Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-06-22

hat appeared so lifeless yesterday. The ~
lowers OF Rhodora are airy, sensitive things, "
hrobbing and quiveringin response TO every {
jreeze-it is as If the twigs were cover
'pread with purple butterflies = and when
you bring home the great mass OF flowers
hey appear all ready to futter away again
from your hands and leave you Olsen \
Where the Swamp Laurel grows there
usually LEDuM may be found, and it forms
fine contrast to its friend. In itself it Is a
very pretty and rather unique shrub. The
flowers are Of the purest, most snowy white
ness and the queer, thick leaves, all over
brown wool underneath form rich, dark
background which shows them to advan- ,
tage. 1t does rot grow so high us the Laurel
aud You moy not see 1t until close upon it, | ,
but, as You jostle its branches, the pleasant
resinous odor which the leaves emit makes
you aware OF its presence. Yet unless your
attention has been attracted by something
else you can scarcely fail it see it for quite a
distance. 1t Is clothed for winter aud 1t
enduics not only the cold of our swamps,
but of our mountain tops and of northern
regions, since it forms one of the attractions
of Labrador and Greenland
Growing low down. often half hidden by
the thick growth of swamp vegetation, the
dainty ANDRoMEDA may he found. 1t is an
exquisite little shrub, with fair white,
globuar flowers, suilused with the most
delicate blush and smooth, blush, green
lcavcs-grccn above, but frosted underneath.
1t almost seems to he formed Of wax and |
you are almost afraid to pick il lest your |
touch he too rude and it falls in pieces.
In ais collections of plants, whether in the
finest conservatory or widest swamp, in field
or iircst, the Orchds are more conspicuous |
than any others and attract most notice. |
This is not always because of their great
beauty, but often rather because of their
very strange and unusual appearance. They
are group by themselves, unlike all other
plants in flower and leaf and stem. Some
of the species are less strange than others,
but there are very few which do not impress
one with the feeling that they are no COM
mon flowers. They are always elegant,
even when most cxtravagautly grotesque.
Some are dyed with the colors of sunset
clouds, brilliant and wonderfully blended,
others are floral harlcquins whrse pied and
spotted robes are as absurd as any man ever
invented for the fools Of his own race,
others are chastc and quiet in color, as the
purest lily, but they are always Orchids
whatever the form or dress, and always have
the high-bred, aristocratlc air which is char
acteristic of the family. Most of them are
plants which We admire rather than love
VIC marvel because OF their astonishing
form or rare combinations of color, but there
are no sacred memories, no delightful recol-
leclions associated with them and called to
mind by them. AS you see them growing
you may think that the Orchids care less for
soil and other surroundings thanmost plants,
but they are really most fastidious in these
matters. They love warmth and moisture
and are largely tropical. A few, as the
Vanilla, are vine-likc in their mode of
growth but most are low, thick-eavel plants
with shot and often bulbous stems and often,
few roots indeed many tropical species have
none, growing as air plants upon the
branches of trees, Probably not less than
three thousand species exist, but only about
forty of these grow in Vermont. A few of
them have small, greenish and unattractive
flowers but most ARE at least pretty and
some are worthy of being classed with our
fines. flowers. None of them are generally
common. There may be localities where
certain species are found in great abundance,
but these are not numerous.
Botanically the Orchids are peculiar in
, many ways. One of the most obvious Pc
, culiaritics is that the stamen is mere
waxy mass of pollen borne directly upon the
pisti or, rather, the stamens and pistil grow
/ together in one column, and the only possible
, way in which the pollen mass can reach the
, stigma so that the seeds may develop i.
| through the agency Of insectsr As an insect
, flies to the flower in orderto sip its nectar the
9 sticky pollen-masses adhere to some part OF
: his head, | have seen them in the middle OF
5 his eye, or body, and thus are borne to the
4 next flower where they are very likely to bt
rubbed Off on the stigma. The most aston.
ishing contrivances are found in these
4 flowers TO secure this result, as any one who
5 will take the trouble to read Mr.. Darwin:
r fertilization of Orchids" or DR.. Gray's
a Glow Plants Behave" may soon discover
Some of our finest Orchids are not yet il
bloom, many of them do not unfold thcil
buds till July or later, but We have now
1 four. species of CyPRrEDniuM or Lazy,
$ Slipper, or better, II the form of the flowel
t is to determine the name, WoccdS'n Fl0ner
for the clip" as 1t is called is very much
i larger than the other parts of the flower anc
i has very much the form, especially in som,
of the species, of the front half of
p moccasip. 1t is really a modified petal anc
in the Cypripedium it forms much the
most snowy part of the flower, the othel
: petals and the sepals being usually brown oil
r green, often somewhat bl )tched or striped
wholly unlike the lip. Our finest species
r and as think our most superb wild flower i.
4 not yet in bloom.
l AT Red Rocks, or near High Bridge and
other places, where there are moist, rocky and
7 rather open woods may be found the RAMS
c HEAD. This can hardly be called Moccasl
c Flower for its form is indicated rather by
1 its name. 1t is queer, dark flower of nc
very great size, with the sack-like lip marked
+ with reddish, or brownish and white veins.
: No one who has an eye for flowers can find
: an Orchid and not feel that it is rarity
! a treasure to be cherished, and the odd little
G Rams Head gives one this feeling very
, strongly, 1t is not exactly han isome and
4 yet you will look at it longer and more
g carefully than you do many flower that is.
G 1t reminds you of the dwarfs of the German
Y stories, good naturcd, uncanny, whimsical
} little beings, whose appearance and actions
Y there is no accounting for. 1t is the smallest
= Of the Cypripediums and is always hard to
$ find aud never abundant. Rare here, but
9 more common west is the SMALL YELLOW
| LADY's SLIPPER. This is pretty, fragrant
= flower with large rounded, light -yellow lip
4 not at all unlike moccasin in shape. 1t is
t less snowy, but think more,charming than
the closely allied species, the LARGE YELLOW
1 LADY's SLIPPER. The former grows to a
r height of about foot, while this may be
l two feet high. Both grow 10 damp woods,
/ but the former species is much less common
A in this state than the other. This large
e species is a tropical looking plant when well
grown and in flower. l remember once
plunging hcadlong down n steep hillside
e near High Bridge and stopping in a rather
/ dense thicket in the midst of which was a
e large clnmp of Yellow Lady's Slipper. The
! leaves were large and luXuriant and there
were eleven flowers fully open, 1t was
r almost startling to find what seemed like a
5 rare conservatory plant IN that wild and
! iloweress place, but it was characteristic of
| the plant for this, and other Orchids too, are
\ often found where, until you know their
habits, You least expect them. They are
supercilious and naughty, many Of them,
. and do not care TO associate with common
| plants. choosing rather the most desolate and
Iienol wiiJc yl,nrn thpv pan bn bv thnn,