X INTRODUCTION. 



and certain rules being observed, are generally as 

 easily grown as roses, pinks, and violets. 



The recommendations of Orchids are so fully set 

 forth in the preface to a little volume on the sub- 

 ject, issued by James Brook & Co. of Manchester, 

 that we cannot refrain from a quotation. " The flow- 

 ers of Orchids are, without exception, the most cu- 

 rious and beautiful in nature. Their qualities taken 

 separately, would give eminence to a race of plants ; 

 the singularity of their shapes, their delicate and aro- 

 matic odors, and the richness and variety of their col- 

 ors, all being different from everything we meet with 

 elsewhere. In Orchid flowers these charming qual- 

 ities form a trio of recommendations ; and when, sat- 

 isfied with contemplating their hues and sweetness, 

 we turn to the plants themselves, we find among 

 them some of the most remarkable in the world as 

 regards structure, habitations, and the general phe- 

 nomena of life and renewal. 



" Over and above their intrinsic loveliness Orchid 

 flowers possess rare and engaging qualities, which at 

 the moment we may not recognize, but which win 

 upon us daily. There is always a sound and hearty 

 reality about them. An Orchid flower means what 

 it says. It does not fall to pieces like a lily ; there 

 is no shedding of petals ; no dropping away from the 

 peduncle ; no self-decapitation like that of a fuchsia ; 

 no collapsing and dissolving like a spider-wort ; no, 

 there is never any of this ; the Orchid flower is neither 

 superficial or fugitive nor insincere ; it may be worn 



