go ABOUT ORCHIDS. 
a circle of brown and gold around the column. 
The purpose of this extraordinary arrangement— 
unique among orchids, I believe—will be dis- 
covered one day, for purpose there is, no doubt ; 
to judge by analogy, it may be supposed that the 
insect upon which Oxc. serratum depends for 
fertilization likes to stand upon this ring while 
thrusting its proboscis into the nectary. The 
fourth of these fine species, Onc. superbiens, ranks 
among the grandest of flowers—knowing its own 
value, it rarely consents to “oblige;” the dusky 
green sepals are margined with yellow, petals white, 
clouded with pale purple, lip very small, of course, 
purple, surmounted by a great golden crest. 
Most strange and curious is Onc. fuscatum, of 
which the shape defies description. Seen from the 
back, it shows a floriated cross of equal limbs ; but 
in front the nethermost is hidden by a spreading 
lip, very large proportionately. The prevailing 
tint is a dun-purple, but each arm has a broad 
white tip. Dun-purple, also, is the centre of the 
labellum, edged with a distinct band of lighter hue, 
which again, towards the margin, becomes white. 
These changes of tone are not gradual, but as clear 
as a brush could makethem. Botanists must long 
to dissect this extraordinary flower, but the oppor- 
tunity seldom occurs. It is desperately puzzling 
