THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 37 



CATTLEYA 



The genus Cattleya is a fairly large one and its members are 

 found only in America. The name commemorates Mr William 

 Cattley, of Barnet, who, early in the nineteenth century, had a 

 splendid collection of rare plants and was one of the first amateurs 

 to take up the cultivation of Orchids. So keen a collector and 

 cultivator was he that it is on record he possessed the finest known 

 collection of these plants. The collection passed, on his death, 

 into the hands of Mr Knight, and most horticulturalists know that 

 Messrs Knight & Perry were the predecessors of the present firm 

 of Messrs James Veitch & Sons, of Chelsea. 



Cattleyas come from the American Tropics, and range from 

 almost as far North as the City of Mexico, to as far South as the 

 Brazilian Province of Rio Grande. Cattleya citr'ma appears to 

 mark the Northern limit of the genus, and C. Loddigesii the Southern 

 limit. Many of the species are found at a considerable elevation 

 and are subject to distinct wet and dry seasons, but the great majority 

 may be cultivated in the same house all the year round, notwith- 

 standing the enormous country over which the genus is distributed. 

 There are a few exceptions to the general rule and these will be 

 noted in due course. 



The Cattleyas are gorgeous and beautiful Orchids, and it is 

 small wonder they have invariably attracted a great deal of 

 attention. Their Howers are of large size, especially in the more popu- 

 lar species, such as C. labiata, C. Mossup, C. 'Jriance^ C. Doiviatia, 

 and C. Jl^arsceiviczii^ and they are brilliantly coloured. It does not 

 need many Cattleya blooms to make a distinct and rare display in 

 any floral decoration, nor many flowering plants to provide a 

 striking feature in an exhibition group. But, all this notwith- 



