39Q 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



A NATIVE OF BRAZIL. 



The Cattleyas rarely occur below 

 two thousand feet above sea level and 

 seldom go beyond forty-five hundred 

 feet elevation. From the last men- 

 tioned elevation up to eight thousand 

 feet and nine thousand feet a °:reat 

 number of species of orchids are found, 

 some of which are very beautiful, such 

 as Miltonias and Odontoglossums and 

 many more. All of these love a cool 

 and moist temperature. Still higher 

 up in the colder climate many more ex- 

 quisitely beautiful kinds are found, 

 such as the Masdevallias. These 

 however, although very beautiful, are 

 rarely brought to this country owing 

 to our hot summers. They grow in a 

 continuous low temperature and it is 



almost impossible to imitate condi- 

 tions here to make them thrive. 



The collecting of the orchids proper 

 is more or less the same in all the 

 countries where they grow. Parties go 

 out into the forests in twos or threes 

 or sometimes more, carrying food for a 

 week, also shotguns and ammunition, 



stringbags and the indispensable 

 ''machete." The latter is man's con- 

 stant companion in the tropical for- 



ests. Without it little could be ac- 

 complished. A camp is now selected 

 and a ranch built of a few poles cov- 

 ered with palm leaves. During the day 

 the men go about looking for the par- 

 ticular kind of orchid wanted, and 

 when anv are discovered the trees are 

 as a rule cut down, the plants are 

 stripped from the trunks or branches 

 and put carefully in the string bag, the 

 latter being first lined with green palm 

 leaves so as to keep the plants fresh 

 and to protect them from the sun. 



The plants are now carried on men's 

 backs to the village where a house of 

 some kind is secured to store the plants 

 in such a way that they are kept dry, 

 shady and airy. After a sufficient 

 quantity is accumulated the plants are 

 packed in boxes made for the purpose 

 from logs sawed into boards by hand. 

 The boxes are well ventilated, and the 



A DAINTY ORCHID FROM COLOMBIA. 



