THE LADIES ' 1 FLORAL CABIJSTET. 
221 
It is terrestrial in habit, a native of New Grenada. One 
can hardly imagine the beauty of these plants in their 
tropic homes, though Kingsley gives a vivid description 
of their wonders in the Spanish Main in “Westward 
Ho!” 
The Oncidium tribe offers many good cool-house 
species. We will place at the head of our list the little 
0. nubigenum, which might be called the Edelweiss of 
the Orchid tribe, for it is found at the extreme elevation 
to which they extend—viz., 14,000 feet above the sea 
level. It is a sturdy, independent little plant, as well 
it may be, growing in such lofty isolation. The sepals 
and petals are brownish, shaded with crimson; lip white, 
shaded with violet, yellow at the base, but its markings 
vary a great deal. It is a native of New Grenada, and 
requires a cool-liouse, with plenty of moisture. 
Few of these plants are as well known as they deserve 
to be among amateurs, though a taste for them is 
growing; but, as Young says: 
“ But I must own in this perverted age, 
What most deserves can’t always most engage. 
So far is worth from making glory sure, 
It often hinders what it should procure.” 
Oncidium, bicallosum is a showy dwarf species, pro¬ 
ducing a single fleshy, dark-green leaf; the spike is erect, 
and many flowered; sepals and petals dark brown; lip, 
yellow. It is a very fine winter bloomer, and the flower 
lasts a long time. It is terrestrial in habit, a native of 
Guatemala. O. Cavendishii is similar in habit, but much 
more robust. 
Oncidium Papilio is one of Nature’s mimics. As its 
specific name implies, it resembles a butterfly. The re¬ 
semblance is perfect as to shape, while the color, rich 
brown, barred with yellow, materially aids the decep¬ 
tion. It continues blooming from the old flower stems; 
as fast as one flower fades another takes its place. It is 
a native of Trinidad, and does well either in a pot or on 
a block; though for appearance, I think myself the block 
is preferable. 
Oncidium ornithorhynchum is a handsome, free-flower¬ 
ing variety from Mexico. The flowers are bird-like in 
shape, delicate rose color, and sweet-scented. It flow¬ 
ers freely through the winter, doing well on a block, 
from which the flowers are shown to great advantage. 
There is a rarer and more lovely pure white variety of 
the above species. O. ornithorhynchum albiflorum, a 
native of Guatemala. 
O. tigrinum is a handsome dwarf species from Mex¬ 
ico, with very large flowers. The flower-spikes are 
large and branching, sepals and petals rich brown, 
barred with yellow, lip very large and bright yellow, 
the coloring giving the specific name tigrinum. 
O. rupestre is a fine cool-house species from Peru, with 
long dark-green leaves and numerous flowers, bright- 
flaine color, spotted with brown. O. reflexum, a hand¬ 
some Mexican species, is easy of culture, aud a profuse 
flowerer. The bloom is large and bright yellow. Indeed, 
the whole tribe of Oncidiums seems to run through the 
gamut of shades, from dark brown through all the yel¬ 
low tones to pure white. 
O. Vexillarium. (See illustration). This is a magnifi¬ 
cent species of recent introduction. Although long 
known to botanists, the collectors, until quite recently, 
have been unable to send plants, and have them arrive in 
a living state. It is a most valuable addition to this class 
of Orchids, on account of the distinct color of its flowers, 
the sepals of which are rosy-pink, with lip of the same 
color. It is a native of New Grenada. 
O. incurvum is a pretty Mexican variety, producing a 
great number of 1 arge spikes, producing white and 
brown flowers through autumn and winter. 
Of course it is impossible in the limits of the present 
article to do justice to these charming plants, either in 
noticing all the best varieties, or in alluding to the 
species at the length they deserve. An eminent author¬ 
ity gives seventy-five varieties of Oncidium, and nearly 
as many of the Odontoglossums, while new species fre¬ 
quently appear, either newly discovered, or produced 
by crossing. Indeed, art seems so far to improve on 
Nature,that many of the hybrids produced by cross-fer¬ 
tilization, are much handsomer than their parents. But 
the orchard hybridizer has the same uncertainty as the 
diamond miner: he may discover a gem, or what he 
fondly hoped to be one may prove worthless. In 
another paper we may discuss the habits of these plants 
more thoroughly. E. L. Taplin. 
A WILD GARDEN. 
A wild garden may be made one of the most attract 
ive surroundings of the homestead. It is in a retired 
corner, where there is shade or shrubbery and sunny, 
open places. Here are gathered all the wild beauties 
of field and wood—Ferns, Mosses, Violets, Lilies, the 
lowly, modest flowers of shaded places, and the more 
pretentious ones of the field, the roadside, and hedge¬ 
row. 
We do not know what a sum of beauty there is 
in the common wild plants until they are gathered in 
such a garden, the variety, form, the wealth of color, 
the tender blues and pinks, the faint yellows, the blaz¬ 
ing orange and scarlet, the deep rich purple, the broad 
masses of white; nor do we know the exquisite beauty 
of the blossoms until we take the time to study them 
with the help of a common magnifying glass. It is 
then we find what beauty is cast negligently around us 
by Nature and may be enjoyed without labor or care, 
while what we have in the cultivated garden is pro¬ 
cured with constant toil and care and by never-ending 
struggles with weeds and insects. All that is required 
for the wild garden is to choose a suitable place for it 
and then to remove to it the wild plants as they are 
found. These may be removed at any time by means 
of a garden trowel or spade, and by taking up the soil 
with the roots without disturbance. As the plants are 
taken up the mass of earth should be firmly wrapped 
in paper, which may be planted with the mass, as it 
very quickly decays into the soil. The ball of soil, with 
the paper, should be dipped in water before it is put in 
its new place, and the fiesh earth well packed around 
it .—Weekly Times. 
