32 ORCHIDS. 
long perished. In 1800, there is said to have been only a dozen 
poorly grown orchids in the greenhouses at Kew; and during the 
next twenty years, probably the addition of some fifty varieties 
comprised all that were possessed or known, in England at least. 
From the year 1820 may be dated the real and gradually 
rapid progress of orchid culture. It was at this time that Wil- 
liam Cattley, Esq., of Hertfordshire —(to whom has worthily been 
dedicated the noble species bearing his name, Cattleya), — by a 
thorough system of experimenting, discovered the true methods of 
cultivation. His success being made known, many followed, and 
amateurs began to stock their greenhouses with these new trea- 
sures. Orchid florists multiplied in the different states of Europe, 
and collectors were sent, at great cost, to the East and West 
Indies for new and rare species. 
Knowledge of their cultivation and widely differing treatment 
is now so fully gained, that (as we are instructed by Mr. Rand), 
“the same species are found to grow equally well under very 
different modes of culture.” Thus it is concluded that many or- 
chid plants gradually, if not easily, adapt themselves to various 
conditions and treatment, and are not as capricious as was formerly 
supposed. 
