THE PLANT WORLD UNDER CARE. 



39i 



A CATTLEYA FROM VENEZUELA. 



plants packed in dry shavings to keep 

 them from rotting in transit. They 

 are now loaded on mules or oxen 

 and transported to the nearest river 

 and. if the journey takes several days 

 or weeks, care must always be taken 

 to see that the boxes are under cover 

 when unloading — in the middle of the 

 day to protect them from the burning 

 sun. and at night from the rain. For 

 this purpose tents are carried. Once 



at the river the boxes are loaded on 

 specially built rafts or in large canoes 

 and Moated down the river, sometimes 

 with great danger, until a place is 

 reached from which transportation by 

 steamer can be obtained down to the 

 coast where they are again embarked 

 for Europe or the United States, where 

 if the plants arrive in good condition 

 they are made under proper culture to 

 produce their beautiful flowers — some- 



TRANSP0RT1NG ORCHIDS ON A RAFT ON ONE OF THE RIVERS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 



