op of the highest trees, which must be felled to secure the
treasure; and of those gathered but a small proportion survive. In the
first place, the agent must employ natives, who are paid so much per
plant, no matter what the size--a bad system, but they will allow no
change. It is evidently their interest to divide any "specimen" that
will bear cutting up; if the fragments bleed to death, they have got
their money meantime. Then, the Manilla steamers call at Mindanao only
once a month. Three months are needed to get together plants enough to
yield a fair profit. At the end of that time a large proportion of those
first gathered will certainly be doomed--Vandas have no pseudo-bulbs to
sustain their strength. Steamers run from Manilla to Singapore every
fortnight. If the collector be fortunate he may light upon a captain
willing to receive his packages; in that case he builds structures of
bamboo on deck, and spends the next fortnight in watering, shading, and
ventilating his precious _trouvailles_, alternately. But captains
willing to receive such freight must be waited for too often. At
Singapore it is necessary to make a final overhauling of the plants--to
their woeful diminution. This done, troubles recommence. Seldom will
the captain of a mail steamer accept that miscellaneous cargo. Happily,
the time of year is, or ought to be, that season when tea-ships arrive
at Singapore. The collector may reasonably hope to secure a passage in
one of these, which will carry him to England in thirty-five days or so.
If this state of things be pondered, even without allowance for
accident, it will not seem surprising that _V. Sanderiana_ is a costly
species. The largest piece yet secured was bought by Sir Trevor Lawrence
at auction for ninety guineas. It had eight stems, the tallest four feet
high. No consignment has yet returned a profit, however.

The favoured home of Vandas is Java. They are noble plants even when at
rest, if perfect--that is, clothed in their glossy, dark green leaves
from base to crown. If there be any age or any height at which the lower
leaves fall of necessity, I have not been able to identify it. In Mr.
Sander's collection, for instance, there is a giant plant of _Vanda
suavis_, eleven growths, a small thicket, established in 1847. The
tallest stem measures fifteen feet, and every one of its leaves remain.
They fall off easily under bad treatment, but the mischief is reparable
at a certain sacrifice. The