182 
Safes' 3? tonal BiaEiiiet oliiH ^ictariietl 
ORCHIDS. 
We well remember, when a little child, the first 
time we saw a plant growing without earth, in which 
to fix its roots. It was on a visit to the wife of 
a naval officer who had heen long absent in tropi¬ 
cal countries, and had brought home with him the 
strange root which I saw hanging up in a southern 
piazza, attached to a block of wood by a little fine 
wire. When told that in its native land it grew 
upon the branches of trees, and bore beautiful flowers, 
I remember feeling a sort of awe creep over me as 
though the thing were what the Scotch call “un¬ 
canny”—much the same feeling a,s I had when listen¬ 
ing to tales of gnomes and fairies in the gloaming. 
Something of the same feeling clings to me still in 
studying the strange habits and weird, grotesque 
aspect of the singular plants called Orchids. Unlike 
all other plants in their appearance, structure, and 
modes of growth, they display a delight in contra¬ 
dictions and a prankish caprice in their choice of 
their abiding-places that would justify the idea that 
they took delight in surprising the unsuspecting 
botanist with some anomaly of growth or structure 
just as he had his ideas all settled, and was quite 
satisfied that he knew all about them, and pre¬ 
pared to enlighten the world upon their erratic 
habits. Charles Kingsley says that any one who 
has read Darwin’s book on the fertilization of Or¬ 
chids will be vei-y wary how he says anything about 
this mysterious race. The caution is a wise one, 
any general assertion with regard to them, being 
liable to be flatly contradicted in some particular in¬ 
stance, often in very many. 
They afford a study upon which a life-time might 
be easily expended without reaching all, or even a 
large proportion, of the singular facts with regard 
to their nature, or anything like an accui'ate know¬ 
ledge of their various species. 
Orchids are generally divided into two classes, the 
terrestrial and the epiphytal, the former growing in 
the earth, the latter upon trees. 
Like all general statements with regard to them, 
it has to be qualified, as there are exceptions to the 
rule. The terrestrial, are found more especially in 
temperate regions, though they also extend into the 
tropics. The epiphytes are chiefly confined to the 
tropics, and to situations where the rain-falls are 
heavy, and the neighborhood of rivers and water¬ 
falls. Heat and moisture seem to be the almost in¬ 
variable conditions of flourishing growth. The two 
classes extend over nearly the whole world, the only 
places where they are not found being those where 
heat exists without moisture, or moisture without heat, 
as in the deserts of Africa and the extreme northern 
limits of the temperate zone. To give even a glance 
at the various species would require a volume. Epi¬ 
phytal Orchids are the true aristocrats of the floral 
tribes. They resemble an order of Oriental grandees. 
They know no such motto of Western chivalry as 
that of the Black Prince, “ I serve”; they do not own 
any allegiance to utilitarian ideas. Only a single 
plant of the race may be called actually useful, and 
to that the appellation applies only by courtesy, since 
the vanilla is valued for its delicate aroma and rich 
flavor; both merely luxurious additions to enjoy¬ 
ment rather than the supply of a real need. No, 
with the Orchids, beauty seems to be its own excuse 
for being; and certainly, in whatever way we regard 
them, we must acknowledge that for grace of form, 
elegance of foliage, and magnificence of coloring, 
no race of plants can compare with them. The rose 
is the queen of flowers, but she displays only a limit¬ 
ed number of colors; but in the Orchids we find 
every color of the rainbow. Even blue, the rarest of 
hues among flowers, is represented, and many indi¬ 
vidual plants display a number of colors in the most 
vivid contrast. Some are pure white, like the Peri- 
steria elater, the Holy Spirit Plant of Mexico, whose 
column closely resembles a dove descending with 
wings outspread; others wear Tyrian dyes, and seem 
to flash with gold and jewels. The union of their 
strange forms with color, produces, as every one 
knows, the most singular simulations of animal life. 
Some of these are perhaps rather fanciful, but many 
are real and striking. Among these last, one of 
the most perfect is Cynoches ventricosum, 
which as it name imports, imitates a swan, the 
gracefully-arched column forming the head and 
neck. 
In the figure, size, structure, and habits of these 
plants there is nearly as much variety as in the 
blossom. Some are Lilliputian, others by their 
height belong to Brobdingnag. The Oncidium al- 
tissimum has panicles nine or ten feet in length, and 
some of the Deudrobes grow to equal length, while 
the Sobralias sometimes exceed twenty feet in height. 
