January 8, 1885. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER 
83 
“ common,” not because we are without interest in them, hut simply 
in order to express their inferiority in point of complexity and elabora¬ 
tion of structure. 
Let us look a little into the formation of, say, three Orchid flowers 
changed from green to the prevailing colour of the flower. At first 
it is a little difficult to think of these important decorative parts of 
the flower as forming the calyx. We so accustomed to the case of 
common flowers to regard that organ as useful only, and as adding 
Fig. 5.—MENTZELIA (MICROSPERMA) BARTONIOIDES. 
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of different types. We will take first a Cattleya. It has a calyx 
consisting of three sepals which formed whilst the flower was in bud 
its envelope. The 6epals were then externally green as those of the 
Wallflower ; but whilst the calyx of the Wallflower remains green to 
the end of the flower’s existence, the calyx of the Cattleya has 
nothing to the beauty of the flower. But here it would seem as if 
Nature in her effort to make the flower specially attractive to the 
passing insect (whose assistance she desires with a view of cross-fer¬ 
tilisation) had beautified an organ which she does not commonly 
ornament. The extent to which the calyx adds attractiveness to the 
