142 



Notes of a Visit to Mexico, 



observe in its native haunt. Although Mr. Skinner, who was with 

 me on one of these excursions, called my attention to the then sup- 

 posed C. Egertonianum, yet among several dozen plants that I had 

 collected out of flower, after careful examination I could only dis- 

 cover the short flower stem of Cycnoches ventricosum* 



The village of Escuintla, where I next arrived, is on the same 

 level as Retahluleu, which I had visited from Quezaltenango, and 

 it yielded me the same plants found at the latter place with the ad- 

 dition however of Catasetum maculatum, and integerrimum, Aspasia 

 epidendroides, Oncidium ascendens, and the large variety, of am- 

 pliatum, Epidendrum macrochilum, Brassavola venosa, Trigonidium 

 Egertonianum and Cattleya SMnneri ; the latter I found inhabit- 

 ing the highest trees, in abundance, in full bloom in the month of 

 February, in the damp and gloomy woods looking towards the sea. 



From Escuintla I returned over Medio Monte to Antigua 

 Guatemala. The name of Medio Monte is applied to the wood 

 between the fire and water volcanoes, which at their base are only 

 a few hundred yards apart; this wood furnished me with some 

 fine specimens of Oncidium ornithorhynchum, Maxillaria cruenta, 

 and aromatica; and in the higher parts, Oncidium macrantherum, 

 and O. Wentworthianum, with a long flower stem resembling in habit 

 O. leucochilum ; here also a few small plants of Barkeria spectabilis 

 have been found. Some fine masses of the latter as well as of 

 Epidendrum SMnneri, Oncidium Cavendishianum and Stanhopeas 

 are sometimes seen in the villages of Mixco, Sumpango, and Alote- 

 nango, where they are stuck on the trees near the houses, merely 

 surrounded at the roots with clay to prevent them from being 



* A similar freak of Nature I observed in Guatemala with Sobralia macrantha which 

 had its usual large crimson flowers on one stem, whilst on another of the same plant I 

 observed the small and condensed flowers of the genus Evelyna. This plant I care- 

 fully removed and transmitted to the Society's Garden with the head of the Evelyna 

 attached to it. It has since flowered, but only produced the flowers of Sobralia 



