32 



Mr. Bentham's modification of Lindley's, in which the Maiaxideas 

 are incorporated with the Epidendreas, the Arethuseae with the 

 Neottieas, and the Apostasieas with the Cypripedieae, thus re- 

 ducing the number of tribes to five, each being divided into sab- 

 tribes, the total number of these b.-in^ twenty-seven. 



THE USES OF ORCHIDS. 



IT has been frequently observed that families of plants which 

 yield us the most beautiful flowers are often the least productive 

 of substances useful to mar, and this is shown in orchids; for, 

 considering their numbers, very few are in the slightest degree 

 beneficial as food, medicine, or in any similarly practical way. 

 Yet, owing to their beauty, they have gained a commercial value 

 superior to many plants of much more economic importance. 

 The two chief products are Salep and Vanilla, of which the fol- 

 lowing full particulars are given by Dr. Robert Hogg, in his 

 " Vegetable Kingdom " : 



Salep is a substance much used as a nutritious food in the 

 East, and is habitually used by the Turks and Persians at their 

 meals. It is a fecula produced by the tubers of Orchis mascula 

 and other allied species. This plant is one of our most abundant 

 British orchids, and is found in woods, pastures, and by waysides. 

 It also grows plentifully throughout Europe, Northern Africa, and 

 the East. In Persia the fecula is obtained by washing the roots, 

 and throwing them into boiling water to remove the outer skin ; 

 they are then dried, strung on cords, and hung in the sun till they 

 are perfectly free of moisture, and will keep without injury for 

 almost any period ; they are sometimes dried in ovens. These 

 bulbs, when thus dried, vary from the size of a cherry-stone to 

 that of an olive, are slightly transparent, and of a horny colour ; 

 they are very difficult to pulverise, and, to facilitate the opera- 

 tion, they should be soaked in cold water till they become soft, 

 and then rapidly dried. When reduced to powder, it is dissolved, 

 like other fecula, in water, milk, or broth, requiring sixty parts ot 

 liquid to one of fecula. It is employed, in the East particularly, 

 as a restorative and powerful analeptic, against weakness of the 

 forces. In Poland the decoction of Salep is the drink used in 



