Newspapers / The Roanoke Beacon and … / April 21, 1911, edition 1 / Page 3
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p Msiig the WM - 1 1 j ' (. itA RCHID3 are not only the rarest of flowers, but they are among the rarest of all the products of nature. To find and bring back to civilization the choicest of these petaled trophies, "orchid hunters" are all the while braving in tropic al junglec dangers and hard ships as great as confront any present day soldier of fortune. Similarly there is about the whole family of orchids an atmosphere of mystery, ' such as no longer obtains in the case of any j other of milady's standard trinkets not even ! In the case of the diamond, j No wonder, then, that as these facts have I become more generally known and as the pe i culiar history and characteristics of the or j chids have become common knowledge there have swept in upon us a great wave of enti I ment in behalf of the orchid an almost uni j versal feminine longing to possess and wear I these strange flowers with their peculiar tints, ' soft velvety petals that look so artificial that j more imitations of the orchid , pass muster than of any other flower, and their subtle fas cination. There is no question, too, that the secret of the fascination of these wonderful i flowers i3 not by any means explained by the j mere fact that they are so expensive, which (has so often been advanced in explanation of (Why so many people are eager for these flowers. No more than half a century ago the whole orchid family was virtually undiscovered. Only a few varieties were known, and they , were by no means in general cultivation. Now there is a mad quest in all quarters of the globe for these fashionable flowers. The ut termost parts of the earth are being ransack ed for new varieties, under the spur of the enormous prices which collectors will pay for , rare "finds" and expensive greenhouses have been installed to permit the cultivation of the more delicate members of the orchid family under the same conditions as to light and tem perature which obtain in its ancestral home in the tropics. The orchids in their native haunts are found growing in all sorts of strange ways, and naturally when they are transplanted they are hard plants to grow. Moreover, there are no rule3 for the cultivation of orchids. In oth er branches of the floral kingdom all the mem bers of a given floral family may be expected to yield to the same general method of cul tivation, varied only in minor detail to permit adaptation to tho needs of each member of the family. Not so with the eccentric orchids, however. Every plant is seemingly a law unto itself, and likely to require methods of culti vation distinct in themselves, and perhaps the exact opposite of those which obtain In the case of other members of this fascinating fam ily. The rarest of the orchids, and, of course, the ones most sought and the ones which command the highest prices, do not grow after the fashion of the general community of self-respecting plants which bury their roots in the soil. Instead these orchids are, in ef fect, parasites, fastening themselves to tree trunks or tree limbs. It is these species which have their native home deep in the jungles of the tropics and the hotter and damper the at mosphere of these unhealthy tropical forests for instance, those of Brazil the more the orchids seem to thrive. Now when the de scendants of such tropical captives are to be 1 1 n ma as nurtured and cultivated iu the civilized en vironment of the temperate zone, it goes with out saying that it Is no easy task to "duplicate the conditions which produced the species. To do so at all necessitates the construction of the special greenhouses above mentioned, with varied equipment, including a steam heat ing plant big enough to heat buildings many times the size of these greenhouses. The lure of rich reward attracts many dar ing and resourceful men to the orchid busi ness, although as may be surmised, the rich prizes- of gold come to the men who discover, or at least the men who bring back to civiliza tion heretofore unknown varieties of this nu merous family. The leading firms engaged in the orchid trade retain at large salaries men of wide experience whose sole occupation is to trail the orchid in the almost inaccessible haunts where there is ever the magnet of possible unheard of varieties to beckon one forward. Sometimes an orchid hunter will' search for a year or .more, facing the almost intolerable conditions of an unexplored land in order to capture In the end some heretofore unknown variety. During his quest, be it long or short, he must brave foul disease at almost every step; must be ever alert against the hostility of the tribes which Inhabit