Decemb er 17, 1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
523 
the coveted plants, besides exploring the mountains and enjoying much 
•of their beauty.” 
Odontoglossum crispum was the next special object, and this was to be 
sought in the interior of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca, 
on the slopes of the Andes. “ For five days’ journey the track had run 
through the most miserable c’ass of vegetation. Apart from the curious 
undulating tops of the mountains, which sometimes extend away into 
most glorious scenery, nothing is to be seen but a mserable scrub, and 
the eye becomes weary with the endless expanse of moss and short 
stunted shrub3. When we came to some wayside farm or plantation, the 
clumps of Orange trees, laden with their wealth of golden fruit, some¬ 
what broke the monotony. A few flocks of sheep and stray cattle 
wandered about over the immense waste lands, but an almost entire 
absence of birds and other animal life gave the tops of the Andes an 
appearance of desert loneliness. As a rule, in the early morning and in 
the evening the tops of the mountains are enveloped in thick mist, and 
the track was scarcely visible. The rising sun gradually dispelled this 
from the peaks, only leaving straggling patches in the valleys. At the 
town called Puente Nacional I was delighted to find a somewhat better 
class of vegetation commence, and this seems to be the limit of the 
growth of the Cattleya Mendelli, and the commencement of the gorgeous- 
flowered Cattleya Warscewiczi. In the mountains near to this town, in 
the flowering season of the plants, the display in the woods is most 
superb. High trees, in some places, are so hung with these glorious 
epiphytes that very little is to be seen but a blaze of purple and rose. 
A small Epidendrum with scarlet flowers makes up the finishing touch 
of colour.” 
Then the author describes his visit to the Pacho district, where so many 
fine varieties of Odontoglossum crispum have been found. After leaving 
there he proceeds in search of 0. odoratum, and says : “ The mist had 
scarcely risen from the top of the mountains when we came in sight of 
the valley and range of mountains on the other side, where I expected to 
find Odontoglossum odoratum, knowing that this variety is found growing 
at a lower altitude than the 0Jontoglo9sum crispum, although they are 
both often found at a high altitude growing on the same tree. By 
evening we had made the descent of the tortuous path to the village of 
San Cayetano, most of the journey being made in a blinding rain. This 
village is situated on the very edge of the Odontoglossum forests. I 
expected to find someone here who would help me to get plants in the 
woods ; but the people were too indolent for me to persuade them to 
work for wages, so I rested here for the night, and then kept on the 
journey further into the wools to a place called El Ortiz. I was told 
that here I could find people who would be willing to work in the moun¬ 
tains. We had scarcely entered the forest on this side of the mountain 
when I remarked a difference from anything I had seen before. The 
trees here were so grown together that they made a thick wood, while 
every branch and trunk was laden with a heavy coat of trailing lichen, 
perfectly dripping with water, so much so that, riding under them, our 
clothes were quickly wet through. In these natural reservoirs the 
Odontoglossums find their home at an altitude of from 7000 to 8000 feet 
above the sea, with a temperature which often falls as low in the night as 
50° Fahr., and I have never seen the thermometer rise above 59° Fahr. at 
mid-day. Odontoglossum odoratum is most conspicuous as well for its 
heavy branched spike of flowers as for its powerful smell, which fills the 
air until it becomes oppressive. The plants are almost hidden from 
sight in the trailing mass of lichen, and when they are not in flower they 
are difficult to find. I arrived at night at the hut called El Ortiz, after 
a toilsome ride, but the whole journey had been made through a wealth 
of Orchids. Being informed by the natives that the Odontoglossum 
crispum had all been taken away from here, leaving only the Odonto¬ 
glossum odoratum, I was obliged to continue my journey over the top of 
the mountain-range, along a track which is too bad to describe, but, at 
the same time, the scenery is very beautiful. After three days’ journey, 
passing on the way a lovely valley rich with patches of Sugar-cane and 
Maize, and also a small village called Buenavista, I struck into the 
forest, in the direction of the emerald mine. Here, at an altitude of 
about 8500 feet above the sea level, I found an abundance of plant?, 
their magnificent spikes of flower looking doubly beautiful hanging 
from the branches of the trees, some high up out of reach of the native 
climbers, and others so low as to be easily pulled off by hand.” 
