Its normal type was at
least as charming as any, and it showed an extraordinary readiness to
vary. Few, as has been said, were the plants in cultivation, but they
gave three distinct varieties. Van Houtte shows us two in his admirable
_Flore des Serres; C. l. candida_, from Syon House, pure white excepting
the ochrous throat--which is invariable--and _C. l. picta_, deep red,
from the collection of J.J. Blandy, Esq., Reading. The third was _C. l.
Pescatorei_, white, with a deep red blotch upon the lip, formerly owned
by Messrs. Rouget-Chauvier, of Paris, now by the Duc de Massa.
Under such circumstances the dealers began to stir in earnest. From the
first, indeed, the more enterprising had made efforts to import a plant
which, as they supposed, must be a common weed at Rio, since men used
it to "pack" boxes. But that this was an error they soon perceived.
Taking the town as a centre, collectors pushed out on all sides.
Probably there is not one of the large dealers, in England or the
Continent, dead or living, who has not spent money--a large sum, too--in
searching for _C. l. vera_. Probably, also, not one has lost by the
speculation, though never a sign nor a hint, scarcely a rumour, of the
thing sought rewarded them. For all secured new orchids, new
bulbs--Eucharis in especial--Dipladenias, Bromeliaceae, Calladiums,
Marantas, Aristolochias, and what not.
Pages:
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169