the region he in vades; and must risk all sorts of personal mis haps in grasping hi3 prize, even after the quest has been successful, since most of the rar orchids of the tropics flourish only at the tops of the tallest trees. The hunter must either climb the trees, or more likely he will cut them down, but he dare not trust any hands save his own to undertake the task of gathering these fragile flowers. An energetic orchid hunter will forward great numbers of plants, some rare and otners not so rare, to the orchid consuming centers of Europe and America every year, but it is no easy matter to get the orchids to the coast after they have been found and wired into boxes by skillful packers, and on shipboard, even though the temperature of special cab ins be regulated to sustain these floral natives of the tropics, there are other perils to be passed, and many plants perish during the ocean voyage. Indeed, it is claimed that on every large consignment of orchids from Bra zil or Madagascar or other orchid producing paradise there is a loss amounting to thou sands of dollars through the demise of plants that cannot withstand the rigors of an ocean voyage and in consequence pass from their dormant condition into a sleep from which they cannot be awakened. The roots which come safely to market are usually put up at auction, and since there are no flowers on the plants, and no means of positively identifying them not even the orchid hunter having seen them in bloom it not infrequently happens that what are sold for orchids of a common variety, and conse quently bring low price, turn out to be rarities of great value. In this way one unidentified orchid plant that brought half a dollar at an auction sale in London was, when It bloomed, after a lapse of two years, discovered to be such a novelty that the very firm that had disposed of It at auction bought it back for $2,500. This price is by no means a record breaker for a rare orchid, as notable speci mens have been sold for sums as high a3 $5,750. Nor is it necessary that an orchid shall be what the layman would reg-d as dis tinctly different from all others in order to command a fancy price. If it merely has markings distinct from those on the orchids of the same class which have come to light pre viously, It will be eagerly sought by collectors who take account of all such minor differences just as do the collectors of ccins or postage stamps. The raising of orchids from seed is a very slow operation, and one re quiring an infinite amount of patience. Orchid growers who are In the busi ness either for profit or pleasure, pre fer, as a rule, to simply buy the bulbs brown and withered and unpromising and by watchful care nurture the latent spark of life until In time the plant blooms. One ticklish task in connection with the raising of orchids Is the keeping up of the successive pe riods of rest and activity natural to each species of this floral family. As an orchid plant 13 passing into what is known as the dormant state it re quires a gradually slackening supply of water, whereas when it is revived from this and returned to active growth there must be a continual in crease in the amount of moisture sup' plied to the plant arousing from Its drowsiness. Orchids newly arrived from foreign parts must have an exceptional amount of attention after their long sea voyage. First, all the old leaves are removed and then the plants are allowed to repose for a time in a cool building where they have shade. After two or three days of preparation the new arrivals are put in pots and "nursed" until they give evidence of active growth. After this it i3 large ly a question of rrgulating tempera' ture and moisture although such are the peculiar ities of these erratic flowers that every now and then an experienced grower will lose a number of plants for no apparent reason. These flowers, some of which are said to have the ability to kill with their fragrance, are in reality distant cousins of our familiar blooms. the snow drop and the lady's slipper. There are, all told, more than 5,000 varieties of orchids, but the ones which have been most prized are the strangely beautiful forms wiich have come from blistering deserts, fever swamps, the tops of mountains or other localities where it seems as though Dame Nature had done her best to hide them away from prying human eyes. To per sons who have not learned to love them there is often a suggestion almost of the uncanny about a fanciful orchid, and such persons will not be surprised to hear that one of the choicest of orchids was first found clinging to a tomb stone in New Guinea. Orchid growers would, most of them, be In no end of difficulty in classifying and identifying their specimens, were