Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1880-05-01
Orchids.


ob;ds is A very modern and feminine
nassion. but it is one so wonderfully
interesting and curious as to excuse
even the extravagant length to which 1t
has been carried by English and French
ladies'. Much less than century ago
DR.. Lindley introduced us to the orchid.
,,ceous plants-the latest, richest, ana
rarest ornaments with which our world
is adorned. Now many English orchid
houses contain from three hundred TO
seven hundred specimens, all distinctly
nnioue and beautiful. Still, they are SO
rare that orchid-lovers pay fabulous
nr;ces for new varieties, and wealthy
poblemen and famous florists send col
lectors to the far inland forests OF trop-
zeal countries in search of them. The
present Duke of Devonshire, when WIS.,
ting Mr.. Henderson's Orchid-house,
only secured rare specimen for lady
who was with him by leaving in the
hands of the amazed florist his pocket
book full of bank-bills.
The great charm of orchids, apart
from their beauty and perfume, is their
curious resemblance to many forms OF
animal life. Humboldt says, "their
flowers resemble the winged insects and
birds their perfume attracts" and or
cbids resembling the dove, bee, fly, but
terfy. and swan are among the favorites
of every collector 1t is easy to see how
a lady. having once secured some hne
varieties, would he led on to accumulate
until the interest in them became pas
sion. To fiower-lovers they offer, also,
several other important advantages;
their perfume is exquisite, their color
inc gorgeous; they remain In bloom
three or four times longer than any
other flower; and those brought from
the tropics have all seasons for their
blooming; so that the possessor OF a
collection of orchids is certain to have
majority of her plants in flower all the
year round.
For beginners the following are the
most easily managed, and furnish the
most distinctive beauties and interest !;
and when these have been successfully
cultivated, accumulation will be con-
tinual delight. Some of them are OF
the pendulous class, and grow naturally
on the branches of the lofty trees, ad-
herring by tortuous roots to decaying
vegetable matter on them; others are
terrestrial, growing in the earth, while
some are aerial, and subsist entirely on
the atmosphere.
OF the terrestrial orchids one of the
most lovely is the Espiritu Santo, or
dove orchid. 1t was brought to Eng
land from Panama in 1926. Its bulbs,
oval in shape, and of bright green
color. grow above the surface OF the
ground; the leaves ARE lance-shaped
and ribbed; the flower-spike, rising to
the height OF four or five feet, forms In
the upper portion 'raceme OF pure
white waxy flowers, twenty or more In
number. Each flower has in its center
A remarkable resemblance to snowy
dove with Outspread wings, family dot
ted with lilac. In Panama it is a sacred
emblem, and regarded with supersti
tious reverence which no one will won
der at who has seen the flower. Ih'
cultivation of this flower is now wei
understood, and there are few orchid
houses without Espiritu Sdnto-
The Indian butterfly plant Is one o
the most beautiful of the many beautl
full plants belonging to the genu
PhalTnopsis, and it is held in the high
est estimation by all orchid-lovers. In
deed, its loneliness has procured for
the designation of the orchid queen.
is a true air-plant, and in its nativ
woods attaches itself to the branches o
trees by a network of fibrous thread
like roots, but they neither penetrat
the bark, nor derive any nutrimen
from the wood it covers; they are sup
ported entirely by the atmosphere
Each stalk supports a single mower
which is exceedingly like gorgeou
butterfly, not only in its general outline
but in details both of form and coiol
rI,I. .s,..or Of tho Hower Is q mlmlcrX