2 
7 or* tL 
plants at a cheaper rate*, fox* many of the most beuu- 
t*ful kinds oan Du obtained for a few shillings at 
present day, when at one time they were only within 
reach of the rich at exorbitant prices. Those words 
of Mr. Williams longer than a half century ago 
in his work about Orchids 1 2 ) are also in force in 
our time. 
There is no room to deal with this subject 
historically in the space of this 
article. I am an enthusiast ana it is on this ground 
I have traversed in all directions the forests of 
Soematera in particular of the Barisan-mountains of 
the west coast of the island. Any body who has made 
the trip for instance from the coast cross the Ba- 
risan to the lake of Siiigkarak will remember the 
overpowering beauty and impressive magnificence of 
the mentioned lake. The overwhelming majesty of the 
taller and larger trecs7and the luxuriance of the 
he rba.ro ous elements of the floro arcs enhance by the 
freshness which moisture brings to tropical vegeta¬ 
tion. The very magnitude of the trees, their heavy 
burden of epiphytes, the density and the mat ex¬ 
panses of the forest, rondure! mysterious by mist 
sometimes seem almost hopeless the chance of fin¬ 
ding among it all special Orchids. 
X was frequently accompanied by pupils of the 
Sokolnh Ekonomt , so about the only institution in 
Indonesia that oan be considered as the founder of 
the economic signifies.*!** of orchidology for the 
native. Instead the pupils are striving to make the 
theoretical science meaningful by way of a merger 
of the two. 
It is in the first place my proposal to 
« 4 . 4 ._ 
*m u v# 
Tr? — 
orapt to draw the attention to the importance of m 
donasia in the field of botany specially 
of the plantfamily Orchidaceme . As appears from 
iliterature 2 ) Japan Ts poor In Orchids poorer even 
than China and Siberia. It has only a small genera 
as Cymbi&iuis, Cypripedium, ASrides, Ang raocu m fa 1- 
catum. Caiinthe T Luisla and ta nSogsis . while accor- 
axnJT to Prof. Schlechter as TKe prominent nothem 
representatives are Dendrobi un, B ulbophyHu m. Obo - 
ronin , Castro ohilns n j, x! AjgPrietos 377 
May these linos therefore contribute towards 
the team-spirit between Japan and Indonesia! 
During last quarter of our century there are 
many publications about the Orchids of Indonesia 
distributed in very many periodicals of Natural Hi¬ 
story. the hand of Dr. J.J. Smith, celebrated 
1) B.3. V.illiams, F.R.K.S., The Orchid Grower 1 a 
Annual, fifth ed. London IB77 * 
2) Julian Cokstuntin, Orehi&ees Cultiveos, Paris s.a. 
j>) pi*of. Dr.K. Schlechter, Die Orchideen, svelte Aufl 
Berlin 1927. 