it not for the Orchid Studbook, which is issued every years just as is the studbook of horses, which lists all of the domestic varieties of orchids with information as to their respective lines of descent from the original wild kinds. There have been many fa mous orchid collectors. Mrs. Roosevelt was very fond of the flower and it was due to her ef forts that a respectable-sized collection of or chids has been formed at the White House con servatories. Perhaps the most enthusiastic of all orchid collectors, however, has been Joseph Chamberlain, and the name of the English states man will live forever in the domain or the or chid as a devotee who devcted his leisure and thousands of dollars of his wealth to the indul gence of his hobby for the gentlest and frailest of flowers. Ought to Have It A councillor of the Paris Prefecture, who haa not reached the age at which he Is entitled to a pension, has applied for his pension on the ground that attendance at state banquets haa ruined his digestion and made him so much of an invalid that he is no longer able to perform the duties of his office. Use Flattery for Health What Women Need Is Not so Much Medicine But a Lot of White Lies. And now comes a very learned man, a psychologist, a physicist and a phil osopher, who seems to have investi gated the whole subject to his own satisfaction, and finds that the world Is cursed with truth, or, rather, with a lack of lies. Human beings, par ticularly those of tha feminine gender, suffer physical torments, it appears, because they are not buoyed up by sufficient flattery. What women need is not so much quinine and ipecac as a lot of white lies. When you go home to the wife of your tosom you are not to tell her that she looks bad and ought to have a doctor at once. By no means. You must tell Ler th?'" ' Xshcs" she looks younger than she haa for years, and that she never was- as dear to you, and that you are hardly able to pull through your daily tasks because you are .so distracted by thoughts of her. The remedy at least is cheap. It costs nothing but effort, but, alas! more effort than some men are will ing to put forth. It is not because a man is too truthful to tell lies to his wife about her appearance, but be cause he hasn't the willing mind. It is too common for men to presume that simply because they are married they need not bestow courtesy or sen timent upon their wives. Some men reserve their stories of flattery for other men's wives, which makes par ticularly Interestiner readine in the Now, this learned man Is right in his fundamentals. We do not know whether 'or not a case of appendicitis or of cerebro-spinal meningitis may be cured by flattery, but if more men went home to their wives with cheer ful faces, with loving words, with the most tender courtesy and a box of candy or a bunch of violets, a lot of heart trouble would be cured in stanter. The principal fact about a woman is that she is a woman. She Uvea on love. She is made for it and normally cannot exist in good spirits without it. The greatest injury that can come to a woman Is the feeling that she awakens no romantic inspi ration in her husband. If every hus band would tell his wife once a day that he loved her, as well as show it, the world would be much happier. It is not alone necessary to love your wife; you must show it by a thousand things that seem meaningless trifles to the men, but are the larger part of life to a woman. Hats. "What is the average woman's idea of spring poetry?" "Oh, something in a millinery way, I guess." Never Anything Else. "Is your toothache bad?" "Well, it doesn't look particularly good to me." When the Teacher Blushed. "What is It," asked the teacher, "that binds us together and makes us better than we are by nature?" "Corsets, sir," piped a wise littlo Rirl of eight. Red Hen. When He Flovrifhed. "Used to be a waiter1, you say?" "Yes; those were Ws palmy days.' I 1 Origin of the Piano. The pianoforte was directly evolved from the clavichord and the harpsi chord. In 1711 Scipione Maffel gave a detailed account of the first four instruments, which were constructed by Bartholommeo Chrustofori. It was named by him the pianoforte-and was first exhibited in 1709. Marius, In France, exhibited harpsichords, with hammer action, in 1716, and Schrcter, in Germany, claimed to have Invent ed, the pianoforte between 1717 and 1720. Marius was at first generally cred ited with the invention. Pianos of that period were shaped much like tha modern grand variety. The first square piano wa.s constructed by FredersIca, an organ manufacturer of Saxony," in 1758. The first genuine upright pi ano was Invented in England and th United States by John Isaat-Hawkina, an Er-sVshman. in 1SS0. HER FRIEND IN NEED I After Mrs. Graham Was Relieve She Told the Good News to Her Neighbor. ! 