3° 



THE ORCHID WORLD. 



The truly wonderful way in which fertilisa- 

 tion is effected has often been observed in 

 plants growing in tlieir native country. The 

 bees, attracted either by the perfume or the 

 flavour of the nectar, can be seen in great 

 numbers disputing with others for a place on 

 the edge of the bucket. Partly by this contest, 

 and possibly intoxicated by the liquid they are 

 drinking, they tumble into the bucket and 

 receive a wetting sufficient to prevent their 

 immediate escape. Crawling round the inside 

 they soon discover the opening of the spout 

 and emerge at the spot marked B. It is here 

 that the pollen is removed by adhering to the 

 bee's back. 



The insect no sooner comes out than he 

 returns again to the feast, when it is generally 

 l^recipitated a second time into the bucket, 

 passing through the same opening, and so 

 inserting the pollen-masses on to the stigma, 

 or female portion of the flower. Sometimes 

 there are so many bees assembled that there 

 is a continual procession of them through the 

 passage specified. 



Darwin was greatly interested in this genus, 

 and thought there could not be the least doubt 

 that the fertilisation of the flower absolutely 

 depended on insects crawling out through this 

 passage. If the bucket had been dry, the 

 bees could easily have escaped by flying away. 

 Therefore he argued that the fluid is secreted 



by the horn-like appendages in such extra- 

 ordinary quantity for the sake of wetting the 

 whigs of the bees, and thus compelling them 

 to crawl out through the passage. 



The Botanical Magazine for 1S27 mentions 

 a plant of Coryanthes in the collection of Mr. 

 Harrison, of Liverpool, the flower of which was 

 observed by his gardener to be rapidl)' filled 

 with honey. Some of the cups were emptied 

 in the morning, but during the same day were 

 half-filled with the nectariferous juice. 



Coryanthes are best grown in baskets or 

 pans with moss and peat, or Osmunda fibre, 

 and beside a brisk heat, require during their 

 period of growth a plentiful supply of water 

 at the roots. On completing their growth 

 the plants should be kept on the dry side and 

 placed in a position where a good light may be 

 obtained. They do not seem to require so 

 much shade as Stanhopeas. 



Coryanthes Bungerothii is a native of 

 Venezuela and blooms in the month of May ; 

 C. leucocorys is a native of Peru and flowers 

 in June ; C. macrantha, one of the best 

 species in the genus, comes from Caracas, 

 and opens its flowers during the months of 

 May, June, and July ; C. macrocorys is 

 Peruvian ; C, maculata is a summer flowering 

 species, and is a native of Demerara ; and C. 

 speciosa, from Brazil, has rather large flowers 

 which are produced in April and May. 



THE REDISCOVERY O 



By J. M. 



THE rediscovery of a lost Orchid is a 

 really important event, and when my 

 friend Mr. Louis Forget was recently in 

 England he was kind enough to give me a few 

 details of his successful hunt for Laelia 

 Gouldiana, a summary of which may be of 

 some interest to the readters of the Orchid 

 World. 



Mr. Forget had some misgivings when he 

 received a brief order to go and collect 3,000 

 plants of this Lrelia, for might it not be a 

 hybrid after all, as had been suggested ? and 

 was it really to be found in quantity ? 



It may be mentioned that many years ago 

 Mr. Forget localised Laslia tenebrosa after 



^ L/ELIA GOULDIANA. 



BLACK. 



three years of thankless search, and came 

 across Laslia Jongheana accidentally when 

 exploring for a new spot for the pretty Laslia 

 prasstans, but his impressions on those occa- 

 sions were very different to those recently 

 experienced. 



Mr. Forget left Vera Cruz by train in the 

 evening, clad only in light clothes, and 

 suffered much from the cold in consequence 

 during the night and until sunrise, finding the 

 interior of Mexico very different to what he 

 had imagined. On arriving at the heights of 

 Orizaba, he became filled with the conviction 

 that he must surely be on the wrong track — 

 that no Orchids could possibly survive in such 



