256 
THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
tion gives the insignificant varieties a charm above 
their more showy sisters : 
—“The oratory 
That speaks in perfumed silence,” 
for the small-growing and small-flowered species are 
usually fragrant. Still, Epidendrums are like weather 
predictions, “ mighty onsartin’,” for the bulbs of many 
kinds are so nearly alike, that it is very difficult to tell 
what they are until they flower, and one may grow a 
plant for some years, only to be rewarded by a bunch 
of dingy green flowers about the same color as its 
leaves. However, this uncertainty is not confined to 
the Epidendrum. Orchid buying is apt to be some¬ 
thing of a lottery, as the same species often differ 
greatly in value. 
E. alatum majus is a pretty Mexican variety. The 
flowers are produced in spikes, and are pale yellow, the 
lip striped in purple. It continues in flower five or 
six weeks. 
E. aurantiacum is a very distinct species from Guate¬ 
mala, the growth strongly resembling Cattleyg skinneri, 
so that it is often mistaken for that plant. It produces 
its flowers from a sheath at the top of the bulb; 
the flowers are bright orange, striped with crimson. 
It blooms in the spring, lasting six weeks in per¬ 
fection. 
E. bicornutum is a remarkably handsome variety from 
Guiana, growing about fifteen inches high. It often 
produces twelve flowers in a spike, each about two 
inches across, pure white, with a few crimson spots on 
the lip. It grows well on a block or in a pot. 
E. cinnabarinum is a tall-growing species from Per¬ 
nambuco. It grows four feet high, and blooms from 
the top of the stem; flowers bright scarlet, and very 
striking. 
E. cnemidophorum is a very pretty plant, notwith¬ 
standing the terrific character of its specific name. It 
Is a native of Guatemala, where it is found at an eleva¬ 
tion of 8,000 feet. It is a strong-growing plant, throw¬ 
ing out fleshy roots and stout stems from three to five 
feet high. The leaves are about eight inches long, 
glossy, green, and sharp-pointed. The flower spike is 
about a foot long, producing a cluster of light yellow 
flowers, spotted with brown inside; lip white, shaded 
with rose, and deeply divided. 
E. crassifolium, though not as ornamental as others 
of the tribe, is interesting on account of its color. It 
is tall-growing, producing a profusion of rose-colored 
flowers. 
E. dichromum is a beautiful Orchid from Brazil. It 
produces large panicles of handsome flowers, rose col¬ 
ored, with a crimson lip. Another variety of this species 
is E. dichromum striatum , in which petals and sepals 
are white, with all the veins marked out by radiating 
purple lines. 
E. macrochilum —sometimes called E. atropurpureum 
—is a beautiful species from Guatemala. The petals 
and sepals are brown, the lip pure white with a large 
purple blotch. 
E. vitellinum is small, but one of the best of the 
family. The leaves and pseudo-bulbs are glaucous, and 
it blooms nearly all the year. The petals and sepals 
are orange-scarlet, the lip yellow. It should be kept 
moist, and is easily grown in a eoolhouse. There is a 
larger variety of this E. vitellinum majus, native of 
Mexico. These plants are all of comparatively modern 
introduction ; they have become known since botany 
became a science, instead of an obscure branch of medi¬ 
cine or alchemy. So, as they'date from the matter-of- 
fact days of the science, where careful research takes 
the place of conjecture, they are without the legendary 
or romantic interest possessed by some members of the 
floral kingdom. 
We must give a few words to the pretty little Sopfaro- 
nitis, its name being derived from sophrona, modest, 
in allusion to the delicate little flowers of the original 
species. They are small-growing plants, doing best on 
blocks, in a eoolhouse. S. grandiflora is the finest va¬ 
riety, with brilliant scarlet flowers, blooming in Novem¬ 
ber or December. It is a native of Mexico. 
S. violacea is a distinct species from the same local¬ 
ity, producing an abundance of violet flowers. There 
are several other varieties, bearing red flowers. They 
are very easily grown, like most of the eoolhouse 
epiphytes, merely requiring plenty of water during the 
growing season, which seems with some to last nearly 
all the year. 
None of these varieties possess any known industrial 
properties, unless we consider beauty itself a necessity 
of mankind, and even then : 
“The works of God are fair for nought, 
Unless our eye, in seeing. 
Sees hidden in the thing the thought 
That animates its being.” 
E. L. Taplin. 
A FAREWELL. 
The west-wind, laden with fragrance, blows, 
The dew-drops shine in the crimson Rose; 
—Is there something yet to tell ? 
Ay, winds must pass and dew-drops fall; 
Naught that is gone can we recall: 
So now, dear Love, farewell! 
Sweet lips prattle and laugh and sing, 
White arms tenderly, closely cling; 
—Is there something sad to tell ? 
Ay, the sweet lips shall silent be, 
And the arms unclasp in their agony : 
So now, dear Love, farewell! 
Then is there nothing that God has made 
That will not one day fall and fade ? 
—O Poet, in mercy tell l 
Ay, love shall reign in these hearts of ours 
When eyes and lips and wind-waved flowers 
Have known their last farewell. 
For love is purer than dew-drops are; 
The winds go never so wide and far, 
And none may truly tell 
How, when the close caress is gone, 
And words are silent, true love lives on, 
Never to say farewell! 
George Arnold. 
