THE ORCHID REVIEW. 13 
of the essential conditions under which any plant exists in a wild state 
would enable the cultivator to grow it with success, provided always that 
it were possible to imitate them. Against this view it has been argued that 
a knowledge of natural conditions is of little value to the cultivator; that 
plants in nature, owing to the severe struggle for existence which is 
continually going on, don’t grow where they like, but where they can; and 
that the problem which the cultivator has to solve is how to grow his plants 
under a totally new and different set of conditions. In this view I cannot 
help thinking that one or two essential points have been overlooked. 
In the first place, whenever a plant is found growing and thriving in a 
wild state it is certain that it exists under conditions which suit it, other- 
wise it would speedily be pushed out by a host of competitors, and if those 
conditions were imitated after the plant were brought into cultivation it 
would continue to thrive. The cultivator protects his plants from the 
fierce struggle for existence, which is a very real and substantial benefit, 
and if they then fail to thrive something is wrong. They may keep alive in 
a weak and spindly condition, because of the protection from a host of 
enemies, which in a wild state would mercifully terminate their existence; and 
thus plants in a wild state may be said to be in harmony with their 
environment. 
I donot for one moment contend that every condition under which a 
plant grows in a wild state must be imitated artificially in order to cultivate it 
successfully, for many plants grow under such varied conditions that is at first 
difficult to see what they can possibly have in common. This may indicate 
great plasticity of constitution, and a power to adapt themselves to widely 
different circumstances. Such plants seldom trouble the cultivator much, 
and I don’t propose to offer him any advice as to how he should treat them. 
It may also mean that many of the apparently natural conditions are purely 
accidental, and therefore non-essential, and this immediately suggests the 
necessity of distinguishing between essential and non-essential conditions. 
I was once asked, ‘‘ What do you call essential conditions, and how may 
they be recognised?” and the answer is not so difficult as might be 
supposed. 
We will suppose that some handsome Orchid proves intractable under 
cultivation, and a collector, who goes in search of more plants, determines 
to note the conditions under which it grows naturally, with a view to over- 
coming the difficulty. The desired information would be collected under 
the heads—(1) Climate, including the average daily, and yearly range of 
temperature, the amount of rainfall and its distribution throughout the 
year, the period of wet and dry seasons, and the altitude at which it grows; 
(2) Habitat, including its position with respect to light and shade, and the 
nature of the medium on which it grows; and (3) Food supply, which 
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