158 Travels axd Adventures 



On the top of one of the high mountains on the 

 way, near a village called Cachiri, at a height of 

 10,000 feet above the sea-level, I passed on the side 

 of the track thousands of Masdevallias, chiefly of the 

 Harryana variety. On another hill, two days' journey 

 further along, but much lower, the trees are hung to 

 crowding with the dainty little Oncidium cucullatum. 

 Any future novice orchid hunter in search of Odonto- 

 glossum P c scat ore i, will find it by leaving the town of 

 Ocana, passing across the magnificent plains called La 

 Savanna de la Cruz, and entering the chain of the 

 Andes on the western side. Here, amongst the 

 matted, moss-grown vegetation, Pescatorei is growing 

 side by side with Odontoglossum triumphans, while 

 the creeping rhizomes of Odontoglossum coronarium 

 cover the roots of the same trees. I have seen the 

 curious Anguloa Clowesii and the pretty Ada auran- 

 tiaca here as well, while in the cooler parts that choice 

 little Odontoglossum blandum grows in profusion in 

 a peculiar mist which reminds one of a continual 

 Turkish. bath. It is all very well to see this fastidious 

 little orchid in its natural beauty, but it is quite 

 another thing to succeed in bringing it home to 

 England alive. Many of the plants die before they 

 leave the coast, many more before they pass the 

 West Indies ; a few reach the Azores, and fewer 

 still arrive in England safely. 



