32 



THE ORCHID WORLD. 



[November, 1913- 



sketch of the entire plant from her pencil ; 

 and I know of no name more appropriate for 

 it, as suggested by my friend Mr. Parker, than 

 that of the lady m whose stove it has, by the 

 care of her skilful gardener, Mr. James, been 

 brought to such high perfection. This is 

 the third lady of Liverpool who has taken 

 advantage of the commercial facilities of that 

 flourishing town, and, by its intercourse with 

 the New World, to import from thence its 

 most beautiful botanical productions. The 

 present plant was introduced through the 

 medium of Mr. George Green, of Liverpool, 

 in September, 183O, from La Guayra, a 

 country which, were it probably investigated, 

 would amply reward a collector by many 

 other novelties." 



The two other " ladies of Liverpool who 

 took advantage of the commercial facilities " 

 were Mrs. Horsfall and Mrs. Arnold Harrison. 

 In those days there was a very large West 

 Indian trade in Liverpool. The Gladstones, 

 Moss's, Tinnes, Sandbachs, Harrisons, and 

 many others, were all owners of sugar estates 

 in Demerara, and no doubt captains of the 

 ships brought home tropical plants as presents 

 to the flower-loving wives of owners. Owing 

 to the comparatively slow journey but few 

 plants survived, and even these were not all 

 successfully established. Still, a few survived, 

 and Cattleya Mossiae was one. 



Mrs. Arnold Harrison, of Aigburth, Liver- 

 pool, received, in 1823, from her brother at 

 Rio de Janeiro a plant of Bifrenaria Har- 

 risonias, which Hooker figured in his Exotic 

 Flora, from a drawing made by Mrs. Harrison, 

 and remarking that he could not do better 

 than honour it with the name of an 

 individual who had not only introduced it, 

 but many other new and rare plants, to our 

 gardens, and who cultivated them with great 

 success. 



Mrs. Harrison's name is perhaps best 

 commemorated by Cattleya Harrisoniana, 

 first recorded in the year 1836, and figured 

 two years later in Paxions Botany with the 

 following interesting account: — "Among 

 cultivators of Orchidece, this superb plant has 

 long been known as Mrs. Harrison's variety, 

 having been considered merely a variety of 



the well-known species C. Loddigesii ; but 

 after repeated observations on these two 

 plants when both in a high state of flowering, 

 we feel satisfied that we have not done wrong 

 in considering it m the light of a distinct 

 species, and therefore have named it m 

 compliment to the late Mrs. Harrison (the 

 name it has gone under as a variety), of 

 Aigburth, Liverpool. The points wherein 

 these two plants differ have been for such a 

 length of time so perfectly constant, that the 

 greatest reliance may with safety be placed 

 upon them. They are chiefly to the following 

 effect : — The stems of C. Loddigesii are more 

 rounded, invariably stronger, and shorter 

 than those of C. Harrisoniana, which always 

 appear more delicate, are less bulky, and five 

 or six inches longer ; in the leaves also there 

 is a striking difference, those of the former 

 being firmer, broader, and always of a darker 

 texture ; but perhaps the most obvious 

 disagreement will be found in the flowers, for 

 while those of the former have the sepals and 

 petals considerably reflexed downwards, and 

 freckled as it were over every part, except the 

 lip, with small dark purple spots, those parts 

 of the latter are scarcely at all bent, and 

 entirely free from spots. In a word, so 

 strikingly different is the aspect of these two 

 plants, even when not in flower, that anyone 

 seeing them side by side would not for a 

 moment question the propriety of considering 

 them distinct species upon the grounds set 

 forth above. 



" When the plant from which our drawing 

 was taken was in full flower in the Orchideae 

 house at Chatsworth, in the autumn of the 

 present year, we must say that there are few 

 known vegetable displays that could surpass 

 it in beauty, the colour being almost 

 inimitable ; it is second only to the noble 

 plants of C. labiata in the collection of Earl 

 Fitzwilliam, at Wentworth, when in their 

 greatest gaiety, with from twelve to sixteen 

 large dazzling blossoms. The plant this 

 season has made no less than twelve good 

 shoots, nine of these have flowered mostly 

 with five good blossoms, which remained 

 more or less perfect for upwards of two 

 months." 



