The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 9, 1901, Page 10

e great white La sed to be so fash- t of date. Smart othing but Queen Wil- ot exactly set of her ap- re blosso: Queen W bouquet was of orchids e been in the habit of bouquets made of their fa- vorite roses sometimes orange blossoms. the real jeune siecle , thosa that like to do things {as New York does them, will have noth- ying but rchids. Margaret Cole h: beat rehids ng when she { bouquet of the most were ever seen at a Liew ant Crimmins. quisite blooms were not, however, Jovellier than the blonde beauty who car- ried at Colonel Walter Mar- s Mary Scott during the cluster of period orchids every ter the seven al- ch are decorated ¢ worth of blossoms s from the ese costly flowers and of Mrs. r of M no conse has buys the orchi wers in the country. uch as r has be- Out in Gold- are some in the private green- thy families the orchid not profusion. Orchids grows do not propagation, as do roses the majority of {them n imported from their na- “tive wild homes. The European and East- ‘ern florists keep men employed all the ¥year round in the tropics collecting sorchids. Bince they became the favorite adorn- fment for dinmer tables at set functions ithe demand has far exceeded the supply. In the conservatories of Timothy Hop- jkins’ country place are found the most smagnificent orchids of this part of the pworld. | Mary Bates McClellan’s green- Thouses also contain rare orchids, as do Fthe conservatories of D, O. Mills and fcther Menlo Park and Burlingame resi- sdents. Miss Jennie Flood, Mrs Eleanor Mar- ftin, Mre. Sherwood, A. B. Forbes, Mrs. §{Sloss, Mrs. Gerstle, Miss ellie Dore, jColonel W. M. Lent, Mrs. Will Crocker, rs. William M. Pierson, Dr. Brigham, PMrs. Mau—these are a few of San Fran- y¢cisco’s prominent orchid collectors. To discourse intelligently upon orchids gone has to study the subject, for it is as pcomplicated as the study of porcelains. If j¥ou talk to a florist about orchids he will E:: able to explain what are Cattleyas or vpripediums or Odontoglossums or On- poldiums. He will tell you the orchid fam- Hly of plants is divided Into two groups— clude Cattleyas, Oncidiums and Phal opsis. They grow on trees and rocks for support only.= Terrestrial orchids grow like lilles and larkspurs, on the ground; the Cypripedium and Masdevallias are examples. . They grow all over the world, the Ter- restrial abounding in the colder climates, while ¥n the tropical regions are found immense varieties of Eplphytal orchids. El Spirito Santo, a very rare orchid, comes from Panama and the Phajus from India. Soldiers returning from the Phil- ippines brought many lovely orchids from the islands. : The vanilla orchid ig the most valuable from an economic point of view, as from it we get the bean and fla- voring extract of common use. The florist tells one that he divides his orchids into four groups—hardy, cool, in- termediate and tropical—according to their temperament. Cultivators prefer the winter blooming kinds, which are the best known and least expensive One rarely sees a blue orchid. Orangé and scarlet are more often fouWd. but white orchids are the he white orchids are the easiest to raise, but least rare. require care, attention and a personal feeling of Interest In their growth. Donning and Seden, the great London orchid specialists, have succeeded in growing orchids from seeds. They began with the ordinary varieties and continued their e riments with wonderful D1 ste- {Eriphy d Terrestrial. The former cess to the rarer varieties, sare commonly called air plax and in- The most valuable and expensive col- i = HE shark that for two vears has been seen swimming about in one of the wall of the ground-floor tier o It water side of the Aquarium was itly removed to the ers of the its life, er central pool in which the shark had increased in length sut four feet eight inches gpk being small, the shark could not get the exercise it required. This made its removal necessard. In making the transfe cuity encountered. The salt Water in the sl ank in the Aquarium is usual- ly at 71 degrees. The water in the great central pool is just now about 5 on the bottom, where the cold water supply comes in, and about 6 at the top, where the warmed water is supplied. This would @o for such fishes as haa wintered in it, but it would kill in short order a shark put into it from water at 71 degrees and Jeft to itself. Therefore when the shark had to be removed the Aquarium people got ready to keep it alive in the big pool until it could look out for itself. It was 20 be kept from lying down and giving up &nd succumbing to the chill by practically the same methods followed to ward off stupor in the case of a man who had taken an overdose of some narcotic, name- seripus diffi- wa SAVED & SHARK'S LI RING RIM UD.’ FE BY “STIR- Iy, by keeping him moving. They shifted the shark over from fhe tank it had lived in for two years, and dropped it in-the big pool on Friday week at 5 p. m. Almost the moment it slid into the pool the shark stood, literally speak- ing, on its head, perfectly inert. The dif- ference in the temperature of the water would have killed it 0 quick time if left to itself. But that Is just what they didn’t do. They had a man stationed on the cop- ing of the pool with a pole and for seven hours this man was kept tolerably busy keeping that shark on the go. The minute the shark drooped head downward in that fashion, just letting go and giving right up on the spot, the man touched it up with the pole, to get away from which the shark would right itself up and start swimming. i.at was what they wanted it to do—to keep swimming and swimming. Sometimes the shark migat not need at- tention more than twice an hour, some- times it had to be moved every few min- utes. Once or twice it turned over on its back, but the man was after it, quickly Spurring it on, and the shark would right itself at the touch and start ahead again, And £o they kept at it until midnight, by which hour it was pretty well warmed up and geing nicely, | 5 lection of orchids in America is that of F. L. Ames of North Easton, Mass. It is valued at $200,000. Hicks Arnold of New York has a valuable collection, and W. S. Kimball values his orchids at $125,000. In the conservatories of the Duke of Mariborough, Consuelo Vanderbllt's hus- band, are beautiful orchids. In the life- | time of the old Duke these orchids heiped in a manner to maintain the household. It is considered quite the thing among impe- | cunious noblemen in England who own conservatories to sell the products of their sardeners’ skill. Of course, this is done sub rosa, and the “city’” man—the banker or broker of means—whose elegant, din- ner table is garnished with rare orchids, does not know that the exquisite blossoms came from a private conservatory. The price of an orchid depends upon Its size, quality and general condition of health. The Laelia Callistoglossa is worth $500 a head. One thousand dollars was pald for a Vanda Sanderiana by a Mr, Osbourne of New York—the largest price ever given for an orchid in this country. It was originally the property of Mrs. Morgan of ‘‘peach blow vase” fame, Among commercial florists Pitcher & Manda of Short Hills, N. J., have the THE SUNDAY OCALL largest and most valuable collection In the United States, the value of which is placed at $100,000. Siebrecht & Wadley of New Rochelle have the next in value. Among florists who make a speclalty of orchids are W. Matthews of Utica, N. Y. F. Mau of Weehawken, N. J.; Bracken- ridge & Co. of Govanstown, Md.: John Saul of ‘Washington, D. C.; I. Fosterman of Newton, L. I, and Henry Dreer of Philadelphia. In our part of the world Timothy Hopkins, above mentioned, is about the only florist that grows the or- chids on a large scale. The smaller flor- ists buy of him and he thus may be said to possess a “corner” in orchids. Veitch & Son of London and B. 8. Wil- liams, also of the great metropolis, are large sellers of orchids to the orchid col- Iéctors of this country. The four greatest orchid growers—professional—of England have permanent agencles and greenhouses in Summit, N. J." Probably with some en- JN ROBLEDO ! WNEE LOT'TIE GASHWILER Pporo ) VA :’/&/‘/AN)/ /4 couragement they would establish similar agencies out here. A bouquet of orchids at one of our flor- ist's costs $50, though a smaller one al- most as effective can be bought for $35. It is scarcely to be wondered at that this rare flower is not more common as a hand bouquet when its price keeps at this fig- ure. But When a wooer presents his lady love with such a nosegay there is no doubt that his sentiment is sincere. In New York cattleya flowers can be pur- chased for 75 cents each; cypripediums at 2% cents up to 0 cents. Sprays of the odontoglossum retail at 25 cents for every perfect bloom on the spray. Coelogynes are rarely used, except in funeral pleces. The local price of orchids went up like the proverbial rocket as soon as the date of President McKinley's visit was deter- {mired ‘ubon. In every kind of function designed for Mr. McKinley’s pleasure of an indoor nature the orchid appeared as + &he principal feature of the decoration. Orchids are particularly suited for table decorations, and as such are very pro- fusely used In the East. Our wealthy en- tertatners are also beginning to find out how beautiful orchids make a dinner table appear on state occaslons. During the week following Faster the local florists had countless orders for orchids. They ‘were the decorations at the luncheons given to Mrs. Francis Burton Harrison, the dinner In honor of Mrs. Stuyvesant Fish and at the sPveral affairs compli- mentary to Mrs. Whitelaw Reid. The ordinary table plece Is a dainty basket In which are maiden halr ferns or other forest plants, with the orehid blos- soms nestling among the ferns. When these baskets are bought outright by the persons at whose house they are to be used they cost a considerable sum, but when they are only hired for the ocea- sion they are not so expensive. The MIBRS. %0/30 " qEE CHARLOTTE = A J CUNNINGEAH ) orchids, nevertheless, are pald for at the #:1] price, for they cannot be used again. Sometimes orchids are used in other way with more lavishness thian the basket de- elgn permits, and then their cost easily runs up into the thousands. On occasions such as large receptions and afternoon teas orchids can be made the most effective decoration possible. The growing plants should