Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-05-21
AMONG THE ORCHIDS.
a wonderful Plant, With Strange Habits
Fashions Favorite Flower.

eAciaimed stylishfy dressed young
iaoy yesterday when she was shown an
a"kWard, scrambIing plant of the genus
orchid to which was tagged the still
more awkward, still more scramblino
appellation of Odontoglossum citros-
mum But. ''Oh! how perfectly lovely!
. now charmingly exquisite came in
the next breath, as the courteous chief
OF the park conservatory displayed the
long, graceful racemes of the Phals-
nopsIs schilleriana, whose velvetv
blooms OF dainteSt rose We're perfect
semDlanceS of the idle butterfly. the
dude of the insect world. The uneain-
N-Iooklng orchids, when not in flower,
certainly excite as Little hope of ;esthetic
tendenc es as could be well imagined.
and our young lady friend might well
express wonder at SO large a price be-
ing paid for SO ''outlandish'- look no
an addition to the floral Congress,
though $1,000 to $1,000 is said to be
quite usual price for new and fine
varieties. However, the homelv
adage OF never Judge man by the
coat he wears. with slight alterations,
would be entirely applicable to the
noWerfamlly as to their higher kindred of
X
pect the gold and magenta magnifi-
cence of the gorgeous cacti from their
uncouth, rugged coats of venomous
thorns. Still more ungainly is the
rugged exterior of the lOno-uncared-
Tor orchid, but when their beautifully
exquisite blossoms begin to unfold
their delicate petals all remembrance
of these imperfections vanishes, and
only the dainty loneliness and delicious
fragrance of the floral soul are thought
of. Occasionally though, a BLACK
sheep" orchid is found, as remarkable
Tor grotesque ugliness as its race Is for
general loneliness. 1t was one of the
'upside-down' varieties of the Stan
hopn that caused gentleman of leu
tonic antecedentS to eXclaim: ..Well,
II L see HIM Wild in de woods / shoots
him. as he gazed upon it's horny, life
like body, whose yellow, fuzzy coat,
all splotched with dark spots, made
the huge shape very suggestive of in
sect monstrosity. But a tour OF the
few orchid-houses in this city reveals
hundreds of 1air and dainty forms,
whose beauty, fragrance and elegance
soon bring forgetfulness of the ugler
Yisage OF their grim-loOking relative.
A few year agosa violent orchid fever
broke out among the English aristoc-
racy who could afford so expensive a
complaint. and orchid-houses became
a necessary ad iunct to all fash
ionable establishments. Disraeli, with
his unequaled sarcasm. made Lady
AphrOdite Grafton in the Young
Duke" the laughing-stock of the En-
glish-speaking world by her ridiculous
ecstasies over the subject As is usual
with such manias, one permanent good
resulted, IN spreading more general
knowledge and appreciation of this
beautiful race of plants and giving it a
permanent place among the first repre-
sentatives of the floral world. This
contagion finally reached America. but
in rather a mild aud subdued form,
that has never seriously affected its
victims.
1t has been frequently supposed that
the orchid was a kind of mongreI, or
hybrid species of growth. whose gene
alogy rather resembled that of the
mule which Mr.. Clemens humorously
describes as having neither pride of
ancestry nor hope of posterity." while
the great ma or.t y of people who have
seen its many varieties pendent from
the lichen-covered bark of fragmentarv
tree trunks hung in the hooks and
corners OF Conservatives have believed
it to be parasitic growth similar to
the mistletoe, but the FACE is that the
orchids are family by themselves, one
of the great primary races of plant
life, whose habits are unfamiliar be-
cause their homes are in distant lands
of tropical chimes. Their numerous
roots, which are seen clinSing to the
bark or moss upon which the plant
grows, do not in anywise secure their
sustenance from that source. Their
minute tendrils fasten upon the rough
coat of the tree and ramIfy through the
interstices of the yielding lichens for
support against the wild typhoons of
their southern homes, but do not pene-
trate to the nutriment of the sap with
in, the rwhole nourishment being taken
up from the carbon elements of the at
mosphere, their roots performing the
double functions of both the roots and
leaves of terrestrial plants. Another
very peculiar feature is the fact that it
does not grow by forming new layers
of tissue outside of previous growth, as
is the case with most of the well-known
plants and shrubs, but increases in size
by internal growth and elongation at
the summit, and there is no division of
parts, as in other plants, into pith,
wood and bark, but its whole structure
is of the same composition, being an
aggregation of longitudinal threads or
fibers. The most numerous specimens
of this remarkable family come from
the matted marshes and tropical for
ests of Central America from the grand
slopes of the Cordilleras about the
sources of the queenly Amazon, and
form the majestic mountains and splen-
did groves of India.
In the eastern cities the delicate flow
ers of the orchid form one of the flor
lists principal attractions, and hand
or corsage bouquet is deemed quite
commonplace without several varieties
of these dainty beauties. 1t is par eX-
cellence the favorite for gentlemen's
boutonnieres, single flower making
most unique and distingue adornment
for a coat lapel. In London and New
York So or So is quite a common price
for a single handsome bloom, and from
the fact that the flowers retain their
luster and brilhancy so long they are
peculiarly adapted for this use. The
few florists in this city who have de-
voted their attention to this plant have
received ample reward during the past
two weeks of opera season, as there
has been constant and profitable de-
mand for orchids in the richer and
more elegant bouquets, though the San
Franciscans are not willing to pay as
hiph prices as are received east for
:S;I., fioxuorc Az an illustration of