ORCHIDS 



ORCHOMENOS 



627 



with ordinary or typical varieties of the species to 

 which they belong, and not having been seen in 

 flower by the dealer, their intrinsic value is not 

 known to him. Thus Cattleya Thnmxonii origin- 

 ated in part of an importation of Cattleya Massive 

 and other species received from South America. 

 Only one small plant appeared in a numerous 

 batch of plants, with the unique characteristics 

 of the one in question, which was readily bought 

 for 200. 



The cultivation of orchids is accounted a difficult 

 branch of the gardener's art. When the value of 

 a considerable collection of rare kinds is considered, 

 their successful management is at least a respon- 

 sible undertaking. To be successful in their treat- 

 ment the cultivator should above all things be well 

 informed regarding the conditions under which 

 each species grows in its native habitat. The pre- 

 vailing temperature and other atmospheric condi- 

 tions during the periods of growth ami of rest, and 

 the amount of shade or of light to which they are 

 exposed at those seasons, must be known to and 

 comprehended by the cultivator before he can adapt 

 his means to the end in view. Houses or compart- 

 ments of houses are set apart for the accommoda- 

 tion of species which are natives of the more hot 

 and humid parts of the world, such as tropical East 

 India, MaoMpMMi and Brazil, and a similar 

 arrangement is made for those from Mexico and 

 Central America. The management of the atmo- 

 sphere of these houses is then 

 based on such knowledge as 

 the cultivator ]H>ssesses regard- 

 ing the temperature and mois- 

 ture, light and shade, that 

 prevail in the countries the 

 several species are natives of. 

 The plants of truly epiphytal 

 habit are usually cultivated on 

 blocks of oak, teak, or other 

 timber, with or without moss 

 about their roots for the reten- 

 tion of moisture. All classes 

 are also grown in pots or lat- 

 tice-baskets, in rough fibrous 

 peat and Sphagnum moss 

 largely intermixed with char- 

 coal and porous crocks, to 

 secure abundant drainage. 

 Only the terrestrial species are grown in soil 

 proper, and as there are exceedingly few of 

 such that require the accommodation of special 

 houses, space need not here be taken up with 

 their requirements. The propagation of orchids is 

 effected by division of the root-stocks, by separat- 

 ing the pseudo-bulbs in some cases, by cuttings in 

 the case of Dendrobiums, and some others with 

 similar forms of growth, and by seed in all cases 

 when it can be obtained, which rarely occurs with 

 cultivated plants except they have IK-CM artificially 

 fertilised. Increased interest in orchids has in 

 recent years l>een evoked bv the success that has 

 attended the ellbrte of hybridists to unite the 

 desirable features of the flowers of any two species 

 in one form. The pioneer in this branch of orchid 

 culture was Mr Dominy of London, whose first 

 success occurred about the year 1860. Many 

 hybrid orchids are now in cultivation, but they 

 aU belong to very few genera ; certain S|>ecie8 of 

 Calanthe, Cattleva, Cypripcdium, l)endrohiuin, 

 ami Efiidendrum being "all that have yet yielded 

 to the hybridist's art. 



Few orchids yield products useful to man. Of 

 these the Vanilla (q.v.) is perhaps the licst known 

 in commerce. The leaves of Anffrrecum frayrans, a 

 native of the Mauritius, where it is called Fahum, 

 and by the French Isle of Bourbon Tea, are delight- 

 fully fragrant, having the odour of Touquin bean 



Fig. 5. Oncidium 

 Kramerianum. 



with the flavour of bitter almonds, and are said in 

 infusion to promote digestion, and to allay coughs, 

 diseases of the chest, and spasms. The roots of 

 Helleborine (Epipactis latifolia), a British species, 

 are said to allay arthritic pains. Those of Himanto- 

 (jlossmn hircinmn, Spiranthus ttittumnalis, and 

 Platantliera btfolia are reputed to be aphrodisiac. 

 The flowers of Gymnadenia conopsea, a native of 

 Britain, have been administered in dysentery. In 

 North America the tubers of Arethusa are used to 

 stimulate indolent tumours and to allay tooth- 

 ache. The roots of Sfiranthm diiiretica are much 

 esteemed as a diuretic in Chili. The rhizomes of 

 Cypripedinm jmbesccns and of C. parm/tonrm are 

 regarded by American practitioners as an excellent 

 substitute for Valerian as a gentle stimulant. The 

 tul>ers of Aplecirnm hyemale are so viscid that 

 they are called Putty-root in the United States, 

 and are there used for cementing broken earthen-' 

 ware. 



See Sander's Reichenbachia ; Veitch'n Manual of 

 Orchids ; The Amatcur't Orchid Guide, by Britten and 

 Gower ; and Watson, Orehidt : their Culture and Man- 

 agement (1890). 



ORCHIS is a genus of Orchidece, to which, as 

 now restricted, ten of the British species are 

 referred. Some of 

 them are among 

 the most com- 

 mon of British 

 Orchidese, adorn- 

 ing meadows and 

 pastures with 

 their flowers in 

 summer. It is a 

 rather numerous 

 genus, chiefly 

 spread over Eu- 

 rope, northern 

 Asia, and a very 

 few of the species 

 lelong to North 

 America. The 

 British species 

 have mostly red 

 or lilac flowers, 

 sometimes white 

 or green, and 

 often l>eautifully 

 mottled. The S/7 ~\ 

 roots of some of ^"VyxV 

 the species when 

 dried constitute 

 the salep of 

 commerce, which 

 reduced to a fine powder, and mixed with boiling 

 water, sugar, and milk, makes an excellent diet 

 drink. 0. mascula and other British species yield 

 such an excellent fecula that it has been suggested 

 the production of salep might be made a profitable 

 industry in England. The accompanying figure 

 gives an idea of the general features of the genus. 



Orchil. See ARCHIL. 



Oivliom Vnos. an ancient city of Bocotia, the 

 capital of the kingdom of the Minyre, was situated 

 at the north-western corner of Lake Copais, where 

 it is joined by the Cephissus, and extended from 

 the marshy edges of the lake up the face of a steep 

 rocky bill, on which stood the acropolis. It sent 

 thirty ships to the Trojan war, and at a later date 

 became a member of the Boeotian confederacy. Its 

 government was thoroughly aristocratic, and after 

 the Peloponnesian war the jealous democratic 

 Thebans destroyed it by fire, and sold its inhabit- 

 ants as slaves. It was rebuilt in the reign of Philip 

 of Macedon, but never recovered its position. It 

 was famous for its musical festival in honour of 



Orchis mascnla : 

 a, the lip of the perianth. 



