SOME ORCHIDS AT KEW. 



543 



in huge corymbs showed plainly enough that it was a 

 near relative of the common boneset, but we failed to 

 trace it to its niche among the g.ooo members of this 

 often tantalizing (to the botanist) family of compositje. 



Being now alive with curiosity as to the possibilities 

 of a certain very small portion of the commonwealth 

 of New Jersey, we set out a few weeks later on another 

 search. The asterworts were in full glory, and the num- 

 ber of varieties of asters proper was so great that we 

 gave them up in despair, but came home laden with our 

 national flower in most of its thirty northern and eastern 

 varieties, as we supposed. But, alas for "flowery " hopes ! 

 four-fifths of them traced to Solidago altissiiiia, of which 

 it is said that scarcely two of the plants look alike, so 

 that, besides these, we felt sure of but four species : 

 S. ccesia, S. hicolof, S. neinoralis and 5". laticeolata . Of 

 these, the most conspicuous and interesting two were 6". 

 biiolor and ^. cicsia, the latter because its wand-like fiex- 

 uous polished branches gave us our first conception of 

 what a golden "rod " might be, and also because of its 

 very large and brilliant flowers ; the former on account 

 of its being the only variety that is not yellow, its cream- 

 colored flowers giving it the common name of " creamy 

 golden rod." 



The nabalus, or lion's foot, was everywhere present 

 at this time, but with its small, thickly-corymbed heads 

 hung down as if in timid deprecation, while every foot- 

 fall gave forth the odor of pennyroyal, breathing incense 

 for our triumphal progress. The enthusiast went fairly 

 wild over great patches of the closed blue gentian (doom- 



ed always to remain in budded loveliness because of the 

 joining folds between the petals, which prevent them 

 from attaining the full-blown state), a trickster in the 

 eyes of young botanists, who look in vain to see it open. 

 But, although we searched long and faithfully, not a 

 glimpse of the lovely fringed gentian rewarded us, and 

 we came to the reluctant conclusion that it was not for 

 us. 



Here and there a spike of the delicate, twisted, creamy- 

 white ladies' tresses tossed in the light breeze — spiran- 

 thes, in more formal parlance. They are members of 

 the beautiful family of orchids, so large, but having so 

 few representatives at the north, and they are as pretty 

 in their way as many of the petted foreign darlings. 



At other points on the banks of the same river — the 

 "raging Rahway " — which washed the edge of our 

 tramping ground, we found the scarlet cardinal-flower 

 and the graceful white starry clematis ; also monotropa 

 in both its forms, viz, : the delicate white Indian pipe, 

 and the somewhat similar, though clustered, pinky pine 

 sap ; the blue pickerel-weed (though unaccompanied 

 by his queen, my lady pond-lily) and great bushes of 

 the American senna, covered with clusters of gold-col- 

 ored locust-like flowers. 



Not the broad prairies of the west alone are studded 

 with beautiful and interesting forms of plant life, but 

 even the neglected waste places of the old east yield 

 myriads of them to the quest of those who go about with 

 open eyes. 



C. S. Valentine. 



SOME ORCHIDS AT KEW. 



CCELOGYNE PANDURATA, though an 

 orchid of many years standing is still 

 very rare and is met with but in a few 

 choice collections. It is one of the 

 most striking orchids imaginable when 

 seen in flower. I have known a plant for several 

 years at the Royal Gardens, Kew, where as far as 

 health and vigor goes, nothing better could possibly 

 be desired ; but alas, it would never reward our at- 

 tentions by a single flower. The reason for this 

 I cannot comprehend, the plant being, as before 

 stated, in splendid health. It has recently been my 

 luck to see a splendid specimen in flower at Mr. 

 Sander's, and it is a charming sight. The flowers 

 are produced from out of the new growth on a spike 

 a foot or more in length, each spike bearing a dozen 

 or more. The sepals and petals are about three 

 inches in length and nearly an inch broad ; they are 

 of a rich olive green tint, lovely to behold. The lip is 

 very fine, the ground color being similar to the other 

 segments, with a profusion of sooty black markings 

 over the surface, making a splendid contrast. 



It should be grown in the East Indian orchid house, 



where there is plenty of heat and moisture. It is epiphytal, 

 and the best mode to cultivate it seems to be on a raft or 

 block of teakwood hung near the roof of the house, in 

 which position the plant will obtain abundance of sun- 

 light, this being necessary to ripen the growths and in- 

 duce it to flower. 



Dendrohiidii MacCarlltia: . A splendid specimen of this 

 choice dendrobe recently flowered at Kew. Like most 

 good things, we rarely meet with a large quantity of it, 

 but the subject of this note was a sight not soon to be 

 forgotten. D. iMarCart Iiicv is found in the forests of 

 Ceylon, where it is known by the natives as the "May 

 Flower," this being the season when it is at its beauty. 

 It has long pendulous stems or pseudo-bulbs with a bright 

 red epidermis. The flowers are produced opposite the 

 leaves. They appear to be only partly open, owing to their 

 flat appearance. The sepals are lanceolate and of a bright 

 rosy color ; the petals are much broader and of the same 

 color ; the lip is angular, pure white in the lower portion, 

 beautifully spotted with tiny purple spots : the disc of the 

 lip is adorned with a large purple blotch, the whole 

 giving a very fine effect. 



Great skill is required to grow this orchid well, as it is 

 somewhat " mifiy " and liable to sulk. The best mode 

 of treatment seems to be that of growing it in a teak 



