plantations in a country suitable should establish a "farm," or rather
a market-garden, and grow the precious things for exportation. It is an
excellent idea, and when tea, coffee, sugar-cane, all the regular crops
of the East and West Indies, are so depreciated by competition, one
would think that some planters might adopt it. Perhaps some have; it is
too early yet for results. Upon inquiry I hear of a case, but it is not
encouraging. One of Mr. Sander's collectors, marrying when on service in
the United States of Colombia, resolved to follow Mr. Burbidge's advice.
He set up his "farm" and began "hybridizing" freely. No man living is
better qualified as a collector, for the hero of this little tale is Mr.
Kerbach, a name familiar among those who take interest in such matters;
but I am not aware that he had any experience in growing orchids. To
start with hybridizing seems very ambitious--too much of a short cut to
fortune. However, in less than eighteen months Mr. Kerbach found it did
not answer, for reasons unexplained, and he begged to be reinstated in
Mr. Sander's service. It is clear, indeed, that the orchid-farmer of the
future, in whose success I firmly believe, will be wise to begin
modestly, cultivating the species he finds in his neighbourhood. It is
not in our greenhouses alone that these plants sometimes show likes and
dislikes beyond explanation. For example, many gentlemen in Costa
Rica--a wealthy land, and comparatively civilized--have tried to
cultivate the glorious _Cattleya Dowiana_. For business purposes also
the attempt has been made. But never with success. In those tropical
lands a variation of climate or circumstances, small perhaps, but such
as plants that subsist mostly upon air can recognize, will be found in a
very narrow circuit. We say that Trichopilias have their home at Bogota.
As a matter of fact, however, they will not live in the immediate
vicinity of that town, though the woods, fifteen miles away, are stocked
with them. The orchid-farmer will have to begin cautiously, propagating
what he finds at hand, and he must not be hasty in sending his crop to
market. It is a general rule of experience that plants brought from the
forest and "established" before shipment do less well than those shipped
direct in good condition, though the public, naturally, is slow to admit
a conclusion opposed by _à priori_ reasoning. The cause may be that they
exhaust their strength in that first effort, and suffer more severely on
the voyage.
I hear of one gentleman, however, who appears to be cultivating orchids
with success. This is Mr. Rand, dwelling on the Rio Negro, in Brazil,
where he has established a plantation of _Hevia Brazilienses_, a new
caoutchouc of the highest quality, indigenous to those parts. Some years
ago Mr. Rand wrote to Mr. Godseff, at St. Albans, begging plants of
_Vanda Sanderiana_ and other Oriental species, which were duly
forwarded. In return he despatched some pieces of a new Epidendrum,
named in his honour _E. Randii_, a noble flower, with brown sepals and
petals, the lip crimson, betwixt two large white wings. This and others
native to the Rio Negro Mr. Rand is propagating on a large scale in
shreds of bamboo, especially a white _Cattleya superba_ which he himself
discovered. It is pleasing to add that by latest reports all the
Oriental species were thriving to perfection on the other side of the
Atlantic.
Vandas, indeed, should flourish where _Cattleya superba_ is at home, or
anything else that loves the atmosphere of a kitchen on washing-day at
midsummer. Though all the Cattleyas, or very nearly all, will "do" in an
intermediate house, several prefer the stove. Of two among them, _C.
Dowiana_ and _C. aurea_, I spoke in the preceding chapter with an
enthusiasm that does not bear repetition. _Cattleya guttata Leopoldi_
grows upon rocks in the little island of Sta. Catarina, Brazil, in
company with _Loelia elegans_ and _L. purpurata_. There the four dwelt
in such numbers only twenty years ago that the supply was thought
inexhaustible. It has come to an end already, and collectors no longer
visit the spot. Cliffs and ravines which men still young can recollect
ablaze with colour, are as bare now as a stone-quarry. Nature had done
much to protect her treasures; they flourished mostly in places which
the human foot cannot reach--_Loelia elegans_ and _Cattleya g.
Leopoldi_ inextricably entwined, clinging to the face of lofty rocks.
The blooms of the former are white and mauve, of the latter
chocolate-brown, spotted with dark red, the lip purple. A wondrous sight
that must have been in the time of flowering. It is lost now, probably
for ever. Natives went down, suspended on a rope, and swept the whole
circuit of the island, year by year. A few specimens remain in nooks
absolutely inaccessible, but those happy mortals who possess a bit of
_L. elegans_ should treasure it, for more are very seldom forthcoming.
