212 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
September  3,  1903. 
Disa  racemosa. 
The  Disas  are  confined  chiefly  to  South  Africa.  Under  glass¬ 
house  culture  they  succeed  best  when  given  a  cool,  moist,  airy, 
rather  shaded  position,  and  a  liberal  supply  of  water  all  the  year 
round.  For  compost,  use  good  fibrous  peat  and  sphagnum,  with 
perfect  drainage.  The  species  we  figure  flowers  during  June  or 
July,  having  flower  stems  loin  to  24in  high,  and  the  flowers  are 
rose-purple. 
The  Week’s  Cultural  Notes. 
Growers  of  Moth  Orchids,  as  the  Phaltenopses  are  called,  have 
this  season  had  anything  but  a  pleasant  time  of  it,  long  spells 
of  dull  and  wet  weather  relieved  by  only  a  few  sunny  days  not 
being  at  all  conducive  to  the  health  of  these  heat  and  light  loving 
plants.  It  is  not  exactly  a  question  of  temperature,  as  this  is 
easily  arranged  ;  but  no  amount  of  fire  heat  or  judicious  moisten¬ 
ing  can  compensate  for  the  loss  of  the  brisk,  buoyant  heat 
caused  by  the  sun  striking  on  the  glass.  Make  the  most  use  of 
the  sun  heat  and  light  by  always  keeping  a  little  warmth  in  the 
pipes  and  slight  ventilation  on  top,  tliis  keeping  the  leaves  com¬ 
paratively  dry,  and  allowing  of  the  blinds  being  kept  up  until 
almost  the  middle  of  the  day. 
One  of  the  most  difficult  members  of  the  genus  to  cultivate  is 
P.  Lowi.  and  plants  that  are  weak  and  poorly  grown  now  stand 
a  poor  chance  of  coming  through  the  ensuing  winter  in  safety. 
In  many  cases  this  plant  is  quite  deciduous,  losing  its  leaves 
quite  early  in  winter.  There  is  then  all  the  more  need  of  care 
now,  that  the  crowns  and  foliage  shall  be  well  developed  and 
the  roots  attain  a  good  hold  on  the  moss  or  block  on  which  it  is 
grown.  Different  specimens  behave  in  rather  different  ways 
under  cultivation,  making  it  necessary  for  those  in  charge  to 
study  the  needs  of  each  individual  plant  and  vary  the  treatment 
accordingly,  not  treating  all  alike,  whether  growing,  resting,  or 
preparing  to  rest. 
When  only  a  small  number  of  plants  of  Cypi’ipedium  Schlimi 
are  grown  it  is  very  seldom  out  of  flower,  and  possibly  this 
accounts  for  its  .somewhat  weak  constitution.  They  are  lovely 
little  flowers,  and  one  hesitates  before  cutting  them  for  the  sake 
of  the  plant’s  health,  though  it  is  strictly  necessary  for  weak  or 
badly  rooted  specimens.  When  well  rooted  and  established  there 
is  little  trouble  as  a  rule.  There  is  no  doubt  that  C.  Schlimi 
likes  a  very  abundant  water  supply  all  the  year  round,  and  the 
whitish  muddy  deposit  often  seen  upon  the  leaves  of  imported 
plants  shows  that  they  grow  naturally  in  swampy  positions. 
The  temperature  for  Schomburgkias  that  are  throwing  up 
their  spikes  may  be  raised  a  little  if  these  seem  slow  in  oi^ening 
their  flowers.  In  a  cool  house  I  have  known  S.  tibicinis  to  be 
so  long  thinking  about  it  that  eventually  they  never  opened  at 
all,  and  the  strength  of  the  plants  was  wasted  upon  a  barren 
and  useless  spike.  Pulling  the  roots  about  at  this  late  season 
would  have  the  same  effect  probably ;  at  all  events,  it  is  unwise 
to  do  so.  Laelia  superbiens  is  very  similar  in  habit,  though,  of 
course,  much  larger  growing,  and  here  the  same  thing  applies. — 
H.  R.  R. 
♦  The  Travels  of  an  Orchid  Hunter. 
{Continued  f.-oin  page  168). 
