THE ORCHID WORLD. 



55 



excellent li\ui^- specimens of several rare 

 species, such us Disa excelsa, Swartz, long lost 

 to science, and scarcely known since its first 

 discovery by Thunberg in 1773, Mr. N. S. 

 PiUans, and Miss H. M. L. Kensit. 



The text includes descriptions, in both 

 Latin and English, and the geographical 

 distribution of all the plants figured. To 

 those unacquainted with the Orchids of South 

 y\frica, we may mention that the species 

 chiefiy belong to the following genera : Disa, 

 Eulophia, Habenaria, Holothnx, Polystachya, 

 and Satyrium. 



Of Disa cornuta the author remarks : " This 

 is one of the commonest species of Orchids 

 in the neighbourhood of those suburbs of 

 Cape Town which lie on the eastern side of 

 Table Mountain, and may be found almost 

 every year in October." Of Disa Charpen- 

 tieriana, " a very curious and distinct species 

 of a group of which we are far from knowing 

 the limits of \'ariability. The long lip is very 

 remarkable, and as it sways about in the wind 



suggests a possible means of attraction for 

 insects." 



Satyrium foliosum is one of the rarest South 

 African Orchids, and has hitherto only been 

 found in one spot, or within a few hundred 

 yards of one spot. The flowers arc, fcjrtu- 

 nately for its survival, a dull yellow, turning 

 brown in age, or its extinction by the Vandals 

 of Cape Town might be feared within a very 

 short time. 



This work, of which the last pages were 

 finally corrected by the author on the eve of 

 his death, may be considered the leading text- 

 book on the subject, and although scientifi- 

 cally written for the botanist, amateurs will 

 find it a ready means of determining the cor- 

 rect names to be applied to the many species 

 indigenous to South Africa. If any impro\e- 

 ment can be suggested it is tiiat the illustra- 

 tions be bound in such a way that they adjoin 

 the descriptive text. As it is they are bound 

 together at the end of the volume, and refer- 

 ence is somewhat difficult. 



AN ORCHID COLLECTOR'S TRAVELS THROUGH BRITISH 



GUIANA TO BRAZIL. 



By ED. 



WHEN the Orchid fancier at his English 

 and with pleasant affection admires 

 country seat lingers o\er his blooms, 

 the beauties of his greenhouses, perhaps he 

 never, or very rarely, gives a thought to the 

 hardships often endured by those men who 

 enter the mountain ranges of .South America, 

 or other tropical parts of the world, in search 

 of, perhaps, one single species, which may be 

 the favourite pet m his collection. He enjoys 

 his treasures without dreaming of the pro- 

 fessional collector, who, with a certain amount 

 of pluck and perseverance, a strong constitu- 

 tion, and a skill for finding his way about the 

 world, attaches to his person a band of naked 

 Indians, and by canoeing, tramping and climb- 

 ing deposits himself on the sides of an almost 

 inaccessible mountain, trying then hard to 

 gather the necessary quantity of plants in the 

 shortest time possible, and then returning 

 through immense virgin forests, across arid 

 savannahs, down gigantic streams, until fie 



KROMER. 



reaches the nearest seajjort, wliere he is able 

 to get the result of his labours consigned to 

 Europe. Of course, it does not follow that 

 all such trouble, risk of health or life and hard- 

 ships, are necessarily always connected with 

 all species of Orchids ; many are found 

 within comparatively easy reach from the 

 sea-coast, or m the immediate neigiibourhood 

 of larger or smaller towns, like Bogota^ 

 Mexico, Caracas, Rio cle Janeiro, Manilla, .Sin- 

 gapore and many others, where the collector 

 takes up his abode in a comfortable hotel, and 

 where, if he gets to some extent known to the 

 nati\es he can purchase any c^uantity or 

 quality of plants by simply writing a letter. 

 But, on the other hand, where this is not the 

 case, he has sometimes to equip a regular 

 expedition, entailing heavy expenses, and he 

 has to face dangers as great as those en- 

 co'untered by the prospector for gold, the 

 African explorer, or the missionary. To this 

 latter class of travelling must be reckoned a 



