THE SUNDAY OREGOMAN, PORTLAND, JULY 18, 1920
U. S. HAS NO FLOWER BUT WH ITE HOUSE HAS: THE ORCHID
The Next First Lady of the Land Have One of the Largest Collections
in the Word of These JSd arv el bus, Blooms from A.11 Quarters of the Globe
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- BY RENE BACH5L
NEA.RLT always, when seen In
public. Mrs. Wilson wears a
bunch of orchids; and, indeed,
it might be said that the fashionable
favor now enjoyed by orchids is at
least largely attributed to her fancy
in this regard.
Mrs. Wilson has been heard to say
that one of her most enjoyable privi
them are "cattleyas." because orchids
of that tribe bear profusely in the
wintertime, and their huge flowers
are of a beauty no less than gorgeous.
Many orchids present imitations so
striking as to be positively weird.
For instance, there is the variety
called the "buttertly." which when
in bloom looks as if big gaudy-winged
Insects hovered over it. The "bee
i !.. .v.. wvi.. vtii orchid, the "EDider" orchid and the
is that of bln hl to have orchids "lizard'" orchid are equally remark
unlimited. Thev are so exDenslve to aDie. Jne species Dears a nower in
ordinary folks that most women can- th likeness of a grinning monkey;
not ffn - v.... v.. vi I another sustrests the aspect of an
president has one hue-a arreenhouse I opera dancer suspended by the head.
devoted to these exotics, and its en- The "cradle of "Venus" is shaped
tire output la at Mr. Wilson's dia- like an old-fashioned cradle with
posaL
The greenhouse in question la at
the south end of what used to be the
presidential farm, for in earlier days
the "White House was in a way a
farmhouse, and its farm embraced, in
addition to the present spacious
grounds, the so-called white lot and
boatlike body and a covr at the head.
Instead of a baby, the flower-cradls
contains a little bird that resembles
robin in miniature. Bird and cradle
are, pale yellow.
In Venezuela is found an orchid
whose blossom has the shape of a
doar. A Colombian variety bears a
aiso the hill on which stands the huge flower that look like a duck.
Washington monument. In fact, the and almost as big. hanging head
farm extended to the Potomac's banks downward.
and included a email sheet of fresh Most remarkable of all is the ex
water at the foot of the monument tremely rare Holy Ghost orchid of
hill, since drained off, which was Panama,' each one of whose blossoms
known as Babcock'e lake. There was (borne on straight spikes) contains a
an orchard where the war, state and perfect representation la miniature
navy building now is located; the of a snow-white pigeon with out
site of the treasury was the presi- spread wings. This wonder-plant
dent's kitchen garden, and beneath grows in almost Impenetrable
against such enemies. It provides
comfortable quarters for a garrison
of carnivorous ants. In return for
thev accommodation, they are ready
to rush forth and fight at the first
alarm.
An odd point about the coryanthes
is that its flower la designed to at
tract one particular kind of insect
a nanasome metallic-green bee. From
thebase of one of its bulbs a long
flower-stem is developed, upon which
hang a numbeV of exquisite cups, and
into each cup a liquid drips from two
"horns" in the upper part of the
flower.
Flying to the flower, as mt,
candle, the bee falls inta the liquidJ
- cue ooom or the cup and. wetting
its wings, is unable to use them.
Look into the cup and you will see
perhaps a dozen of the insects ewim
mlng round and round or vainly try
ing to climb the slippery sides. If it
is the second day after the opening of
the flower, one or two bees may be
found drowned. It was never the in
tention of the orchid, however, that
their lives should be sacrificed; but,
on the contrary, that they should es-
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SI ZT7-
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cape, and in tong so perform the
office for which the whole contrivance
is designed.
Under the "flags" is a narrow open
ing, through which the bee can push
its way out. In doing so it ruptures
the pollen case and carries off some
of the pollen on its back. Crawling
over the spike of blossoms, the bee
conveys the pollen to other flowers
of the same plant, thus fertilizing
them.
Orchid hunting is a business that
engages the efforts of many courage
ous adventurers, who explore the
wildest and most remote parte of the
world la the hope of finding rare or
new varieties. Success in this kind
of enterprise may bring large reward,
inasmuch as a single plant may have
a market value of thousands of
dollars.
On the other hand, the market price
of a scarce and precious orchid may
be reduced to next to nothing by the
discAvery of a profusion of the same
variety in some part of the world
previously unvlsited. Only a few
years ago a collector in India came
by chance upon unlimited supplies of
a species that was then bringing an
extraordinary price in "London. He
sent home secretly large consign
ments of the plants, which were put
on sale gradually, at flret only two or
three and later a dozen or" so. until
the market was broken and the erst
while treasure became a drug.
