18 ABOUT ORCHIDS. 
also are governed by rigid laws, which we do not 
yet understand. 
Therefore I perceived or suspected, at an early 
date, that orchid culture is, as one may say, the 
natural province of an intelligent and enthusiastic 
amateur who has not the technical skill required 
for growing common plants. For it is brain-work 
—the other mechanical. But I shared the popular 
notion—which seems so very absurd now—that 
they are costly both to purchase and to keep: 
shared it so ingenuously that I never thought to 
ask myself how or why they could be more expen- 
sive, after the first outlay, than azaleas or gardenias. 
And meanwhile I was laboriously and impatiently 
gathering some comprehension of the ordinary 
plants. It was accident which broke the spell 
of ignorance. Visiting Stevens’ Auction Rooms 
one day to buy bulbs, I saw a Cattleya Mossia, in 
bloom, which had not found a purchaser at the 
last orchid sale. A lucky impulse tempted me to 
ask the price. “ Four shillings,” said the invalu- 
able Charles. I could not believe it—there must 
be a mistake: as if Charles ever made a mistake in 
his life! When he repeated the price, however, I 
seized that precious Cattleya, slapped down the 
money, and fled with it along King Street, fearing 
pursuit. Since no one followed, and Messrs. 
