BOMBAY FERNERIES. 157 



and their requirements so variable, that we may come across repre- 

 sentatives of this vast order in almost any locality. Most of the 

 tt rrestrial, or ground-orchids, prefer open, fully exposed situations, 

 while others appear to prefer shaded and moist localities. Of the 

 epiphytical or tree-orchids, some are met with in covered jungles, 

 others on isolated solitary trees. There appears however to be this 

 difference, that the former generally prefer trees which, at certaiu 

 times of the year, are next to leafless, while the latter generally are 

 found on trees with dense ever- green foliage. From this fact it 

 appears evident that orchids, though requiring more or less shade, 

 still prefer exposure to sunshine at certain periods of the year, or in 

 the early and late hours of the day. Orchids art not, as a rule, 

 parasitical ; it is, however, certain that they prefer certain kinds of 

 trees to others, and are in this Presidency generally found on mango - 

 trees, monkey fig-trees (Unibar, Ficus glomerata), iron-wood-trees 

 (Jfemecylon edule), and occasionally on Jambul-trees (Eugenia Jam- 

 bolana) and a few other less common trees. The thick fleshy roots 

 of these orchids generally embrace the branches, often for a great 

 length, they adhere closely to the bark and are frequently surrounded 

 by moss. They have thus always access to moisture, however scanty 

 it may be, partly from atmospheric sources as rain and dew, probably 

 from the bark by diosmosis, and partly from the surrounding moss, 

 which is well known to possess great moisture-absorbing qualities. 



These remarks refer to the localities where the plants of the 

 various classes are found in this country. I have, however, but 

 little hesitation in supposing that the same or very similar charac- 

 teristic features prevail in other tropical countries, from which the 

 multitude of plants cultivated in our Ferneries hail. Descriptions of 

 vegetation in other parts of the world, scattered through the accounts 

 of voyages and travels by various celebrated naturalists, all seem to 

 confirm this view. 



Though a close adherence to natural conditions is not generally 

 to be recommended in regard to the culture of plants, and would 

 probably result in eventually reducing our greatly improved cultivated 

 forms, to their original wild state, exception must be made in 

 regard to atmospheric conditions, which, as a rule, do not allow of so 

 much deviation as other local circumstances, such as soil and 