_Loelia elegans Statteriana_ is the finest variety perhaps; the
crimson velvet tip of its labellum is as clearly and sharply-defined
upon the snow-white surface as pencil could draw; it looks like
painting by the steadiest of hands in angelic colour. _C. g. Leopoldi_
has been found elsewhere. It is deliciously scented. I observed a plant
at St. Albans lately with three spikes, each bearing over twenty
flowers; many strong perfumes there were in the house, but that
overpowered them all. The _Loelia purpurata_ of Sta. Catarina, to
which the finest varieties in cultivation belong, has shared the same
fate. It occupied boulders jutting out above the swamps in the full
glare of tropic sunshine. Many gardeners give it too much shade. This
species grows also on the mainland, but of inferior quality in all
respects; curiously enough it dwells upon trees there, even though rocks
be at hand, while the island variety, I believe, was never found on
timber.
Another hot Cattleya of the highest class is _C. Acklandiæ_ It belongs
to the dwarf section of the genus, and inexperienced persons are vastly
surprised to see such a little plant bearing two flowers on a spike,
each larger than itself. They are four inches in diameter, petals and
sepals chocolate-brown, barred with yellow, lip large, of colour varying
from rose to purple. _C. Acklandiæ_ is found at Bahia, where it grows
side by side with _C. amethystoglossa_, also a charming species, very
tall, leafless to the tip of its pseudo-bulbs. Thus the dwarf beneath
is seen in all its beauty. As they cling together in great masses the
pair must make a flower-bed to themselves--above, the clustered spikes
of _C. amethystoglossa_, dusky-lilac, purple-spotted, with a lip of
amethyst; upon the ground the rich chocolate and rose of _C. Acklandiæ_.
_Cattleya superba_, as has been said, dwells also on the Rio Negro in
Brazil; it has a wide range, for specimens have been sent from the Rio
Meta in Colombia. This species is not loved by gardeners, who find it
difficult to cultivate and almost impossible to flower, probably because
they cannot give it sunshine enough. I have heard that Baron Hruby, a
Hungarian enthusiast in our science, has no sort of trouble; wonders,
indeed, are reported of that admirable collection, where all the hot
orchids thrive like weeds. The Briton may find comfort in assuming that
cool species are happier beneath his cloudy skies; if he be prudent, he
will not seek to verify the assumption. The Assistant Curator of Kew
assures us, in his excellent little work, "Orchids," that the late Mr.
Spyers grew _C. superba_ well, and he details his method. I myself have
never seen the bloom. Mr. Watson describes it as five inches across,
"bright rosy-purple suffused with white, very fragrant, lip with acute
side lobes folding over the column,"--making a funnel, in short--"the
front lobe spreading, kidney-shaped, crimson-purple, with a blotch of
white and yellow in front."
In the same districts with _Cattleya superba_ grows _Galleandra
Devoniana_ under circumstances rather unusual. It clings to the very tip
of a slender palm, in swamps which the Indians themselves regard with
dread as the chosen home of fever and mosquitoes. It was discovered by
Sir Robert Schomburgk, who compared the flower to a foxglove, referring
especially, perhaps, to the graceful bend of its long pseudo-bulbs,
which is almost lost under cultivation. The tube-like flowers are
purple, contrasting exquisitely with a snow-white lip, striped with
lilac in the throat.
Phaloenopsis, of course, are hot. This is one of our oldest genera which
still rank in the first class. It was drawn and described so early as
1750, and a plant reached Messrs. Rollisson in 1838; they sold it to the
Duke of Devonshire for a hundred guineas. Many persons regard
Phaloenopsis as the loveliest of all, and there is no question of their
supreme beauty, though not everyone may rank them first. They come
mostly from the Philippines, but Java, Borneo, Cochin China, Burmah,
even Assam contribute some species. Colonel Berkeley found _Ph.
tetraspis_, snow-white, and _Ph. speciosa_, purple, in the Andamans,
when he was Governor of that settlement, clinging to low bushes along
the mangrove creeks. So far as I know, all the species dwell within
breath of the sea, as it may be put, where the atmosphere is laden with
salt; this gives a hint to the thoughtful. Mr. Partington, of Cheshunt,
who was the most renowned cultivator of the genus in his time, used to
lay down salt upon the paths and beneath the stages of his Phaloenopsis
house. Lady Howard de Walden stands first, perhaps, at the present day,
and her gardener follows the same system. These plants, indeed, are
affected, for good or ill, by influences too subtle for our perception
as yet. Experiment alone will decide whether a certain house, or a
certain neighbourhood even, is agreeable to their taste. It is a waste
of money in general to make alterations; if they do not like the place
they won't live there, and that's flat! It is probable that Maidstone,
where Lady Howard de Walden resides, may be specially suited to their
needs, but her ladyship's gardener knows how to turn a lucky chance to
the best account. Some of his plants have ten leaves!--the uninitiated
may think that fact grotesquely undeserving of a note of exclamation,
but to explain would be too technical. It may be observed that the
famous Swan orchid, _Cycnoches chlorochilon_, flourishes at Maidstone as
nowhere else perhaps in England.
