A full account of this beautiful species, together with the cultivation, has 
already been given in this work in Vol. vi, under Plate 282, so that it is needless 
to repeat it here. 
Review.—Tue Orcuips or Burma (including the Andaman Islands) Drscrrpep. 
Compiled from the works of various authorities, by Captain Bartle Grant, Rangoon, 
1895. 8vo. 
To residents in India and Burma, who happen to take an intelligent interest 
in Orchids, and who echo the author’s complaint that he found the want of a book 
of reference at a moderate price, suitable for a beginner’s use, a serious obstacle to 
his progress, the present work may prove a great boon. As the title sufficiently 
indicates, it does not claim to be an original treatise on the subject, but has been 
compiled from ‘ William’s Manual” (we presume Williams’ Orchid Grower's Manual 
is meant), Parish’s and Veitch’s works, which have produced the ‘Florists’ Kinds,” 
while those of purely botanical interest have been taken from The Flora of British 
India, The Botanical Magazine, and The Kew Bulletin. The result is a somewhat 
heterogeneous conglomeration of technical diagnoses and popular descriptions, which we 
imagine must be somewhat confusing to amateurs as well as students, for whom 
the work is stated to have been compiled. An experienced compiler and_ trained 
botanist would of course have steered clear of shoals like these, by re-modelling 
some and curtailing others, but this would have entailed a considerable amount of 
labour, besides a knowledge of technical details, to which we fear the gallant 
Captain can lay little claim. There are other serious defects, to some of which we 
deem it necessary to call attention. The names of genera, which in some cases are 
printed in bold large capitals while in others they appear in small capitals or even 
lower case type, are usually followed by general remarks and cultural details, taken 
either from Parish’s or Williams’ Manual; then follows an alphabetical enumeration 
of species, and finally a key to species. So far go good, where genera containing 
two or more species are concerned, but when monotypic genera are thus unnecessarily 
burdened, one is apt to exclaim, cui bono? As a matter of fact, some of these 
so-called “keys” reduce themselves simply to a repetition of generic characters in 
rather more technical garb than what precedes the list of species. When we come 
to large genera, where a good workable key would be of great assistance, we are 
sorely disappointed. Take Dendrobium as an instance; it is first of all divided 
into series I. and II., but no characters are given for either. Series I. is. next 
divided into sections, i.e., Sarcopodium, Bolbodium, ete. ; again no characters are 
given, and the student is left to guess to which of the sections any given specimen 
may pertain; the first section is properly sub-divided into two headings, according 
to whether the flowers are solitary or the scapes are several-flowered, but the next 
section merely contains specific names without differentiating characters. How the 
student or amateur with a lot of material before him is to succeed in correctly 
(Continued under Plate 518). 
