274 THE ORCHID REVIEW. 
the wind is often very violent, but during the rest of the year both rains 
and dews are copious and frequent. If well grown and the bulbs properly 
matured it is very floriferous, its fragrant white blossoms, with rose-pink 
spots on the lip, and yellow throat, being produced in March and April. 
AN ORCHID COLLECTION IN TRINIDAD. 
By T. I. PATTER, St. Anns, Trinidad. 
Ir may be interesting to readers of the Orchid Review to know how we 
grow Orchids in Trinidad, where many beautiful species are indigenous. 
In the first place, the climate being that of perennial summer, with a 
temperature ranging from 70° to 89° F., and sometimes as much as 94, 
in the shade, we do not attempt to grow plants which are natives of cool 
climates or very temperate regions. And, for the same reason, we require 
neither hot houses nor heating apparatus of any sort, nature having supplied 
the necessary caloric quant. suff., so that much of the expense to which 
European and American Orchid lovers are put is obviated. 
When, therefore, a Trinidadian resident starts an Orchid collection, he 
selects a fine shady tree of medium height (the “Saman,” Pithecolobium 
Saman, I have found to be excellent for this purpose) under which he erects 
a number of posts of convenient height, which support iron or wooden 
cross-bars, to which latter he suspends the blocks or baskets containing 
his treasures. Ifa friendly tree is not at hand, he will substitute a wooden 
or iron arbour, over which he will train a creeper which will give the necessary 
shade. Sometimes even the projecting eaves of a house afford the shade in 
which the majority of species cultivated here delight. 
With either one, or perhaps a little of each, of these arrangements for 
suspending or shading his plants, the collector will commence getting 
together, first of all the easily procured native species, such as Catasetum 
macrocarpum, C. discolor, and their varieties, Oncidium luridum, O. 
Papilio and O. ampliatum, Diacrium bicornutum, Epidendrum fragrans, E. 
bituberculatum and E. ciliare, Rodriguezia secunda, and perhaps the 
almost worthless Schomburgkia crispa, with unexpanding blossoms, found 
in this island. These grow easily on blocks or in baskets, and thus will he 
cultivate them, putting them in the baskets with peat and charcoal, if he 
has the former, but, if not, mixing with the charcoal some chopped-up 
pieces of well-dried cocoanut fibre, which answers quite as well out here. 
As he succeeds with these few he will grow ambitious, and add to his 
stock the more valuable natives, namely, Oncidium Lanceanum, and, if he 
can secure any, O. X hematochilum, the pretty little yellow-flowered 
Oncidium iridifolium, O. citrinum, Brassia caudata, Bollea violacea, and 
