terygium_. Sir Trevor Lawrence has or had a plant, I
believe; there are two or three at St. Albans; but the lists of other
dealers will be searched in vain. Sir Trevor Lawrence had also a scarlet
species from Burmah; but it died even before the christening, and no
second has yet been found. Sumatra furnishes a scarlet Dendrobe, _D.
Forstermanni_, but it again is of the utmost rarity. Baron Schroeder
boasts three specimens--which have not yet flowered, however. From
Burmah comes _D. Brymerianum_, of which the story is brief, but very
thrilling if we ponder it a moment. For the missionaries sent this plant
to Europe without a description--they had not seen the bloom,
doubtless--and it sold cheap enough. We may fancy Mr. Brymer's emotion,
therefore, when the striking flower opened. Its form is unique, though
some other varieties display a long fringe--as that extraordinary
object, _Nanodes Medusae_, and also _Brassavola Digbyana_, which is
exquisitely lovely sometimes. In the case of _D. Brymerianum_ the bright
yellow lip is split all round, for two-thirds of its expanse, into
twisted filaments. We may well ask what on earth is Nature's purpose in
this eccentricity; but it is a question that arises every hour to the
most thoughtless being who grows orchids.

[Illustration: DENDROBIUM BRYMERIANUM.
Reduced To One Fourth.]

Everybody knows _Dendrobium nobile_ so well that it is not to be
discussed in prose; something might be done in poetry, perhaps, by young
gentlemen who sing of buttercups and daisies, but the rhyme would be
difficult. _D. nobile nobilius_, however, is by no means so
common--would it were! This glorified form turned up among an
importation made by Messrs. Rollisson. They propagated it, and sold four
small pieces, which are still in cultivation. But the troubles of that
renowned firm, to which we owe so great a debt, had already begun. The
mother-plant was neglected. It had fallen into such a desperate
condition when Messrs. Rollisson's plants were sold, under a decree in
bankruptcy, that the great dealers refused to bid for what should have
been a little gold-mine. A casual market-gardener hazarded thirty
shillings, brought it round so far that he could establish a number of
young plants, and sold the parent for forty pounds at last. There are,
however, several fine varieties of _D. nobile_ more valuable than
_nobilius_. _D. n. Sanderianum_ resembles that form, but it is smaller
and darker. Albinos have b