gloriosum, as internal evidence suggests. All primrose of ground colour,
but the sepals and petals are thickly dotted with red-brown.
_Schillerianum._--Exceedingly rare. Pale yellow; sepals and petals spotted
with chestnut. The lip has one large chestnut splash in the centre.
_Murrellianum._--Probably a natural hybrid of Od. Pescatorei and Od.
naevium. White tinged with violet, sepals and petals spotted with purple.
_Lindeni._--A superb species, but uncommonly reluctant to display its
charms, as a rule. In my own poor little house it has been growing bigger
for years and years. The pseudo-bulbs are five inches high now, and more
than two thick, but I look for flowers in vain. When they condescend to
appear they are all sulphur-yellow, crumpled, or, as the phrase goes,
undulated, in a fashion quite unlike any other Odontoglot.
_Grande magnificum._--The common form of grande ranks among the showiest
of flowers, much too big, indeed, and too strong in colour, to be approved
by a dainty taste. But this is even bigger, its yellow more brilliant, its
red-brown markings more distinctly red. There is record of sixteen flowers
on one spike, each seven inches across!--I scarcely expect to be believed,
but 'chapter and verse' are forthcoming on demand.
_Crispum aureum._--Almost as yellow as polyxanthum, 'the very golden'--a
most remarkable variety. The spots are few and small.
_Crispum Cooksoni_, on the other hand, is white, superbly spotted, or
rather blotched, with crimson brown. Perhaps the best of its class.
_Crispum Reginae._--Immense. White. The handsome spots, of purplish brown,
are more regularly disposed than usual.
_Crispum Chestertoni._--Peculiar for a yellow lip, while sepals and petals
are white; the former of these heavily splashed, and the latter sprinkled,
with red-brown. The lip has a brown blot on the disc.
_Rossii aspersum_ is a natural hybrid of Od. Rossii and Od. maculatum, as
is supposed. Sepals and petals faintly yellow, spotted with brown at the
base; lip creamy white.
_Pescatorei album._--Large. All pure white.
_Pescatorei superbum._--A round flower, of great 'substance'--which
means, in effect, that it will last an unusual time. Notable for the deep
tone of its purplish markings.
_Pescatorei grandiflorum._--Immense. The lip has a yellow dash at base.
_Pescatorei splendens._--Sepals and petals white; lip handsomely spotted
with purple.
_Pescatorei violaceum._--The whole flower is tinted with violet.
_Crispum purpureum_ shows a similar peculiarity, but the tint is purple.
_Crispum Dayanum._--The sepals have a large irregular patch of darkest
mauve in the centre, the petals a spot or two of the same colour and a
streak at the base. The lip is white.
Old-fashioned people have not yet learned to call Odontoglossum
vexillarium a Miltonia. To avoid confusion I will give it no generic name
at all. It should be observed, however, that in our collection these
plants are 'grown cool' all the year round. Among the most important
are:--
_Vexillaria Cobbiana._--Pale rose with white lip.
_Vexillaria Measuresiana._--All white save the golden 'beard.' Perhaps the
handsomest of its rare class.
_Vexillaria rubella._--Deep rose. Valuable for its habit of flowering in
autumn.
[Illustration: ODONTOGLOSSUM, ROSSII MAJUS _WOODLANDS VARIETY._]
STORY OF ODONTOGLOSSUM HARRYANUM
Men supremely great in science have a quality beyond reason, such as we
term instinct, enabling them to leap over the slow processes of
demonstration, and announce a law or a result unsuspected, which they
cannot yet prove. The great Collector Benedict Roezl had this gift.
Returning from the memorable expedition in which he discovered the
Miltonia commonly called Odontoglossum vexillarium, he assured Mr. Sander
that in those parts would be found a true Odontoglossum of unusual
colouring. When asked the grounds for his opinion he could only say he
'smelt it.' Mr. Sander was not unused to this expression, and he knew by
experience that Roezl's scientific nose might be trusted. It was something
in the air, in the 'lie' of the country, in the type of vegetation, which
guided him, no doubt. Other collectors born and bred have a like sense.
Roezl showed his supremacy by the confident prediction that this new
species would be darker than any known, and striking in the combination of
its tints.
