CHAPTER VII. 



ORCHID CULTURE. 



As the requirements for the successful growing of 

 orchids become better understood, the extent to which 

 they are grown will rapidly increase; even now, they 

 form a part of all large collections, and have quite an 

 extensive sale as cut flowers. 



The orchids may be divided into two classes, the 

 terrestrial and the epiphytal. To the first section 

 belong such species as live upon, and draw their nour- 

 ishment from, the ground. Others grow upon the 

 trunks and branches of trees, or upon rocks. They 

 thrive under varied conditions, some being on the 

 branches of trees overhanging streams or pools of water, 

 where the atmosphere is quite damp, while others cling 

 to rocks on the mountain side. Many kinds are found 

 only in the tops of lofty trees, and some are generally on 

 the trunks near the ground. Orchids have also been 

 found at altitudes as high as 14,000 feet, but the jungle 

 seems preferred by them, although many forms grow at 

 an altitude of 2000 to 8000 feet. They are widely dis- 

 tributed through the tropics, being found in great quan- 

 tities upon both hemispheres, and many handsome 

 forms are found in the temperate zones. 



The tropical orchids abound in Venezuela, New 

 Grenada, Peru, Central America and as far north as 

 Mexico. In the Eastern Hemisphere, they are found in 

 the East Indies, Australia, Ceylon and India, and they 

 are grouped according to habitat into East Indian 

 forms, which flourish in a night temperature of seventy 



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