petals and nectary being but in few places less than a quarter of a inch thick, and in some places threequarters of an inch; the substance of it was very succulent. When I first saw it a swarm of flies was hovering over the mouth of the nectary, and apparently laying their eggs in the substance of it. It had precisely the smell of tainted beef." The plant -for although it entirely lacks stems and leaves, it is yet a complete plant-is a parasite upon various species of Cissus-a kind of vine-appearing upon

the stem and roots when the leaves and flowers of

the foster plant are withering. The unexpanded buds of this plant are said to resemble large close cabbages, and, when open, to give forth an odour of carrion, which evidently attracts insects for the purpose of fertilisation. This deception practised upon insects by this evil odour is further assisted by the petals being flesh-coloured. These petals are about a foot long, and at some parts three-quarters of an inch in thickness, whilst the central cavity of the

flower will hold about three quarts! Altogether, its weight is about fifteen pounds. It is several months in coming to maturity, when it lasts but a few days, gradually putrefying, and thus attracting large numbers of insects who complete the work of fertilisation.

There is an insect, well known to entomologists, which stands for hours in an erect and almost immovable position on the stems of trees and plants, with its forelegs held up like arms waiting to seize any insect which may come within reach. This insect is called the Mantis. The reason we have referred to it here is, that there is a plant whose flowers mimic it. So close is this resemblance that a whole genus of plants of the Ginger tribe are called Mantisia in consequence. It will be seen from our illustration, which only represents a portion of the plant, that the purple and yellow flowers maintain just the same erect position as the insect, although to those not acquainted with the Mantis another resemblance has suggested itself, viz., to a ballet dancer, and hence the plant is familiarly known as the Dancing Girls.

FIG. 87.

But probably the most remarkable flowers are to be found among the Orchids, a very extensive order of British and exotic plants, many of which are culti

vated in our conservatories and hothouses on account of their singular and beautiful forms. This illustration of the commonest British species will give an idea of the general construction of the flower in this order. The most peculiar feature of such construction consists in the pistil and stamens being consolidated into a mass called the column. The pollen grains are united together into masses by elastic threads, which unite them to a slender stalk (caudicle). These

-Pu

-Ros

Nec.

-Lab

FIG. 88.

pollen masses (pollinia) occupy two lobes of the anther, and are attached by the base of the caudicle to the rostellum. The stigmatic surface is just below the rostellum, and at the entrance to the nectary or spur. The remarkable method by which cross-fertilisation is ensured we have already described (see Chapter IV.); we wish here to call attention to the grotesque forms of the flowers. One of our rarest native species, the Orchis hircina, or Lizard Orchis, has the central segment of the lip very long, tapering

and twisted, so that, with the lateral segments, it is supposed to bear some resemblance to a miniature lizard. Aceras anthropophora has

a ridiculous caricature of a little

man with distended arms and legs; hence it is popularly known as the Man Orchis. But perhaps the best of these "counterfeit presentments" is to be found in the flowers of Ophrys muscifera, which remarkably imitate a fly. They are of a purple-brown hue, with a square patch of pale blue in the centre of the labellum. The upper petals provide the antennæ, and altogether the appearance is that of a fly settled on a flower. Old Parkinson says of it: "The neather parte of the flie is black, with a list of ashe colour crossing the backe

FIG. 89.

with a show of legges, hanging at it; the naturall flie seemeth so to be in love with it, that you shall seldome come in the heate of the daie but you shall find one sitting close thereon." Whether the latter

part of this old herbalist's opinion be true or not we cannot say, but certain it is that the bees are very fond of another species-the Bee Orchis (Ophrys apifera)—whose flowers equally well mimic the bee. Two other species (O. aranifera and O. arachnites) resemble spiders. A North American species is called the Crane-fly Orchis, from a supposed resemblance of the flower to that insect; whilst a British species (Peristylus viridis) is called the Frog Orchis, though we have failed to find any resemblance to justify the connection.

All these native species of Orchids grow on, or in, the earth like most other respectably conducted plants, but some of their tropical relatives take to climbing trees and growing from the branches, without any visible means of existence. Some species of Odontoglossum are of this habit, though they are chiefly remarkable for the magnificent beauty and large size of their flowers. One species (0. grande), a native of Guatemala, bears flowers six inches across; the petals long and spreading, of a yellow colour, beautifully marked with blotches and bands of brown. Another species (O. tigrinum) has the flowers spotted with purple-brown, and strongly perfumed with the odour of Violets. A nearly related genus (Oncidium) consists of over two hundred species, all of them confined to tropical America, though some cannot properly be considered as tropical species, seeing that they grow at immense altitudes, where the temperature is very low. Thus Oncidium Warczewiczii, a native of Costa Rica, grows on oaks at an elevation of from 8,000 to 10,000 feet, and has been found to