4 THE WOODLANDS ORCHIDS 



of wealthy men ; the thoughtful and patient labour of skilled 

 servants — all these were needed to secure for us the delights 

 of orchid culture. What boon granted to mankind stands 

 in like case ? I think of none. Is it unreasonable then to 

 believe, as was said, that orchids were designed at their in- 

 ception to comfort the elect in this anxious age .'' ' ^ 



Mr. Measures, however, was quite unconscious of his 

 opportunities. It was mere chance which put him on the 

 right track. Tempted by the prospect of obtaining some- 

 thing, forgotten now, in the way of roses or carnations or 

 chrysanthemums, he attended a local sale. Presently some 

 pots of Cypripedium barbatum were put up, in bud and 

 flower. They seemed curious and pretty — he bought 

 them. It was a relief to find that his gardener did not show 

 any surprise or embarrassment at the sight — appeared to be 

 familiar with the abnormal objects indeed. But it would have 

 been subversive of discipline to ask how they were called. So 

 Mr. Measures worked round and round the secret, putting 

 questions — what heat did the things require, what soil, would 

 the green-house already built suit them, and so forth ? Finally, 

 in talking, the gardener pronounced the name — Cypripedium. 

 Planting this long word deep and firm in his memory Mr. 

 Measures hurried to the house, looked it out in the multi- 

 tudinous books on gardening already stored there, and dis- 

 covered that Cypripedium is an orchid. Pursuing the 

 investigation further, he learned that orchids are the choicest 

 of flowers, that several thousand species of them, all beautiful 

 and difi^erent, may be cultivated, that some are easy and some 

 difficult. It dawned upon him then that this might well be 

 the special variety of plant which would answer his purpose. 



^ It seems not unlikely that scholars may read this and misunderstand. 

 I am not ignorant that ' the Ancients ' had frames, probably warmed 

 green-houses — since they flowered roses at mid-winter — and certainly con- 

 servatories. But these facts do not bear upon the argument. 