Perils, no matter bow frightful, are
Ignored by the orchid-hunting en
thusiast. Many of these adventurers
in tropical wilds have been killed by
savages, held as captives, eaten by
cannibals, or bitten to death by
venomous snakes; not to mention
deaths attributable to fevers and
other diseases. Not very long ago a
New Tork man, traversing a Venezu
elan forest on an exploring expedi
tion, came upon a hut wherein were
found three human skeletons and
thousands of dead orchid plants.
From between the ribs of one of the
skeletons grew an orchid of rare
beauty. The -three unfortunates Ba4
evidently been murdered.
Rather interesting la the story of
the "lost orchid" a previously un
known variety received about 70
years ago from Assam by an apothe
cary named Fairree, in Liverpool- It
but a single plant, and by aa
unhappy accident was destroyed. For
many years hunters vainly sought an
other specimen, in the hope of win
ning a prize of 2000 (about $10,000)
offered for it by the British Horticul
tural society. It la eaid that 16 live
were lost in the attempt. Then, at
the period of the Russo-Japanese war.
Captain I L. Seabrlght discovered the
long-sought treasure at the top of an
almost inacessible cliff in Tibet. He
collected 179 plants of It. which he
sold In London for $2750, receiving
the reward in addition.
The forests of the Philippine islands
have a wealth of orchids, and many
fine varieties, some of them rare,
have been brought to this country or
shipped to Europe; since we came into
possession of the archipelago. The
orchid market has its center in Lon
don, where at intervals auctions of
-the plants are held, attracting buyers,
from all over the globe.
For a long time it was supposed
that orchids could not be subjected to
the uses of the gardener In other
words, that, owing to the peculiar
manner of their growth, they, and
more particularly the epiphyte varle
ties, were not susceptible of cultiva
tion. Experience, however, has shown
tit iYinv can be brought to as high
a perfection in the greenhouse as in
their native woods. The Holy Ghost
orchid and certain other kinds ob
tained from regions not far from the
equator demand a temperature and
degree of moisture strongly sugges
tive of the Turkish bath.
In one way orchids are rather eco
nomical, inasmuch as the cut blossoma
retain their freshness for a surprising
length of time. Ten dollars' worth of
them will last longer than J50 worth
of roses.
the front portico of the White House
was a dairy, to which water was
orougnt by pipe from a spring in
rranaim square, several blocks
away.
swamps, fever-haunted and infested
by venomous snakes, and the natives
of that region are firmly convinced
that, when the flowers are fully de
tuo viva war a her rran-I.j ..
... " w- I ,UU 11J " J .
Ui.Uev wu puui at tne west end of
the mansion, the main corridor open
uirecuy into It; and this glass
-oubo was supplemented by a smalle
one, which later on was devoted
orchids.
to
Great numbers of orchids are sent
to market from Venezuela and Colom
bia, where they are collected by
Indians in the forests, usually by
cutting down and stripping the trees
it was during the Grant imini.. Lh... i- r-ixi. .
linihat mlnister Plenipotentiary prized variety of "odontoglossum"
or some other South that brings a fabulous price. .Next
American country gave to the presi- in importance are various cattleyas.
cent s wire a number of ri- Um.. ,i. iu., .
plants. At that time orchiH 1 ..i.,.
almost wholly unknown in the United Orchids for export must bs gath-
oi.toa, ana wrs. Grant was delighted, ered in the hot season, wh.r. th.v
hi i 7. y Inter""ting and go out of the flowering business
v.wo. wonaerrully beautiful. for a while, drying up and counter
diplomats from Other countrl. fllnr death. Tn thia Khan 1 r.
were thereby inspired to offer gifts of fully packed, they stand a sea voyage
ana. at Mrs. Grant', verv welL
- . uaparimeni or ata - i. j -
reailAKtAri A . . . I 'MWiljr ao-
consuls at tropical void of orchids. In New Jersey. Dela
v. uiiuuna tne worlrl tr. - - j . m : j ,
. . - ....v. i wa,to .nu jhu ui 1 1 i y i na. in
th.v .",rr v, e8lrbl8 varieties wooded and moist places, the pink
T -.w-.,. . or yeiiow iay supper. jsui
" "" " was at leneth built n I ...vu. .i....ii ,. i
. - - wr wi .,-... wu.j . ii warm
one of the most remarkable nii.n. tv. , v.,...i..,
- ... --w-. i je uuvw A 11 v a4W0-. ueauiuui U11CO
included ln e3tl8tnee. which grow in luxuriance where a tropical
- ana Climate develops ineir exquisite veie.
