FLORICULTURE. ^ 369 



Where plenty of bench can be had, I would advise planting the rooted 

 cuttings on the benches and treating them like chrysanthemums, and I 

 believe they would pay well. 



The flowers, when cut, last several days, and look especially grace- 

 fulwhen used in vases. 



So far there are only single varieties on the market— three or four differ- 

 ent shades of colors of white, pink and red— but it is reported from the 

 South that a double strain is under improvement and may soon be ex- 

 pected in the market. 



ORCHIDS. 



W. A. MANDA, SHORT HILLS, N. .1. 



The family of orchidaceous plants, which comprises some of the most 

 unique, strange and wonderful productions of the vegetable kingdom, is 

 represented by thousands of species, varieties and, of late years, artificial 

 hybrids. 



The geographical distribution of this order is very wide, inhabiting as 

 they do all the five continents of the globe, and almost every island. Nor 

 are they confined to a certain clime, as they are found in the tropical, 

 temperate, as well as arctic regions; superabounding in the former, evenly 

 distributed in the second, while in the cold regions they are sparingly 

 met with. 



Their forms and habits differ widely, according to their natural situa- 

 tions. Thus in the tropical countries they are mostly met as epiphytes, 

 growing upon trunks and branches of trees, and also on rocks, but seldom 

 on the ground, with the exception of a few, such as Cypripediums; while, 

 in the temperate and northern zones, they are found growing either in 

 meadows or in the woods on the ground, and are truly terrestrial. In the 

 United States, the indigenous orchids are mostly terrestrial, with the ex- 

 ception of a few epiphytal species which are found in the most southern 

 point of Florida. Thus the showy Lady Slipper, the dainty Lady Tresses, 

 or the beautifully fringed Orchis, are members of the orchid family. 

 Generally they are more difficult to cultivate than the tropical kinds, and 

 thus, unfortunately, are seldom met with in gardens. 



Although it is more than a century ago that the tropical kinds were in- 

 troduced, it is only in the last thirty or forty years that they have been 

 extensively cultivated and their culture perfected, so that to-day there 

 are much finer specimens in cultivation than either the jungles of the 

 East Indies or South America ever contained. 



In the early part of their culture, orchids were mostly cultivated by 

 amateurs; but of late years, with the simplified and easy culture and the 

 easy way of procuring them, many florists have been induced to grow them 

 extensively, finding a very ready sale for the flowers. Each country has a 

 distinctive class of orchids; thus, the finest orchids in cultivation are 

 divided about as follows: The showy Cattleya is found in an altitude of 

 from 2,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level in Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia and 

 Peru, and scattered through the Central American republics. The 

 Laelias, again, have two distinctive habitats, one section of which is 

 found exclusively in the Brazilian mountains, while the other is chiefly 

 indigenous to Mexico and Guatemala. The Odontoglossum and Masde- 

 vallias are scattered on the western Cordilleras, from Mexico down to 

 24 h 



