76 



HARDY PERENNIALS AND 



damp leaf mould and sand. The position should be open and 

 sunny, in order to have flowers. Cuttings may be taken during 

 summer, and struck in sandy peat kept moist, or strong roots 

 may be divided. The latter method is the less desirable, not 

 only because of jeopardising the parent stock but also because 

 strong roots show to greater advantage when not separated. 

 Flowering period, September and October. 



Cypripedium Calceolus. 



ENGLISH LADY'S SLIPPER; Nat. Ord. ORCHIDACE^. 



THIS well-known terrestrial orchid is a rare British plant, very 



beautiful, and much admired, so 

 much so, indeed, that many de- 

 sire to grow it. It happens, how- 

 ever, that it seldom thrives under 

 cultural treatment, and seems to 

 prefer a home of its own selection, 

 but its habitats are said now to be 

 very few in Great Britain, it hav- 

 ing] been hunted out and grubbed 

 up everywhere. Fortunately, it 

 can be grown in gardens, and 

 in good form, though rarely seen 

 thus. To see well-grown flowers 

 of this orchid either makes us feel 

 more contented with our own cli- 

 mate or strongly reminds us of 

 others where the most gorgeous 

 varieties of flowers and fruit grow 

 wild. It is large and striking, fra- 

 grant, and very beautiful ; no one 

 can see it, especially in a growing 

 state, without being charmed by 

 its freshness and simplicity ; it 

 also forms one of the finest speci- 

 mens for the student in botany, 

 and in every way it is a plant and 

 flower of the highest merit (see 

 Fig. 32). It should be in all col- 

 lections of choice plants, and every 

 amateur should persevere until he 

 succeeds in establishing it. 



Under cultivation it flowers in 

 early May, at a height of 9in. 



FIG. 32. CYPRIPEDHTM CALCEOLUS. to 12in. ; the flowers are composed 

 (One-third natural size.) of a calyx of three brownish- 



purple sepals, which have only the appearance of two, from the 