precious kinds. Amateurs interested table forms on branches of living
... oi me sort came froral trees, on the decayed bark of fallen
prlB ol ln world to see it. trunks or sometimes running over
''""'" ox orchids grow In mossv rocks.
wm., tw. are epipnytes." grow- The leaves of the 'bromelias" form
ing on trees and deriving their sus- cups that hold, water for weeks, and
tenance rrom the air. their long root- in these little vases an aquatic plan
lets waving m tne breeze. The White (from seeds dropped by birds)
House gardener, however, has de- flourishes.
veloped a method of treatment which The "coryanthes" (American tron
serves equally well for both sorts. He les) throws out a network of inter
wraps the roots in moss, which is kepti laced rootlets that form an oval, bag
damp, and suspends the plants by 1 like mass, hanging from creeper or
wires from the roof of the green- tree branch. Strike or shake the
house. Under these conditions they plant, and out will swarm great num
thrive admirably. bers of fierce-biting ants. The bag
.In serried ranks they hang, hun is, in fact, an ants' nest. The plant
dreds on hundreds of them, each ons is ' subject to attack by cockroaches
In its moss jacket. Very many of and caterpillars, and, to protect itself
w1
QUEEN BERENICE, BEAUTIFUL SISTER OF
KING AGRIPP A OF INDIA, HATED BY ROMANS
Three Times Married and Beloved by Emperor Titus, Her Hope of Sharing Greatest Throne ia World
Shattered by Opposition to Her Rank, Nationality and Character -
HEN the British troops entered
Jerusalem one of the avenues
they passed through was the
so-called Cheesemakers' street, which
s the oldest thoroughfare ln the
orld. Besides being the oldest, it
has the distinction also of probably
being the only street which has not
changed its character since it was
opened thdusands of years ago. It
still is the rendezvous of makers ana
vendors of cheese, from whom it orig
inally obtained its name.
Not far from Cheesemakers street
is the site of the palace or wueen
Berenice, the beautiful sister of King
Agrippa. Students of the. Bible will
recall that Berenice was present with
her brother at the hearing of St. Paul
before Festus. on which occasion
AeriDpa exclaimed. "Almost, Paul.
thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
Few even of the most assiduous
Students of the Bible, however, know
much mora than this about Agrippa
and Berenice, although there are
scarcely any other characters in his
tory more interesting than these two.
For Agrippa, who had received his
training: principally at Rome, Athens
and Alexandria, was a sort ofcom
posite Charles II and Gentleman
George, and in almost every respect.
except that of cruelty. Berenice re
sembled Cleopatra, the vampirs queen
of Egypt.
Berenice Daughter of Agrippa.
Berenice was the. daughter of
Agrippa I. king of Judea, and. like
her brother, . she received a careful
training in everything that consti
tuted the humanities of that period
She was accounted not only the, most
I beautiful but the most accomplished
princess ot tne age sne uvea in, a
was sought in marriage by kings and
princes from the far corners of the
earth.
Her heart, however, decided In fa
vor of Marcus, the son of the Ala
barch Alexander of Alexandria, and
she became his wife. Alabarch sounds
big, but meant really nothing more
than the chief and most Influential
man of the Jewish population at Alex-,
andria. Berenice was a slip of a girl
when she married Marcus and her
love for him was of the Juliet kind;
Bo much so that when he died within
a very few years after their marriage.
her grief was so poignant that fears
were entertained that she might at
tempt her own life.
For some state reasons, bard to
understand, her father shortly after
ward compelled her to marry his own
brother. King Herod, of Chalcis. She
was barely 17 at the time. Either
the memory of her first husband was
still too green or else her new bus-
band had qualities which repelled her;
at any rate, she, did not seem to care
very much for blm, and probably felt
grateful to him when he died.
Berenice was now in her twentieth
year, and more radiantly beautiful
than ever. Kings from the remotest
regions came to Jerusalem to ask for
her hand ln marriage and offered to
renounce their own religions and em
brace Judaism if only she would say
"Yes."
Third Husband Boon Tires,
She decided in favor of Polemon,
king or CUlcla. To us of the present
time, Cllicia ij interesting mainly for
the reason that its capital. Tarsus,
was the birthplace of St. Paul, who
refers to It as "no mean city;" and
because the memorable first meeting
between Cleopatra and Antony took
place on the river Cydnus, in Clllcl
Although the latter eTent was of
but comparatively recent data when
Berenice married Polemon, the ro
mance of it was not sufficient ts in
s
vest the country Itself to keep her
vivacious mind from roving. Whether
Polemon did not prove as ideal a hus
band as he had promised to be or
whether her pleasure-loving soul
craved more excitement than Tarsus
was able to supply, is not recorded,
but the fact remains that Berenice
soon tired of her third husband's com
pany, and bade him a lasting adieu.
