128 
THE ORCHID WORLD. 
%h(jormanhurst, T^usper, Sussex. 
The ^ormanhurst Collection of Orchids. 
IN this historic collection of Orchids the 
O'Wner, Mr. Walter Cobb, has ever since 
the commencement of its formation in 
1869 taken the greatest interest. Being 
extremely fond of all that pertains to outdoor 
life, it is not surprishig that he is also a good 
sportsman, one of his early remiiniscenoes 
being of the old coaching days, when, by 
means of a velocipede, he raced the Dover to 
Canterbury coach, and on arriving first at 
Canterbury received a hearty cheer from the 
passengers of the coach when it pulled up at 
its destination. 
For fourteen years he regularly followed 
the Eridge hounds ; but of later years his 
garden and the collection of Orchids have 
attracted his closest and well-rewarded atten- 
tion. And what mere natural or expected 
could occur, for in the never to be forgotten 
words of Charles Dickens " In the culture of 
flowers there cannot, by their very nature, be 
anything solitary or exclusive. The scholar 
and the statesman, men of peace and men of 
war, have agreed in all ages to delight in 
gardens." 
This well-known collection was first started 
at Sydenham, and some idea of its extent at 
this early date may be obtained by stating 
that one house, fifty feet long, was entirely 
devoted to the culture of Ljelia elegans and 
L. purpurata. Removing to Tunbridge Wells, 
the collection rapidly acquired fame, and 
probably no^ amateur has gTown and flowered 
SO' many plants of Cattleya aurea as did Mr. 
Cobb when residing in this inland place of 
health resort. Wishing to settle down to a 
somewhat quieter life he afterwards removed 
to. Rusper where these notes concerning the 
collection were made. 
The greenhouses are constructed with 
every convenience and accommodation that 
SO' many years of practical life among the 
plants can sug'gest. Entering a large corridor 
beautifully decorated with early spring flower- 
ing plants we turn into the first Orchid 
hO'Use containing a grand collection of 
Phalaenopsis, one plant of Rimestadiana, 
growing on a raft, has seven strong growths ; 
while several good pieces of Schilleriana 
adorn the house with large spikes of bloom. 