This was in 1875. Ten years later Professor Reichenbach wrote to Mr.
Sander of an astounding Odontoglossum he had seen--it may be necessary to
tell the unlearned that Professor Reichenbach was the very genius of
orchidology. Nothing in the least resembling it had been even rumoured
hitherto. And then Reichenbach described Odontoglossum Harryanum. The
raptures of that enthusiast were wont to divert admiring friends,
expressed with quaint vehemence, but always suggesting that he mocked
himself the while. Never had he such a theme as this. Speaking with due
thought and sufficient knowledge, I declare that Odontoglossum Harryanum
is the most finished result of Nature's efforts to produce a flower which
should startle and impress by its colours alone, without eccentricity of
shape or giant size, or peculiarities of structure. Remembering that not
all the world has seen this flower, I should give just a hint of the means
employed. Fancy, then, eight or ten great blooms, dark chestnut in tone,
barred with yellow, striped with mauve; the lip white, broadly edged with
a network of bluish purple and intersected by a deep stain of that tint,
beyond which is spread a sheet of snow; touch with gold here and there,
and you have the 'scheme of colour.' Those who knew the great savant can
imagine how he raved after giving, with luminous precision, his scientific
report of the new orchid.
Reichenbach persuaded himself, by study of the flower, that it must be a
native of Mexico. He was wrong for once, but people were so used to regard
him as infallible that Mr. Sander did not think of doubting the assertion.
Presently, however, it became known that Messrs. Veitch had bought the
plants, a dozen or so, from Messrs. Horsman. And then Mr. Sander learned
by accident that the latter firm received a small case of orchids from
Barranquilla, twelve months before. While pondering this news, Roezl's
unforgotten prophecy flashed into his mind. Barranquilla, in the United
States of Columbia, is the port of that district where Odontoglossum
vexillarium is found! He had a collector not far away. Within an hour this
gentleman, Mr. Kerbach, received a telegram short and imperative: 'Go
Amalfi.' Not waiting an explanation Kerbach replied 'Gone!'--reached
Amalfi in due course, and found another telegram containing a hint that
sufficed, 'New Odontoglossum.'
Kerbach began to inquire the same day. It was hardly credible that an
orchid of importance could have been overlooked in the neighbourhood of
Amalfi, where collectors--French, Belgian, and English--had been busy for
years. A hunt there would be very unpromising. Kerbach wandered about,
asking questions. Thus at Medellin he made acquaintance with a Bank clerk.
It may be noted, by the way, that the inhabitants of that busy and
thriving town, the bulk of them, are descendants of Maranos--that is, Jews
converted by the processes of the Inquisition. Doubtless there are records
which explain why and how many thousands of those people assembled in a
remote district of New Granada, but they themselves appear to have lost
the tradition; they have lost their ancestral faith also, for there are no
more devout Catholics. The religious instincts of the race assert
themselves, however, for New Granadans in general are not more fervent
than other creoles of South America, while the town of Medellin is an
oasis of piety.
The Bank clerk was questioned as usual, though not a likely person to take
note of plants. 'Why,' said he, 'there was a customer of ours at the Bank
yesterday, swearing like a wild Indian at orchids and everybody connected
with them. I should advise you to keep out of his way.'
'What have the orchids done to him?' asked Kerbach.
'I wasn't listening, but I'll inquire.' And presently he brought the
explanation. A young French collector had been in those parts some years
before. He stayed a while at the planter's house, and there discovered an
orchid which stirred him to enthusiasm. After gathering a quantity he made
arrangements with his host for a shipment to follow next season, promising
a sum which astonished the native. But this young man was drowned in the
Couca. After a while Don Filipe resolved to despatch a few of the weeds
on his own account to Europe, and he consigned them to a friend at
Barranquilla. But the friend never returned him a farthing. He had handed
the case to some one else for shipment, and this some one, he said, could
not get his money from England. It is pleasant to hear, however, that Don
Filipe had implicit trust in British honesty. He proclaimed his friend a
swindler, and doubtless he was right.
All the cash that this good man was out of pocket could not well have
exceeded ten dollars, and his time did not count. Perhaps he would have
been less furious had the loss been greater. Anyhow he nursed his wrath
with Indian stubbornness--for Don Filipe was an Indian, though
distinguishable from a white only in character, as are myriads at this
day.
