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either condition. Although one soon becomes accustomed to 

 seeing it in all sorts of habitats, it still looks decidedly out of 

 place when scores of plants of it are found growing among the 

 long spines of the cactus Piereskia. 



Among the ferns is planted the small collection of bromeliads. 

 Most of these are set out in beds along the walks, and only a few 

 epiphytic species are shown, while all the species seem to have 

 been chosen for their ornamental value rather than for their 

 scientific interest. One is disappointed by the relatively small 

 number of species, but it must be remembered that these plants 

 are exclusively American, and must be more difficult to secure 

 for a garden so far removed from the source of supply. 



Just beyond the fern collection is the orchid section, and this 

 is invariably one of the most attractive spots in the garden for 

 the visitor. There are said to be over a thousand species in 

 cultivation, and almost all of these are epiphytes. For a support 

 the shrub Plumiera acutifolia is regularly used. Its rather stiff 

 trunk is suggestive of our stag-horn sumach, and seems to be 

 ideal for orchid cultivation. The shrubs are set out in regular 

 rows, with paths between, and each one bears a single plant of 

 some orchid. The few terrestrial orchids are planted in beds at 

 the miargin. The whole collection is shaded by some large trees 

 of Spondias, whose fruits, the size of an unhulled walnut, are 

 continually dropping. 



Always there are a few species of orchids in bloom with large 

 and showy flowers, and it is these which attract the casual 

 visitor. No attempt is made, however, to provide a special 

 display of flowers, and a more showy orchid collection can be 

 found in any metropolitan American greenhouse. Only a small 

 proportion of the species are in bloom at one time, and of them a 

 majority have small or inconspicuous flowers. There is instead 

 a remarkable variety of vegetative form, which is even more 

 interesting to the botanist, since it offers a good illustration of 

 the diversity of structure in this large family. There are leaves 

 of every size, from the huge linear ones four feet long of Cym- 

 hidium Finlaysonianum to the rigid ones of Dendrobium rigidum 

 or the terete ones of Bulhophyllum alliifolium, while Vanilla 