Phaloenopsis were first introduced by Messrs. Rollisson, of Tooting, a
firm that vanished years ago, but will live in the annals of
horticulture as the earliest of the great importers. In 1836 they got
home a living specimen of _Ph. amabilis_, which had been described, and
even figured, eighty years before. A few months later the Duke of
Devonshire secured _Ph. Schilleriana_. The late Mr. B.S. Williams told
me a very curious incident relating to this species. It comes from the
Philippines, and exacts a very hot, close atmosphere of course. Once
upon a time, however, a little piece was left in the cool house at
Holloway, and remained there some months unnoticed by the authorities.
When at length the oversight was remarked, to their amaze this stranger
from the tropics, abandoned in the temperate zone, proved to be thriving
more vigorously than any of his fellows who enjoyed their proper
climate!--so he was left in peace and cherished as a "phenomenon." Four
seasons had passed when I beheld the marvel, and it was a picture of
health and strength, flowering freely; but the reader is not advised to
introduce a few Phaloenopsis to his Odontoglossums--not by any means.
Mr. Williams himself never repeated the experiment. It was one of those
delightfully perplexing vagaries which the orchid-grower notes from time
to time.
There are rare species of this genus which will not be found in the
dealers' catalogues, and amateurs who like a novelty may be pleased to
hear some names. _Ph. Manni_, christened in honour of Mr. Mann, Director
of the Indian Forest Department, is yellow and red; _Ph. cornucervi_,
yellow and brown; _Ph. Portei_, a natural hybrid, of _Ph. rosea_ and
_Ph. Aphrodite_, white, the lip amethyst. It is found very, very rarely
in the woods near Manilla. Above all, _Ph. Sanderiana_, to which hangs a
little tale.
So soon as the natives of the Philippines began to understand that their
white and lilac weeds were cherished in Europe, they talked of a scarlet
variety, which thrilled listening collectors with joy; but the precious
thing never came to hand, and, on closer inquiry, no responsible witness
could be found who had seen it. Years passed by and the scarlet
Phaloenopsis became a jest among orchidaceans. The natives persisted,
however, and Mr. Sander found the belief so general, if shadowy, that
when a service of coasting steamers was established, he sent Mr.
Roebelin to make a thorough investigation. His enterprise and sagacity
were rewarded, as usual. After floating round for twenty-five years
amidst derision, the rumour proved true in part. _Ph. Sanderiana_ is not
scarlet but purplish rose, a very handsome and distinct species.
To the same collector we owe the noblest of Aerides, _A. Lawrenciæ_,
waxy white tipped with purple, and deep purple lip. Besides the lovely
colouring it is the largest by far of that genus. Mr. Roebelin sent two
plants from the Far East; he had not seen the flower, nor received any
description from the natives. Mr. Sander grew them in equal ignorance
for three years, and sent one to auction in blossom; it fell to Sir
Trevor Lawrence's bid for 235 guineas.
[Illustration: COELOGENE PANDURATA.
