:2> 



49 



the Oncidium papilio, or butterfly orchis, — and this 

 is now often seen in collections. But a much more 

 curious, though not so showy a plant, is the Pigeon 

 Orchid, Cirrhaea tnstis, which, with theirexpanded 

 wings, seem like little flocks of pigeons in flight. 



There are curiosities of growth as well as of form. 

 Dendrobiums with their knotted stems looking like 

 whittled sticks,suddenly i.ndasif by magic becoming 

 clothed with charming blossoms, and the Stanhopea 

 which pushes out its flower right through the pot or 

 basket in which the plant is growing, seeming 

 almost as much a marvel as if we found a tree glow- 

 ing with its roots in the air, and the branches in the 

 ground. 



Punch once said that a lady was reading from 

 Hooker's Botanical Magazine a description of 

 Catasetum Wailesil^ a curious orchidasa and trans- 

 la ed it Mr. Wailes' Catasetum ; another lady, who 

 no doubt prepared for any mystery, after having 

 studied these curious plants hearing it read that 

 Mr. Wailes' cat has eat him," thought it a very 

 dreadful death to die. 



We close these remarks, written in the hope that 

 they may attract the notice ot those having green- 

 houses to these interesting plants, with a sketch of 

 the singular Swan orchid Cychiioclies ventricosimi. 



must do it for them. It would he curious if it 

 should be made out that the peculiar str<ictures are 

 for th€ purpose of deceivifag and attracting insects. 



The flowers of the Stapelia deceive the blow-fly 

 by their stench into laying myriadsof eggs into them 

 as it would into bad meat, though for what purpose is 

 not known ^, perhaps it may also be for the purpose 

 of attracti'fig insects that these flowers ;are so curious- 

 ly formed. 



Why these plants should present these curious 

 forms has puzzled many a wise head, but every day 

 we are learning more. It is now clearly ascertained 

 that they cannot hybridize themselves, — that insects 



PLANTING LARGE AND SMALL POTA- 

 TOES. 



In tlie OountQi/ Gmtknum, of November 22, is 

 an interesting editorial on this subject which is 

 worthy of particular attention. An extract from 

 an English paper is referred to, wherein the writer 

 found that large potatoes, weighing half a pound, 

 used for seed, produced potatoes double the size of 

 small potatoes used in the same way. The writer 

 of the paper in the Country G<inthman tried a 

 similar experiment, but the result was only one- 

 tenth in favor of the large-sized sets^ and he judges 

 that the great differenoe in favor of large sets, 

 which the English experimentor observed, was 

 owing to temporary and local causes, rather than 

 to the dilferences in the sizes of the sets employed. 



There is much force in this obiection, not only as 

 regards these potato experiments, but about horti- 

 cultural experiments of all kinds. Indeed, to mis- 

 take coincidences for causes is the common error of 

 mankind ; and it is by no means certain that the 

 reasoi. there was only ten per cent in favor of the 

 American experiment, with large potatoes, would 

 not be found in "temporary and local" causes. 



Indeed, the objection comes with greater force 

 in the latter case; for if one man tails to do what 

 another successfully accompUshes, it is clear that 

 the failure is not that the feat is impossible, bur, 

 simply that one man failed to do what another did. 



This large potato planting is no new idea. We 

 have heard it discussed for twenty years, £,nd seen 

 experiments frequently and carefully made during 

 that time, and are quite sure the temporary and 

 local cause of many failures to derive a heavier 

 crop from a large potato than from a small one, is, 

 that in the latter case the sets are placed too dose. 

 With sets eighteen or twenty inches apart, we have 

 invariably seen quite as good crops from small po- 

 tatoes as from the larger sets ; but with two to three 

 feet as the distance between the sets, almost all the 

 experiments we have seen, have been in favor of a 

 heavier product from a large pbtato than a small 

 one. 



In a practical point of view, however, we doubt 