Kerbach did not doubt that he had found his Odontoglossum, and gaily
started for the hacienda. Some little diplomacy might be needed, and
rather more cash than usual; but of course a sane man would come to terms
at last. Don Filipe was absent when he arrived--a fortunate chance,
perhaps. Meantime Kerbach entertained the ladies, played with the
children, and made himself agreeable. The haciendero found him seated at
the piano, and applauded with the rest.
But his face changed when they got to business. Kerbach opened with
flattering remarks upon the wealth of the country and its prospects. Don
Filipe purred with satisfaction. Gradually he worked round to orchids. Don
Filipe ceased to purr, and he hastily begged leave to visit the cacao
plantation. As they rode through the sheltering woods Kerbach looked about
him sharply. It was too late for flowers, but the growth of Odontoglossum
Harryanum is very distinct. He espied one plant and recognised it as a new
species.
The trouble must be faced, and after dinner Kerbach explained his object,
as gently as he could. The planter flamed out at once, dropped his
Castilian manners, and vowed he would shoot any man found gathering
orchids on his estate. Kerbach withdrew. Next day he visited two other
hacienderos of the district. But Don Filipe had preceded him. Less rudely
but with equal firmness the landowners forbade him to collect on their
property.
A brief explanation is needed. In those parts of South America, where the
value of orchids is known to every child, a regular system has been
introduced long since. As a rule almost invariable, the woods belong to
some one, however far from a settlement. With this personage the collector
must negotiate a lease, as it is called, a formal document, stamped and
registered, which gives him authority to cut down trees--for the peons
will not climb. At the beginning, doubtless, they shrewdly perceived that
to fell a stout trunk would pay them infinitely better--since they receive
a daily wage--than to strip it, besides the annoyance from insects and the
risk from snakes which they elude. At the present time this usage has
become fixed.[2]
Without the assistance of peons, Kerbach could not possibly get plants
sufficient to ship. To cut down trees without authority would be a penal
offence, certainly detected. He explored the country at a distance and
found nothing. It was necessary to come to terms with Don Filipe at any
cost or abandon the enterprise. Meantime letters reached Amalfi describing
the new Odontoglossum, with a picture showing the foliage. It was that he
had found. The treasure hung within reach, and a pig-headed Indian forbade
him to grasp it.
In such a difficulty one applies to the Cura. Kerbach paid this gentleman
a visit. A tall, stout, good-natured ecclesiastic was he, willing to help
a stranger, perhaps, even though unprovided with the dollars which Kerbach
offered 'for the poor,' if his mediation proved successful. The Cura made
the attempt and failed signally. It was useless to try again. The good man
begged ten dollars, or five, or one, upon the ground that he had done his
best. But Kerbach in despair was not inclined for charity. The Cura
sighed, hesitated, tossed off a glass of aguardiente and proposed another
way.
'This is a wicked country, sir,' he said. 'Ah! very wicked. And the
wickedest people in it have a proverb which I shudder to repeat. But your
case is hard. Well, sir, they say (heaven forgive them and me!), "If the
saints won't hear you, take your prayer to the devil." Horrible, isn't
it?'
'Horrible!' said Kerbach. 'But I don't know where to find the devil.'
'Yours is a pious country I have heard, though not Christian. In this
wicked land even children could tell you where to seek him. Now, you will
give me a trifle for my poor?' And he held out his hand.
'But I'm not acquainted with any children. Your reverence must really be
more explicit.'
'Bother!' exclaimed his reverence, or some Spanish equivalent. 'Well, you
will pay me the fifty dollars promised?'
'Twenty! When Don Filipe signs the lease.'
'And all incidental expenses? Then my sacristan will call on you
to-morrow. Never talk to me again of your impious projects, sir.'
The sacristan was very business-like. He demanded a dollar to begin with
for the Indian who would work the charm, and another dollar for himself
to pay for the masses which would expiate his sin. Kerbach asked details,
which were given quite frankly. The wizard was a respectable
person--attended church, and so forth. The sacristan had talked matters
over with him and neither doubted of success. Kerbach must write a letter
to Don Filipe's wife begging her to intercede. The wizard having charmed
that document before presenting it, she would be compelled to grant its
request. If the planter should still refuse, a curse would be launched
against him. And he could not dare resist that.
