42 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



'OHM on 



AN ORCHID HOUSE IN THE TROPICS. 



And is a house necessary for Orchids in the 

 Tropics ? some reader will exclaim. Cer- 

 tainly not such a one as colder climates 

 require ; no glass roof is needed ; no grim ^ 

 rows of iron pipes, and, better still, no coal 

 bill, with items in three figures, the pay- 

 ment of which greatly reduces the bank bal- 

 ance. All manuals of Orchid culture tell 

 us, and rightly, that to grow Orchids in per- 1 

 fection one needs three houses — the cool, or 

 Mexican, the intermediate, and the Indian ; 

 and a mode of culture relatively the same 

 is necessary in our Orchid culture under the 

 equator. But the roof of our houses is the 

 sky or the broad foliage of some thickly 

 leaved tree, and the sun gives us all neces- 

 sary warmth, and the frequent showers a I 

 large proportion of the necessary moisture. 

 We have our three houses, the first in the 

 branches of some large clumps of Orange and 

 Mango trees ; the second along a broad pali- 

 sade which separates the garden from the or- 

 chard ; and the third the broad veranda which 

 runs in front of the L of the house, this lat- 

 ter being also the exhibition room. 



It is wonderful how the plants grow. A 

 dry, dead-looking pseudo bulb wired on to 

 an Orange-tree branch in a few weeks puts 

 forth strong, healthy roots, which clasp 

 around the bark so firmly that they cannot 

 be detached, and great plump shoots develop, 

 giving promise of abundant flowers. 



This is particularly the case with Cattleya 

 superba and the species of Coryanthes, all 

 plants of somewhat difficult culture. We 

 have to bear in mind that the situations in 

 which Orchids thrive are almost as various as 

 the plants themselves. Some need much 

 shade, and moisture ; some shade, but rather 

 a dry atmosphere ; others much sun ; and 

 we have one Orchid, an Epideiidrwm, for 

 the culture of which, if we were asked to 

 direct, we should say, " grow it on a red-hot 

 stove-pipe," for it is always found on the top- 

 most branches of tall trees, fully exposed to 

 the sun. 



A pure, sweet atmosphere is essential to 

 Orchid growth, and this we have in perfec- 

 tion, for the cool breeze constantly blows un- 

 der the trees and along the piazza, and we 

 never have the intense heat which often pre- 

 vails in the summer in the United States. 

 There are no sultry nights, and no malaria 

 poisons the atmosphere. So only last night 

 we were sitting until late on the veranda, the 

 moonlight so bright one could easily read 

 fine print, and the air full of the fragrance 

 of the Orchid blossoms. Moonlight under 

 the trees is the time also to fully appreciate 

 the beauty of some Orchid flowers. Around 

 Para, Stanhopea eburnea is very plentiful, and 

 great masses of it, set in the forks of the 

 trees, produce freely their large white flow- 

 ers ; these, seen by moonlight, as they hang 

 from the dark masses of foliage, seem double 

 their real size and are exquisitely beautiful. 



The treatment of our Orchids is very sim- 

 ple. Those on the trees require absolutely 

 no care after having been tightly wired on to 

 a branch, or into a fork of the tree. The roots 

 soon cover the trunk, derive sufficient moist- 

 ure from the air and bark, and grow and 

 flower freely. We have some large Orange 

 trees of which trunk and branches are wholly 



covered with Orchids of many different spe- 

 cies, and there is seldom a day when some- 

 thing is not in bloom. 



The Orchids on the palisade are all on 

 blocks, and must be dipped every morning 

 when there has not been a shower the pre- 

 vious night. With this treatment they do 

 well, develop fine, healthy roots and growth, 

 and although this culture has had as yet 

 only four months' trial, some have bloomed 

 finely. In the veranda, the Orchids hang all 

 around, upon blocks or in baskets made by 

 cutting a cocoa-nut, husk and all, in two/trans- 

 versely. They are exposed to the full sun 

 from its rising until nearly noon, to wind and 

 rain. Yet they thrive wonderfully, being 

 dipped every morning very early if they are 

 too dry. 



On the broad shelf of a balcony which runs 

 around the veranda are pans of Cypripedia 

 and Galeandra Devoniana, the latter a tall- 

 growing plant with graceful reedy foliage, 

 each stalk of which bears from three to ten 

 large white purple-veined lipped flowers, 

 with broad maroon sepals, which fill the air 

 with a delicious fragrance resembling musky 

 vanilla. Sobmlias Intra and sessile are very 

 beautiful, though the flowers are transitory ; 

 that of the former is large, lemon-colored 

 with canary lip, the foliage being a bright, 

 glossy green ; that of the latter about the 

 size and color of Cattleya superba: it lasts 

 but one day, but on a large plant we have 

 had thirty flowers open at a time, and a suc- 

 cession is kept up for weeks. Of all singular 

 Orchids, the Coryanthes are the most remark- 

 able. To describe the curious structure of the 

 large flowers is almost impossible ; the great 

 helmet-shaped cup, into which the ivory horns 

 drip limpid honey, and the deeply marked 

 petals, all combine to make a wonderful flow- 

 er. These strange and rare plants thrive 

 and bloom equally well on the trees or on 

 blocks. The Catasetums and kindred plants 

 are in great variety, and are always, in their 

 quaint, weird flowers, developing something 

 new and curious. 



