INTRODUCTION 3 



and also to the ease with which many of them may be cultivated 

 by amateur and professional grower alike. 



The brilliant hues of Orchid blooms, the exquisite colour 

 combinations so many of them present, and, above all, the grace and 

 longevity of the flowers have done more than anything else 

 to make Orchids popular. The further fact that many of the 

 most desirable species are not more expensive than the best varieties 

 of hardy florists' flowers has induced hosts of amateurs to try 

 their luck with a few Odontoglossums, Cypripediums, Coelogynes, 

 Lycastes, or Cymbidiums, and with great success. Friends have 

 found to their surprise that many of these Orchids may be grown 

 in a glass house where the minimum winter temperature is not 

 lower than 40^ Fahr., and so they have been interested and the 

 cult still further extended. 



The huge importations of many of our most beautiful and 

 popular Orchids that arrived about twenty years or so ago gave 

 a great fillip to the cult simply because the plants could often be 

 purchased as cheaply as bedding plants, and small lots were purchased 

 at auction sales in the same speculative spirit as Dutch bulbs 

 are bought. Millions of plants must have been killed by inattention 

 and over-kindness during the intervening years, but thousands have 

 lived to delight their cultivators, and to prove to those who 

 failed that Orchids do not present insuperable cultural difficulties. 



One other matter has served to advance the popularity of 

 Orchids and lead to their greatly extended culture, and it is their 

 tenacity of life. Imported plants emphasise this point, for what 

 besides Orchids could stand the strain imposed upon them by being 

 torn from trees or rocks, laid out in the sun to dry, packed in 

 wooden cases, transported over leagues of tropical country, and 

 shipped thousands of miles overseas, and still retain so much 

 life that they start into vigorous growth under suitable conditions ? 



