15 



meagre fare into broad substantial leaves and handsome flowers. 

 Truly this is natural magic. All the orchids are most delicate 

 and temperate in their fare. They are the Blue Ribbonists of the 

 plant world, and seem, except in a few instances, to have little 

 inclination for " stimulants " of an ammoniacal character. Yet 

 what a diversity of floral forms is produced ! What numbers of 

 brilliant colours, and what delicate but durable structures ! From 

 a barrowful of peat and charcoal, and a few gallons of water, we 

 obtain through the medium of these plants a wealth of glorious 

 blossoms the rich gold and purple Dendrobes, the bright yellow 

 Oncidiums, the gorgeous crimson Cattleyas, and the delicate, pure 

 and wax-like Odontoglossums. It is remarkable, too, that the 

 epiphytal orchids, which are most refined in their food demands, 

 also produce the most handsome flowers. 



One of the characters which especially impresses a student of 

 the great orchid family is the surprising range of floral variation, 

 yet within such definite limits that an orchid flower is usually 

 easily recognised. In the majority we find three outer divisions 

 the sepals and within these three other divisions alternate 

 with the sepals, two the petals being more or less similar to 

 them in form, though frequently differing in colour, while the 

 lower one (in a few cases this is uppermost) the labellum or lip 

 is strangely metamorphosed, sometimes excessively large, at 

 others very small, of the most peculiar forms, mimicking insects 

 and birds, or extraordinarily and indescribably grotesque. It is 

 this which gives the prevailing character to orchid flowers, and it 

 is so important an organ that it must be referred to at greater 

 length in another paragraph. In the centre of the flower we find 

 no stamens or pistil, such as we are familiar with in other flowers, 

 but a compound body, the Column (gynostegium), which faces 

 the labellum, and bears on that surface a hollow glutinous cavity 

 the stigma and has at the summit a box-like depression, 

 covered with a lid, the anther-case (clinandrium), in -which are 

 situated the Pollen-masses (pollinia), consisting of grains of 

 pollen, connected into various forms by a web-like or glutinous 

 substance. Beneath the flower is the ovary, termed from its 

 position inferior, and this, when cut across, is found to be one- 

 celled, with three rows of seeds extending down the inner surface 

 of the walls. They are mostly very minute, very numerous, and 

 covered with a loose skin (testa). 



These are the prevailing characters of the family. There are, 

 however, some exceptional cases, and some details which will be 

 referred to presently. For instance, an orchid flower is usually 

 very irregular,, owing to the development of the labellum ; yet in 

 a few genera, as the Thelymitra, Hexisea, and Paxtonia, the parts 

 of the flowers are nearly all equal, as is shown in Fig. 4, which 

 represents a flower of Paxtonia rosea. 



