A STORY OF CATTLEYA BOWRINGIANA 



No tale hangs upon the discovery of Cattleya Bowringiana, 

 so far as I have heard. A planter named Turkheim sent it 

 from British Honduras to Mr. Bowring of Forest Farm, 

 Windsor, in 1884. The species has a wide range. Mr. 

 Oversluys came upon it in Guatemala very shortly after- 

 wards, and curious incidents followed. 



This admirable collector was hunting for Oncidium 

 splendidum, a stately flower not very uncommon once, but 

 long extinct in Europe. No man knew its home, but Mr. 

 Sander, after close inquiry and profound deliberation, re- 

 solved that it must be a native of Costa Rica. Thither he 

 despatched Mr. Oversluys, who roamed the wilderness up 

 and down five years, seeking a prize within his grasp all the 

 time, so conspicuous that it escaped notice — as sharp boys 

 select the biggest names upon a map instead of the smallest, 

 to puzzle a comrade. But that is another story. 



Irritated and despairing as time went by, but not per- 

 mitted to abandon the search, the collector found diversion 

 now and again in a gallop through the neighbouring States. 

 And once he pushed as far as Guatemala. All these forays 

 were profitable, of course ; such a shrewd and experienced 

 hunter finds game in every forest. But Mr. Oversluys was 

 not equipped for the wholesale business, as one may put 

 it, on these expeditions. They were reconnaissances. In 