The man was so serious, he explained himself in such a matter-of-fact
tone, that Kerbach, laughing, risked two dollars on the chance. With the
letter in his pocket the sacristan departed. Two days later he returned.
Don Filipe was willing to negotiate the lease. Kerbach was so delighted
that he never thought of asking whether the lady's gentle influence or the
terrors of the curse had persuaded him. Thus Odontoglossum Harryanum was
found, to the eternal glory of Roezl.
MASDEVALLIAS
Among Masdevallias we have scarce varieties of Harryana, as _Bull's
Blood_, Mr. Bull's punning name for the darkest of all crimsons, and
_Denisoniana_, which keen eyes distinguish from it by a shade of magenta;
_splendens_, pure magenta; _versicolor_, which has patches of deep crimson
on a magenta ground, and a bright yellow 'eye'; _Armeniaca_, large,
apricot in colour, also with a yellow 'eye'; _Sander's Scarlet_, which
speaks for itself.
_Bonplandii._--Greenish yellow, with a few purple marks. Tails short and
stiff.
_Caudata._--Upper sepal light yellow dotted with red; lower purplish rose,
marbled with white. A dwarf species, but the yellow tails are two to three
inches long.
_Abbreviata._--Small, white speckled with purple.
_Ignea splendens._--Much larger than the normal form. Fiery red.
_Amabilis._--Small, carmine, conspicuous by reason of its 'tail,' an inch
and a half long.
_Chelsoni._--A hybrid of the last-named with Veitchii, orange-yellow, with
mauve spots and two 'tails.'
_Veitchii grandiflora_, a variety even larger than the common type, seven
inches across sometimes; orange-red, suffused with purple.
_Polysticta._--One of the lovely little 'curiosities' which abound in
this genus--palest lilac freckled with purple, and tailed.
_Coccinea._--Rosy pink above, glowing scarlet below.
_Macrura._--One of the few Masdevallias which do not please my eye, but
very rare. Immense, as much as twelve inches long, counting the yellow
tails, rough of surface, vaguely brown in colour, with darker spots.
_Peristeria._--Greenish yellow, freely speckled with purple;
yellow-tailed.
_Melanopus._--Small, white, dotted with purple and yellow-tailed.
_Wallisii stupenda._---Pale lemon colour splashed with chocolate. There is
a curious white excrescence on each side the column, dotted with scarlet.
ONCIDIUMS
Of Oncidiums in this house I note:--
_Lamelligerum._--A very grand and noble flower, too rarely seen. It
belongs to the stately section of which Oncidium macranthum is the common
type. The great dorsal sepal swells out roundly from a stalk half an inch
long; the two lower resemble in shape those long-bladed paddles, with
scalloped edge, which are used by chiefs in the South Seas; in colour rich
brown, with a clear golden margin. The yellow petals also have a stalk,
but to give a notion of the large, beautiful, and complex development
which they carry at the ends is a hopeless endeavour. I have seen ladies'
work-baskets which faintly resemble it when wide open; made of the softest
straw, without end-pieces, only to be closed by tying a ribbon in the
centre. But really the case is desperate. I pass on.
_Tetracopis._--Another of the same group, even more rare, but not so
striking. Large, as they all are. Sepals a lively brown, gold edged;
petals bright yellow splashed with brown; lip yellow.
_Undulatum._--A third member of this handsome family. Sepals brown, petals
white, marbled with yellow and mauve at the base, spotted with purple
above, and streaked with yellow. Lip very small, as in all the other
cases, but conspicuous by reason of its bright purple tint.
_Ornithorhynchum album._--This is one of our oldest and commonest
species, discovered by Bonpland, who accompanied Humboldt to Mexico;
brought to Europe no long time afterwards. But the pure white variety
turned up to astonish the world very few years ago, and the names of those
happy mortals who possess a sample would make only a brief if
distinguished list.
_Loxense_ seems to have been not uncommon in our fathers' time, but no
plants have arrived from Peru--Loxa is the district--for many years. It
makes a long spike with branches, bearing a great number of large flowers;
sepals greenish ochre, crossed with blurs of chocolate; petals deep brown,
edged and tipped with yellow. Lip large and flowing, as it were,
orange-yellow, speckled with red in the throat.