A journey is also related to the emerald mines of Muzo and to La Palma, 
where many Orchids were found. “ On the top of one of the high 
mountains on the way, near a village called Cachiri, at a height of 
10,000 feet above the sea level, I passed on the side of the track thousands 
of Masdevallia3, chiefly of the Harryana variety. On another hill, two 
days’ journey further along, but much lower, the trees are hung to 
crowding with the dainty little Oncidium cucullatum. Any future 
novice Orchid hunter in search of Odontoglossum Pescatorei will find it 
by leaving the town of Ocana, passing across the magnificent plains 
called La Savanna de la Cruz, and entering the chain of the Andes on 
the western side. Here, amongst the matted, moss-grown vegetation, 
Pescatorei is growing side by side with Odontoglossum triumphans, while 
the creeping rhizomes of Odontoglossum coronarium cover the roots of 
the same trees. I have seen the curious Anguloa Clowesi and the pretty 
Ada aurantiaca here as well, while in the cooler parts that choice little 
Odontoglossum blandum grows in profusion in a peculiar mist which 
reminds one of a continual Turkish bath. It is all very well to see this 
fastidious little Orchid in its natural beauty, but it is quite another thing 
to succeed in bringing it home to England alive. Many of the plants 
die before they leave the coast, many more before they pass the West 
Indies ; a few reach the Azores, and fewer still arrive in England safely.” 
But the extracts given will afford an excellent idea of the character 
of the book, and it is not necessary to continue them farther. It must 
however be said that, in addition to the subjects of special horticultural 
interest, the work contains a variety of information respecting the 
natural history of the country, the chief towns, the customs of the 
people, and all that we look for in works of travel. It is admirably 
printed on fine paper, tastefully bound, and contains a large number of 
illustrations prepared from photographs taken by the author. A coloured 
frontispiece of Cattleya Mendeli var. Empress of India, a handsome 
variety collected by Mr. Millican, also adds to the attractions of a book 
that will no doubt find its way into many horticultural libraries. 
A GRACEFUL ASPARAGUS. 
Several species of Asparagus are now of considerable importance 
in gardens for decorative purposes, notably A. plumosus and the variety 
plumosus nanus, which are valuable as plants in pots and for cutting. 
Another form, of which a small branch is represented in fig. 96, was 
shown by Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P., at the Chiswick meeting of 
FIG. 96.—A GRACEFUL ASPARAGUS. 
the Royal Horticultural Society on October 6th this year under the 
name of Asparagus retrofractus arboreus, when a first-class certificate 
was awarded for it by the Floral Committee. It is distinguished by the 
long hair-like bright green leaves, arranged in dense whorls, and not 
in the flat, frond-like manner of A. plumosus. Being free and strong 
in growth it will, no doubt, prove useful for many purposes. 
JOINTS IN HOT-WATER PIPES. 
Your correspondent “O. M.” surmises pretty accurately as to the 
different causes which briog about the bursting of the sockets in hot- 
water pipes ; and whilst I have nothing whatever to say against his 
method of making joints, I think I can give him “ a wrinkle,” and 
possibly a few others as well, in what I consider the best method of 
doing this work. By following my directions anyone may undertake to 
make a joint perfectly water-tight, even if the pipes are full of water, 
and pouring out in streams all round the socket. Now for the modus 
operandi. Take a piece of old ship-rope—the stiffer it has become with 
tar the better—untwist the strands, and with a caulking tool and hammer 
force the tarred rope into the joint as solid as possible, during the process 
adding a little cement, then more tarred rope, and finish the joint 
smoothly with the cement. You will then have a perfectly water-tight 
joint, and one that will never burst the socket. Another important 
matter is that joints made in this way do not take up more than half 
the time of those made in the old style.—W elton Dale. 
I used to think that joints made with iron borings properly mixed 
with sal ammoniac were by far the best, but experience has taught me they 
