12 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



The Orchid 



FOR man_v persons Orchids are associated with 

 thoughts of luxury and opulence, based, no doubt, on 

 the magnificent blooms of the florist shops and the 

 still more gorgeous flowers seen at exhibitions, writes E. 1. 

 Farrington in the Christian Science Monitor. Yet many 

 Orchids are modest and shy. The Lady's Slipper of 

 northern woodlands is an Orchid as truly as the giant 

 Cattleya of South America. Even the most splendid mam- 

 bers of the family hide themselves in the depths of mighty 

 forests, blooming unseen in such vase and colorful shows 

 as have never been staged by men. 



Although all Orchids possess practically the same curi- 

 ous physical structure, by which they are set apart from 

 every other plant, yet they are divided into two great 

 classes with totally different modes of living. There are, 

 first, the Terrestrial Orchids, which grow directly in the 

 earth ; these are the only kinds found in temperate regions. 

 There are then the Epiphytal Orchids (using a name that 

 falls strangely on unaccustomed ears), which drape them- 

 selves over rocks and trees, reveling in heat and moisture, 

 and living often in swamps so dense that hardly a ray 

 of direct sunlight ever penetrates to them. They are not 

 really air plants, although often called so, and neither are 

 they parasites, although they may depend upon some other 

 form of life to hold them erect. Their nourishment comes 

 largely from the mineral matter that collects among their 

 roots. 



Orchids inspire no such sentimental feelings as the 

 violet or the rose, but they exercise an elusive fascination 

 above all other flowers. The lure of the Orchid is like 

 the lure of gold. It will tempt men to any length in hard- 

 ship or exposure. No romances in the annals of horti- 

 culture surpass those woven around the world-wide search 

 for Orchids, a search that still goes on, for regions yet 

 remain which the collector has not explored and where 

 untold treasures may await his coming. 



For a long time the rare Orchids of the tropics were 

 sought mostly in the interests of private collectors. Then, 

 as more about their culture was learned, commercial 

 grow'crs began to gather them in increasing numbers. 

 So a great industry was gradually built up. thousands 

 of plants being sent every year to the British Isles and 

 to the United States for the trade. 



Whole sections in South America have been stripped 

 of their Orchid wealth, but the southern continent is 

 vast and new hunting grounds are constantly being re- 

 ported. Moreover, the Federal Horticultural Board at 

 Washington has forbidden the importation of Orchids 

 into the United .States except by .special permit, and then 

 only for propagation. This has stimulated home pro- 

 duction, but on the othr hand has proved a sad blow to 

 private collectors. 



In England, where there are no imjx)rt restrictions, the 

 seedling raiser is being depended upon far more than 

 ever before, while fewer and fewer new species are coming 

 from the forests. England, however, still imports tons of 

 commercial Orchids, particularly Odontoglossums and 

 Cattleyas from South America. All that great continent 

 from Mexico south is rich in Orchids, which were known 

 and loved long before the Spaniards came to substitute 

 a harsh civilization for the simple life of the natives. 

 Early historians tell us that choice flowers, and especially 

 Orchids, were daily tributes to the Mexican rulers. 



Columbia, Venezuela and Brazil are exceptionally 

 prolific, especially in Cattleyas, the type of Orchid most 

 commonly seen in the florist shops of America. 



Although Cattleyas are the most popular Orchids in 



.\nierica, the English public jirefers Odontoglossums, 

 which abound in various parts of the South American 

 continent, fully lOO species having been found in the 

 Andes. If they could be grown as well in the United 

 States as in England, they might find the same high favor, 

 but the Summers are too hot and too dry for producing 

 perfect blooms. On the other hand, the clearer skies give 

 the Americans better Cattleyas than can be grown in the 

 British Isles. .\t their best, it is difficult to choose be- 

 tween them. Odontoglossums are often called the loveliest 

 flowers in the world. Yet Cattleya Dowiana has been 

 described by an Orchid expert who knows them all, as 

 the "most gorgeous, the stateliest, the most imperial of 

 all flowers on this earth." 



While intrepid plant hunters are seeking the hiding 

 places of the Odontoglossums and the Cattleyas in South 

 American countries, other men, equally venturesome, are 

 roaming India and other Eastern lands! Cymbidiums are 

 a particularly important feature of their quest, although 

 these Orchids ars now being propagated readily in Europe 

 and America. Until 1900 few Cymbidiums were in com- 

 merce. Then a species was found which soon appeared 

 in many variations and proved, easy to grow, flowering 

 in three or four years. Now these Orchids are among the 

 kinds commonly offered by the florists and are remark- 

 able for their long keeping qualities. They will last for 

 three or four weeks in water and for two or three months 

 on the plants. 



For that matter, the flowers of most Orchids will re- 

 main fresh for a month or more if not pollinated. Indeed, 

 there is a marked dignity and moderation in all the 

 processes of the Orchid. The capsules wherein the seeds 

 repose may not open for many months to let them free. 

 Nature does her best to perpetuate the- plants, however, 

 for there will be from a thousand to a million of these 

 seeds in each capsule. 



WISTARIAS AND THEIR TRAINING 



(Continued from page 9) 

 called W. frutescens magnifica and W. Macrostachva, 

 bears larger racemes and is in every way a better plant. 



The propagation of Wistaria is relatively easy. They 

 may readily be layered or cuttings of the current season's 

 wood, if removed with a heel as soon as moderately ripe, 

 will root satisfactorily. 



As purchased, the plants are almost invariably grafted. 

 Where grafting is carried out on to roots of the same 

 species, it is com])aratively innocuous, but plants on their 

 own roots are safer. Grafting is easily carried out in 

 spring under glass with a little Ijottom heat. It is truly 

 astonishing, however, how grafting persists as a means of 

 propagation for many plants which increase readily, not 

 only from layers, but from cuttings. 



In favorable seasons, seeds ripen freely and are easy 

 to germinate. The seedlings do not, however, as a rule, 

 produce very good forms. Seedlings of W. mullijuga. in 

 particular, are apt to be exceedingly "washy" in coloring 

 and comparativelv short of trail. If a good tvjje be se- 

 cured from seed, it has naturally abounding vigor. Seed- 

 lings serve the nurseryman for stocks on which to work 

 better types. — The Garden (British). 



lie who reveals to me what is in me and helps me to 

 externalize it in fuller terms of self-trust, is my real 

 helper, for he assists me in the birth of those things which 

 he knows arc in mc and in all men. — 11'. Joliii \furniy. 



