54 



THE ORCHID WORLD. 



All my miseries, all my fatigues, were at 

 that moment forgotten. It is necessary to 

 have travelled in order to realise the joy at 

 the discovery of a new plant of such 

 startling beauty and novelty as this most 

 wonderful Orchid." 



The late John Dominy, the father of 

 Orchid hybridisation, exclaimed when he 

 saw Vanda Sanderiana for the first time, 

 " Thank goodness, I have lived to see this 

 marvel among Vandas " ; and that fascinating 

 writer, the late F. W. Burbidge, went into 

 ecstasies of delight when he first saw the new 

 beauty, calling it the " Jewel in the Lotus." 

 Mr. Sander's excitement on receiving the first 

 dried flowers of this plant can be better 

 imagined than described ; his joy knew no 

 bounds ; such an occurrence to so great an 

 enthusiast was like a spark to a powder 

 magazine. 



Of the many noble species of Orchids 

 introduced by Mr. .Sander, this is of the fore- 

 most rank. The late Professor Reichenbach 

 said : " It is the grandest novelty introduced 

 for years, and will mark a golden letter-day 

 in our Orchid calendar." 



Soon after the first discovery of this plant, 

 R. Curnow, one of Messrs. Hugh Low and 

 Co.'s collectors, brought home a magnificent 

 lot of plants. One of these was sold to Mr. 

 Lee, at Downside, Leatherhead, where it 

 flowered in the summer of 1883, about six 

 weeks after being imported. This was the 

 first specimen to bloom in this country. 

 Another plant, offered for sale at Messrs. 

 Stevens' Auction Rooms, was purchased by 

 Messrs. Backhouse, of York, for 200 guineas. 

 About a year later it produced eleven spikes 

 of bloom. .Subsequently it was purchased by 

 Messrs. Veitch and sold to Mrs. Morgan, of 

 New York. 



.Some remarkable specimens of this species 

 are at present in the establishment of Messrs 

 Lager and Hurrell, Summit, New Jersey, 

 U.S.A. One of these, a semi-established 

 plant in a 13-inch basket, is illustrated above. 

 It has thirteen stems, varying in height from 

 five to twenty-four inches, with a total 

 number of eighty leaves. Another fine speci- 

 men has eleven stems, varying in height from 



eight to twenty inches, the tallest stem being 

 divided at the top into two growths, and 

 seventy-four leaves. These plants have been 

 sent to New York l in the Pacific to San 

 Frivncisco, thence overland. It is evident 

 that owing to the facilities obtained at this 

 latter place for securing these plants from 

 their native country, that they travel much 

 better than importations sent via Europe. 



This Vanda is a bad traveller, and many 

 hundreds of pounds have been lost in impor- 

 tations of this plant. There is room for an 

 ambitious and enthusiastic Orchid kner to 

 try and cultivate the more difficult of our 

 beautiful Orchids. In the case of this 

 glorious beauty of the Philippines, it is only 

 necessary to have heat enough, and air with 

 it, to grow large specimens from moderatel}- 

 sized plants. We grow pine-apples, why not 

 grow Vanda .Sanderiana? It seems to be a 

 question of heat with a difference in treat- 

 ment. Among the East Indian Orchids are 

 a number so charming that it is regrettable 

 we do not see them more often. 



ORCHIDS OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



Iconcs Orchidcantin Ausiro-Africanarum. 



By Harry Bolus, F.L.S., Hon. D.Sc. 



(Cape Town). Vol. II. London: Wm. 



Wesley and .Son, 28, Essex .Street, 



Strand. 1 9 1 1 . 

 Fifteen years have elapsed since the pub- 

 lication, in 1896, of the first \olume of this 

 work. In a country like the South African 

 Union, so imperfectly explored and so difficult 

 of exploration by botanical collectors, some 

 years must elapse before the same proportion 

 of the existing vegetation can be known, as is 

 the case in older and more populous countries. 



Exactly 100 coloured plates are included in 

 this work, a large proportion of which have 

 been drawn from living plants only. Among 

 those who have kindly assisted in exploring 

 and collecting specimens must be mentioned 

 Miss Alice Pegler, of Kentani, Tembuland, 

 Miss C. B. Newdigate, of Forest Hall, near 

 Plettenberg Bay and Knysna, who sent such 