be left in their own pots or baskets and permitted to fol- low their own flowing graceful habit. It arranged in banks they should follow the idea of the larger ones in the background and the lesser ones toward the outer edge Ferns must be nsed with great freedom between and among the orchids, and as drapery for mantels. Fringes of orchids— the Flcus repens and Isolepis gracilis— make an artistic finish. Fern fronds and cut blessoms of the orchids may be placed among the plants a ewhere when the ich a need. Calanthes, with d el eye see: their arching wands of pink and white flowers, can be left with their roots on and lightly covered with moss; they then have the effect of cut flowers. It does not injure the orchid plants to use them in ,this way, but, of course, the flowers will live long after being exposed to such a change of temperature. Odonto- oncillums, sophronites, masde- d cypridiums are the most like- ve after the temporary glossums, vallias Iy to 1 ing. The orchid is certainly the fashionabls flower, as every florist avers. To carry a bouquet of orchids is the ambition of every soclety girl who is invited to a swell function orchid is so popular in the East that poems are written about them almost every day, and what can be a greater proof of fashion's favor than this? In Walter Malone's recently “Songs of North and South” prettiest bits of verse is: ORCHIDS. Litke blossoms changed to butterfites With wings of purple, yellow, brown, Or phoasant plumes with ebon eyes And soft and clouded silken down. fssued one ‘of the Serpents in garnet, gold and green, With graceful neck and glossy crest, Or humming-birds of brilllant sheen, With glowing throat and dotted breast. Swart, rich-robed princesses, that hide In tangled Afric jungle shades: Fawn-footed Indian malds that bide By wild Brazilian forest glades. With flowers such as these, of old The witch enwreathed her golden heady They grew in Circe's haunted wold, Or oped in dreamlands of the dead. — Dr. John Milne of the sefsmic section of the Royal Society says that vibrations travel faster through the interior of the earth than through the densest body known to scientists. This is proof, he claims, that theinterior is neither a molten mass nor, a hollow space, but solid matter under such a degree of stupendous press- ure that the contraction of the mass causes geysers, hot springs and voleanoes, which are but local manifestations of this. A NEW COIN WITH & HOLE T N THE CENTER. NCLE SAM, it is said, is to coin a U new 3-cent plece. The new coin is to be of nickel, and its radical dit- ference from all other coins with Uncle Sam’s mint mark on them lles in the fact that it will have a hgle in the center. It is the suppositlon that this hale in the middle will enable the hurriea handler of the coin to detect its value by the sense of feeling. Scme such safe- guard 1s considered necessary for the reason that it is to be about the size and weight of the present nickel 5-cent plece. The size of the center hole in the pro- posed coln will be large enough to make it merely a ring of metal, this hole being about one-half the diameter of the coin. It will prevent one of the difficulties which handlers of small silver coins were troubled with when the metal money be- gan to-circulate after the era of paper money. The small coins, which got into the hands of children and some classes In the remote districts, were treated as curiosities and great prizes. To secure their safekeping a favorite method was to punch a hole in them and tie them on a string. This destroved the circulation value of the coins, and dealers who sub- sequently took them in had to stand the loss, a fixed scale being finally arranged for deduction for punchea dimes, nickels, or other pleces. The new plece can be strung without injuring ft. It is the general opinion of government officials that thére is no crying need for an additional subsidiary coin of small value and large bulk and weight, the 3- cent_nickel piece and the copper l-cent plece being considered ample to meet the Wwants of the people of the West. nk people and treasury officials have a very lively conception of the bother there is in handiing the present I-cent pleces, the larger institutions getting hundreds of pounds of them sometimes on hand. The weight as well as bulk cuts quite a figure In these cases, and the addition of a other intermediate between t the 5-cent piece and the cent piece would, it is be- lleved, but add to this trouble. Vault room for storage purposes and draying facilities would have to be provided in proportion The old 3-cent silver plece which was coined several years ago did not meet with popular favor, and it was found Im- possible to keep ‘it in circulation. The sub-treasury people fear that the attempt to put out a new one will be but a repe- titlon of this experience. In the West and Southwest the 1-cent Plece was slower in coming Into favor than in the East, and the coinage of the new piece 1Is supposed to meet a demand “which the 5-cent plece I8 too large for and the l-cent too small. This wotilld indicate it it 1 correct that the ‘Western people are relinquishing their old idea that nothing less than 5 cents Was worth counting in & business trans- action,