45 



exhibited at all the leading shows, both at home, on the Con- 

 tinent, and even as far as St. Petersburg. With Mr. B. S. 

 Williams Mr. Warner at the period under notice commenced a 

 magnificent work, entitled, " Select Orchidaceous Plants," which 

 gave coloured plates of the plants., natural size, and it is still 

 issued at intervals. 



A series of highly interesting lectures upon Orchids was also 

 given at this time by Mr. J. Bateman, at the meetings of the 

 Royal Horticultural Society, and the same gentleman, untiring 

 in his efforts to maintain the interest in Orchids, offered a 

 challenge medal or a prize of 20 in money to be awarded to the 

 exhibitor who gained most marks for those plants at the 

 exhibition of the Society. This was gained in 1868 by Mr. 

 James Anderson, gardener to T. Dawson, Esq., Meadow Bank, 

 Uddingstone, near Glasgow, by a large majority. The wonderful 

 Meadow Bank collection was then in its prime, and many a 

 grand specimen was shown by this skilful grower that provoked 

 the good tempered envy of less successful competitors. 



The record of several important sales of Orchids, i.e., those of 

 Mr. J. A. Turner, Pendlebury House, Manchester, in 1868; those 

 of Mr. S. Rucker, in 1872 ; those of the Rev. William Ellis, in the 

 same year ; of Provost Russell, Falkirk, in 1875 ; and of Mr. 

 Wilkins, in 1877 ; brings us to 1880, and renders a few words 

 necessary upon the principal Orchid collections of the present 

 times. It may, however, be mentioned that in addition to those 

 already named, the following persons, either as amateurs, growers, 

 or collectors, took an important part in Orchid affairs up to this 

 time: J. H. Schroder, Stratford Green; J. Gould Veitch, Mrs. 

 Wray, Oakfield ; Rev. C. S. P. Parish, Mr. Fairrie, of Liverpool ; 

 Mr. W. Maule, Bristol; Earl Fitzwilliam, (Viscount Milton) 

 Wentworth House, Yorkshire ; Consul G. W. Schiller, Hamburg ; 

 T. Brocklehurst, The Fence, Macclesfield ; W. Wilson Saunders, 

 Esq., Bowman, Blunt, Hartweg, Colonel Benson, Kramer, Hutton, 

 Wallis, Hugh Low, Schlim, F. W. Burbidge, Mr. John Day, and 

 R. Dodgson, Esq. To describe the labours of these and others 

 would fill a large volume, for to all, in varying degrees, are Orchid 

 growers of the present day indebted. 



Writing in 1841, Mr. Jas. Bateman said that the collections of 

 Orchids were innumerable, and if that was the case then, what 

 would be said now ? The plants were then numbered by hundreds 

 now amateurs possess their thousands, and one, Mr. R. Warner, 

 has even had as many as 12,000 plants of one species, Odonto- 

 glossum Alexandras. In the leading collections a dozen houses 

 or more are devoted to them, and coming to the trade stores the 

 numbers are overwhelming. When we talk about plants by the 

 100,000 we seem to be dealing with bedding Pelargoniums or 

 Lobelias, and not Orchids, yet one firm claims to possess that 



