The Quest and Culture of Orchids 
CATTLEYA TRIAN^ ALBA 
spikes of white 
flowers in winter, 
are deservedly 
popular. 
The C y p r i p e- 
d i u m, (or lady’s 
slipper,) has no 
pseudobulbs, and 
some botanists 
claim that on that 
account, is diffi¬ 
cult to import and 
establish, but when 
once successfully 
accomplished, it is 
easy to cultivate, 
though not as at¬ 
tractive as the 
species already 
noted. Yet in 
this New Jersey 
nursery there are 
fifty varieties of 
this family alone, 
many of them of 
course being hy¬ 
brids, and some 
suited for a cool 
temperature. The 
most common and 
one of the oldest 
and most easily 
grown is the Cyp- 
ripediian insigne, a native of Assam, which flowers in 
winter and retails as low as ^1.50. Perhaps the most 
interesting and distinct form is the C. insigiir, var. 
Sand era; whose flowers predominate inwhite and clear 
yellows Indeed to the layman, this entire family pre¬ 
sents an interesting formation of blossoms and a great 
diversity of color. The Laelia family, closely resem¬ 
bling the Cattleya, and very handsome too, was pro¬ 
duced here to the number of twenty odd varieties. A 
group of the noble Lcelta piirpiirata with its show'y 
flowers IS worthy of mention, the sepals and petals pure 
white, the labellum rich crimson to purple. These are 
natives of Brazil and flower in May and June. 
But here w^e importuned our guide to show us the 
abode of the Phalaenopsis, “queen of the orchids” 
and commonly known as the moth orchid. Sus¬ 
pended from the roof of the tropical house, these 
masses of blossoms, tw^enty or more to the spike, pre¬ 
sented so spotless an array of dazzling whiteness that 
one could but feel that even “ Solomon in all his glory 
was not arrayed like one of these.” “The best thing 
that ever came out of the Philippines,”—remarked 
the junior partner—a twinkle in his eye. 
1 he curious aerial roots of this plant hang three or 
four feet below tbe basket, and beautiful as are the 
flowers, more astonishing still are the leaves. Some are 
rich green, resembling the rubber plant, while others 
are of a duller tone mottled or streaked with silver. 
Phese blossoms are used e.xtensively in bridal bou¬ 
quets, as are also those of the Detidrobnitn formosuni. 
The visitor naturally washes to see the plants as 
they are received in their dormant condition. Rough 
and ungainly in appearance, they resemble a small 
cactus. Many have been injured if not killed out¬ 
right, and in the hands of an inexperienced gardener 
would dwindle and probably perish. Some of the 
plants we saw seemed to have stood the journey w^ell 
and looked quite green and fresh, having scarcely lost 
a leaf. If unpacked and suddenly exposed to strong 
light and air, the leaves would turn yellow and drop 
off, thereby w’eakening the plants—so they are first 
placed in a darkened house and gradually accus¬ 
tomed to heat, light and moisture, and as soon as a 
new' grow'th of roots appear they are potted or placed 
in baskets. From the time they are received and 
potted, it will take the plants eight months to tw'o 
years to put forth their first blooms. 
In the potting of orchids, care must be taken to 
avoid breaking the roots. A clean earthen pot is 
half filled with broken crocks and small lumps of 
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