116 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ February 10,1887. 
Pollett, and Major Lendy, “ To consider the future of the Society and report 
thereon at their eariiest convenience.” 
On the motion of Dr. Masters a unanimous vote of thanks to the 
President was then passed, and the meeting terminated. 
ORCHID LORE. 
JA. paper by Mr. Lewis Cattle, read at the meeting of the Lee. Lewisham, and 
Blackheath Horticultural Society, January 28th, 1887.] 
Obchids have gained such a large share of popularity in recent 
years, their commercial value has become so great, and the total amount 
of capital now invested in them, both by nurserymen and amateurs, 
is so astonishing, that the question may well be asked, Why has such 
general favour been extended to these plants l Why do we find wealthy 
amateurs with a dozen houses stocked with plants that in some cases 
are literally worth their weight in gold, town gardens with their houses 
of cool Orchids, the nurseryman with a score of structures devoted to 
them, and the sale rooms crowded with eager purchasers every week ? 
A brief search for answers to these queries may occupy our attention 
for a few minutes, and may serve to introduce other matters of some 
interest. 
It has been related that at one of the London Horticultural Society’s 
exhibitions many years ago a plant of the Butterfly Orchid, Oncidium 
Papilio, was shown, and attracted much attention from the visitors pre¬ 
sent, who were not so accustomed to the peculiar floral forms of Orchids 
then as they are now, though even at shows of the present time that 
species always creates some surprise. But amongst those who viewed 
with astonishment the extraordinary resemblance the flower bears to 
some gaudy tropical butterfly, was one whose interest was so deeply 
excited in the vegetable wonder that he determined to form a collec¬ 
tion of the plants to which it was related. Many will remember that 
this was a former Duke of Devonshire, who became the most distin¬ 
guished patron of the family, and at great expense dispatched collec¬ 
tors to various regions to secure the treasures in quantity. One of the 
first consignments was received just fifty years ago, and the stoves at 
Chatsworth were soon stocked with thousands of choice Orchids, many 
of which were introduced for the first time. This gave the greatest 
impetus to Orchid culture which it had received up to that time, and 
since then the progress has been steady, the number of those remarkable 
for the unusual forms of their flowers being greatly increased. Scarcely 
any, however, have been obtained more striking in their mimicry than 
the Butterfly Oncidium, and no thoughtful person can fail to be 
impressed with the singularity of its form. 
Attention being once drawn in a prominent manner to the Orchids it 
was soon discovered that a large number of them, quite apart from 
structural peculiarities, possessed no mean horticultural value, having 
flowers of varied forms and colours, rich brilliant and soft tints being 
represented, a diversity of odours, many exceedingly sweet, and a dura¬ 
tion of floral beauty that in some cases is quite unequalled in any other 
family of plants. These qualities were sufficient to induce wealthy 
cultivators to regard Orchids favourably, to extend their numbers, and 
to extol their beauty. But another cause began to operate in the same 
direction, as botanists had for some time been studying the character of 
the family as displayed in the rapidly increasing introductions, and it 
may be said that these observations culminated in the experiments and 
researches of Mr. Charles Darwin, which were embodied in his work on 
the fertilisation of Orchids. This might be termed the “ Romance of 
Botany,” for in it is related a marvellous history, possessing, moreover, 
the advantage of being a record of facts. Thousands of readers then 
learnt for the first time that there was a secret history connected with 
Orchids, of which they had never dreamed ; the strange floral forms that 
had excited so much surprise were found to bear a relation to the plant’s 
existence and increase, which could have been scarcely believed if it had 
been less conclusively proved, and their beauty was only rivalled by the 
mystery of their destiny. Proceeding on the assumption that there 
must be a reason for the strongly marked peculiarities of the Orchids 
and their unique character amongst other related vegetation, Mr. Dar¬ 
win examined a great number of flowers of different species, conducted 
his experiments with the exactness of a practised scientist, and drew his 
conclusions with logical accuracy. The result was, he proved indis¬ 
putably, in a large number of instances, that the strange formations of 
Orchid flowers were so many elaborate adaptations to entice insects of 
various kinds and to render them the agents whereby the cross-fertilisa¬ 
tion of the plants should be insured. This explanation not only served 
to elucidate the structure of Orchids, but it also furnished a reason for 
the apparently endless variations continually being found, and for the 
difficulty which existed in clearly defining the limits of many species. 
Mr. Darwin’s work became very popular, and naturally attracted still 
more attention to the plants on which it treated. They became the 
favourite objects of study of the learned and wealthy throughout Europe, 
and were firmly established in an almost unrivalled popularity that is 
still increasing. In brief, it will thus be seen that Orchids have ob¬ 
tained their present high position, not merely because they are beauti¬ 
ful, but because, in addition to an exceptional natural gracefulness, they 
are extremely interesting structurally, and besides furnishing the 
pleasure derived from the contemplation of charming flowers, they 
supply a mer.tal pleasure in their study that few others can equal and 
none exceed. 
