KECOLLECTIONS TO 1890. 67 



summate experts in theoretical jokes, and occasionally 

 practical ones. These three together, could have en- 

 tertained our company a whole night. Alas ! of those 

 three genial men two are gone forever, and at this 

 very moment one of our most eminent members, our 

 old friend Mr. Wm. Grey, Mr. Coming's gardener, is 

 very dangerously sick .... To close these sketches of 

 our friends, and for the "Bonne Bouche," delicious 

 morsel, I will introduce you to my our friend, Mr. 

 A. R. Smith, the Trojan drover of calves- Vanda Cor- 

 ningiana, the brothers and sons of the cow and calf 

 that were sold to Mrs. Morgan, of New York, the : 

 personified Providence of the Orchids dealers of both 

 continents, American and European. 



Our last link, for being the Omega, the last, is not 

 the less important for hia collection of orchids, but is 

 next to Mr. Corning, and at one time Mr. Corning 

 sighed for the possession of some orchids he had, espe- 

 cially for a specimen of " Phalsenopsis grandiflora 

 aurea" as we have never seen its equal since, and even 

 to-day he has specimens of Cymbidium eburneum, 

 Cymbidium Mastersianum, Cymbidium Lowianum, 

 Lowianum, from three to six feet in diameter, Coelo- 

 gyne cristata, Coelogyne Occllata maxima and Coelo- 

 gyne, Massangena, etc., inferior to none. Of Mr. Cor- 

 ning's collection of all kinds of orchidiacse. It is useless 



