366 
AMERICAN AG-RICULTURIST. 
[October, 
A GROUP OP ORCHIDS—Ergraved FOR 
pisli the Orchids. In a general way, it may 
be stated that the flowers are irregular, and that 
one of the petals is usually of a form strikino-ly 
different^ from tlie others. This is called the 
bp, and it is often fringed, cut, or curiously di¬ 
lated. In the Lady’s Slipper, already referred 
to. It forms a large bag or sac. There is usually 
curionX two), which is 
cuiiously joined with the pistil, and forms 
Bdiat IS called the column. The pollen, instead 
all mu!/ r 
Tha m' coherent pear-shaped mass. 
1 ™ ° ‘®”'icncy of the flowers of some 
OrchKls ,s remarkable, and they ,he 
the American Agriculturist, after a Painting from Nature by ’ll 
within which is the column, shaped so like a 
shapes of insects and spiders so closely, that 
those strong in the belief that animals origin¬ 
ally spiung from plants, might look upon some 
of the Orchids as plants well on their way to¬ 
wards developing as spiders, butterflies, etc. 
One of the most conspicuous is the Butterfly Or- 
c lis, Oncidium^ of ■which two species are shown, 
one in the lower part of the picture, and the other 
at «ie right hand, as well as at the top. The 
paits of the flower represent an insect’s wings, 
an long feelers. Still more striking, as well as 
more rare, is the white flower in the upper 
part of the engraving; here the parts of the 
flower form a shell-like cup of the purest white. 
dove as to require no imagination to help out 
the resemblance. In Central America, this is 
called El Spirito Santo, or Holy Ghost plant, 
from the association of the form of the dove with 
the artistic attempts to represent the Holy Spirit. 
It was formerly supposed that Orchids could 
only be grown in a house of high temperature, 
but of late years it has been found that many of 
these do as well, or even better, under what is 
called the cool treatment, and now some very 
fine species are successfully cultivated at the 
ordinary green-house temperature. This be¬ 
ing the case, we hope to see them less rax’e. 
