Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1888-08-23
ORCHlD-HuNTING TOURS.

Expeditions Which COST Considerabke
Money and Require Great Patience.
Tulips are of easy cultivation. They
Are multiplied without trouble and
are of rapid growth. Orchids, On the
other hand, are of exceedingly slow
growth; they are obtained only at the
expense of money and trouble fire.
auently attended by danger and even
loss of life, and are by no means easy
to grow Many remarkable stories
might be told of the adventures OF
seekers after orcbtdaceR. They re-
quire the most arduous travel, the
most careful seeking, and the greatest
care in transport. Orchids are indig-
enous to most hot climates, but one
thing which they need quite as much,
If not, indeed, more than
heat, is water. Given a
tropical climate, seek swampy
valley, we'll protected from the
night winds and sheltered from
the direct rays of the sun. Then you
will be most likely to find your orchid
It must not, however, be imaginedsthat
all orchids grow together. Their habit
ants are as different as their colors,
and while some species are found only
in the East, others are tied to the West
until they are hunted out, gathered
and transported with the greatest care
by the assiduous collector. to ultimate
ly meet in some glass-house within the
bounds of civilization. All classes OF
0rchidaceG have in their wild state a
great horror of man. AS settlements
advance, so the orchids retire, until
their hunting grounds get smaller and
smaller and ultimately disappear alto
gether.
Orchids flourish in wel1-nigh every
part of the tropical world. The coun-
tries which are especially affected by
the orchidace.e are Brazil, Guatemala,
Colombia, Mexico, Borneo, Java,
Assam and Rangoon. Colombia prob
ably yields more spoil to the orchid
hunter than all the rest put together,
but the most prolific districts have
been pretty we'll explored now, and at
tention is being turned to the interior
of the islands in the Straits settlements
and Burmah. To equip an orchid
hunting expedition costs no trif1e. A
skilled botanist to take the command
is sine qua non. He must be accom-
panied by at least one practical assist
ant, and supplied with means for pro-
tecting and packing the plants when
found. The travelling expenses to the
far land to be explored arc q fraction
of the cost Of the expedition. Arrived
In Mexico or Assam, as the case
may be, small regiment OF
men and boys, horses and dom
| keys has to be hired to convey the
party and to carry back the orchids
The expedition is frequently gono six
months or more, and sometimes re
turns empty handed. Even when
| good find is reached and burden OF
i several thousand roots is safely con-
veyed to the coast, the trouble IS bu,
half over. Many cases are on record
where the botanist, after having seen
his precious treasures carefully slowed
away on board the steamer, muses.
| contented1y over his success on the
way. until, arrived in London, he
opens his bales to find every plant
dead. A good load brought safely &c
4 market more than makes up for such
mishaps, however; and when it i
borne in mind that any thing like /
| novelty or even fresh strain in a,
orchid brings price Of from $25 t,
500, it will be seen that the risk i
worth running. Springfield (Mnss.'
Republican.