loth to change the abode which has been artificially afforded them; and 
they may therefore, when once firmly established in a suitable tenement, be left in undisturbed possession of it for ten 
or more years in succession ;—thus relieving the cultivator from the unsightly changes and continual shiftings which 
stove-plants in general are wont to require. + 
But the appearance of the genuine Air-plants, when suspended from the rafters of the Orchidaceous House, forms, 
perhaps, its most characteristic feature. And wonderful it is to see these “ children of the sun” || thrusting their long 
tortuous roots into the surrounding atmosphere, and maintaining the most vigorous health with no other support than 
what that pure element affords them ;—thus reversing as it were the settled laws of Nature ; for while other plants are 
compelled to seek their coarse subsistence from the ground, our Orchidace, like unearthly beings, are enabled to 
live solely upon azr. 
Even the rarity of the tribe, and the difficulties and expense attendant upon their cultivation, although they may 
have the effect of diminishing the number of their votaries, will at the same time tend to strengthen the devotion 
of such as have the courage to encounter, and the means to overcome those formidable impediments. It is indeed, 
probable, that Orchidaceous culture will always continue in a (comparatively) few hands; and that it will, therefore, be 
pursued with the same ardour in the upper walks of life, that already, in a humbler sphere, attends the cultivation of 
the many beautiful varieties of the tulip, auricula, and carnation. Some, perhaps, there may be, who, looking only at 
the greater facilities afforded by the latter, may be disposed to question the importance of the former in a social point 
of view; but while we admit the superior value of whatever is placed within the reach of the great mass of mankind, 
we must at the same time maintain that nothing ought to be condemned or disregarded, merely because it can never be 
extensively diffused. Few will value what all may possess; so long, therefore, as each class has enjoyments suited to 
its circumstances and position, we are satisfied that the happiness of the community at large will be far more effectually 
promoted, than if all were interested in the same objects, or occupied with the same pursuits. The reciprocal pleasure 
which the lovers of “ florist’s flowers” and of “rare plants” may derive from the sight of their respective collections, 
is a sufficient example of the truth of our assertion. 
* In the collection of the Author, although specimens in flower may at all times be seen, March and April, in the Spring, and October and November, in the 
Autumn, are perhaps the gayest months; the intervening period is “ growing season” with a large majority of the species, many of which come into blow just before its 
commencement, and a still greater number immediately after its termination. There are, however, several that flower at uncertain periods; others that flower all the year 
round; and likewise a few that, we are concerned to say, never flower at all. 
+ We are now, of course, speaking of epiphytal and not of terrestrial Orchidaceze ; many, indeed most, of the latter lose their leaves and entirely disappear. for half 
the year; but there are divers weighty reasons why these should not be admitted into the Orchidaceous House, properly so called. There are, also, a few of the Catasetums, 
which are sometimes destitute of leaves for a short time ; but it is doubtful whether they ought not to be classed with the terrestrial species, rather than with the epiphytes, 
since they are quite as frequently found wnder trees as wpon them. 
t These remarks apply more particularly to species of some of the caulescent and slow-growing Eastern genera, such as Vanda, Saccolabium, rides, and 
their allies. 
|| All the Orchidacez which are really entitled to the name of ‘“ Air-plants”’ are of Hastern extraction, and constitute a well-defined section of the “ Vandee” group, 
which is readily distinguished by its peculiar habit from the corresponding group of the West, where heavy masses of pseudo-bulbs usurp the place of the long and graceful 
stems of the East. It is not a little singular that the habit of many of the South American Epidendre@ approaches that of the oriental Vandee far more closely than any 
genera of their own tribe have been observed to do in the former country. 
4irides odoratum affords, probably, the best example of a true Air-plant with which we are at present acquainted, for it will grow freely, for any length of time, if 
merely suspended by a wire from the roof of a moist stove. A plant of this species, in the possession of the Messrs. Loppreus, has attained an extraordinary size, and when 
loaded, in spring, with thirty or forty bunches of its beauteous flowers, forms an object of unsurpassed loveliness, and affords us a glimpse of what our collections will 
one day become. 
Some persons, seeing plants of this description seated in pots among pieces of decayed wood or peat, imagine that they derive their nutriment from these sources, 
although such treatment is purely artificial, and merely designed to supply them with moisture more perfectly than could otherwise be done. 