_Weltoni._---Classed of late among Miltonias. A singular and fascinating
species, difficult to grow and still more difficult to flower. The sepals
and petals are very narrow, with edges like a saw, greenish brown,
widening out suddenly at the tip, which is yellow. The lip is
extraordinary in all respects. It shows a fine broad disc of dusky purple,
with a darker bar across the middle; and below this, sharply divided as if
by a stroke of the brush, two smaller discs pure white. Upon the whole to
be wondered at rather than admired, but more interesting on that account.
[Illustration: ODONTOGLOSSUM x HARRYANO-CRISPUM.]
STORY OF ONCIDIUM SPLENDIDUM
We all know that to make a thing conspicuous above measure is the most
effective way of baffling those who seek it. Wendell Holmes has expounded
the natural law of this phenomenon, and Edgar Poe exemplified it in a
famous story. I am about to give an instance from the life, as striking as
his fiction.
Oncidium splendidum is one of the stateliest orchids we have, and one of
the showiest. Its leaves are very large, fleshy and rigid, and the tall
flower spike bears a number of pale yellow blooms striped with brown, each
three inches across. There is no exaggeration in saving that they would
catch the most careless eye as far off as one could see them.
At an uncertain date in the fifties a merchant captain--whose name and
that of his ship have never been recovered--brought half a dozen specimens
to St. Lazare and gave them to his owner, M. Herman. This gentleman sold
the lot to MM. Thibaud and Ketteler, orchid-dealers of Sceaux. They were
tempted to divide plants so striking and so new; thus a number of small
and weakly pieces were distributed about Europe at a prodigious price. We
have the record of the sale of one at Stevens' Auction Rooms in 1870; it
could show but a single leaf, yet somebody paid thirty guineas for the
morsel. So ruthlessly were the plants cut up. Even orchids, tenacious of
life as they are, will not stand this treatment. In very few years more
Oncidium splendidum had vanished.
No one knew where it came from--with a strange carelessness MM. Thibaud
and Ketteler had not inquired. M. Herman was dead, and he left no record
of the circumstances. The captain could not be traced. Had the name of his
ship been preserved, it might have furnished a hint, since the port of
sailing would be registered in the Custom House. More than one
enterprising dealer made inquiries, but it was too late to recover the
trail. Oncidium splendidum took its place for a while among the lost
orchids.
But Mr. Sander of St. Albans would not admit defeat. When, after great
pains, he had satisfied himself that nothing could be discovered at St.
Lazare or at Sceaux, he examined the internal evidence. In the first
place, an Oncidium must needs be American, since the genus is not found in
the Old World. This species also must dwell in a hot climate; leaves so
rigid and fleshy are designed to bear a scorching sun. But the
possibilities seemed almost boundless, even thus limited. Patiently and
thoughtfully Mr. Sander worked out a process of exhaustion. Mexico might
be neglected, for a time at least; those hunting-grounds had been so often
explored that some one must surely have come across a flower so
conspicuous. So it was with New Grenada. Brazilian Cattleyas have thick,
hard leaves, though not to compare with this Oncidium; but they form a
single genus which shows the peculiarity among hundreds which do not.
Brazil, therefore, might be excluded for the present. The astonishing
wealth of Peru in varieties of orchid was not suspected then. After such
careful thought as a man of business allows himself when tempted by a
speculation which may cost thousands of pounds, Mr. Sander determined
that, upon the whole, Central America was the most likely spot; and again,
after more balancing of the chances, that Costa Rica was the most likely
part of Central America.
After coming to a decision he acted promptly. In 1878 Mr. Oversluys, one
of our trustiest and most experienced collectors, was despatched to Costa
Rica. More than three years he travelled up and down, and treasures new or
old he sent in abundance--Epidendron ciliare, Cattleya Bowringiana,
Oncidium cheirophorum, are names that occur at the moment. But as for
Oncidium splendidum he had not so much as heard of it. Not a peon could be
found in the woods to recognise the sketch which Mr. Sander had given him.
Oversluys had never seen the plant himself, I think.