170 
DENDROBIUM GIBSONII. 
Mr. Gibson states, that he first saw it in flower in India at the door of one of 
the natives' huts, and was so much attracted by its appearance, although at a con- 
siderable distance from it, that he was induced to hasten immediately to the spot, 
when, upon examination, he found that he had previously collected specimens of 
it. After making some inquiries with respect to its usual locality, he was directed 
to a place in the neighbourhood ; upon arriving at which, he discovered that the 
same spot had been previously visited by him, and did not succeed in obtaining 
another specimen. It is somewhat remarkable that it never afterwards came under 
his observation, a circumstance which tends to prove the extreme partiality of 
orchidaceous plants to peculiar localities. 
It was found growing upon rocks, at an elevation of about three thousand feet, 
so situated that, during the rainy season, water, in its course down the mountains, 
washes completely over the tops of the plants. This fact should not be lost sight 
of in its cultivation, as it shows the propriety of frequently syringing the plant 
while in a growing state, in addition to the usual practice of keeping the atmo- 
sphere of the house in a state of humidity. We refer the reader to page 121 of the 
present volume of this Magazine for an outline of the principles on which its culti- 
vation should be conducted, which is there given with reference to D. densiflorum, 
but is equally applicable to the present species. 
Our drawing was made from a plant which flowered most profusely in his 
Grace the Duke of Devonshire's extensive collection at Chatsworth, and it has been 
named after Mr. Gibson, collector to his Grace, by whom it was first discovered 
and introduced. 
