226 
THE ORCHID WORLD. 
[July, 1913- 
important part in the economy of Nature by 
wresting annually from the ocean fresh 
portions of land. This is effected by the 
germinating seeds, which do not leave the tree 
until they have actually formed small trees in 
themselves. These, with their ready pre- 
pared roots, then drop into the water and 
take possession of the mud in advance of 
their parent stems. 
Some idea of the means that should be 
employed to successfully cultivate these fine 
Orchids may be gathered by studying the 
conditions under which they flourish in their 
native habitat. Suspended among the 
branches of the Rhizophora trees, with 
their roots entwined around the stems and 
branches for security, there are many other 
free roots apparently seeking an object to 
which they may also cling. Underneath this 
mass of vegetation the swampy ground is 
more or less flooded with salt water during 
the growing season. 
Overhead the sun shines fiercely, causing 
a reekmg humidity. The rainfall and sun- 
shine is about four times as great as is usual 
in Great Britain, while the shade temperature 
by day is from 70-90 degrees Fahr., falling 
very considerably at night, thereby causing an 
immense amount of moisture in the form of 
thick vapour, which at higher elevations 
becomes almost impenetrable, with a very 
chilly atmosphere. 
The flowers of these two Orchids are well 
known ; they are, and will remain, quite sen- 
sational, for it seldom falls to the lot of any 
one man to introduce the " facile princeps " 
of two such splendid genera. The photo- 
graph does not show either of them at their 
best, the spikes of the Aerides appear short, 
whereas under cultivation branching racemes 
have been produced upwards of two feet in 
length, the individual blossoms being very 
large — the largest in the genus — creamy- 
white, tipped with magenta, the side lobes 
clear yellow, frilled at the edges, the column 
resembling a bird's head. The flowers have 
a seductive honey-like odour, which is 
copiously emitted at night. 
The history of Vanda Sanderiana has been 
already written (ORCHID WORLD, Vol. II., 
p. 53), and its beauty so well known that we 
need not again go into a description of this 
king of the Vandas. What is really wanted 
is the knowledge of how to grow, and keep 
growing, these exceptionally fine Orchids. 
We have advanced greatly during the last 
few years in cultivating to perfection many 
genera and species, but there is still a great 
field for clever growers to work in. Let 
them take the subjects of our photograph, 
which is reproduced to show how luxuriantly 
these species grow in their native home, also 
Vanda Hookeriana, BoUea coelestis, Arach- 
nanthe Cathcartii, Coryanthes macrantha, 
Cypripedium Stonei, Oncidium crispum 
grandiflorum, Grammangis Ellisii, Phaius 
tuberculosus, and other similarly magnificent 
though difficult Orchids to grow, and culti- 
vate them into specimens. If these could be 
kept growing it would be a great achieve- 
ment, and well worthy of our best growers 
greatest efforts. As it is, these splendid 
Orchids come into Europe on rare occasions, 
are seen once or twice, and then lost and 
almost forgotten. Great as our advance 
in cultivation has surely been, there is 
undoubtedly much more still to accomplish. 
NEW ORCHIDS. 
A RECENT issue of the Keiv Bulletin 
contains the 40th Decade of new 
Orchids, with Latin descriptions by 
Mr. R. A. Rolfe. The following particulars 
are given : — 
Stelis BARBATA, from Costa Rica. — 
Flowered at Kew in November, igi2. The 
flowers are ochreous green, with numerous 
rather long purple hairs on the sepals, a broad 
red-purple blotch on the upper part of the 
petals, and a smaller blotch on the front lobe 
of the lip. 
Eria (Cylindrolobus) trilamellata, 
from Siam. — Sent to Kew from Bangkok and 
flowered in the collection, February, 191 3. 
The bracts are light emerald-green, and the 
flowers white, with a light brown front lobe 
and a very hairy brown keel in front. The 
short lateral keels and base of the lip are also 
