294 THE ORCHID REVIEW. [OcroBER, 1922+ 
In due time a box arrived containing two poor plants of three to four bulbs 
with thin spikes; an inspection caused remarks not highly approving of 
theic condition, but the examination of the invoice caused the instant return 
of these cirrhosums. My second step was a failure. 
I now come to the third step, which was an important one, and led up 
to a long future. I built a curvilinear span-roofed house at Rosefield, 
Sevenoaks. It was mid-winter and the house was not nearly finished, but 
as catalogues had been ordered regularly from Mr. J. C. Stevens, I could not 
possibly wait after reading them for such a trifleas the house being finished. 
I had a good dry stone cellar with a north window and the gas laid on, and 
in it the plants could lodge awhile. 
On December 23rd, 1880, I went to ‘‘ Stevens’ Rooms,” and not knowing 
by sight aught but the two above-named Cypripediums, I bought something 
of all sorts, amounting to a total of 219 plants, at a cost of just under £48. 
I brought them home in triumph and put them all in the cellar, where they 
‘‘orew” till the house was ready. I watered them carefully, and one— 
Lelia Schilleriana—actually partly opened a bud in the cheery gassy cellar. 
I daresay it was so thunderstruck at its surroundings that it could not help 
looking around, and it was so disappointed that it never did: such a rash 
thing again. On December 3rst, after eight days’ cellarage, the plants were 
transferred to the newly-finished house. A little plant of Masdevallia 
tovarensis, “ mirabile dictu,” survived the cellarage and lived happily in 
Kent until the disposal of my collection. 
My gardener at that time had never seen an Orchid before, and thinking 
that water was their one essential, he watered them at every opportunity. 
Many, of course, did not survive. This man thought he knew all about 
them in no time, but he left my service on April 16th, 1881. Sidney Cooke 
commenced with me on April 25th of the same year and remained till he 
died on January ist, r901. He gained his experience with Orchids in Mr. 
Brymer’s collection at Ilsington House, Puddletown, Dorset, and also at 
Fetcham Park, Surrey. 
My next big thing occurred on January 13th, 1881, at the Hooley House 
Sale, Coulsdon, Surrey. I sent an emissary “carte blanche,” who bought 
freely, and the day he went to fetch the plants over the North Downs there 
was deep snow and twenty degrees of frost. The van became held up 0” 
the road and did not arrive until eleven o’clock at night, and as there was 
again twenty degrees of frost I was prepared to see the plants all dead, but 
good packing and luck saved them all, except a few of the smallest. Out of 
this lot I had my first stroke of good luck, as from half-a-dozen mixed 
unnamed Cattleyas I bloomed a lovely variety of C. Trianz alba, which was 
figured as a coloured plate in The Garden of July 22nd, 1882, Mr. O’Brien 
stating ‘‘it is one of the loveliest and most attractive varieties we have 
