AN ICONOGRAPHY OF CULTIVATED ORCHIDS * OF this sumptuous volume,
it may fairly be said qu'il sent l'opulettoe. There is a ring of wealth about the very name of the publisher, one of the first among the half-score or so of Parisian gditeurs who vie with each other in perfection of typo- graphy and superbness of illustration. Then, the cultivation of Orchids, owing to the rarity and consequent high price of these beautiful plants, is a pleasure almost exclusively reserved for the rich. Lastly, the wealth of colour displayed by their blooms, by turns gorgeous and delicate, is unrivalled in the plant-world; while the strange and striking forms, the wonderful modifications and adaptations of the parts of the flower, cause the order to be even more interesting to the botanist than to the horticulturist. Of no other order of living organisms, probably, is the study so fruitful of results, or so rich in suggestive and luminous ex- planations of some of the deepest and. most attractive of Nature's mysteries.
The author introduces his subject by a brief sketch of the botanical relations of orchids, and. a more extended and valuable account of their geographical distribution. From an economical point of view, the order is of little use to man, vanilla-pods and orris-powder being the sole products it offers for human consump- tion. But a more liberal philosophy has replaced the n! rrova theory that the efforts of Nature are to be admired so far only as they minister to the wants and pleasures of mankind, and the fact that to the vast world of insects—from the dank and steamy forests of the equatorial zone to the snow-covered tundra of the Arctic Circle—the Orchidacece furnish the sweetest and. most delicate of foods, well named nectar, is an ample vindication of their existence. M. de Puydt is an horticulturist rather than a botanist. Of Robert Brown, the founder of the study of the order, he makes no mention, neither does he refer to Darwin's wonderful treatise, and we are not, therefore, surprised that no allusion whatever is contained in the volume to the marvellous results of the investigations of these great naturalists. But we think the omission is a defect; orchidaceons flowers are, no doubt, in the highest degree attractive and interesting by reason. of their forms and colours alone ; but a brief resume' of what is now known of the meaning and value of their parts, and of the mode in which these enable the members of the order to main- tain their place in the great struggle for existence, would. have invested the subject with a higher interest in the eyes of horti- culturists, and perhaps have induced some among them to make use of the ample opportunities at their disposal of following up the history and habits of these singular plants.
According to M. de Puydt, about four thousand species of orchids exist. But the number in reality approaches six thousand, of which at least fifteen hundred are well known to horticul- turists. The plants are of all sizes, from the small Spiranthes to. the gigantic Grantinatoplaylluin speciostim, of which the stem is eight feet long, and the spike of golden, brown-spotted flowers has a droop of two yards, or more. Sometimes only a single flower is produced, as in the Cypripedice ; sometimes a hundred large flowers are borne, as in the snowy inflorescence of the magnificent Phalcenopsis grand ifiora, of which a beautiful plate is given opposite p. 307. Of most of the species the blooms are very durable, in not a few cases lasting for several months, and rarely less than six to eight weeks. The majority are scentless, but some give out an exquisite perfume, such as many of the- otherwise generally unattractive Epidendrece. Of the genera Cattleya, Odontoglossutn, Oncidium, and Vanda, examples of all of which are figured by M. de Puydt, some species possess both showy flowers and a fragrant perfume, thus offering a double attraction.
European orchids are invariably terrestrial, and comparatively inconspicuous in the size and colonration of their flowers. It is among the epiphytons members of the order, found growing high up in the brauchage of tropical and semi-tropical forests, that we must look for the gorgeous hues, the delicate tints, the
* Len Orchidies ; Histoire Iconographique, kc. Avec 244 Vignettes et 50 Ehromo. lithegraphies. Per E. de Puydt. Paris : Itotheakild. 1580. strange forms, and the opulent inflorescence that are the delight of the horticulturist. The chromo-lithographs of some of the most important of these, contained in this volume, are among the best of the kind we have seen. That of Gattleya Dowiana re- produces with admirable fidelity the splendid amethyst and topaz of its magnificent flower, often over six inches in breadth. Of Oncidium splenclidum, no palette can give the rich golden hue, blotched with cinnamon-brown ; but the approach to reality is as near as the resources at the author's command permit. With Odontoglossum triumphans, an "arrangement" of gold, pink, and burnt sienna, he has been more successful; and the delineations of the singular forms of Stanhopea Devoniensis and Cypripedium caudatum, the two lateral petals of the latter of which hang down in extraordinarily long festoons of a rich cinna- mon-brown, leave nothing to be desired. In short, the plates, with- out exception, are good, and the only defects we have to notice are a slight crudeness in the green of the stems, together with a certain want of accuracy in the botanical detail of the flower, for which, however, the horticultural public, to whom the book is addressed, will not greatly care.
The terrestrial orchids are easier to grow than the epiphytous species, all of which require hot-house or warm temperate treatment. But though tropical plants, they avoid the hotter, low-lying lands, and prefer the woods that clothe the slopes of lofty hills, at a height of from six to eight thousand feet above the sea-level. M. de Pnydt gives a plate of a very beautiful and fragrant Trichopilia (T. marls Lamarckice), found only on the volcano Chiriqui, in Central America, at a height of 9,000 feet. It has large crennlate petals and labellum, abundantly marked with streaks and blotches of a delicate rose-pink. Unfor- tunately, the flowers last only a fortnight; on the other hand, the plant hardly needs a hot-house, and is not difficult to grow. Mr. Barbidge, who saw numberless epiphytous species, such as Phalanopsis grandiflora, flourishing wild in the forests of Borneo, gives, in his interesting Gardens of the Sun, a description of their habitat, which serves as a guide for their treatment by the horticulturist. Living high up in mid-air, they are screened from the direct action of the sun, the heat- rays, not the light, of which they dread, by the leafy canopy, deluged by rains for half the year, and fanned by constant breezes blowing in from the sea. The best that Art can do is to follow Nature as closely as possible ; and the orchid-grower, dreading neither light nor air, must give his epiphytous plants 'copious showers of water, surround them by an atmosphere of a proper temperature and sufficiently damp, and, observing the usual horticultural precautions, may then rest pretty sure of success. The Cypripedia3, some of which pass the winter under Siberian snow, need only a temperate house, and among them are many beautiful species. They are, however, the least, as the Vandeoe are the most, orehidaceous of orchids. But they are comparatively inexpensive; the tropical plants, owing to the slowness and difficulty of their propagation, necessitating con- tinual replacement by importation from little-known and not easily accessible tropical tracts of country, are much more costly,—some of the species of lifo,d.evallia, indeed, are worth three or four times their weight in gold. A very full and prac- tical account of the best methods of cultivating the various species of orchids under glass will be found in the present volume, which is an exhaustive and splendidly illustrated treatise on the most attractive department of floral culture— 'one peculiarly English, too—in which the lover of these beauti- ful and curious plants will find his tastes sympathised with and his difficulties removed.
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