The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-05-13

dangers Of heat, fever, treachery and starya
ton, 1t Is only natural, therefore, that or
child hunters are few and that their pay Is
high. When you find one Of the best of
them you have found a man who has trav-
elled into almost every part Of the civilized
world.
There's excitement In the work, Though.
and that IL what makes it endurable. It's a
gamble, too, for often 4 man returns from a
trip that has lasted perhaps q year, perhaps
three, with q lot Of dry roots. the value Of
which is absolutely problematioal. Any
one Of them may turn out TO be worth moro
than 81 900; perhaps there is a record breaker
among them; they may all be comparatively
common. and therefore worth but little.
Oaly whom they are revived in hothoases
and their blooms appeir oan the collector
tell whether his trip has been a failure or a
success, although nc experienced orchid
hunter ever comes home without something
OF value.
South America Is q favorite field for
orchid hunters In spite OF tho fact that the
man who goes there after them must risk
the fever and diseases that are common
In pestilential climates. The finest flowers
are found often in the most impenetrable
places, as though nature held them out az
q prize to those who could conquer her
thick swamps or dense forests.
Weeks are spent floating down South
American rivers ON RATS. Trees .overhang
the banks and on these are the sought for
orchids. But with the beautiful flowers
animals, which add a new danger to the
game. and insects whose bite Ia serious.
So thick are the inseots In some localities
that the experienced botanist cuts the over
banging tree, drops it into the river and
lows It for miles until the danger from
the pests that accompany the sought for
flowers has been eliminated,
The orchids flower once a year; and II II
this fact thai makes the game Of collecting
them such a lottery, They are not always
In bloom when the Orchid hunter comes
along, and he can tell only In a general way
what they are when the flowers are not pres
ent to guide him. So he takes a few samples
OF all the varieties which promise any
thing new or unusual. Tho roots are care
fully pulled from the stones, tree trunks
or stumps to which they cling, or a portion
OF the base from which the plants depend
La cut of and the roots are left as they have
grown.
Then the plants are dried, carefully
hacked to avoid being crushed or bruised
and shipped away to the North. A certain
percenta &c, Of course, is killed In transport
tation, but the plants which survive live
for years.
A two or three year trip into the tropics
for orchids 10 a mighty expensive undertake
inp. Provisions must be bought and a
party OF natives hired. The expenses are
almost unlimited and 1t Is probably due
10 that fact that some Of the orchidshunters
never come back.
A London firm sent q man into South
America a few years ago for a two year trip.
He had about $50. 900 with hihi In gold with
which to form hts expedition and pay HE
natives. He went into the forest and never
returned and there Is q strong belief that
he was murdered by the natives for his
money.
There died In Flushing q few years ago
q man who had hunted orchids all over the
world for Sander & Co., the London firm
which made a speciality Of rare flowers.
His name was Ignatius Fosterman and a
single instance Of one of his expeditions
shows pretty we'll what sort OF a task IL
mapped out for an orchid hunter,
A man walked into Sander & Co.. offices
one day back in the sos carrying a dried
orchid which he said had been sent TO him
by a brother in India. He. wanted to know
IL 1t were a new species and II 1t had anv
particular value. There was no way to tell
that until 1t bloomed and he left the plant
with the importers.
When the flower came It was recognized
a. a new species. 1t was beautiful, too,
and it brought 81 $50. Sander q Co. con-
graduated the owner upon his good luck
and sent Fosterman to India to find more
Of the new species Of orchid. 1t was a tough
lob, but Fosterman started out with plenty
Of hope. courage and expense money.
That and experience were about all he. had,
for he did not even know where the man In