Title: American homes and gardens
Identifier: americanhomesgar81911newy (find matches)
Year: 1905 (1900s)
Authors:
Subjects: Architecture, Domestic; Landscape gardening
Publisher: New York : Munn and Co
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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January, 1911 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 37 sions, including the orchids, and left him alone in the forest, (n his weakened state it took Barrault a week to work his way out of the dense gloom of the forest, guided to some extent by the almost overgrown path his expedition had hacked through the undergrowth. But at last he reached a cluster of huts and rested for a week. Then, with the deter- mination of a man who never knows when he is beaten, he set to work organizing another expedition. "It was during this trip," wrote Barrault, "that with two guides I stumbled into an army of big, black ants. Before we could escape they swarmed all over us from head to foot. It was half a mile to the nearest forest stream-—a half mile covered with dense undergrowth. Frantically we clawed our way to the water, suffering agonies from the bites of the infuriated ants, and when, after what seemed years, we reached the stream's brink, we barely had strength left to fling ourselves into the water." Barrault's heart was still set on the possession of that beautiful snow-white flower. He had the remnant of Mrs. Wilson's gold in belts strapped to his body, and the party had not proceeded far when half a dozen of his redskin followers conspired to kill him in order to secure this money, which he had been forced to show them in order to obtain the Erastus Corning collections, the latter of which was gathered through a period of forty years and at an expense of $500,000. Mrs. Wilson engaged for her head gardener Alphonse Pericat, who had been head gardener at the orchid farm of Baron Alphonse de Rothschild in Paris. Her col- lection therefore represents about fifty years' work, and includes two thousand unique specimens with duplicates nowhere in the world. The best of her South American orchids, the white cattleyas, are worth from $200 to $1,000 a plant. Some idea of the prices obtained for rare orchids may be gathered from the fact that at a London auction a few months ago $4,500 was paid for a garden hybrid, the Odontoglossum crispum (Roger Sander). Last year the garden hybrid Cypripedium went for the equivalent of $1,500; and a Brussels buyer paid $4,360 for a wild 0 crispum Cookroniw. Count Apponyi of Budapest paid 85,000 to a Venezuelan for a species so gigantic that oxen were required to convey it and the section of the tree to which it was attached. H. T. Pitt paid $6,000 for a small plant which he christened Pittianum, and also $6,500 for the cele- brated imported O. crispum "Persimmon." A remarkable fact in connection with this plant is that it had been bought
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Fig. 1—Orchid, vanda lowii from Java. The two top blossoms, one on each side, are a deep yellow, and those below are white with brick red spots. Fig. 2—Orchid, Z'anda sanderiana from the Island of Mindanao, Philippines. Fig. 3—Orchid, Cypripedium insigne sandera* from Burma. Fig. 4—Cypripedium fairieanum the lost orchid found in Thibet after a world-wide search when the British expedition opened the forbidden land. their services. Just before sunrise on the following morn- in open market, before flowering, for thirty-six cents. The ing, he, who was always on the alert for trouble, heard a good fortune of orchid buyers is sometimes extraordinary, slight noise outside his tent. Peeping out he saw six of his Bulbs which have not flowered and give no signs of peculi- guides, armed with the long knives they used in hewing arity are often treasures in disguise. An amateur once gave their way through the undergrowth, stealthily advancing on three francs for an odontoglossum. It proved to be an un- the tent. Without waiting a moment Barrault seized the known variety and was re-sold for a sum exceeding Si,000. sword he had used to such good purpose in his fight with Among a lot of the commonest orchids some years ago was the rebels, and sprang out. The Indians, although sur- found a plant similar to the rest in other characteristics prised, relied on their superior numbers and returned the except the color of its stem. When it flowered the bloom orchid hunter's sword-thrusts with murderous lunges of should have been green, but it was golden, and the value their long knives. Barrault skillfully parried their blows of the plant became in consequence difficult to estimate. It until he had backed up against a huge tree, and then the real was divided into two parts and one was sold for 54,000, fight began. With the dexterity he had acquired in the and the other for $q,ooo. The latter piece was several French army he beat down the guards of the Indians, times divided, selling for $500 each time, but the first piece severely wounded three of them, and put the others to flight, was never mutilated and is now worth $6,000. There was no more trouble after this incident, and Bar- rault and his remaining natives—now thoroughly subdued— returned safely with one thousand choice orchids, which were soon dispatched by raft on the Magdalena for Bar- rinquilla, whence they were forwarded without delay to the hothouses surrounding Mrs. Wilson's palatial home in West Walnut Street, Philadelphia. Probably the most famous orchid in existence is the Cypripedium Fairieanum, which was for many years known as the Lost Orchid, from the fact that its place of origin was unknown. A few specimens had found their way into the London market many years ago and whetted the curi- osity of the collectors. It was known to be a native of some part of northern India, and immense sums were spent in About how much money Mrs. Wilson's love for orchids fitting out special expeditions to re-discover it. Wealthy has cost, we have already estimated. She has more than orchidists offered $10,000 reward to anyone who would find twenty thousand of them, and is continually increasing her a healthy wild specimen of this beautiful plant, possessions. She began by purchasing the A. R. Smith and Owing to tribal wars, many districts had of necessity

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