ODONTOGLOSSUM HARRY ANUM 231 



another telegram containing a hint that sufficed, ' New 

 Odontoglossum, ' 



Kerbach began to inquire the same day. It was hardly- 

 credible that an orchid of importance could have been over- 

 looked in the neighbourhood of Amalfi, where collectors — 

 French, Belgian, and English — had been busy for years. A 

 hunt there would be very unpromising. Kerbach wandered 

 about, asking questions. Thus at Medellin he made acquaint- 

 ance with a Bank clerk. It may be noted, by the way, that 

 the inhabitants of that busy and thriving town, the bulk of 

 them, are descendants of Maranos — that is, Jews converted 

 by the processes of the Inquisition. Doubtless there are 

 records which explain why and how many thousands of 

 those people assembled in a remote district of New Granada, 

 but they themselves appear to have lost the tradition ; they 

 have lost their ancestral faith also, for there are no more 

 devout Catholics. The religious instincts of the race assert 

 themselves, however, for New Granadans in general are not 

 more fervent than other Creoles of South America, while the 

 town of Medellin is an oasis of piety. 



The Bank clerk was questioned as usual, though not a 

 likely person to take note of plants. ' Why,' said he, ' there 

 was a customer of ours at the Bank yesterday, swearing like 

 a wild Indian at orchids and everybody connected with them. 

 I should advise you to keep out of his way.' 



' What have the orchids done to him ? ' asked Kerbach. 



' I wasn't listening, but I'll inquire.' And presently he 

 brought the explanation. A young French collector had 

 been in those parts some years before. He stayed a while at 

 the planter's house, and there discovered an orchid which 

 stirred him to enthusiasm. After gathering a quantity he 

 made arrangements with his host for a shipment to follow 

 next season, promising a sum which astonished the native. 

 But this young man was drowned in the Couca. After a 



