But in this, as in other
lore, a student still gathers facts. The essays have been brought up to
date by additions--in especial that upon "Hybridizing," a theme which
has not interested the great public hitherto, simply because the great
public knows nothing about it. There is not, in fact, so far as I am
aware, any general record of the amazing and delightful achievements
which have been made therein of late years. It does not fall within my
province to frame such a record. But at least any person who reads this
unscientific account, not daunted by the title, will understand the
fascination of the study.
These essays profess to be no more than chat of a literary man about
orchids. They contain a multitude of facts, told in some detail where
such attention seems necessary, which can only be found elsewhere in
baldest outline if found at all. Everything that relates to orchids has
a charm for me, and I have learned to hold it as an article of faith
that pursuits which interest one member of the cultured public will
interest all, if displayed clearly and pleasantly, in a form to catch
attention at the outset. Savants and professionals have kept the
delights of orchidology to themselves as yet. They smother them in
scientific treatises, or commit them to dry earth burial in gardening
books. Very few outsiders suspect that any amusement could be found
therein.
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