1 Willard, Ey. In a letter from tMJ place, Mrs. Efflo Graham says: 1 wa3 so weak I could hardly go. 1 suffered nearly every month, for three years, and often I would have to He la bed. I had paina in my side, and would swell up, and my back hurt aw fully. . When, I began, to take Cardul I weighed only 99 pounds. Soon, I bd gan to feel a great deal stronger. Not long after, I weighed 115 lbs. Now I am doing my work, and am In good -health. Cardul has done wonderful things for me. I feel like a new person. I will always praise Cardul to my friends. I recommended it to a neigh bor, and sho is now looking fine." Fifty years of proof, has convinced us, and those who have tested it, of the value ofCardui, in womanly weak ness and disease. Tho only way you can get the bene fit of tho genuine Cardul herbs, Is by getting a bottle of Cardui of your druggist. He does not keep the crude drug, as it is especially imported by tho manufacturer. Try it. Your druggist sella it. N. B. Write toi Ladies' Advhorr Dept., Chattanooga Medicine Co., Chat- tanoopa, Tonn, for Special Instruction and 04-pase book, "Home Treatment for Wnincn," Bent in plain -wrapper, on request. Baby Teethes on the Table. "We are called upon to repair all kinds of damages," a furniture dealer, the other day said. "But the most puzzling defacement I ever saw was that which appeared on a beautiful mahogany table brought in for refln ishing. All around its margin were rows of scratches and small indenta tions which were hard to explain, as tho table was otherwise uninjured. '"What happened to it?' I asked when the owner came in. "'Well,' she replied, 'the baby In sisted on cutting his teeth around tho edge of it. Of course, it was rather expensive, but we both think there is nothing too good for the baby.' " Character Told In Greeting. Joseph Simms, M. D., in "Physiog nomy Illustrated," says: "The man who gives you a warm, cordial, hearty grasp, locks you straight in the face, with a pleasant, open smile, and shakes your hand up and down, withdrawing his after a second earnest gentle pres sure, is almost without an exception an honest, earnest and true friend. The man who gives you the wagging, hori zontal mill hopper shake and lets slip your hand as if it were greasy or oily, will almost certainly be found to be a selfish, cunning and deceitful man, ready to sell you the moment he can realize a dollar." His Destiny. "I wish Willie ' had been born a "Why?" "Oh, he is such a cry baby! I wish I could do something to stop his snivelling at everything that comes up." "To stop it? Encourage It, you mean! Nature evidently intended that boy for a United States senator." COFFEE CONGESTION Causes a Variety of Ails. A happy old lady In Wisconsin Bays: "During the time I was a coffee drinker I was subject to sick head aches, sometimes lasting 2 or 3 days, totally unfitting me for anything'. To this affliction was added, some years ago, a trouble with my heart that was very painful, accompanied by a smothering sensation and faint-ness. Dyspepsia, also, came to make life harder to bear. I took all sorts of pat ent medicines but none of them helped me for any length of tlm: The doctors frequently told me that coffee was not good for me; but without coffee I felt as if I had no breakfast. I finally decided about 2 years ago to abandon the use of cof fee entirely, and as I had read a great deal about Postum I concluded to try that for a breakfast beverage. "I liked the taste of it and was par ticularly pleased to notice that it did not 'com up as coffee used to. The bad spells with my heart grew less " and less frequent, and finally ceased altogether, and I have not had an at tack of sick headache for more than a year. My digestion is good, too, and I am thankful that I am once more a healthy woman. I know my wonder ful restoration to health came from quitting coffee and using Postum." Name given by the Postum Co., Battle Creek, Mich. There's a reason," and it is this. Coffee has a direct action on the liver with some people, and causes partial congestion of that organ preventing the natural outlet of the secretions. Then may follow biliousness, sallow Ekin, headaches, constipation and final ly a change of the blood corpuscles and nervous prostration. ' Read the little book, "The Eoad to yellville," in pkgs. "There's a Ilea sun." ' ' Erer read the above Jetf erT A r.em apper from lime to time. i !.- t Beniirne, true, ul fii of l. . 3 Webb has . ih the housv v tn rest. '-4
The Roanoke Beacon and Washington County News (Plymouth, N.C.)
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April 21, 1911, edition 1
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