THE SEASON FOR COLLECTING OBCHIDS. lo 



becomes quite useless ; whereas, if the plant had been sent 

 home in spring or summer, there would have been a chance 

 of saving it if the leaves had been on it and it had not been 

 exposed to the cold. Such importations are not only a loss 

 to the buyers, but also to the collector, as there are many 

 lots that cannot be sold, and have to be thrown away. 



There is another great evil attending importations, but this 

 occurs in their native country ; the plants are heedlessly tofti 

 from their natural habitats, which are sometimes ruthlessly 

 cleared of the beautiful flowers that cannot be replaced in 

 the locality. "We are sorry to hear of some of our collectors 

 having so little respect for these treasures of nature's pro- 

 duction that they gather all they can, having no regard for 

 the future, and not even leaving a few plants in the locality 

 to increase and multiply by shedding their seed to germinate 

 naturally over the mountains, rocks, and trees. If this kind 

 of work continues, there will be but few Orchids left, except- 

 ing where the collectors cannot get at them. It is to be 

 feared that some of our collectors do not go for the love of 

 the plants, but to make all they can for the time being, 

 heedless as to whether they would be able to get more the 

 following season. 



Our botanists who from time to time have travelled have 

 gone out for the love of the plants, and in order to gain 

 knowledge of them. These men have freely imparted the 

 information they have obtained to those who have remained 

 at home, by giving a record of their travels, and by collecting 

 dried specimens of new and old species, as well as living 

 plants, for the extension of our collections, and the increase of 

 our knowledge of the peculiar characteristics of the plants. 

 We are well aware that the demand for them at the present 

 day is very great, there being now a larger number of culti- 

 vators ; and as the plants get cheaper the greater will be the 