Reduced to One Sixth]
Many of the Coelogenes classed as cool, which, indeed, rub along with
Odontoglossums, do better in the stove while growing. _Coel. cristata_
itself comes from Nepaul, where the summer sun is terrible, and it
covers the rocks most exposed. But I will only name a few of those
recognized as hot. Amongst the most striking of flowers, exquisitely
pretty also, is _Coel. pandurata_, from Borneo. Its spike has been
described by a person of fine fancy as resembling a row of glossy
pea-green frogs with black tongues, each three inches in diameter. The
whole bloom is brilliantly green, but several ridges clothed with hairs
as black and soft as velvet run down the lip, seeming to issue from a
mouth. It is strange to see that a plant so curious, so beautiful, and
so sweet should be so rarely cultivated; I own, however, that it is very
unwilling to make itself at home with us. _Coel. Dayana_, also a
native of Borneo, one of our newest discoveries, is named after Mr. Day,
of Tottenham. I may interpolate a remark here for the encouragement of
poor but enthusiastic members of our fraternity. When Mr. Day sold his
collection lately, an American "Syndicate" paid 12,000l. down, and the
remaining plants fetched 12,000l. at auction; so, at least, the
uncontradicted report goes. _Coel. Dayana_ is rare, of course, and
dear, but Mr. Sander has lately imported a large quantity. The spike is
three feet long sometimes, a pendant wreath of buff-yellow flowers
broadly striped with chocolate. _Coel. Massangeana_, from Assam,
resembles this, but the lip is deep crimson-brown, with lines of yellow,
and a white edge. Newest of all the Coelogenes, and supremely
beautiful, is _Coel. Sanderiana_, imported by the gentleman whose name
it bears. He has been called "The Orchid King." This superb species has
only flowered once in Europe as yet; Baron Ferdinand Rothschild is the
happy man. Its snow-white blooms, six on a spike generally, each three
inches across, have very dark brown stripes on the lip. It was
discovered in Borneo by Mr. Forstermann, the same collector who happed
upon the wondrous scarlet Dendrobe, mentioned in a former chapter. There
I stated that Baron Schroeder had three pieces; this was a mistake
unfortunately. Mr. Forstermann only secured three, of which two died on
the journey. Baron Schroeder bought the third, but it has perished. No
more can be found as yet.
Of Oncidiums there are many that demand stove treatment. The story of
_Onc. splendidum_ is curious. It first turned up in France some thirty
years ago. A ship's captain sailing from St. Lazare brought half a dozen
pieces, which he gave to his "owner," M. Herman. The latter handed them
to MM. Thibaut and Ketteler, of Sceaux, who split them up and
distributed them. Two of the original plants found their way to England,
and they also appear to have been cut up. A legend of the King Street
Auction Room recalls how perfervid competitors ran up a bit of _Onc.
splendidum_, that had only one leaf, to thirty guineas. The whole stock
vanished presently, which is not surprising if it had all been divided
in the same ruthless manner. From that day the species was lost until
Mr. Sander turned his attention to it. There was no record of its
habitat. The name of the vessel, or even of the captain, might have
furnished a clue had it been recorded, for the shipping intelligence of
the day would have shown what ports he was frequenting about that time.
I could tell of mysterious orchids traced home upon indications less
distinct. But there was absolutely nothing. Mr. Sander, however, had
scrutinized the plant carefully, while specimens were still extant, and
from the structure of the leaf he formed a strong conclusion that it
must belong to the Central American flora; furthermore, that it must
inhabit a very warm locality. In 1882 he directed one of his collectors,
Mr. Oversluys, to look for the precious thing in Costa Rica. Year after
year the search proceeded, until Mr. Oversluys declared with some warmth
that _Onc. splendidum_ might grow in heaven or in the other place, but
it was not to be found in Costa Rica. But theorists are stubborn, and
year after year he was sent back. At length, in 1882, riding through a
district often explored, the collector found himself in a grassy plain,
dotted with pale yellow flowers. He had beheld the same many times, but
his business was orchids. On this occasion, however, he chanced to
approach one of the masses, and recognized the object of his quest. It
was the familiar case of a man who overlooks the thing he has to find,
because it is too near and too conspicuous. But Mr. Oversluys had excuse
enough. Who could have expected to see an Oncidium buried in long grass,
exposed to the full power of a tropic sun?
_Oncidium Lanceanum_ is, perhaps, the hottest of its genus. Those happy
mortals who can grow it declare they have no trouble, but unless
perfectly strong and healthy it gets "the spot," and promptly goes to
wreck. In the houses of the "New Plant and Bulb Company," at
Colchester--now extinct--_Onc. Lanceanum_ flourished with a vigour
almost embarrassing, putting forth such enormous leaves, as it hung
close to the glass, as made blinds quite superfluous at midsummer. But
this was an extraordinary case. Certainly it is a glorious spectacle in
flower--yellow, barred with brown; the lip violet. The spikes last a
month in full beauty--sometimes two.
An Oncidium which always commands attention from the public and grateful
regard from the devotee is _Onc. papilio_. Its strange form fascinated
the Duke of Devonshire, grandfather to the present, who was almost the
first of our lordly amateurs, and tempted him to undertake the
explorations which introduced so many fine plants to Europe.
