164 The Orchis Tribe. 



time in blossom before it withers, unless too much exposed to 

 the sun and winds. The leaves are of an ovate lanceolate-shape, 

 silvery underneath, and larger than those of the Fly Ophrys. 

 It was included among the Insectifera of Linnaeus, and is a 

 native of several parts of Europe, and loves a somewhat chalky 

 and meadow soil. It is of course the emblem of Industry. As 

 the seed ripens in August, it would be worth the experiment of 

 those who have room and a suitable soil, to scatter it on the 

 ground in favorable situations, similar to that in which it grows 

 naturally ; but as most bulbous roots raised from seed, require 

 some years before they have strength to send up flower-stalks, 

 these must not be expected for at least three or four years. We 

 should recommend, at the same time, that a portion of the seed 

 should be sown in a bed of earth congenial to the nature of the 

 plant, and very slightly covered with vegetable mould, as we 

 observe the plants to be generally most abundant amongst de- 

 cayed leaves. We should also recommend the bed to be kept 

 covered with moss, which would keep the earth moist and pro- 

 tect it from frost, which should be kept down by laying slender 

 twigs over it, and pegging them down with little forked branches. 

 The Cypripedium, or Ladies' Slipper, is another member of 

 this wonderful family ; its large, puffed up, bladder-like lip gives 

 it the name. Many of its species have four petals, the under one 

 bifid. In rich woods, where there is plenty of shade, these are 

 commonly certain to be present, and may easily be found when 

 in flower, which is from May to June. Nuttali says, they have 

 copiously fibrous roots, and, with the exception of the C. Nudi- 

 caule, leafy, simple stems, more or less pubescent ; the leaves are 

 very broad, nicely plaited, and spring directly from the stem ; 

 the flowers, of which there are from one to three on a stem, are 

 part white, but mostly yellow or red predominates. In Europe, 

 there is but one species. In India there are several very strange 

 species, the most of which have evergreen leaves. Six species, 

 yielding in nothing, in respect to either beauty or size, to any 

 found elsewhere, belong to our country. 



