The Guiana Orchids. 21 



ful, therefore they can be easily collefted. This how- 

 ever is a mistake ; as a rule an ordinary traveller hardly 

 sees more than two or three species, and these only 

 when they are pointed out to him. All along the great 

 rivers, banks of foliage slope down into the water and 

 prevent the branches being seen, of course hiding what- 

 ever is perched upon them. When stopping at some 

 house, a few Rodriguezias and other small species 

 may be seen on the calabash trees, or perhaps an 

 orchid which has been placed on one of them by 

 the owner ; otherwise the visitor sees nothing and 

 concludes that these plants are very rare indeed. 

 Let him paddle up an open creek with an intelli- 

 gent native hovvcver, and the case is different. When 

 he understands what is wanted, the Indian sees the 

 plants from a distance where the stranger cannot dis- 

 cern them even when close to his eyes, while the 

 skilled colleftor can load his bateau with certain species 

 in an hour or two, where others find nothing. 



The foliage is so dense, and the assemblage of epiphytes 

 of various kinds so crowded, that the orchids are often 

 obscured by great arums and bromelias when they are 

 perched on leaning tree-trunks and great branches. Here 

 is a great mass of Oncidium altissimum lodged in the 

 midst of a tangle of bush-ropes. Except when flowering 

 it is hardly visible and might be passed a hundred times 

 without notice. Farther on, a tree hangs its branches 

 almost down into the water like a veil and efFe6tually 

 hides its orchid-laden branches. Then, some species are 

 hidden far up in the tree-tops where they can only be 

 seen from particular standpoints and by the trained eye. 

 As the sportsman sees a bird where it is pra6lically in- 



