56 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



An Orchid Sells for About $10,000. 

 On page 150 of The Guide to Na- 

 ture for August, 1910, we published a 

 full page or nearly a full page illus- 

 tration of a white orchid of the type 

 known as the large Cattleya gigas. Here 

 is another photograph of the same 

 orchid showing the flower from a dif- 

 ferent point of view. At the time when 

 I took the photograph previously pub- 

 lished, the attendant in the greenhouse 

 said, "We probably will get a pretty 

 good sum for this. I should not be 

 surprised if some rich man would give 

 us $300 or $400, perhaps $500 for it." 

 As this orchid's only merit is that it is 

 different from the others of the same 

 family in being pure white, instead of 

 a beautiful, variegated purple, I 



thought that there could not be much 

 reasonable probability of any man's 

 paying $500 only for the sake of hav- 

 ing an oddity in color. Upon my re- 

 cent visit to the greenhouse to take 

 the accompanying photographs, I 

 learned with much surprise, when I in- 

 quired what had become of that white 

 orchid, that it had been sold several 

 months ago for about $10,000. I at 

 once requested Mr. Lager to tell me 

 more in detail in regard to the finding 

 and disposing" of that orchid. In reply 

 he has written the following letter: 



"In regard to Cattleya gigas alba, let 

 me say that this is the rarest orchid, 

 and in fact the rarest of all plants of 

 the present day. We flowered this Cat- 

 leva in 1910, and exhibited it at the 



THE ORCHID THAT SOLD FOR ABOUT TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS. 



