COLLECTING ORCHIDS. 45 



Before leaving this region 1 want to show you a httle of the 

 country around Miraflores. There are no valleys here to any 

 extent, mostly high hills, with depressions between, also narrow 

 openings along the streams. There are also a number of treeless 

 hills covered with grass. On some of these I saw some of the most 

 beautiful sights. The entire hills from foot to summit were liter- 

 ally covered with Sobralia violacea in full bloom, in all shades from 

 pure white to dark lavender. The best time to see this show was 

 in early morning, before the sun became too strong; with the night 

 dew still lingering on the foliage and with the galaxy of colors on 

 such a large scale, the sun finally rose higher and higher reflecting 

 the colors in a way impossible for me to describe. Towards midday 

 thousands of flowers began to drop off. This continued throughout 

 the day, but early the next morning there was a new display. At 

 the foot of these hills where the soil was rich and the plants partly 

 shaded by trees they attained five to six feet in height. In ascend- 

 ing the hills the plants gradually diminished in height, until at the 

 top they were only a few inches high. There was no difference 

 however in the size of the flowers. Almost on the naked rocks 

 would grow the beautiful Epidendrum Ibaguense, also Vanilla 

 plani folia. This latter one always seeking the companionship of a 

 dwarf shrub, to which it would cling, and display its fine dull yellow 

 Cattleya-like flowers. 



In crossing the Magdalena River going northeast we find Cailleya 

 gigas Sanderiana in the state of Cundinamarca. This Cattleya 

 is without a doubt the grandest of all the South American Cattleyas. 

 The enormous size of the flowers and as many as ten on a spike is 

 a sight worth seeing. Unfortunately this Cattleya is not at all 

 plentiful and its territory is very small, that is to say of the true 

 t\^e, for on the same mountain chains towards Muzo there are 

 quantities of plants but the t}'pe is inferior in every way. 



In this same vicinity growing in somewhat warmer places than C. 

 gigas Sanderiana we find along the streams C. Bogotensis, although 

 not in quantity; also several Stanhopeas, Oncidiums, etc. Still 

 further northward in the State of Santander we find C. Mendelii, 

 unfortunately very sparingly. It occurs in several places but the 

 long transportation is a very serious drawback. In addition to 

 the plants being scarce the distance to the Magdalena River is con- 