“  The  Cattleya  Trianae  has  been  found  for  years  near  the  town  of 
Jbague  in  tlie  State  of  Tolima — a  little  more  than  one  hundred  miles 
from  Bogota,  in  a  south-westerly  direction.  This  Cattleya  is  found 
under  much  the  same  circumstances  as  the  others  of  its  family,  at 
an  altitude  of  about  4000ft  above  sea-level.  To  reach  it,  it  is  necessary 
to  ascend  the  river  Magdalena  for  a  considerable  distance,  and  then 
land  on  the  west  bank.  There  is  little  of  interest  in  the  mule  ride 
except  the  sight  of  the  majestic  snow-capped  mountains,  called  the 
Paramo  de  Ruiz.  These  tower  up  to  the  height  of  16,000ft,  with  a 
glistening  top  of  eternal  snow,  wdiich  makes  them  conspicuous  at  a 
great  distance  from  many  parts  of  the  road,  Cattleya  Trianm  is 
found  over  a  wide  area,  but  all  the  plants  taken  from  these  parts,  as 
well  as  from  Paeho,  La  Palma.  &e.,  must  be  brought  to  a  small  town 
called  Honda ;  this  is  the  principal  port  of  the  Magdalena  river, 
about  600  miles  from  the  sea.  Swift  running  rapids  prevent  the 
larger  steamboats  going  further  up  the  river  than  Honda,  but  another 
line  of  boats  has  been  built  above  the  rapids.  These  vessels  navigate 
the  river  for  300  miles  more  to  a  place  called  Neiva.  Hundreds  of 
mules,  carrying  every  imaginable  class  of  produce,  throng  the  road 
from  Bogota  to  Honda.  On  an-iving  on  the  banks  of  the  Magdalena 
everything  in  the  way  of  cargo,  animals,  and  human  beings  that  would 
reach  the  town  must  embark  in  a  curious  kind  of  raft,  attached  to  a 
strong  chain  stretched  across  the  river.  Immediately  the  raft  is 
loosened  from  the  side,  the  force  of  the  water  carries  it  across  the 
*  Ey  Albert  Millican,  Cassell  and  Co. 
river,  the  pulley  running  along  the  supporting  chain.  This  raft  i» 
worked  from  six  o’clock  in  the  morning  until  six  in  the  evening^  the 
small  fee  of  twopenee-halfpenny  being  charged  for  passing  a  horse 
and  his  rider,  three-halfpence  for  a  mule  load,  and  a  penny  for  a  foot 
passenger. 
“Aline  of  railway  connects  this  place  with  the  town  of  Honda, 
and  runs  to  the  part  of  the  river  where  the  steamboats  land, 
called  Yeguas,  about  four  miles  from  Honda.  At  this  point  the 
mountains,  which  wall  in  the  valley  of  the  Magdalena,  are  very  near  to 
each  other,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  breeze  whatever  reaches  the 
town  ;  it  is  pi’overbially  known  all  over  the  countiw  as  being  very  hot, 
and  I  have  seldom  seen  the  thermometer  fall  below  95deg.,  Fahr.,  in 
the  shade.  It  is  a  curiously  built  little  town,  with  neither  system  nor 
design  in  the  architecture.  It  was  at  one  time  large  and  important, 
but  earthquakes  have  proved  its  ruin,  and  now  the  fine  churches, 
convents,  hospitals,  and  even  a  beautiful  stone  bridge,  have  all  beei> 
destroyed.  Travellers  to  the  interior  must  inevitably  pass  this  way, 
and  everyone  will  find  lodging-houses  and  facilities  tor  hiring  mules, 
&c.,  to  help  him  on  his  way  to  the  capital.  When  I  got  on  board  the 
steamboat  here  to  descend  the  Magdalena  river,  I  practically  said 
good-bye  for  the  time  being  to  four  States  of  this  magnificent  country 
— Boyaca,  Cundinamarca,  El  Cauca,  and  El  Tolima.  No  pen  or 
picture  has  or  ever  will  be  able  to  give  more  than  a  faint  idea  of  thS 
glories  of  this  part  of  Colombia — of  its  riches  in  mines  of  emeralds 
and  gold  and  silver  ;  of  its  agricultural  products  of  coffee,  cocoa,  and 
grain  ;  of  its  trackless  forests,  with  their  exhaustless  supply  of  timber 
and  choice  woods,  its  wealth  of  ornamental  and  medicinal  plants,  its 
bevies  of  gaudy  coloured  birds  and  curious  animals,  its  snow-capped 
mountains  and  boundless  prairies  where  the  Indians  have  always 
roamed  Avith  perfect  freedom  ;  or  of  its  commercial  cities,  with  their 
rich  and  cultivated  inhabitants.  Even  the  most  stoical  Englishman 
who  has  travelled  here  and  seen  its  beauties  cannot  help  but  regret 
that  so  many  thousand  miles  divide  this  paradise  from  our  own  little 
island. 
