1162 



ORCHID 



The middle part of this century is remarkable for the 

 great number of new and striking kinds of Orchids dis- 

 covered. Immense sums were paid for single new plants. 

 The fabulous prices paid for novelties caused collectors 

 to scour every part of the tropics, risking their lives in 



"The Orchid Album." by R. Warner and B. S. Williams, 



the mountains, jungles and fever-haunted swamps in 

 search of these wondrous plants. At the present time 

 collectors are still engaged in searching the tropics, but 

 striking novelties are rarely introduced. Lai l'i m" '"'i 

 ties of Orchids are annually imported toreplmi^li n iih 

 ern hothouses. It is probable that large sum- In -m-l. 

 plants have been paid more frequently for Onliia- iIkim 

 for any other class of plants, A thousand dollars for a 

 unique plant is perhaps paid less frequently nowadays 

 than in the middle of the century. Nevertheless the 

 interest in Orchids is not declining. On the contrary, the 

 love for Orchids is beconiinL* ni'TP wirlr -prpad. There 

 never has been any distiini I'.i ,1 , . |., f,.|],nved by a 

 severe reaction, as in the 'M -i , <l;ililia. zinnia, 



camellia, etc., but the iiiin ully extended 



and is likely always to inLr.;, i -;. 



Out-flowers. -The nse of Or.'hi.U .^ u! ;!,.,.,,■- is 

 slowly becoming more and more 1;. 1 ^l I inds 



are easily cultivated with general H..I I - ;! ; 1 are 



thus becoming widespread inculti\ ati. 1 1 \ pii;.. liiiiu. 

 Cattleya, Lielia). As yet none of the Orchids can be 

 regarded as florists' flowers in the same sense as roses 

 and carnations. Their use is mostly restricted to special 

 purposes, although thev are gaining in poj.ularitv. Cat- 

 tleva, Cypripedimu and D. nli ilium :n . . i.iiI:iV-, t)ie 

 o-ily genera liste.l in ih. , ' , . ', . • i.ii.l. 



winter. The won.l. iim k, . : ,.,(,, j, as 



cut-Howers are well klHl^^ II \ 11 i.,,,, ;..-,, its 



beauty within a few hum- r ii.h. 



Orchid Hybrids. ~OiU' i 1 mating phases 



of Orchid culture is the 1 livbrids. By 



crossing of different speei.- la numerous 



new Orchids have been iiniiin. > 1. inimy ..f which are 

 superior to the natural species. In some genera the 

 hybrids now far outnumber the original species, notably 

 Lteliocattleya. 



A large and special literature on Orchids has grown 

 up. Magnificent periodicals, with descriptions and 

 colored plates, have been entirely devoted to Orchids. 

 Notable among these are "Lindenia," Ghent, 189."> and 

 continuing; "Reichenbachia," published by Sander. 



are more 

 the larger 

 of Mexice 



toirlossun: 



Chr 



oted to Orchids 



'ing, 



ns of Orchids ocei 

 in the "Botanical 

 lew species were d. 

 ," Among the mai 



"TheOrcbidaceaj 

 leicraph of Odon- 



al Maga- 



■•> . ..f Reich- 



*A Manual of Orelii(lae''iiu- I'lani- rulii\ ai.ii mel.r 

 Glass in Great Britain." i.y A. H. K.ni. i--M..I in parts 

 by James Veitch and f^i.n-, and "i ir.-liiil-: 'I'lj. ir( uliure 

 and Management," by \V. Watsun. Nu euuipreheusive 

 American work has as yet appeared. A list of all known 

 hybrids, however, is given by Geo. Hansen, "The Or- 

 chid Hybrids," 1895, including first supplement; second 

 supplement, 1897. This is an American work. 



Species in the American rrafJe. — Orchids are mostly 

 advertised in special catalogues. All the names found 

 in the catalogues of Wm. Mathews (1890), John Saul 

 (1893-6), Pitcher & Manda (iNfl.'ii. and Siebreeht & 

 Wadley are accounted for in tlii- ( ' . , I,,|m ,li;, ... I;,r ,is 

 possible. Some catalogties mI r . 1 ' Im 



have American agents— as Sal .v 1 : ^1. 



The Mathews collection has 1. ^ . 1 -1 ^ hiin m 



1890, but it is larger in a general e..i;. . le.i, ul e..H.iii. r- 

 cial kinds. The collections of Saul aud of Pitcher & 

 Manda are dispersed, and many of the rarer and more 

 diflicult subjects have doubtless perished. In the na- 

 ture of the case it is impossible to determine at any 

 given time what species of Orchids are cultivated in 

 America. The great private collections contain many 

 rare kinds imported through foreign dealers. Many 

 species which are known to be cultivated by American 

 amateurs, have been included in this work, although the 

 species are not listed in American catalogues. 



Part II. Botanical Account of Orchids. 

 All Orchids are perennial herbs which increase in one 

 of two ways. The simplest form which the vegetative 

 axis may assume is that of a monopodial stem which 

 increases by the continual growth of the terminal bud. 

 ^Monopodial stems occur in Angrsecum, Vanda (Fig. 

 I.'iIm), Phalienopsis, etc. Lateral branches may be 

 formed, but they do not interrupt the growth of the 

 main axis, and never exceed it in length. The growth 

 may be interrupted by a period of rest, but this is not 

 manifested on the stem by the formation of scales, etc. 



1566. Dendrobium ; a sympodial Orchid with 



lateral flower shoots. 



The dark and light parts, a a .tud b b, represent each 



the growth of one shoot. 



,11 the leaves are similar. The inflorescence consists 

 f a separate axillary branch bearing bracts and tlowers. 

 In the greater number of Orchids the terminal bud 

 eases to grow at the end of the season, either terminat- 

 ig in the inflorescence or blindly. The new growth 



