THE PLANT WORLD UNDER CARE. 



389 



philosophical trend of mind, settled 

 down contentedly in its new home and 

 became so tame that the children took 



it to school with them. For weeks it 

 was allowed to run at large, making 

 its home in the barn and coming regu- 

 larly for its meals, but at last it prob- 

 ably wandered too far afield and the 

 taste of the wild became too strong to 

 be overcome for it never returned. 

 Several weeks later, however, a trap- 

 per in the neighborhood foumkan opos- 

 sum under a dead fall set for a skunk. 

 and this, 1 presume, marked the en(\ 

 of the drama. 



An opossum makes a very interest- 

 ing pet. With its parchment-like ears, 

 rat tail and pig-like snout and face, 

 it is a never ending source of amuse- 



ment. It is the greatest bluffer on 

 earth. Aside from its feigning of 

 death, which I did not find so con- 

 firmed a habit as report had led me to 

 expect, it will upon being approached 

 by man give an ugly snarl and wicked 

 look, usually from the corner of its 

 eye as unlike most wild animals it 

 will seldom face one, and opening its 

 mouth give an excellent view of an 

 extremely white and needle-like set of 

 teeth with altogether so vicious a look- 

 on its whole countenance that a 

 stranger would think at least twice 

 before hazarding any attempt at famil- 

 iarity. But all this is pure bluff for 

 1 have never seen one make a single, 

 genuine effort to bite or in any way 

 inflict an injur}-. 



Orchids. 



(From l/i Rue Holmes League.) 



BY JOI1X E. LAGER, SUMMIT, X. J. 



Many persons go into ecstasies when 

 looking at cut orchid flowers placed in 

 handsome vases in the florist's win- 

 dows or when seeing an orchid plant 

 in full bloom in a greenhouse, but 

 comparatively few people know where 

 and how these strange plants grow. 

 and of the methods employed to bring 

 them here to our greenhouses for cul- 

 tivation. 



In this short article we will speak 

 only .of exotic orchids. A number of 

 these occur, beginning with Mexico 

 and throughout Central America and 

 southward to the mainland of South 

 America proper, where the most gor- 

 geous kinds are found on this hemis- 

 phere, for here is where the beautiful 

 and unrivalled Cottleyas grow. The 

 different species are scattered over 

 wide areas of the mountain chains of 

 Colombia, Venezuela, Guiana, Ecua- 



dor and Brazil. Numerous and beau- 

 tiful kinds are also found in the East 

 Indies, Java, Borneo, Madagascar and 

 the Phillippine Islands. 



An erroneous impression is that 

 these plants grow in swamps. This is 

 not the case for no plants are more 

 particular than the orchids in regard 

 to pure air. Most of the species sought 

 after are epiphytes or air plants ; that 

 is, the plants are usually found grow- 

 ing on trees where they attach them- 

 selves to the trunks or limbs in light 

 and airy positions, rarely in dense 

 shade. They do not take any nourish- 

 ment from the tree which serves mere- 

 ly as a means or object to which to 

 cling, the roots spreading ami cling- 

 ing over the surface of the bark and 

 absorbing their food from the atmos- 

 phere. 



The orchids are found chiefly along 

 the edges of the forests or along the 

 banks of streams and rivers, in fact 

 anywhere where openings in the for- 

 est occur. 



