loo 
THE ORCHlb WORLD. 
CjoA'eniiiients arc handling' uiaUcrs \ery 
strictly, and if the authors are caught they 
will be shot on the spot. 
" At ... I hunted for some driver 
from this port, and found one there with a lot 
of pack-donkeys. I rented his horse and 
went along with him, and we arrived here 
yesterday. For days it was the same dis- 
heartening- sight, bright cold nights and hot 
dazzling- days. One might as \\'ell be in 
Siberia : hills and a high plateau 2,500 feet 
alt., no vegetation except the largely culti- 
\ ated Agave mexicana, with which they make 
their drink called pulque. 
" Yesterday we started at 3 a.m., descend- 
ing all the time through a horrible and 
dangerous gorge. Some vegetation apjaeared, 
but consisted only of gigantic cactus, colossal 
cereus, and melano-cactus as big as monstrous 
pumpkins in endless variety. I found no 
Epiphytes, except T illandsia usneuides, and 
when I crossed the river at the bottom I was 
in sad discomfiture to know whe/e to go ; 
the driver had told me some distance on I 
could wait for him in the shade of a clump 
of trees. 
" Two enormous plants of L(vlia Gould iana 
were there — one with over a hundred flowers 
on it — a most fine sight, and no doubt the 
right thing. It must be a first-class plant 
for cutting purposes, on account of those erect 
long spikes. The leaves are sharp-edged and 
pointed, the bulbs fusiform. 
" We had still three hours to reach here, but 
from the read, wherever trees were planted, 
I saw the plant. I enquired about what they 
called it ; they told me it was Monjas. 
Strange that it has not an indigenous name, 
as Monjas is .Spanish for Nun. 
" Here in front of my window there is one 
plant with over 200 flowers ; the sight is 
almost incredible, and at mid-day it really 
dazzles the sight to look at it. Bougan- 
villeas, Poinsettias and Plumbagos are also 
a grand sight here. 
" After Sunday I .shall see if I can get 
some men to hunt for it. Surely the freight 
will be heavy, and I shall have trouble to 
get donkeys, and they will be many days 
going to . . ." 
SOME CHOICE ORCHIDS. 
MONS. FIR.MIN Lam BEAU kindly sends paint- 
ings of several of his best orchids. These 
include the marvellous Ljelio-Cattleya Fir- 
minii, which received a First-class Certificate 
from the Royal Horticultural Society, Decem- 
ber 2 1st, 1909. The flower is five inches- in 
width, of a lovely cinnabar colour, with a rich 
ruby-red lip. Tiiis is probably the finest of 
all the hybrids which have been derived from 
L. cinnabarina. The parentage is 
L. (_innabarina C. Mossiic 
L.-C. Hippolyta C. Mossiae 
I I 
I 
L.-C. Ceres C. anrea 
L I 
I 
L.-C. Firminii 
Cattleya Hardyana " Triomphe de 1905" 
is a grand variety of this g'.orious hybrid. 
The petals are particularly broad and well 
formed, the lip being wide and displaying a 
large area of bright gold on the side lobes and 
throat. The plant received a " Diplome 
d'honneur " at Brussels, September 17, 1909. 
Another beautiful hybrid, called Brasso- 
Cattleya Dietnchiana, is a cross between 
Cattleya Fabia and Brasso-Cattleya Mrs. J. 
Leemann. It is the most richly coloured of 
all the Brasso-Cattle}'as. The total width is 
seven inches, the hp being particularly good- 
shaped, beautifully fringed and undulated, 
and with numerous gold lines extending from 
the base of the column to the edge. The 
painting was made March 2ist, 1910. 
Cypripedium Delbekeanum received a 
"Diplome d'honneur" at Brussels, March, 1909. 
It is derived from C. bellatulum, the other 
parent being doubtful, but C. ciliolare is sug- 
gested. If this is correct it is a variety of 
C. Olenus (/. K. H. 5., xxvi., 692). The 
dorsal sepal is of good shape, prettily marked 
with purple spots arranged in \-ertical lines. 
The lateral petals are very broad, and densely 
spotted with rich purple. 
The ever-popular Cattleya aurea is repre- 
sented in the collection of Mons. Firmin Lam- 
beau by several specimens of superb class. 
