Aut^ust, 1912.] THE ORCHID WORLD. 243 



ORCHIDS IN 1855. 



THE disposal, by order of the Council, 

 of part of the Horticultural Society's 

 collection of Orchids in 1855 realised 

 a sum of £554. A copy of the sale cata- 

 logue, with prices obtained for each lot, is 

 still in existence, and allows one to form an 

 idea of the value of certain Orchids at that 

 period. 



In the first portion, consisting of 150 lots, 

 the following prices are interesting: — 

 Angraecum virescens, £7 15s.; Trichopilia 

 coccinea and Saccolabium guttatum, ^,19; 

 Laelia acuminata, ^^3 los. ; Aeridcs Rox- 

 burghii, the Ce\ lon var., £ 5 ; Aerides quique- 

 vulnerum, £ig los. ; Cattleya maxima, ; 

 L^lia anceps and Renanthera coccinea, 

 £6 15s.; Sophronitis cernua, £3 7s 6d. ; 

 Oncidium ampliatum, £4 los. ; Vanda 

 tricolor, magnificent specimen, £11. 



Lot 1 50 was the most interesting, being 

 the magnificent specimen of Phala?nopsis 

 Aphrodite which Mr. Fortune, when sent out 

 by the Horticultural Societ)- in search of new 

 plants, procured in the island of Luzon. Mr. 

 Fortune arrived at Manila in the beginning 

 of January, 1845, and in gning an account 

 of his travels said : " After some trouble I 

 discovered the locality of the beautiful 

 Phalsenopsis, and procured a large supply of 

 the plants for the Society. As my visit here 

 was a secondary object, I had very little time 

 to spare, and therefore took every means in 

 my power to make the most of my time. I 

 was in the habit of making an Indian's hut 

 in the wood my headquarters for a certain 

 time, where I held a sort of market for the 

 purchase of Orchidaceous plants. The 

 ground in front of the hut was generally 

 strewn with these plants in the state in which 

 they had been cut from the trees, and often 

 covered with flowers. The Phalaenopsis, in 

 particular, were very beautiful at this time. 

 I was most anxious to get large specimens of 

 this plant, and offered a dollar, which was a 

 high sum in an Indian forest, for the largest 

 specimen which should be brought to me. 

 The lover of this beautiful tribe of plants 

 will easily imagine the delight I felt when I 



saw two Indians approaching with a [jiant of 

 extraordinary size, having ten or twcK-e 

 branching flower-stalks upon it, and upwards 

 of a hundred flowers on it in full blooin. 

 ' There,' said the\-, m evident triumph, ' is not 

 that worth a dollar ? ' ' You have gained the 

 dollar,' said I, as I paid them the money and 

 took possession of my prize. This fine speci- 

 men realised the high price of £6S 5s., the 

 purchaser being Mr. Edmonds, gardener to 

 the Duke of Devonshire." 



The second portion included Epidendium 

 myrianthum, most rare and magnificent, 

 £4 15s.; Masdevallia coccinea, most rare 

 and beautiful, £6 ; Cattleya Skinneri, £g ; 

 Lycaste Skinneri, £8 los. ; Coelogyne cris- 

 tata, £8 los., and Laelia anceps, £10. 



The last lot. No. 300, was Laslia superbiens, 

 described as "the finest specimen in Europe 

 of a living Orchid. It has 220 pseudo-bulbs, 

 and is 1 7 feet in circumference. It is still 

 attached to the block of wood on which it 

 was found growing in the forests of Guate- 

 mala." The plant was purchased b}' Mr. 

 Fairrie, of Liverpool, for £"36 15s. 



Other purchasers were the Bishop of Win- 

 chester, Messrs. Bennett, Smith, Rucker, 

 Forsyth, and Sir Joseph Paxton, who pur- 

 chased the plant of Coelogyne cristata. Some 

 of the lots were disposed of at comparatively 

 low prices, thus three unnamed Stanhopeas 

 were purchased by Mr. Fairrie for six 

 shillings. 



PHAL/ENOPSIS AMABILIS. 



FOR more than 160 years Phalaenopsis 

 amabilis has been known to Orchid 

 Collectors, and during recent years a 

 fine variety of the species, known as Rime- 

 stadiana, has been received from Java. The 

 Indian Butterfly-plant, as Dr. Lindley called 

 it, requires for its successful cultivation a hot- 

 house where a very moist atmosphere can be 

 constantly maintained. Although the plants 

 are without pseudo-bulbs to support them 

 through a period of drought, the thick, fleshy 

 leaves contain a considerable amount of 

 moisture and nutritive material. 



