MAT. 121 



ness ; and provide, too, the more prosaic but no less im- 

 portant condition of a firm foot-hold, without which no 

 ramble is an unmixed joy. 



At such a place, in such a light, I chanced upon 

 purple orchids growing in great profusion. In every case 

 they stood apart, as though each would be judged by its 

 own merit, and borrow nothing from its neighbors. 

 Aristocrats, every one of them, in the true and not dis- 

 gusting sense of the term. 



They appeared to have no choice in the matter of lo- 

 cality, but by digging down a little I found traces of a 

 black mold, and it was evident that here, at least, their 

 nourishment is derived from decaying wood. These flow- 

 ers were not so large nor so darkly tinted as many I have 

 seen from nearer home, where the surroundings are totally 

 different, and heavy black soil in upland swamps seems 

 alone suited to them. There need be no discussion as to 

 their preferences in the matter of locality. No change 

 could be greater than from the dry evergreen wood here 

 to the cold swamps near home, where grow deciduous 

 trees almost exclusively. 



At another point — where the land was swampy and 

 covered with a mixed growth — I found a striking row of 

 thirteen, each in perfect condition, and the plants of a re- 

 markably uniform height. They were growing along the 

 greatly decayed prostrate trunk of a pine tree. They were 

 all quite pale, as if frightened at being thirteen at a table. 

 If so, their fears were realized, for I plucked one as I 

 passed by ; why, I can not say, and I am surprised that 

 I did, for such bloom should be exempt from persecution. 



The pines here are of two species, the " scrub " and the 

 pitch pine — called locally " two-leaf " or " smooth bark," 

 and the " three-leaf " or " Indian." What is meant by the 

 " bottle pine " I did not determine. The proportion of 

 each is not readily ascertained, and may differ a good deal 



