British Wild Flowers and Trees 265 



the ground from cracking and drying, and also shelters 

 the plants in winter— in short, keeps the surface open 

 and healthy. To plant grass over a bed in a garden 

 would not do, as the shelter and richness of the ground 

 would induce it to grow so strong that unless we were 

 to look after and shorten it very frequently there would 

 be no chance of keeping it within bounds ; and if we 

 did not do that, it would soon smother all the Orchids. 

 A good substitute is cocoa-fibre with a little sand to 

 give it weight. An inch or two of this was spread over 

 the bed, and it prevented cracking and evaporation, 

 and kept the surface in a healthy state. The roots 

 should be inserted firmly but without injuring their 

 fibres — a great point. Few people know how to plant 

 anything beyond a strong bedding plant. 



If one of these Orchids which are accustomed to send 

 their fleshy roots down into moist broken chalk in 

 search of food were to be planted without care, it would 

 soon perish. 



Well, in this way I have grown and freely flowered 

 the most curious and beautiful Bee Orchis, the Spider 

 Orchis, the Fly Orchis, and a dozen others less difficult 

 to cultivate. The marsh Epipactus palustris is one of 

 the easiest native Orchids to cultivate, growing well 

 in an artificial bog or moist border; whilst most of 

 the Orchises will do well under the treatment above 

 described. The Bee, Fly, and Spider Orchids belong 

 to the genus Ophrys. 



The common spotted Orchis (O. maculata), found 



