Junk 4, 1896] 



NA TURE 



99 



Now that so much attention is devoted to orchids in 

 the gardens of Great Britain, and tliat their cultivation 

 is, comparatively speaking, well understood, the publica- 

 tion of such a volume as the "Century" by our great 

 botanist is a valuable help, not only to botanists, but to 

 gardeners. Although all accessible parts of India have 

 been searched through and through by experienced col- 

 lectors, it is nevertheless a fact that comparatively few 

 of the plants comprised in the "Century" are known to 

 be in cultivation. Take, for example, the beautiful genus 

 Dendrohitim, of which so many charming species adorn 

 orchid houses. Eighteen species of the genus are figured 

 and described in the " Centurj'," of which but one is to 

 be found in Veitch's " Manual of Orchidaceous Plants," 

 the best and most complete book on the subject. Even 

 in the recently published " Hand- List of Orchids culti- 

 vated in the Royal Gardens " at Kew, there are mentioned 

 but four out of the eighteen. There is an unfortunate 

 tendency among orchid growers to view with scant favour 

 the \ast number of beautiful, delicate and interesting 

 small orchids. .\n e.xamination of the plates in the 

 "Century" — which, by the by, are somewhat coarsely 

 coloured — must prove that there are numerous genera 

 and species well worth care and cultivation, even though 

 they may not be as showy as a C<iltlcya or an Odoiito- 



(^loSSllll! 



Among the more striking of the plants figured in the 

 "Century" are Dendrohium crocatiim (Hook, f.), with its 

 brilliant orange-coloured flowers ; D. Williamsom 

 (Reichb. f.) ; D. leonis (Reichb. f.), with its remarkable 

 ■ imbricated leaves, and exquisite scent of vanille ; 

 Cirrhopeialtim gamosepalum (Griff.) ; C. refract urn 

 (Zoll' : and Eria cht'sa (Lindl), with its clusters of 

 spindle-shaped bulbs. Among others the following 

 would be valuable additions to collections from a horti- 

 cultural point of view — viz. Acantlicphippittiii striatum 

 (Lindl.) ; Phaius Mishmeensis (Reichb. f.) ; Calanthe 

 hcrhacea (Lindl.), a very handsome plant growing in 

 the Sikkim Himalayas, at an ^altitude of from 4000 to 

 6000 feet ; Eulophia {Cyrtopera) iiiida (Lindl.), figured 

 in four varieties, of which the variety purpicrea is 

 the most distinct ; Eulophia {Cyrtopera) macrobulbon 

 (Hook.) ; Sarcanthus insectifer (Reichb. f.), a remarkable 

 and exceptionally bright-coloured species from the 

 Chittagong Hills ; and several fine species of the genus 

 Habcnaria. 



As the botanical descriptions in this work are from the 

 pen of Sir Joseph Hooker, it would be presumptuous to 

 praise them. Notes are appended to nearly every 

 description, giving the habitat of the plant, the height 

 above the sea at which it was found, the name of the 

 discoverer where known, and other particulars. 



As few of these beautiful and interesting orchids are 

 even mentioned in manuals and lists of cultivated orchids, 

 there is evidently still a wide field for orchid collectors, 

 even in easily accessible parts of the British Empire and 

 the neighbouring countries. And who knows but that the 

 zeal of some collector working in the country north of the 

 Bay of Bengal, might be rewarded at any moment by 

 a re-discovery of that rare gem among slipper orchids, 

 C. Fairrieanum .' There has been but one importation, in 

 1857, of this elegant and graceful plant. " Its blossoms," 

 says the late Sir William Hooker, "are certainly among 

 NO. 1388, VOL. 54] 



the most exquisitely coloured and pencilled of any in this 

 fine genus." It comes from Assam or Bhotan, countries 

 well within reach ; but probably has a very restricted 

 habitat, and a station remote and difficult of access. Still 

 the commercial value of an importation would be so 

 great, that the zeal of importers and collectors ought not 

 to cool until success crowns their efforts. The recent 

 re-disco\'ery of the habitat of the true Cattleya lahiata 

 [atttiiin/ialis), found by Swainson in 1818 on the Organ 

 Mountains in Brazil, and lost sight of for over seventy 

 years, is a case in point. May a like happy chance occur 

 in the case of Cypripediiim Fairrieanum .' T. L. 



OUR AJINERAL INDUSTRIES. 

 First Annual General Report upon the Mineral Industry 

 of the United Kingdom oj Great Britain and Ireland 

 for the year 1894. By C. Le Neve Foster, D.Sc, F.R.S. 

 Pp. 144. Seventeen plates. (London : Printed for 

 Her Majesty's Stationery Otifice, 1895.) 



EVER since the year 1853 the position of the mineral 

 industries of this country has been regularly 

 recorded in an official volume, issued annually under the 

 title of " Mineral Statistics of the United Kingdom." 

 A series of these annuals, extending over nearly thirty 

 years, was prepared under the direction of the late Mr. 

 Robert Hunt, and issued from the Mining Record Ofifice 

 in Jermyn Street. For several years, however, two sets 

 of returns were published concurrently — one set by Mr. 

 Hunt, whose figures were obtained by the voluntary aid 

 of mine-owners, and another set by the Inspectors of 

 Mines, whose statistics were based upon statutory returns, 

 and, consequently, came to be regarded as more trust- 

 worthy. To avoid the inconvenience of such dupli- 

 cation, the work of the Mining Record Office was taken 

 over, in 1882, by the Home Ofifice ; and thenceforth there 

 issued annually from this department a statistical volume 

 as well as the ordinary Reports of the several Inspectors 

 of Mines. These two publications have hitherto been 

 the only official sources of information on mining 

 published in this country. But something more was 

 evidently wanted — something rather in the shape of a 

 general year-book of mines and minerals. The publi- 

 cation of a comprehensive report of this character was 

 suggested by the Royal Commission on Mining Royal- 

 ties, and the suggestion was endorsed by the Depart- 

 mental Committee on Mining and Mineral Statistics. At 

 the request of the Home Secretary, Prof. Le Neve 

 Foster undertook the preparation of such a report ; and, 

 considering the initial difficulties incidental to an under- 

 taking of this kind, he is to be heartily congratulated on 

 the work which he has produced. 



After an introductory essay, explanatory of the various 

 laws which regulate the working of minerals in this 

 country, Prof. Foster deals with the statistics of the 

 mining population. It appears that the number of persons 

 employed underground in our mines during the year 

 1 894 was 589,689, whilst those working in connection with 

 surface-operations numbered 149,408 ; thus giving a total 

 mining population of 739,097. The distribution of the 

 underground workers in the various counties is repre- 

 sented on a coloured map, which shows at a glance that 

 Durham and Glamorgan are the two counties with the 



