PREFACE. 
—»>—- 
In bringing the Orca Atsum to a close with the issue of the Eleventh Volume, 
I take the opportunity of expressing my deep obligation to the numerous lovers of Orchids 
who have continued to show their appreciation of this work, and who, by repeated 
contributions of material, have enabled us to place upon record so many striking 
and meritorious varieties, as well as typical forms which were, many of them at 
least, little understood or unknown and unfigured. 
When the work was first commenced in 1882 it was scarcely anticipated that 
it would attain such enormous dimensions, and yet in spite of the many competitors 
in the same field, which, one by one, have subsequently made their appearance, 
it has been able to hold its own. 
In scanning the title page of the first volume, it is with feelings of sad regret 
that [ am reminded of the fact that of the four men concerned in its first 
production, three are no longer with us, Thomas Moore, Benjamin Samuel Williams, 
and Robert Warner, while of those connected with it subsequently, one also, 
William. Hugh Gower, has joined the great majority. 
HENRY WILLIAMS. 
May, 1897. 
