RAISING UP AN ORCHID 
Raising from Seed Tropical Jewels that are the Aristocracy of the Green- 
house. Tax on Time and Patience Demanded by the Miniature Plantlets 
for Years before the Reward of a Bloom is Won. Kinds that are Easy to Grow 
IHOSE children of the trop- 
ics, the Orchids, so capti- 
vating in our greenhouses 
are not equally striking in 
their native haunts as they do not 
grow massed for great display, but 
each in its own region occupies its 
out-of-the-way niche, perhaps on 
the top of some tall tree, unseen by 
the casual traveler. 
There are hundreds of species, 
not all equally gorgeous. The bark 
of the trees serves the plants only 
as a place upon which to grow. 
Food is not taken from it, but de- 
rived from decaying humus by 
means of their especially adapted 
roots which also gather moisture 
from the air. These epiphytic 
Orchids have peculiarly thickened 
parts (pseudobulbs) that are in 
fact water reservoirs against the 
dry season. In the soil-growing Orchids there is not the same 
degree of specialized structure. 
Now one difference between a gardener and a botanist is that 
the latter takes plants as they are, and delights to locate them 
in their homes, while the gardener is impelled to try his skill in 
cultivation, propagation, and improvement. Quite naturally 
the fantastic Orchid challenges his skill and hybridizing of 
Orchids has become a highly specialized branch of craftsman- 
ship. Hybridizing and raising from seed holds large allurements 
in the development of new combinations. The great handicap 
is the time required for the seedling Orchid to reach maturity — 
years of waiting for the first flower to unfold. Yet to-day hybrid 
Orchids are produced in appreciable quantities. 
Fertilization of Orchids in the greenhouse must be carried out 
FERTILIZATION OF THE FLOWER 
The pollen is massed for economy. It may be trans- 
ferred by means of a pencil to another bloom, after which 
the grower waits a year or more for the pod to ripen 
ciently 
for shedding. 
artificially. As a rule each flower 
develops only one anther having 
two pollen masses (pollinia) which 
can be easily removed. These are 
borne on a central “ column ” which 
also has at its end an adhesive disc 
or cavity — the stigma. If a sharp 
pointed pencil be introduced into 
the flower and a slight pressure 
exerted toward the anthers, the 
club, by means of an adhesive disk, 
will have attached itself to the pen- 
cil point and can be removed. After 
a short time the stalk of the club 
will bend and through this move- 
ment the pollen mass will be turned 
forward so that when the pencil is 
brought into another flower its stig- 
ma receives the pollen. This fer- 
tilizes the flower. Slowly the fruit 
or pod ripens — often a year passes 
before the seeds are formed suffi- 
The seed itself is so tiny, so minute, that 
it is easily scattered by a slight breath of air. Moreover these 
seeds have to complete their own development after being shed. 
The seed finds its first food supplies through a fungus that 
makes its home on the young plant and which is ultimately con- 
sumed by its host. 
Sowing the seeds is a delicate piece of work; it is accomplished 
with the aid of a fine brush to take them up and deposit them 
in the prepared flower pots. Germination is under bell jars, 
where a humid atmosphere can be maintained. Under the 
most favorable conditions and with the best of care the plants 
of Cattleya will flower in the fifth or sixth year, while Cypripe- 
dium does not take so long. When Orchids were first introduced, 
as children of the tropics, they were presumed to demand stuffy 
heat and moisture-laden air, and enormous quantities of im- 
ported plants have been the victims of this misconception. 
Since they nearly all live in tree tops or at a similar elevation, 
they desire air and light, which the modern cultivator is suffi- 
ciently enlightened to give them. As a consequence the plants 
are far less expensive than formerly. 
Many can be cultivated in the living rooms without difficulty. 
The most important thing to be remembered is that they do 
require fresh air and light. Although the low winter sun does not 
injure them in the least, direct rays of the hot summer sun are 
injurious to most, so that a diffused light is best. A few thrive 
in a cool atmosphere. Cleanliness is another important con- 
I IKE A SCIENTIST'S LABORATORY IS THIS SEED BED 
The minute seed, light as dust, is carefully laid on prepared live 
moss, etc., in a flower pot and the whole given protection by 
a bell-glass, conditions inside being under absolute control 
INDIVIDUAL EXISTENCE BEGINS 
The young plantlets are subsequently transplanted to 
a glass-covered box on the greenhouse bench where air 
can circulate freely and where ventilation is ample 
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