“The  descent  of  the  river  Magdalena  was  made  quickly  and 
agreeably,  and  Ave  very  soon  ari’ived  at  the  port  called  Puerto  Berrio, 
This  is  the  port  by  Avhich  travellers  reach  the  prosperous  city  of 
Medellin,  one  of  the  most  important  centres  of  the  country,  and  the 
home  of  Cattleya  DoAviana  aurea  and  Cattleya  WarseeAviezi.  Puerto 
Berrio  has  a  special  interest  to  all  English  Orchid  collectors.  A 
rough  cross  of  Avood  on  the  edge  of  forest,  on  the  higher  bank  of  the 
river,  marks  the  last  resting  place  of  Chesterton,  the  AA’ell-known 
Orchid  collector,  Avho  did  such  good  service  for  the  firm  of  .James 
Veiteh  and  Sons,  long  before  the  Avholesale  plunder  and  extermination 
of  the  plants  brought  about  by  modern  collectors. 
“  A  small  mountain  town,  called  Frontino,  has  given,  up  to  the 
present,  all  the  Miltonia  vexillaria,  but  the  Avoods  in  the  A'icinity  have 
become  already  pretty  cleared.  I  had  heard  much  about  the  plants 
to  be  found  betAveen  the  river  Opon  and  the  river  Carare.  These  are 
tAvo  rivers  Avhich  together  drain  the  southern  part  of  the  State  of 
Santander,  and  the  land  lying  betAveen  them  is  a  narroAV  strip  less 
than  one  hundred  miles  AA’ide.  I  descended  the  river  to  a  place  called 
Barranca  bermeja,  Avith  the  object  of  getting  a  canoe  to  navigate  the 
river  Opon.  This,  I  Avas  told,  Avould  require  at  least  six  men,  well 
armed.  The  river  is  not  navigable  for  more  than  fifty  miles,  and  the 
distance  is  intercepted  by  fallen  trees.  Avhile  the  forest  betAveen  the 
tAVO  rivers  is  infested  by  hordes  of  hostile  Indians.  The  first  tAvo  days 
nothing  exti'aordinary  happened ;  the  banks  of  the  river  Avere  thick 
forest,  and  Ave  saAV  no  tracts  of  the  Indians.  Each  night  Ave  camped 
on  a  sand-bank.  I  saAv  no  Orchids,  the  land  being  too  flat ;  but  on  the 
third  day  Ave  passed  many  tracks  of  the  Indians,  and  some  abandoned 
huts.  About  mid-day,  as  Ave  suddenly  made  a  curve  in  the  river,  a 
shoAver  of  arroAvs  Avhistled  past  us  and  fell  far  ahead  ;  they  had  been 
aimed  too  high  and  shot  Avith  too  much  force.  In  the  direction  the 
arroAvs  came  from  Ave.  saAV  nothing — not  even  a  rustling  of  the  foliage. 
We  fired  several  times  into  the  bush,  and  proceeded  more  cautiously. 
My  companions  Avould  have  turned  back,  some  of  them  becoming 
afraid,  but  an  unconquerable  curiosity  possessed  me  to  see  what  there 
Avas  in  the  way  of  plants  on  the  higher  ground.  It  Avas  evident  that 
the  Indians  knew  by  this  time,  all  along  the  river,  of  our  ascent,  and 
more  than  once  I  saAV  dusky  forms  creeping  stealthily  aAvay  from  the 
banks  as  the  canoe  glided  in  sight.  I  had  been  informed  that  the 
Indians  were  very  much  scattered  over  the  counti'y,  and  although 
they  maintain  a  deadly  hatred  against  all  civilised  human  beings,  the 
fact  of  our  ascending  the  riA’er  Avould  not  be  sufficient  to  make  them 
congregate  in  numbers,  and  the  stragglers  along  the  banks,  although 
hostile,  are  cowardly  and  afraid  of  fire-arms. 
“  On  the  fourth  day,  proceeding  with  great  difficulty  on  account 
of  the  fallen  trees,  we  came  to  some  three  or  four  small  sheds,  Avith 
plantations  of  maize  in  front  of  them  ;  a  feAV  animal  skins  Avere  lying 
about,  but  every  one  of  the  inhabitants  had  taken  to  the  AVOods.  The 
very  emptiness  of  the  huts  showed  that  their  manner  of  life  must  be 
of  the  most  primitive  kind.  HoAvever  Avarlike  they  are  toAvards  out¬ 
siders,  there  are  accounts  that  they  live  together  in  the  greatest 
friendship  and  good  faith.  We  left  the  huts  very  much  as  we  found' 
them,  and  proceeded  up  the  river.  I  had  seen  several  very  pretty 
Oneidiums  on  the  banks,  and  I  had  begun  to  hope  that  Ave  Avere  clear 
of  the  Indians.  On  the  night  of  the  fourth  day,  Ave  camped,  as  usual, 
on  a  sand-bank,  not  being  able  to  proceed  further  on  account  of  the 
bad  state  of  the  river.  KnoAving  that  Ave  Avere  in  the  A’ery  middle  of 
the  Indian  territory,  Avhere,  if  they  chose,  they  could  overpoAver  ua 
