IS 



OBBIGNY-OBCHID6 



of >iU. and ranch land in Florida funnrrly UNU- d i- 

 now drnt<ii to ormorc-ctillnrv High dry land and 

 low mout mil Mfui alike mumble, while n. n.-. grove* 

 are planted in the low hammock l.oi.i-. under the 

 hade of the (riant oak* which there flourish \ 

 OTaage tree in lull U-ariiu i> said <>> lie valued at $100 

 Hover tin- State Or.ing>-treiw are rai-.-d IV the 



Orange liatlu-ring. 



seed or are produced hy budding ami grafting (he wild 

 stocks. Culture from tin- seed takes iiiiieh care, anil 

 among the enemies of the young plant one of the 

 moat dangerous is the ant, which seems to consider the 

 embryo leaves a delicacy and is apt to bite them off as 

 soon as they couie almve the ground. Hard-wood 

 aches and air-slacked lime are used to keep off this 

 foe. Some orange-growers simply clear out the su- 

 perfluous plants from a wild grove and bud the re- 

 mainder. Others set out young wild trees and bud 

 them, while still others bud stocks raised from the 

 seed. There is a difference of opinion as to which of 

 these methods is the best and most profitable, but it is 

 generally considered that the bitter orange-stock, from 

 its superior hardiness, is far superior to the sweet or 

 ange as the basis of a grove. Almost any soil but 

 heavy clay is suitable, but severe frosts are fatal to the 

 orange. This fact renders the shelter of ouk groves, 

 above alluded to, of value. 



The orange has a variety of insect enemies. For- 

 tunately none of these arc Ixirers. but all are open foes, 

 which maybe easily detected. One of the mo-t in- 

 jurious of these is the scale insect parasite, which first 

 appeared about 1868 on some orange-trees intro- 

 duced from China and quickly spread over the whole 

 State The growers have now learned how to tight it, 

 and its ravages have lieen greatly reduced. A kero- 

 sene wash is used for this and the mealy bug, another 

 juice-sucking parasite. The leaf-footed plant-bug is 

 an enemy that can only be killed l>y gathering and 

 nailding. There are various other insect enemies, 

 among them the grasshopi>ers and katydids, who do 

 great damage bv devouring the leaves. 



The area in Florida thoroughly adapted to orange- 

 culture has IN-.-H c-tini:tlcd at 1 11,0011 square miles, a 

 pace capable of yielding an enormous crop. The 

 weet orange raised in this State is of the finest flavor, 

 and has no superior in size productivity, and general 

 good qualities. A single acre has been known to pro- 

 duce ten tons of oranges, and this industry promises to 

 become one of the highest value nut only to the State 

 but to the whole I'nion. Another locality of the 

 American orange Is Iuixiana, the trees having been 

 probably introduced there from Florida. The Ixjuisi- 

 ana orange* row-mole tlm.se of Florida, though the 

 yield per tree is -aid to In- much greater. The favorite 

 orange district in thi- Slate extends along the west 

 bank of tin- Mimrippi from a point almut fort 

 below New Orleans to the vicinity of Fort Jaokaom 

 For thirty mill* in length then- i- :in almost continuous 

 orange-ffTuve, *ome of the orchards being very large. 



There are tree* hen- ~:iid to IN- more than .1 hundred 



old. which are still producing fruit. 

 The Ijoiiisiana produce is supplied to the Jx-ople of 

 the Mississippi Valley, as (he Florida yield is to the 

 Atlantic cities. To the Mississippi region conies also 

 i ronsidcrahlc supply from California, the third im- 

 ponant region of oranire culture in the I'niled Stale- 

 In Southern California In of oranges are 

 which, like California!! fruits generally, are of 

 enormous size, lint arc said to lie deficient in flavor us 

 compared with those of the Fast. Tin- culmation of 

 the orange within recent years has extended north 

 ward, until now excellent crops are produced in the 

 valley of the Sacramento River. Its culture, indeed, 

 may IK- enormously extended in the State, the princi- 

 pal check In-ing the difficulty of finding a market for 

 (he crop. The Eastern market bids fair to be fully 

 pre-empted by (he Florida and Ixjuisiana supply. 



OtiBIGNY, Ai.ni.KlH-.ssMiM.s i. (iMij-i- 



French naturalist, was born at Coneron. Sept f>, 1802. 

 lie was educated at La Kochellc, and in ISi'i, went to 

 Eolith America, win-re he spent eight year.- in scientific 

 exploration from Hra/il and IVru to Patagonia. In 

 ls.',ii he was appointed professor of paleontology at 

 the Museum of Natural History at Paris. lie died at 

 Pierrelitte. .lime 80, K".7. Among his works are 

 I'lii/iiffi- /.(./. /' . I ini'i-iiiiir tin Sinl C.i vols. , ls:U-.VJ); 

 l'i/i'-iiiituloffiefntiii;iiisr (14 vols.. |s|n-,ti He con- 

 tributed to the Diffi'iiniiiilrc I'nii-t i-sil il'liixfni'iv 

 i,,,t,i,;ll,- (HI vols., IS39-49), edited by his brother, 

 Charles Dessalincs d'Orbigny (born in I SIM;), con- 

 servator of the Museum of Natural Historv of Paris. 



OI!(M1AKI>SON. WII.I.IVM ( V )MIIKK. a British 

 artist, was born at Edinburgh in 1835. After studying 

 art at the Trustees' Amdcmy he painted portraits 

 until 1863, when he removed to London. His pictures 

 exhibited at the Iloyal Academy attracted favorable 

 notice. Among these were Flowers of the Forest, 

 Hamlet and Ophelia (lsr P ."i). A Hundred Years Ago 

 (1>7I). He w:ts made an associate of the Academy 

 in 1 M'iS. and a member in l>77. 



ORCHIDS. M emliers of the Ordiiilatxa, or orchid 

 family, one of the most extensi\e 

 ^ V J./Q "rders of plants, including in all ::;U 

 i'm Rep ) genera and about 3000 species. They 

 are endogenous herbaceous shrubs, 

 always perennial, and occurring all over the world, 

 except in the coldest and driest regions. In the_colder 

 localities they are generally terrestrial, but in the 

 iropics arc usually epiphytic, growing on stones and 

 trees, and deriving their chief nutriment from the air. 

 They are distinguished by irregular and often very 

 beautiful flowers, which are often of remarkable shape, 

 closely resembling some insect, bird, or reptile. This 

 is caused by the variation in shape of one of the petals, 

 the lalicllum. or lip. which Incomes greatly transformed, 

 and gives the (lower its imitative resemblance. An- 

 other distinguishing feature is the adherence of the 

 pollen in grains or waxy masses, and the oe-celled 

 inferior ovaiy. 



The orchids are nearly always fertilised by insects, 

 to which fact is probably due much of their singularity 

 of form and also their frequent great fragrance. Some 

 of them have thickened root -slocks which form under- 

 ground tulh'rs. Others swell into a tuber-like body, 

 called the pseudo-bulb, above ground. The leaves are 

 greatly varied : .some being thin and temporary, others 

 thick, fle-hy. and persistent; some spreading into a 

 broad foliage, others long and slender, like whip-cord. 

 There arc few useful plants in the order, extensive as 

 it is, the vanilla la-ing the only orchid of marked com- 

 mercial value. 



The l'nitc'1 States has comparatively few native 

 of this great order Of lale years, however, 

 tlorists have succeeded in successfully cultivating in 

 greenhouses many tropical epiphyte*, they being 

 greatly admired for their beauty or sintrularity. Tin- 

 great variety of orchids necessitates variation oi method 



