46 THE WOODLANDS ORCHIDS 



that only species of very quick growth attain great age ; 

 these are less exposed to the perils of youth, naturally. 

 From time to time, however, an Indian removes some plant 

 which strikes him for its beauty or its size, and starts it 

 afresh on a tree not too tall — and therefore young — in view 

 of his hut. Thus it takes a new lease of life and grows 

 indefinitely. I have not heard that ' white ' peons are so 

 aesthetic. 



This Cattleya Mossiae had been rescued by an Indian. 

 Mr. Arnold first saw it on his memorable search for 

 Masdevallia Tovarensis. I must tell that episode to begin 

 with. 



More than thirty years ago a German resident at Tovar 

 sent a white Masdevallia to a friend in England. There 

 were very few species of the genus, few plants indeed, under 

 cultivation at that time, and all scarlet. The novelty made 

 a vast sensation. For a good many years the owner kept 

 dividing his single specimen, and putting fragments on the 

 market, where they fetched a very long price. Under such 

 circumstances a man is not inclined to tell where his treasure 

 comes from. At an earlier date this gentleman had published 

 the secret so far as the name ' Tovar ' went. But there are 

 several places so called in Spanish America, and importers 

 hesitated. At length Mr. Sander made up his mind. He 

 sent Mr. Arnold to Tovar in New Grenada. 



Masdevallias are reckoned among the most difficult of 

 orchids to import. From their home in cool uplands they 

 must be transported through some of the hottest regions on 

 the globe, and they have no pseudo-bulbs to sustain them ; 

 a leaf and a root, one may say, compose each tiny plant. 



Mr. Arnold, therefore, was provided with some sacks of 

 Sphagnum moss in which to stow his finds. These sacks he 

 registered among his personal baggage. At Waterloo, how- 

 ever, the station-master demurred. Moss, said he, must 



