THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
145 
consideration, as well as the forms of the petals them¬ 
selves. The lip, especially, is often very characteristic. 
In the Arethusa the petals and sepals are all united at 
base, while in the Pogonia they are quite distinct. The 
habit of growth is similar to the Aretliusa, but the roots 
are fine and thread-like, and the fragrant flowers are 
bright rose-pink. The lip is prettily bearded, which 
suggested the name, from the Greek pogon, a beard, 
the specific name being derived from a resemblance in 
the leaves to Ophioglossum, a genus allied to the ferns. 
The English name—“Snake-Mouth"’—is suggested by 
Ophioglossum, which means serpent’s tongue, rather 
than by any fancied resemblance in the plant itself. 
It extends from Canada southward, flowering in June. 
It is found in sphagnous swamps, and though it is 
wanting in many localities within this range, wherever 
it does exist it is very plentiful. I have often seen a 
New Jei’sey swamp fairly blazing with its rosy blossoms. 
It seems easy of cultivation, though it is difficult to 
transplant without injuring some of its thread-like 
roots, which extend a considerable distance through the 
sphagnum. 
A close relative of the Pogonia is Calopogon pul- 
chellus or “Grass-Pink.” The two plants are almost 
invariably found side by side, and similarity of growth 
and habit suggest that they are variations of the same 
type. The name is derived from the Greek Icalos, beau¬ 
tiful, and pogon, a beard, in allusion to the bearded lip, 
while the specific name emphasizes its beauty, being 
from the Latin pulcher, beautiful. As I before said, 
the type of an Orchid flower is ternary, the growth 
being spiral, while the leaves are in sets of three, form¬ 
ing a whorl. Variations in form are produced by the 
different degree of torsion in the spiral growth. In the 
Calopogon one extra twist is wanting; the result is that 
the lip forms the upper part of the flower, instead of 
being beneath, as in the Pogonia and Arethusa. It 
throws up a scape bearing frcm two to eight fragrant, 
purple flowers, and is found under the same conditions 
as the others of its genus. It seems rather stronger 
than the Pogonia, which bears fewer flowers, and it 
rarely fails to mature perfect seed-vessels frcm every 
flower. These plants all depend on insects for their 
fertilization, but apparently their little messengers are 
often neglectful of their duty, judging by the failure 
of many flowers to mature seed. E. L. Taplin. 
MAY. 
I feel a newer life in every gale ! 
The winds that fan the flowers, 
And with their welcome breathings fill the sail 
Tell of serener hours— 
Of hours that glide unfelt away 
Beneath the sky of May. 
The spirit of the gentle south-wind calls 
From his blue throne of air, 
And where his whispering voice in music falls, 
Beauty is budding there ; 
The bright ones of the valley break 
Their slumbers, and awake. 
The waving verdure rolls along the plain, 
And the wide forest weaves, 
To welcome back its playful mates again, 
A canopy of leaves; 
And from its darkening shadow floats 
A gush of trembling notes. 
Fairer and brighter spreads the reign of May: 
The tresses of the woods 
With the light dallying of the west-wind play, 
And the full brimming'floods, 
As gladly to their goal they run, 
Hail the returning sun. 
—James Gates Percival. 
SEED AND PLANT GROWERS. 
PART V. 
The business of plant-growing does not differ in 
principle from that of any other industry: it is, in fact, 
analogous to manufacturing of any kind. In some, or 
in many instances, we find plants cultivated on a small 
scale, the labor of but one man being required, and the 
structure in which the plants are grown, scarcely larger 
than an ordinary living-room, and so constructed as to 
be entirely unfit for the purpose for which it was in¬ 
tended. Producing plants under such circumstances is 
like the mechanic working single handed in competition 
with the modern manufactory, with all its improved 
machinery and appliances, and the combined industry 
of its hundreds of skilled workmen, each trained to a 
specific branch of the industry, enabling him to do his 
work more rapidly and with greater precision. For 
perfection of work in any industry, we usually look for 
establishments of Ihe greatest magnitude, where their 
facilities enable them to produce the best goods at the 
least cost. The plant industry is, by no means, an ex¬ 
ception to this rule; on the contrary, it establishes it, 
for we find almost invariably the best plants where they 
are produced in the greatest numbers. 
In confirmation of this we wish to call our readers’ 
attention to the establishment of 
W. C. WILSON, ESQ., 
at Astoria, N. Y., one of the most remarkable in this, or 
any other count] y, for extent and variety of production. 
His glass structures consist of forty greenhouses, the 
combined length of which is 4,2C0 feet, with an average 
width of twenty-one and one-half feet, or nearly twoand 
one-fourth acres. Besides these, he has more than an acre 
of pits and frames covered with sash. In this vast 
