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and thousands of plants die after flowering two or three times. Some 

 years ago a wonderful new Dendrobium, D. atro-violaceum, was dis- 

 covered in New Guinea. For a few years every orchidist had it in 

 his collection, but to-day they have nearly all disappeared or are in 

 the course of disappearing. Orchids that require this great uniform 

 heat are largely going out of cultivation, doubtless because of the 

 disappointing results obtained after plants have been kept a few- 

 years. All epiphytal orchids require a moist atmosphere for their 

 existence, and as a natural result of the moisture enjoy a more or 

 less equable temperature, whether they occur at sea level on the 

 equator or at 5000 feet elevation beyond the tropics. 



The greatest orchid-producing country of the world is unquestion- 

 ably South America. Practically all the orchids that are cultivated 

 at the present day come from the tropical and sub-tropical regions of 

 that continent. The beautiful genera Cattleya, Leriia, Odontoglossum, 

 O/icidium, Masdeva/lia, Zygopetalum, Miltonia, Maxillaria and many 

 others, all contain a large number of handsome showy species, and 

 without these our orchid collections would be poor indeed. The 

 districts that produce these plants in the greatest number are widely 

 separated geographically, and the presence of orchids depends on 

 the equability of the climate and the range of temperature. All 

 districts with a moist climate and a mean temperature of between 

 60 and 70 degrees Fahr., with a range not exceeding 20 to 25 degrees, 

 may be said to be the most productive of epiphytal orchids. The 

 latitudes in which they occur are roughly from 20 north of the 

 Equator to 30° south. Mexico, South of Mexico city, the whole of 

 the Andean region, and the hilly country of South Brazil furnish the 

 greater number of orchids with striking flowers. The orchids obtained 

 in the Guianas, on the Amazon, or indeed anywhere where there is 

 a mean temperature in the neighbourhood of the eighties, are for the 

 most part sombrely coloured, though often they have large and 

 extremely fantastically-shaped flowers. Cataselum, Stanhopea, 

 Cycnoches and other genera are well known for their peculiar flowers. 

 There are some Cattleya species, however, that revel in sweltering 

 heat, such as C. superba of the Essequibo, C. rex of the head-waters 

 of the Amazon, and C. dowiana of the lowlands of Costa Rica ; but 

 these are exceptional and not the rule. The Oncidium of these 

 regions all have flowers that are very inconspicuous and contrast 

 strongly with their lovely congeners of more temperate districts. 

 In South Brazil, in the Organ mountains, Oncidium varicosum and 

 O. crzspum, although abundant, are conspicuously beautiful, and it 

 is so with a large number of species to be found in that favoured part 

 of the earth. The great country for Odontoglossum is Colombia. 

 They occur on the slopes of the Andes between 7000-10,000 Jeet, 

 and besides a large number of species many supposed natural hybrids 

 occur, while some of the species vary to an enormous extent. Such 

 is the case with the famous O. crispum, and on the chance of pro- 

 curing a valuable variety there is always a great demand for 1111- 



