r64 THE ORCHID REVIEW. [JuNE, rg03. 
of leaf mould, did not get its food in a tightly packed pot where there was 
little chance of the air getting in. If Orchid growers went in for new fads 
they should do so with caution, otherwise their efforts would be attended 
with disaster. There was an extreme intimacy between Orchids and 
animal life as represented by insects. Orchids that grow on the earth and 
Orchids that grow on the plants and fruit trees and shrubs were widely 
distributed. Their habitat covered a wider area than seemed to be 
imagined: We get them from the North ; from such places as Norwayand _ 
Sweden. They were also found within 30° of the North parallel and 35° of 
the South. Another home of Orchids was between 12° North and South of 
the Equator. Outside the 12° we find them on certain mountains and hills 
in India. Again in South America, in the Andes of Chili and Columbia, : 
they were to be found inabundance, while they were also to be found else- : 
where—in China, Africa, Japan, and India. . 
Itis from South America that we obtain the best Orchids we have. ; 
There were many romances that might be related of the adventures 4 
_ experienced by collectors of Orchids. Some Orchids were known as “ Lost | 
_ Orchids,” or, as Mr. Moore playfully put it, there were some Orchids which 
_ Temained as they were before they were discovered. - 7 
Then, on the other hand, some new varieties were brought home in the : 
_ packing of other plants, but the difficulty with many was that of getting — 
_ them imported. He then had his numerous illustrations thrown on the 4 
_ screen, commencing with a few of epiphytic and terrestrial Orchids. Pass- 
_ing on to the structure of the plants, Mr. Moore pointed out how the leaves : 
of the different varieties were formed so as to represent what the plants ‘ 
_ heed in the way of food. The formation of the leaf showed whether a® a 
_ Orchid required more or less water and sunshine, and this was a point that 
ought to be studied closely. Mr. Moore then alluded to the functions of the’ 
foots, and how they work in taking up manure. Leaving roots, Mr. Moote 
went on to discuss the stems of the plants, after which he dealt with the : 
branches and flowers. Orchids should be grown under conditions as nearly 2 
alike to nature as possible. He then dealt with the flowers and fruits, both 
of which, as he pointed out, possessed important functions. Healso showed — 
_ Slides illustrating the development of the Orchid from the seed till two yea 
of age. The curious part of the thing is that an Orchid seed takes about 
three years four months to develop. Mention was also made of the fact the . 
Darwin's theory of the importance and dependence of certain flowers a q 
Plants on certain insects had long been verified. This he illustrated PY 
-felating an instance where an Orchid some distance out of its nat me 
habitat became sterile through not being fertilised by a certail insect. 
vivid description was then given of the means ~by’ which Orchids were 
a 
pollinated. ' 
