it is much to be wished that Orchid fanciers, who take an 
intelligent interest in the Order, would; according to their 
means, make their collections famous for completeness in one 
or a few of the larger and less pretentious genera, as well as 
for the production of gigantic specimens of the showy kinds. 
As it is, England is the grave of Orchids ; of the millions im- 
ported but a few hundreds survive the first few years, and 
this very much because every collector forms a miscellaneous 
collection, wherein it is impossible to meet the requirements 
of any but the most indifferent to the treatment the gene- 
rality may experience. 
M. Chimera is a native of deep valleys in New Grenada, 
where it was discovered by Roezl, and imported by M. Linden 
in 1872. For the splendid specimen here figured I am in- 
debted to Mr. Bull, who flowered it in December last. 
Descr. Stem tufted. Leaves six to nine inches long, nar- 
rowly oblanceolate, acute, narrowed at the base, which is clothed 
with four to six sheaths, keeled. Scape shorter than the 
leaves, arched, stout, with five or six green appressed sheaths. 
Flowers eight inches long from tip to tip of the dorsal and 
lateral sepals, yellow, spotted with blood-red. Ovary small, 
curved, red-brown. Perianth-tube shortly campanulate, 
deeply 6-grooved. Sepals three-quarters of an inch broad, 
broadly obovate, hispid with soft spreading hairs on the inner 
surface, suddenly contracted into slender, red purple tails, 
three inches long, margins reflexed. Peta/s very short, one- 
sixth of an inch long, spathulate, expanded at the tip jnto 
four spreading lobes, with a thick red caruncle between the 
lobes. Lip one-third of an inch long, slipper-shaped, with 
inflexed toothed margins, and keeled ribs within, white. 
Column as long as the petals, acute.—J. D. H. | 
Fig. 1, Ovary, lip, petals and column :—magnified. 
