TH II BEE ORCHIS.
In every season some particular plant finds its optimum and flourishes extravagantly. One of the chief beneficiaries of this year is the bee orchis. The experience of a friend in Gloucestershire is supported elsewhere. "In one field," he writes, " I counted 150 within a small space ; and standing still in another counted forty. Generally speaking they are very fine specimens. One bee (trellis was 10 inches high and had six bee-like flowers out." Other orchises of the neighbourhood, such as the butterfly, are in normal numbers. In answer to a query—most orchises multiply both front seed and off-shoots ; and reasonable plucking of the flowers should do little harm. Cutting the flowers would strengthen the bulb ; but even the wild perennials tend to vanish if seeding is limited.
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