Some are exquisitely fragrant, especially 

 one with a long spike of maroon, purple, and 

 white bearded flowers, which diffuses a strong 

 cinnamon odor. This plant illustrates well 

 the close connection between plants and 

 insects. We have had it in bloom three times, 

 and every time the flower has been visited 

 by a large, brightly marked bee, twice as 

 large as a bumble-bee. Three or four bees 

 always appear from about six to nine in the 

 morning, which is the time when the flower 

 gives out its perfume. We have other flow- 

 ers, which, as far as we can perceive, have 

 the same rich perfume. Yet to them the 

 bee never comes; at other times we have 

 never seen them ; and is not the inference 

 just, that he is fitted to fertilize that one 

 flower ? 



Thus much for our Orchid house, where, 

 with little care, we always have flowers, 

 and fear no Autumn damp nor Winter cold. 



Roof Gardens. — The Japanese have, ac- 

 cording to Mrs. Soper's statement, a peculiar 

 way of decorating their housetops. A trough 

 is placed along the roof filled with soil, and 

 planted with various flower seeds. The 

 plentiful rains and genial sun of Japan 

 cause these unique flower-beds to bloom 

 brilliantly in due season, and the effect of a 

 whole village thus decorated is quite pictur- 



HOW THE CHINESE MAKE DWARF TREES. 



We have all known from childhood how 

 the Chinese cramp their women's feet, and so 

 manage to make them keepers at home ; but 

 how they contrive to grow miniature pines 

 and oaks in flower-pots for half a century 

 has always been much of a secret. They aim 

 first and last at the seat of vigorous growth, 

 endeavoring to weaken it as much as may be 

 consistent with the preservation of life. Take 

 a young plant — say a seedling or cutting of 

 a cedar — when only two or three inches high, 

 cut off its tap-root as soon as it has other 

 rootlets enough to live upon, and replant it in 

 a shallow earthen pot or pan. The end of 

 the tap-root is generally made to rest on a 

 stone within it. Alluvial clay is then put into 

 the pot, much of it in bits the size of beans, 

 and just enough in kind and quantity to fur- 

 nish a scanty nourishment to the plant. 

 Water enough is given to keep it in growth, 

 but not enough to excite a vigorous habit. 

 So, likewise, is the application of light and 

 heat. As the Chinese pride themselves on 

 the shape of their miniature trees, they use 

 strings, wires, and pegs, and various other 

 mechanical contrivances, to promote sym- 

 metry of habit, or to fashion their pets into 

 odd fancy figures. Thus, by the use of very 

 shallow pots, the growth of the tap-root is 

 out of the question ; by the use of poor soil 

 and little of it, and little water, any strong 

 growth is prevented. Then, too, the top and 

 side roots, being within easy reach of the gar- 

 dener, are shortened by his pruning-knife or. 

 seared with his hot iron. So the little tree, 

 finding itself headed on every side, gives up 

 the idea of strong growth, asking only for 

 life, and just life enough to look well. Ac- 

 cordingly, each new set of leaves becomes 

 more and more stunted, the buds and rootlets 

 are diminished in proportion, and at length a 

 balance is established between every part of 

 the tree, making it a dwarf in all respects. 

 In some kinds of trees, this end is reached in 

 three or four years ; in others, ten or fifteen 

 years are necessary. Such is fancy horticult- 

 ure among the Celestials. — The Technolot/ist. 



THE BOTANIC GARDEN OF ST, PETERSBURG. 



In an account of these gardens by Dr. 

 Regel, in Gartenflora, it is stated that in 1823 

 the number of species cultivated did not ex- 

 ceed 1500, but in 1824 there was a consid- 

 erable increase, bringing the total up to 

 5682, which was augmented to 12,000 in 

 1830. For twenty years the number re- 

 mained almost stationary, and in 1850 it 

 was only 12,061. But after this there was 

 a rapid accumulation of species. In 1863 

 they numbered 16,500, and in 1871 

 21,320, probably the largest number in cul- 

 tivation in any single establishment in the 

 world. These collections comprise 827 spe- 

 cies of Ferns, 214 Bromeliads, 1088 Or- 

 chids, 350 Aroids, 270 Palms, 415 Conifers, 

 787 Cacti, 1128 hardy shrubs, 2763 hardy 

 herbaceous plants, and 1164 economic and 

 useful plants. The herbarium contains 

 5507 classified folios, which, according to 

 Dr. Kegel's estimate, contain 165,000 spe- 

 cies. The botanical museum numbered 

 fruits and seeds up to 25,500; 59,047 

 specimens of woods; 1096 fossil plants, 

 and 1530 useful productions of the vegeta- 

 ble kingdom. A most extensive botanical 

 library enables them to work up these rich 

 collections. 



