The Blenheim orchids, a splendid collection made by the late
Duke of Marlborough, are for sale, and though the prices do not indicate any mania, they far exceed those usually paid for any book not valued for its rarity. One specimen, for example, fetched forty-five guineas. The fancy for this plant, like the fancy of two centuries ago for tulips, appears to. be principally due to the spirit of competition. The grower can, as it were, win a race by producing rare specimens, and consequently feels a pride in himself rather than his plants, which he will gratify at any expense. As in the ease of tulips, the rarest orchids are seldom the most beautiful, having an artificial, and, occasionally, even an uncanny, look about them, as if they were creations of man and not of Nature. Gar- dening is the most innocent of the expensive tastes, but half the money spent on orchids would have introduced a dozen new and beautiful flowers from American uplands. The man who really benefited our flower scenery was the man who made the rhododendron a common object.
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