Bateman^s Orchidacece. 4.35 



Art. III. *riie Orchidacece of Mexico and Guatemala. By James 

 Bateman, Esq., F.R.S. L.S. G.S. H.S. &c. Part II. Imp. fol. 

 Ridgway and Sons, London, 1838. 



The plates in this volume are chiefly by Mrs. Withers, and, 

 in point of drawing, engraving, and colouring, they appear to us 

 to surpass the plates of Part I. Indeed, the work altogether 

 may be considered as improving rather than falling ofF. 



The species figured in this part are: — T. 6. Cyrtochikim bic- 

 tonense, which being a new species, and lately introduced, the 

 details respecting it will be found in our Floricultural Notices" 

 for October. At the end of the description of this species is 

 a beautifully engraved vignette, intended " to convey some idea 

 of the tangled luxuriance and dismal grandeur of the forest 

 scenery of Tropical America." This view abounds in Orchida- 

 cese, and various climbers and twiners. There is a serpent coiled 

 round one tree, and a monkey scrambling up another ; a cayman 

 is seen emerging from a piece of water, and two savages prepar- 

 ing their food. A fallen tree, covered with epiphytes, forms part 

 of the foreground. — T. 7. Stanhopea tigrina, has been already 

 described in our Floricultural Notices. The tailpiece to this 

 species, in Mr. Bateman's work, is a view of the plant as it ap- 

 peared at the time of its flowering in the epiphyte-house at 

 Knypersley. 



" Splendid as are all the species of Stanhopea, this is unquestionably the 

 finest of them all. Its flowers are powerfully fragrant, and larger than any 

 that have been hitherto met with among orchidaceous plants : they are also 

 furnished with a huge fleshy lip, of so strange and fantastic a figure, that it 

 would rather seem to have been carved out of ivory, or modelled in wax, than 

 to be a bona fide production of the vegetable world. Its colouring, too, is so 

 rich and varied, that even Mrs. Withers's skill was taxed to the utmost to 

 convey an adequate notion of it." 



T. 8. Peristeria Barker/?', has been already figured in the 

 Bota7iical Magazine, and, consequently, recorded in our Floricul- 

 tural Notices. The flowers of this species are supposed to resemble 

 doves. — T. 9. Lse^lia autumnaiis. For the details of this species, 

 see Floricultural Notices for September. The tailpiece to Mr. 

 Bateman's description represents the opening of a box of Or- 

 chidacese, which, it is discovered, have been eaten up by cock- 

 roaches. The design is by Cruikshanks, and the engraving by 

 Landells. — T. 10. Epidendrum aromaticum, will be found given 

 in detail in our Floricultural Notices for September. This is 

 one of the most sweet-smelling of the whole tribe of Orchidaceee; 

 sweeter even than Aerides odoratum, " although the latter has 

 been designated by Professor Lindley as the sweetest of all 

 flowers." The "rich sugary odour" of Epidendrum aromaticum 

 has been said by one to resemble that of the sweet scabious ; by 

 another, to approach that of Pergularia odoratissima ; while a 



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