at times, and Is very Interesting, for he knows the hot-, 
anlcal features of Costa ^lca better than anyone now living 
there. , „ „ _ R , T 
The Sunday before leaving I saw Alfredo ^rade. I 
do not think that he is any longer Interested in orchids, 
at least in collecting them. I imagine it was his brother, now 
in Brazil, who did most of the collecting. He grows flowers 
for sale, but has only two or three orchids growing on his 
place. He is a German I believe, or probably Swiss or 
Alsatian, since nearly all the Germans found in Central 
America nowadays come from one of these two districts, 
and he speaks a form of Spanish as atrocious as that usu¬ 
ally spoken by Italians. _ _ 
Hot very much remains of the orchid garden of Bona 
Amparo Zeledon. Most of her collection, of course, was 
gotten together by Werckle. They say that when he was 
in need of money, he used to remove a plant from her 
garden through the back gate, bring it to her and resell 
it. It is further stated that he used to carry Oxf plants 
from her garden and sell them to other collectors, which 
is not at all unlikely. All of the scandal—what I have 
iust related is of the mildest—that was given me with re- 
gard to present and past scientists in Costa ^ica, if formed 
into a book, would, make extremely interesting reading, 
but I doubt if it would be permitted a wide circulation, 
in this country at least. „ , „ , . 
I saw an interesting letter written by Schlecter to 
Bofia Amparo, in which he stated that he had ready for 
publication drawings of all his new species of c °J ta K * ca3 ? 
orchids, and that he would publish it if she would send him 
a hundred dollars to defray costs of engraving. He Has . 
been writing to everyone, apparently, in Costa xtica, asking 
for specimens and funds. Oton has become quite impatient 
with him—a mild way of stating the facts, and not a J®*y 
accurate word— and says that Schlechter is too much inclin 
to commercialize his scientific work. I was informed that 
he had made offers of naming new species and genera in 
honor of contributors, but how accurate this may be, l ao 
The last Sunday I spent in Costa -^ica I made a T Islt 
with Oton to Father Benavides in Heredia. He is a ^ i:ae °* d , 
man, between sixty and seventy I suppose, very * n ^ ed 
on a wide variety of subjects, and he has traveled in both 
the States and Europe, if 1 remember correctly. His house 
is one of the best in Heredia, and the two large patios are 
filled with orchids. I notice.d in his library several 
books relating to this group of plants. He has no scien¬ 
tific knowledge of them, but he does have a fine collec¬ 
tion, chiefly of the showy species. Whether he wouldHe 
worth cultivating, I do not know. His house is full of theo¬ 
logical students, and he might put one of them at wo 
making specimens! He would, I am sure, and in fac 
said^ 30 , P be interested in getting hold of any literature 
upon orchids. His address is Sr. Presbitero Benavides, 
Heredia, Costa nica* , „ , . ._ 
Lankester told me that Father Benavides collection 