In the accompanying cut, we have endeavored to 
show something of their various contrasting quali¬ 
ties. On the right hand at the head of the page will 
be seen the Oncidium papilio, or Butterfly Orchuty 
with spotted leaves. Just below is the drooping, 
vine-like plant, Deudrodium macranthum, whose 
large panicles of flowers we had no room to figure; 
near it the blossom of the Peristeria elater. Be¬ 
neath, showing the creeping habit of the root-like 
stem, from which the pseudo-bulbs are produced, is a 
Sophronitis. On the extreme left at the bottom of 
tbe page is the Orchis aranifera, or Spider Orchid, 
which, when seen with the addition of color, is very 
striking. Next is Habenaria orbiculata, with its 
strangely elongated lip. The central figure is Cy- 
predium japonica, a Japanese plant, easily grown, 
it is said, in pots. The Cyprediuros are popularly 
known as moccasin flowers. Several varieties are 
native to our Northern woods and Western prairies. 
Next is a dwarf specimen of the same genus, C. 
Coucolor. Above, is the graceful A r ine of the Va¬ 
nilla aromaffca, trailing among the numerous clus¬ 
ters of pseudo-bulbs of the Tilandsia, common as a 
weed in Mexico and Central America. These singu¬ 
lar bodies are really only the enlarged and thicken¬ 
ed base of the leaf-stem, and are produced annually 
with the growth of the leaf; when the leaf withers 
the bulb still remains; and as the years pass clus¬ 
ters are formed such as are seen in the engraving. 
The bulbs are regarded by botanists as receptacles 
where nourishment is stored up for the support of 
the plant. They are common to very many Or¬ 
chids. 
Orchids, as a rule, are of slow growth and long 
life. The same plant produces newflower-stems some¬ 
»ome ^aOBijmiuon 
times annually, sometimes at longer intervals, but 
the plant itself lives to great age; it has been assert¬ 
ed that there is ev ideuce of their living one hundred 
years. In this long life is found the safety of invest¬ 
ing money in their culture, for the continued pro¬ 
duction of rare flowers will bring to the florist ample 
remuneration for both the cost of purchase and that 
of cultivation. 
It is impossible to succeed with Orchids without a 
thorough knowledge of their habits of life at home. 
An amusing illustration of this fact was given in the 
case ot a gentleman who, having vainly endeavored 
to grow a species ot Stanhopia, found one morning, 
to his astonishment, that it was sending a green stem 
through the bottom of the pot. Finding from this hint 
that it preferred to grow upside down, he concluded 
to let it have its own way, and was rewarded by abun¬ 
dant blooms. The central plant figured in the en¬ 
graving shows how the epiphyte is cultivated upon 
wood suspended by wires. Those that need more 
protection lor the roots are placed in baskets, filled 
with sphagnum moss, placed over potsherds and 
pieces of charcoal; others are potted. Any one who 
lias a greenhouse can grow some Orchids, but they 
thrive best in a house by themselves, their aris¬ 
tocratic proclivities demanding select society and 
luxurious surroundings. It is only necessary for this 
purpose to divide off a small portion of the green¬ 
house, where they will condescend to admit a few 
choice exotic ferns. Stove-heat has been considered 
hitherto almost indispensable to most epiphytes. Of 
late, however, new ideas have been introduced with 
regard to culture which will, if they can be carried 
out, greatly facilitate Orchid culture. It is claimed 
that very many of the plants now under cultivation 
may be grown in a grapery where the temperature 
never falls below 40° Fahrenheit. This is a contra¬ 
diction of all received notions, but in a number of 
cases the experiment has been successfully tried, 
and it is greatly to be desired that the matter be 
thoroughly tested; for if it can be proved successful 
it will greatly reduce the expense of Orchid culture, 
and encourage many to engage in it that now look 
upon it as beyond their means. 
As the facilities of intercourse with South America 
become more rapid and frequent, we shall doubtless 
learn more about these “beautiful things without 
foundation,” as the Spaniards name them, and in¬ 
crease the number which can be successfully grown 
with care, even without the greenhouse. Already 
there is a considerable list for parlor culture, so that 
ladies who love beauty can adorn their rooms with 
ornaments more elegant than the finest work of art, 
and enjoy at the same time the delight of studying 
the curious secrets of plant-life; for it is only to the 
patient watcher that plants impart their strange 
confidences. 
“ Silence is vocal if we listen well,” 
and listening is well repaid. Let us learn to listen, 
and Ave shall hear strange stories of forest and moun¬ 
tain, of river and vale, where these gipsy creatures 
have dwelt for centuries, reflecting the splendor of 
the sunset, and filling the air with rich perfumes, 
waiting for the acknoAvledgment, and appreciation of 
mail. 
C. S. N. 
o 
