Dried herbarium specimens of orchids are not easily 

 procurable. Species frequently flower at Kew of which 

 no other material available for study exists. By this 

 means the Hei-barium of the Royal Botanic Gardens has 

 been continuously enriched. And in this respect it is 

 also under great obligations to Glasnevin, the Right 

 Honourable Joseph Chamberlain, Sir Trevor Lawrence 

 and others. 



The task of exhibiting a collection of orchids to the 

 public is not an easy one. The dimensions of the houses 

 which are suitable to their cultivation and the conditions 

 which it requires are such as to preclude the admission 

 of visitors. This is, however, of the less consequence, as 

 when out of flower their general aspect for the most part 

 is not, except perhaps to the expert, either instructive 

 or interesting. The two public orchid houses at Kew, 

 Nos. 13 and 14, contain for the most part only the plants 

 which happen to be in flower at any particular period. 

 These houses are not suited to the permanent cultivation 

 of the bulk of the collections which at other times is 

 carried on in the orchid pits (No. 16), to which the public 

 is not admitted. 



The cultivation of orchids is one of the most remarkable 

 developments of modern horticulture. Kew has neither 

 the means nor the accommodation to compete with the 

 magniflcent displays of certain species to be seen in the 

 gardens of many private growers. The President of 

 the Royal Horticultural Society in 1885 complained, in 

 his opening address to the Orchid Conference held in 

 that year, that " there is no sufficiently representative 

 collection of orchids there (at Kew) at present." It is 