The "Butterfly orchid" is so familiar that I do not pause to describe
it. But imagine that most interesting flower all blue, instead of gold
and brown! I have never been able to learn what was the foundation of
the old belief in such a marvel. But the great Lindley went to his grave
in unshaken confidence that a blue _papilio_ exists. Once he thought he
had a specimen; but it flowered, and his triumph had to be postponed. I
myself heard of it two years back, and tried to cherish a belief that
the news was true. A friend from Natal assured me that he had seen one
on the table of the Director of the Gardens at Durban; but it proved to
be one of those terrestrial orchids, so lovely and so tantalizing to us,
with which South Africa abounds. Very slowly do we lengthen the
catalogue of them in our houses. There are gardeners, such as Mr. Cook
at Loughborough, who grow _Disa grandiflora_ like a weed. Mr. Watson of
Kew demonstrated that _Disa racemosa_ will flourish under conditions
easily secured. I had the good fortune to do as much for _Disa
Cooperi_, though not by my own skill. One supreme little triumph is
mine, however. In very early days, when animated with the courage of
utter ignorance, I bought eight bulbs of _Disa discolor_, and flowered
them, every one! No mortal in Europe had done it before, nor has any
tried since, I charitably hope, for a more rubbishing bloom does not
exist. But there it was--_Ego feci_! And the specimen in the Herbarium
at Kew bears my name.
But legends should not be disregarded when it is certain that they reach
us from a native source. Some of the most striking finds had been
announced long since by observant savages. I have told the story of
_Phaloenopsis Sanderiana_. It was a Zulu who put the discoverer of the
new yellow Calla on the track. The blue Utricularia had been heard of
and discredited long before it was found--Utricularias are not orchids
indeed, but only botanists regard the distinction. The natives of Assam
persistently assert that a bright yellow Cymbidium grows there, of
supremest beauty, and we expect it to turn up one day; the Malagasy
describe a scarlet one. But I am digressing.
Epidendrums mostly will bear as much heat as can be given them while
growing; all demand more sunshine than they can get in our climate.
Amateurs do not seem to be so well acquainted with the grand things of
this genus as they should be. They distrust all imported Epidendrums.
Many worthless species, indeed, bear a perplexing resemblance to the
finest; so much so, that the most observant of authorities would not
think of buying at the auction-room unless he had confidence enough in
the seller's honesty to accept his description of a "lot." Gloriously
beautiful, however, are some of those rarely met with; easy to cultivate
also, in a sunny place, and not dear. _Epid. rhizophorum_ has been
lately rechristened _Epid. radicans_--a name which might be confined to
the Mexican variety. For the plant recurs in Brazil, practically the
same, but with a certain difference. The former grows on shrubs, a true
epiphyte; the latter has its bottom roots in the soil, at foot of the
tallest trees, and runs up to the very summit, perhaps a hundred and
fifty feet. The flowers also show a distinction, but in effect they are
brilliant orange-red, the lip yellow, edged with scarlet. Forty or fifty
of them hanging in a cluster from the top of the raceme make a show to
remember. Mr. Watson "saw a plant a few years ago, that bore eighty-six
heads of flowers!" They last for three months. _Epid. prismatocarpum_,
also, is a lovely thing, with narrow dagger-like sepals and petals,
creamy-yellow, spotted black, lip mauve or violet, edged with pale
yellow.
Of the many hot Dendrobiums, Australia supplies a good proportion. There
is _D. bigibbum_, of course, too well known for description; it dwells
on the small islands in Torres Straits. This species flowered at Kew so
early as 1824, but the plant died. Messrs. Loddiges, of Hackney,
re-introduced it thirty years later. _D. Johannis_, from Queensland,
brown and yellow, streaked with orange, the flowers curiously twisted.
_D. superbiens_, from Torres Straits, rosy purple, edged with white, lip
crimson. Handsomest of all by far is _D. phaloenopsis_. It throws out a
long, slender spike from the tip of the pseudo-bulb, bearing six or more
flowers, three inches across. The sepals are lance-shaped, and the
petals, twice as broad, rosy-lilac, with veins of darker tint; the lip,
arched over by its side lobes, crimson-lake in the throat, paler and
striped at the mouth. It was first sent home by Mr. Forbes, of Kew
Gardens, from Timor Laüt, in 1880. But Mr. Fitzgerald had made drawings
of a species substantially the same, some years before, from a plant he
discovered on the property of Captain Bloomfield, Balmain, in
Queensland, nearly a thousand miles south of Timor. Mr. Sander caused
search to be made, and he has introduced Mr. Fitzgerald's variety under
the name of _D. ph. Statterianum_. It is smaller than the type, and
crimson instead of lilac.
Bulbophyllums rank among the marvels of nature. It is a point
comparatively trivial that this genus includes the largest of orchids
and, perhaps, the smallest.