142 ABOUT ORCHIDS. 
mence. Seldom will the captain of a mail steamer 
accept that miscellaneous cargo. Happily, the 
time of year is, or ought to be, that season when 
tea-ships arrive at Singapore. The collector may 
reasonably hope to secure a passage in one of 
these, which will carry him to England in thirty- 
five days or so. If this state of things be pon- 
dered, even without allowance for accident, it will 
not seem surprising that V. Sanderiana is a costly 
species. The largest piece yet secured was bought 
by Sir Trevor Lawrence at auction for ninety 
suineas. It had eight stems, the tallest four feet 
high. No consignment has yet returned a_ profit, 
however. 
The favoured home of Vandas is Java. They 
are noble plants even when at rest, if perfect— 
that is, clothed in their glossy, dark green leaves 
from base to crown. If there be any age or any 
height at which the lower leaves fall of necessity, 
I have not been able to identify it. In Mr. 
Sander’s collection, for instance, there is a giant 
plant of Vanda suavis, eleven growths, a small 
thicket, established in 1847. The tallest stem 
measures fifteen feet, and every one of its leaves 
remain. They fall off easily under bad treatment, 
but the mischief is reparable at a certain sacrifice. 
The stem may be cut through and the crown re- 
