22 TiMEHRl. 



visible to others, so the orchid hunter dete6ls a clump 

 of Oncidium Lanceanum far overhead. We have heard 

 persons — even those well acquainted with the bush — say 

 there are no orchids in their neighbourhood. They 

 know the haunts of the birds, monkeys and rodents, and 

 are able to find them, but not those of the orchids. They 

 may pass through the eta swamp fishing or shooting but 

 never notice the streamer-like leaves of Catasetum longi- 

 folium, although almost every palm has several plants 

 flourishing just below its canopy. They can see the indi- 

 cations of a shoal of fish or a flock of birds, but the swamp 

 is only to them a green expanse dotted with palms. 

 Again, the forest strikes them as monotonous ; there is 

 nothing but dense banks of foliage along the rivers and 

 dull arcades of tree-trunks beyond. Even the botanist has 

 to get accustomed to the bewildering variety of trees, bushes 

 and epiphytes, before he can distinguish one from another, 

 and find out the most likely places for particular plants. 



There is a fascination about a creek journey which 

 far exceeds the more quiet rowing along small rivers in 

 other climes. To the stranger everything is so novel — 

 the dark water, dense shadows, grandeur of the foliage, 

 height of the trees and the obvious struggle of every- 

 thing for its share of sunlight, all combine to produce an 

 impression which is never lost. If the traveller is an 

 orchid hunter he will be able to recall a particular bend 

 of a creek where on a leaning trunk he first came upon 

 the beautiful Stanhopea eburnea. Stretching across, 

 just above his head, the stem was only clear of epiphytes 

 immediately underneath, while the upper edge was 

 clothed with a dense assemblage of bromelias, arums 

 and fernS; apparently trying to push each other into the 



