6 TiMEHRl. 



appears to have been the first importer of Gongora. Mr. 

 Moss, of Liverpool, was another colle6lor and it was with 

 him that Scuticaria Steelii first flowered. The specific name 

 commemorates Mr. Matthew Steele, father of Mr. G. B. 

 Steele, who sent it from Demerara. A third Liverpool 

 gentleman whose name is also familiar (Mr. BoOKERj was 

 the first to flower Catasetum (Myanthus) deltoideus which 

 had been found by Mr. Joseph Hubbard near the Great 

 Falls of the Demerara river. Besides these Mr. John 

 Allcard of Stratford Green, imported orchids from 

 here and it was in his colle6lion that Peristeria pendula 

 and Epidendron chloroleucum first flowered. 



The colle6lors of those days had few Odontoglossums, 

 Cattleyas, Dendrobiums and Vandas to raise their enthu- 

 siasm, and were therefore all the more ready to appre- 

 ciate the orchids from Demerara. In 1338 three 

 forms of flowers were discovered on a plant of Cata- 

 setum cristatum, which Dr. LiNDLEY said was so very 

 extraordinary that he would not have believed it, if he 

 had not seen it himself. Speaking of Coryanthes 

 macrantha, the same botanist said, " accustomed as we 

 are now become to strange forms among orchidaceous 

 plants, I doubt whether any species has yet been seen 

 more remarkable for its unusual characters." 



In 1839, SchombuRGK's name first appears in con- 

 nexion with Epidendron Schomburkii, and two or three 

 years after, his " finds" were continually being recorded. 

 Catasetum longifolium was mentioned in 1841 as a 

 plant of great beauty, and peculiar among the Catase- 

 tums, while the following year Huntleya violacea was 

 figured and stated to have been found only near the 

 catara6ls of the Essequebo. This latter was named after 



