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ge LTHOUGH everybody has some 
fesq| acquaintance with a few of the 
$4/ beautiful forms among exotic 
Orchids, and knows that their 
cultivation has become an expen- 
sive hobby, comparatively few 
know how extensive a represent- 
ation of the family our native flora affords. No 
less than sixteen genera with thirty-seven dis- 
tinct species are found in our woods and fields, 
and every one of these has an interest of its 
own. All our native Orchids are terrestrial— 
we have none of the species that grow on trees 
and develop false bulbs; all ours grow in the soil, 
and have bunched or tuberous roots, some of them 
rich in starch. Their flowers are so different from 
those of other families that some general description 
is necessary. There is a perianth of six segments, 
all coloured, of which the three outer ones are the 
sepals, and the three inner petals. Two of the 
petals bound the sides of the flower as it grows, 
: 297 
