66 ABOUT ORCHIDS. 
that event happens, the Odontoglossum is yet 
more prolific than most, and the germs, of course, 
are not so delicate under their natural conditions. 
But the moral to be drawn is that a country once 
stripped will not be reclothed. 
I interpolate here a profound observation of 
Mr. Roezl. That wonderful man remarked that 
Odontoglossums grow upon branches thirty feet 
above the ground. It is rare to find them at 
thirty-five feet, rarer at twenty-five; at greater 
and less heights they do not exist. Here, doubt- 
less, we have the secret of their reluctance to 
fertilize; but I will offer no comments, because 
the more one reflects the more puzzling it becomes. 
Evidently the seed must be carried above and 
must fall below that limit, under circumstances 
which, to our apprehension, seem just as favourable 
as those at the altitude of thirty feet. But they do 
not germinate. Upon the other hand, Odonto- 
glossums show no such daintiness of growth in 
our houses, They flourish at any height, if the 
general conditions be suitable. Mr. Roezl dis- 
covered a secret nevertheless, and in good time we 
shall learn further. 
To the Royal Horticultural Society of England 
belongs the honour of first importing orchids 
methodically and scientifically. Messrs. Weir and 
