KTEiar. Rare and Beautiful Plants. 
13 
0RCIllb5. 
IT IS WELL KNOWN that we have one of the most extensive and valuable commercial collections of Orchids 
in America, to which we are constantly adding, both by our own propagation of the most desirable species, and 
by lai-ge importations from the various (luarters of the globe in which are found growing these strange and most 
beautiful members of the floral kingdom. 
It has always been with us a labor of love as well as a matter of business, wherefore we may be pardoned for 
our enthusiasm. Indeed, anyone who has ever engaged in the culture of Orchids will agree with us, that it is a most 
fascinating employment, interesting to every sense of man, and filling him with admiration and reverence for the 
great Creator of whose wonders these are but a fragment. There is something about these plants which, while they 
may attract first only from curiosity aroused by the grotesque form of a particular species, will always hold the na- 
ture-lover with triple bands of interest, surprise and admiration, constantly growing as he sees new wonders in the, 
unfolding of rare flowers, and astonishing him with the peculiarities of growth and habit often presented. 
The idea often obtains, that Orchids are very diftlcult of growth, and indeed even successful Orchid growers 
were of opinion that special greenhouses must be devoted to their culture, and specially troublesome conditions 
maintained therein. That this is erroneous anyone may easily be convinced by a visit to our nurseries, where the 
most beautiful and lovely Orchids are seen blooming and flourishing as luxuriantly as in their native habitat right 
among our Roses', Palms and other more ordinary plants. There is no difficulty in enjoying the exquisite flowers of 
very many species in any greenhouse which will produce good rose buds between October and April. And there is 
no special difficulty, either, in attending to their wants ; no " secrets " which must be found out in order to succeed— 
the following out of simple directions will bring a gratifying result in wonderful flowers and curious growths . 
Among many people, indeed among many flower lovers, there is an iuciuiry, often unspoken but yet visibly ap- 
parent, as io what really constitutes an Orchid— wherein do Orchidaceous plants differ from the forms familiar to 
us i A reference to a botany, a di<:tionary, or even a horticultural encyc^lopiiedia, does not answer this question satis- 
factorily, except for trained botanists— and these do not require to know! Briefly, the Om niD.-i'; is a very large 
class or "natural order" of plants, endogenous (or mostly without bark), and differing essentially from all other 
classes in the construction of the plant, and particularly in the strange and varied forms of the flowers. They are 
found growing in a large part of the habitable globe, although more especially in the warm and torrid regions of 
the tropics, and their very remarkable flowers take on most wonderful and peculiar shapes, often of exquisite beauty, 
and are generally of rich fragrance. There are two main divisions : the tkuhkstiu.m. Orchids, so called because they 
grow in the ground, and the icrii'uvTAi. (sometimes called celestiul) Orchids, which maintain themselves in nature 
by attaching their long adventitious roots to the trunks of trees and rocks, deriving their support from the atmos- 
phere—not from the object upon which they fasten, as is often erroneously supposed. These latter usually have 
thick, fleshy leaves, which, with their peculiar "pseudo-bulbs" (really meaning imitation bulbs), act as storage 
reservoirs, by which the plant secures, in the " wet season " of the tropics, a plentiful sujjply of moisture to carry 
it through the hot, rainless " dry season " uninjured. The ei)iphytal Orchids are by far in the majority, and include 
the most beautiful and curious forms. 
We have divided our list into classes with reference to the temperature they re(iuire, for the <-ouveuicnce of cul- 
tivators, and hope the rapidly growing love for these grand specimens of nature's handiwork may become yet more 
widely disseminated throughout the country. 
COLLECTIONS OF ORQMlbS. 
Many flower lovers who would gladly enjoy Orchids arc deterred from beginning their fascinating culture from 
the apparent difficulty in selecting suitable varieties for a beginning, catalogues offering such a bewildering as- 
sortment that they know not which to i)urchase. To such friends we can give entire satisfaction by selecting for 
them, only recpiiring to know the amount to bo expended, and the accommodations that can be offered for the plants. 
A judicious assortment will i)rovide a wide range of form and coloring in the flowers, as well as a constant succes- 
sion of bloom throughout the year. We have often made up such collections for our customers, with most satisfac- 
tory results. One customer in Canada writes, saying he has scarcely been without blossoms sin<^e receiving the 
sele(5tion of less than one hundred plants which wo sent him about a year ago, and exjiccts to have flowers continu- 
ously ; this shows the range afforded by proper selection within a comijaratively limited number of jilants. 
Those who prefer to make their own selections, and yet are uncertain as to suitable varieties, are referred to 
our List ok Ohcuids fou Intehmeih.vtk TuMpnuATrun. whi<'h will be found farther on in the catalogue. 
