Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1893-07-13
STRANGE TROPICAL ORCHIDS.



. tropical forest are the orchids Far
above the grounds the limbs of the
giant trees are decorated with these
curious epiphyteS The latter simply
grow upon their hosts, not living at
their expense. They are the most i'm
dependent of things vegetable, obtain
ing their support from the air. In pay
ment for the accommodation they re-
ceive they decorate the brawny limbs
of the trees with their beautiful flow
erS Different species have various
methods of storing up water against n
drought The ''bromelias" which like
| wise cling to the trees far aloft. have n
method Of storing water that Is pecu-
liar TO themselves. Their leaves. tight
" overlapping one another. form cup.
several weeks In these little vases a
certain kind of aquatic plant finds q
lodgnent and fiourishe-L
Beyond the fringe of dense vegets-
ton along the bank nothing can be
seen from the stream; but behind the
veil Of grasses and creepers orchids may
be found growing lnxuriantly in great
numbers Here live those species which
delight in plenty of moisture. On
branches which project over the water
other kinds of orchids are plentiful
such as the ''catasetumS- These latter
have developed a faculty hat II almost
unique in plants-namely. that of pro-
ducing male or female blossoms ac-
eording TO circumstances One variety
has three distinct shapes of flowers
which differ 50 much from each other
that until a naturalist found them
all growing on the same plant they
were described a. belonging TO a. many
separate genera The shapes are male.
female and hermaphrodite- When the
plant Ia. plenty Of food II produces a
spike Of female or herrnaphrodite tow
eN. which are thick and feshy. re-
sembling an old-fashioned woraan-s
cap or ~sunbonnet The>e blooms re-
| quire a special effort on the part Of the
plant to produce them. and they can
only be satisfactorily produced when
the plant Is in good condition During
4 drought. when il Is haIf-starved. il Is
unable to support such a strain Ac-
eordingly. under such circumstances. il
brings forth n few lighter and more
elegant male flowers
Hanging from n ereeper OF branch
may be seen here and there an oval
hag-like mass Of aerial roots. above
which are the bulbs and leaves Of that
wonderful orchid the "eoryanthe~~
After throwing out two or three roots
to attach itself tn its support it de-
velops An i~nt~rlacing network all
1 z-nunN -ws-ks - -
10 say what purpose could h. served by
such a Continuance. but strike or Shsrxe
the plant and il will h~ seen that Il i
nothing less than a veritable ants nest.
Tbs orchid - like other plants. subject
TO the attacks of many foes such as
~cockrosche~ and larv~. which are par
ticulariy fond of b aerial roots To
protect itself against these the cor
yznthes chooses to provide n comfort
able nest. wherein a garrison of carniv-
orous ants ind shelter. In return for
the accommodation they are ready to
come out and fight at the first alarm of
an enemy. There is another kind of
orchid. the '~'Epidendrou bieornutum.
which adopts a like expedient for the
sake of protection Being provided
with long cylindrical bulbs, il leaves
these hollow. and makes a slit in zach
one for about 4 quarter of an inch at
the base In these well-protected homes
the ants live and thrive. and, in return
for their lodging. are a terror to in
vaderS
Having provided a guard against
crawling vermin, the coryanthes pro-
ceeds to develop a most wonderful
flower, which Is designed toattract one
particular kind of insect-nameIy. a
beautiful metallic green bee From the
base of one of its bulbs a long flower
stem is produced which extends straight
downward Upon this il hangs a num-
her of beautiful cups, into each of
which n liquid ,irips from two horn-like
processes in the upper part of the flow
err Take a china teacup with a spread
ing mouth, hang some little flags over
h handle and stick a model of a fig
urehead Of a Polynesian canoe opposite
and you have something like one of
them as it opens itself in the early
morning from a bud resembling the
swathing of a Chinese lady's foot The
odor of these blossoms is not pleasant
u IL - very agree
able to the bees, which Immediately
on the opening swarm around
in great numbers Flying toward the
flower, as a moth to a candle. the bee
falls into the liquid which covers the
bottom and. wetting its wings. is un-
bic to use them Look into the cup
and you will see a dozen bees swim
ming round and round, or vainly trying
TO climb the slippery sides. II il is the
second day after opening, one or two
may be seen drowned II was never
the intention of the flower, however.
that their lives should be sacrificed.
but on the contrary. that they should
escape, and in doing so perform the
Office for which the whole contrivance
has been made Under the flags is a
narrow opening, through which the
bee can push its way out In doing so
ii ruptures the pollen case and carries
OF some Of the pollen grains on its
back Crawling over the spike of bios
SONS h insect conveys the pollen to
the stigmas Of other flowers of the
same plant, thus fertilizing them
Washington Star.
A TALK ABOUT HATS.