428 STATE HOETICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The flower is not icfreqaently half a foot in diameter. Petals and 

 sepals hang with a languid grace that is simply entrancing. The color 

 in a single flower will shade off from a soft pink to a delicate creamy 

 flesh tint, like the lining of a seashell, while in the lip there is a spot 

 of gorgeous royal purple. They are the planets among the constella- 

 tion of orchids — fairly glowing out from the deep shadows of their 

 fronds, as if some of the hues of the sunset had taken shape and 

 floated down to earth. Notably beautiful among Cattleyas are the 

 fleecy white Albinos (the collector prides himself on these, as they are 

 very rare, and are therefore more highly valued, a point holding good 

 with all groups of orchids), and the Gattleya speciossisdima, the purple 

 in whos6 lips is either mottled or streaked with white, and framed with 

 a pure rich yellow. The Cypripedium insigne, which also blooms dur- 

 ing autumn and winter, is a yellow flower with large brown spots, a 

 quiet contrast to the elegance of the Cattleyas. Similar contrasts can 

 be effected during any season of the year. It is an easy matter to 

 vary plants of gorgeous bloom with those which with their subdued 

 colors seem to love dusk and shadow. No other genus of flower can 

 approach orchids in their combination of the riceest with the most 



delicate hues. 



J. R. Pitcher, in Orange Judd Farmer. 



