86 



The following were unanimously elected to membership in 

 the club: 



Mr. N. C. Thornton, Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant 

 Research, Yonkers, New York; Mr. Wm. Conway Price, Boyce 

 Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Yonkers, New York. 



The following resignations were accepted: 



Dr. Winifred J. Robinson and Dr. Lewis E. Wehmeyer. 



The death of Mr. Charles E. Foote was reported with regret. 



Mr. Carl T. Ramsey gave a talk on "Insect Pollinating 

 Mechanisms in Native and Cultivated Orchids." 



The orchid family is not only cosmopolitan but truly a mul- 

 titudinous host, embracing 400 genera and about 15,000 known 

 living species. Orchids are found at all latitudes and altitudes 

 from sea level to 13,000 feet and from the tropics north to 

 the limits of vegetation towards the poles. In North America, 

 north of Mexico there are 146 species. 



All of our existing orchids are dependent on insects for pol- 

 lination. We do not know just when the orchids started their 

 flirtation with the insects but we may safely assume that it may 

 have been during the Cretaceous age, possibly 30 million years 

 ago. Early in their development they not only became the most 

 gorgeous and exclusive race of plants but li-kewise learned to 

 climb trees and precipitous cliffs to find the sunlight they always 

 demand even in the densest tropical forest. The strange and 

 fascinating forms of the orchids are all fashioned to suit them 

 for insect pollination. Until this is fully understood the marvel 

 of the orchids' delicate and tinted lips cannot be appreciated. 

 Further, in most cases each species has a separate insect to pol- 

 linate it. This, of course, makes the operation a most uncertain 

 one, so comparatively few orchids ever set seeds. How this in- 

 teresting and complicating relationship first arose is almost 

 beyond speculation. The illustrious Darwin clearly demonstrated 

 a half century ago that all of this was an effort to produce a 

 healthy race when fusing new blood in the process of cross-pol- 

 lination. There are comparatively few orchid hybrids, but 

 every orchid is the result of a cross, few of them being even 

 able to develop seed from their own pollen. Further the struc- 

 ture is such that a pollination of orchids without the help of 

 insects is almost impossible under natural conditions. The 

 showy orchid, one of the handsomest of our native species is 