Whether Polemon ever took steps to
recover his queen no extant record
shows. Even If he did. they must
have proved fruitless, for Berenice re
mained under the care of her brother
until the Jewish uprising against the
Roman rule, which resulted in the
siege of Jerusalem by Vespasian, who
afterward became emperor.
Blob Burns Palace,
Agrippa and Berenice spoke Latin
as fluently and well as Romans and
had no end qf influential friends at
Rome. So, seeing their own country
men rent by" factions and on the point
of starvation in Jerusalem, they went
to the Roman camp, to implore Ves
pasian to allow at least enough food
to enter the city to feed the women
and children.
- When news of the failure of the
embassy of Berenice and King Agxip
pa was circulated in Jerusalem, the
infuriated mob. hearing at the same
time that what appeared to be an
attachment had sprung up between
the queen and Titus, wreaked its re
venge by burning her palace.
This aot of vandalism alienated the
affections of both Berenice and Agrip
pa from their countrymen and they
made no further efforts to avert the
fate impending over, the doomed city.
When Vespasian went to Rome to be
come emperor, on the death of Nero,
A. X. 69, the operations against Jeru
6lem were entrusted to Titus, He
performed the task so well that the
city, which had resisted the siege
three years, fell into the hands of the
Romans shortly after Vespasian's de
parture. Tttns TJnllWe Vespasian.
Vespasian was a man of quiet, mod
est tastes, and led a life more like
that of a busy private citizen than
of an emperor whose word meant
life or death to anyone throughout
half the world. Not so Titus. He
was good-hearted and good-natured
enough, but so given up to volup
tuousness that people feared he would
fall into the ways of Nero when he
came to the throne. In one respect
only was he constant in his affairs
of the heart he never once faltered
in his love for Berenice.
In A. J. 76. he returned to Palestine
and Tacitus, the historian, says, in
the second book, second chapter, of
his "Histories." that he was regarded
to have been actuated by love for that
queen to make the journey. Certain
it is that when he returned to Rome,
Berenice went with him as his fiance
and her residence in Rome during the
ensuing four years was one long
drawn out series of splendid enter
tainments, reminiscent of those given
by Cleopatra and Marc Antony. '
The reason Titus did not make
Berenice his wife was that the Roman
populace opposed, the match. There
were so many mutterings that even
Vesparian dared not defy them, and he
bade his son. whom he loved dearly,
beware.
Berenice Now Forcirai.
When Titus came to the throne in
A. D. 79. after the death of Vespasian,
he still had hopes that he might over
come the opposition of the Romans to
Berenice. But they made it clear that
his marriage to her would never be
forgiven for three reasons: she was a
queen and the title of royalty which
had become abhorrent to the Romans
from the time they banished the Tar-
quins, nearly eight centuries before
the time of Titus, was no less abhor
rent to them now, although, the power
of the emperor was incalculably
greater than that of any king; sec
ondly because she was a member of a
subject nation, and thirdly because a
great deal of scandal had attached
to her and made her a by-word to .
satirists as well as historians of the
succeeding ages. Whether there was
any truth ln the scandal stories may
well be doubted, as it is not conceiv
able that so discerning and honor
able a man as Titus would have lor
a moment entertained a wish to marry
a person of so dissolute a character
as Berenice has been pictured by her
enemies.
Xielding. nevertheless, to the popu
lar clamor, both Titus and Berenice
realized that their marriage would be
fraught with danger to the young em
peror., and so. reluctanlty enough, they
decided to part company. Berenice re
turned, heartbroken, to Palestine,
and Titus, died two years later. And.
although historians are silent ln re
gard to the point, it is not unreason
able to. suppose that repining for his
Berenice may have contributed to the
hastening of his end.
What happened to Berenice after
she left Rome Is not recorded in any
work extant at the present day.
Naval Warfare to Change.
London Mall.
An Invention by a French wireless
engineer, M. Dunoyer, will completely
change the character of naval war
fare, if its claims are fulfilled. It
consists of what he calls an "electrlo
safety lock." The mechanism to di
rect the course of a torpedo and se
cure its explosion against an enemy
warship can be worked not only by
wireless .waves of the right length,
but also by a proper sequence of
Morse signals. Any error in the right
sequence of dots and dashes would
run the mechanism down to zero
again and render the torpedo barm
less. Each torpedo launched would
have its own key sequence of dots
and dashes, and so the enemy would
be unafile to tamper with it.
Strawberries Come Cheap.
KEATINGS. Vancouver Island. B. C.
The Co-operative Fruit Growers'
association of this district is produc
ing an average of 200 tons of straw
berries per season, and marketing
them with an overhead of but 5 cents.