This is said without the slightest disparagement to our numerous 
delightful garden flowers, the Rose, the Violet, the Chrysanthemum, the 
Primrose, the Daffodil, and innumerable others which excite our admi¬ 
ration, and the true gardener, whether amateur or professional, will 
love them all, though he may have a special liking for one or more of 
them. 
Most of those present are, no doubt, familiar with Orchids, but a 
few words of explanation may serve to render their structure more 
clear to others. Little need be here said concerning the vegetative 
organs of these plants. The chief differences in this respect are found 
in the two groups termed respectively epiphytal and terrestrial. The 
epiphytal Orchids are those best known to cultivators as natives of 
tropical countries, and usually possess fleshy cylindrical roots, or 
curiously flattened as in Phalsenopsis, with or without a rhizome bear¬ 
ing swollen ovoid stem-like bodies termed pseudo-bulbs, as in the 
Odontoglossums, or true stems as in the Vandas. The pseudo-bulb is 
an important organ, serving as a store-house of nutriment, and one of 
the chief objects of cultivators who wish their plants to flower satis¬ 
factorily is to insure the development and maturation of the pseudo¬ 
bulbs. Another cultural point is, that the non-pseudo-bulbous Orchids 
can never be rested or dried as some others are, and consequently are 
more difficult to import. This is seen in Phalmnopsis and Cypri- 
pediums. 
The terrestrial Orchids comprise the natives of temperate climates, 
such as those found in our own country and in North America. These 
plants are commonly furnished with tubers that perform a similar 
function underground to the office of the pseudo-bulbs in the epiphytes. 
The terrestrial species are generally deciduous or herbaceous—that is, 
the stems die each autumn, the plant hybernates as it were, and fresh 
stems are produced the following spring like the well-known beautiful 
Cypripedium spectabile. 
With a few exceptions the leaves are not remarkable in either of 
the two groups named, and it has been said that Orchids out of flower 
are amongst the most unattractive of plants. The Cypripediums with 
beautiful marbled or mottled foliage, and those exquisite little gems the 
Anoectochili, must, however, be excepted from this sweeping denun¬ 
ciation. The leaves of the latter show the most delicately chaste 
tracery and venation of silver and gold that can be found in the whole 
vegetable kingdom, and it is regretable that they prove so difficult to 
manage satisfactorily, though a successful cultivator is well repaid for 
his trouble. 
Most of the cultivated Orchids are of moderate dimensions, the 
Vandas and the Vanilla attaining the greatest size as regards height, 
while some of the Masdevallias or Pleurothallises are the smallest seen 
in our houses ; but these do not represent the extremes of growth 
variation in the family, for there are both giants and dwarfs of a far 
more remarkable character. In Australia and some of the tropical 
islands to the north of “ the great southern land,” are found species of 
a genus named Galeola, that ramble and scramble up trees to a great 
height, producing stems 30 to 100 feet or more in length, trailing about 
with true tropical luxuriance. On the other hand, minute forms of 
Bulbophyllum have been discovered, of which a little colony of plants 
can be comfortably placed on a shilling. 
(To be continued.) 
TABLE DECORATING. 
In some respects there is much less artificiality of treatment in 
decorating dining tables than was the case a few years ago, though 
it must be said that the gardener has a more varied and a greater 
demand made upon him for material than in those times. The 
risk of overstepping the boundaries of fashion is moreover much 
less now—perhaps as much on account of the individuality of 
flowers being recognised, though maybe unconsciously, to a greater 
extent than in former years. Plants are being gradually displaced 
by flowers, though it would be a retrograde step to dispense with 
the former, their value in adding to the effect of the decora¬ 
tions on large tables being very good. In the case of small parties, 
especially when the tables are lighted with candles set in massive 
candelabra, they generally detract from that lightness of appear¬ 
ance which should be aimed at, and that without yielding any 
compensating advantages. With large tables the case is somewhat 
different, and good plants are the means of imparting a massiveness 
of appearance which is not out of place. It is not necessary to 
adhere to any one method of setting-up plants. Where there are 
vessels of gold or silver good plants may be very effectively placed 
in these without any further dressing, or by the addition of a 
trailing plant or two, such as the variegated Panicum, the vessel 
may be veiled with leafage. Massive fruit and floral centrepieces, 
which are generally heavy in appearance, may be made by the com¬ 
bination of plants, fruit, and flowers, rather graceful than other¬ 
wise. One such was treated as follows :—In the upper tray a 
centre plant of Curculigo recurvata was placed, and along with this 
a healthy plant of Asparagus plumosus, the feathery leafage of 
which was so arranged as to impart the needed lightness of apj eir- 
ance. Yellow and black Grapes were heaped over the roots of 
these plants, and hung over the edges of the receptacle. In the 
lowe’ - tray three good plants of Panicum not only veiled the heavy 
stem and pedestal, but served for a setting to well-coloured Apples, 
Oranges, and Pears. Cocos Weddelliana, Roman Hyacinths, and 
