24 



Murray has kindly given me permission to use). In Fig. 6 it will 

 be noticed that the pollinia are also shown separately. 



OVARY FRUIT SEEDS. 



The ovary or seed vessel is, in the majority of orchids, one- 

 celled, with three rows of seeds on the inner surface of the walls ; 

 in a few genera, however, as in the Selenipedium section of the 

 Ladies' Slipper, Cypripedium caudatum, C. caricinum, &c., the 

 ovary is three-celled, thus approaching a group of plants, the 

 Apostasias, which were formerly separated from the Orchids as a 

 natural order, but are now united with them by the leading 

 botanists. The fruit frequently takes a considerable time to 

 arrive at maturity, some months, or even a year, and when 

 thoroughly ripe often splits into three divisions. It is sometimes 

 very fragrant and edible as in the Vanilla. The seeds are very 

 minute, and are produced in extraordinary numbers, and some 

 very interesting calculations have been made respecting them by 

 Mr. C. Darwin and others. Thus, a single capsule of Cephalan- 

 thera grandiflora has been found to contain 6,020 seeds, and one of 

 Orchis maculata had 6,200, or 186,300 upon a plant. A single 

 plant of Acropera has been estimated to produce 74 millions of 

 S2eds, and a Maxillaria has been stated to contain nearly two 

 millions of seeds in one capsule. Allowing 400 bad seeds in 

 each capsule of Orchis maculata, Mr. Darwin has estimated 

 " the possible rate of increase of this species is such that the great 

 grandchildren of a single plant would nearly clothe with one 

 uniform green carpet the entire surface of the land throughout 

 the globe." The seeds are covered with a loose, sometimes 

 net.ed coat, and often appear very beautiful under a microscope. 

 They are in many species a great time in germinating, and a 

 year or 18 months sometimes elapses before the young plants can 

 be seen', and then their growth is very slow for several succeeding 

 years, so that it is not an uncommon thing to have to wait five 

 to eight years before flowers are produced. This, however, 

 specially refers to the exotic orchids cultivated under glass, as 

 some germinate and flower much more quickly. 



