a kitchen on washing-day at
midsummer. Though all the Cattleyas, or very nearly all, will "do" in an
intermediate house, several prefer the stove. Of two among them, _C.
Dowiana_ and _C. aurea_, I spoke in the preceding chapter with an
enthusiasm that does not bear repetition. _Cattleya guttata Leopoldi_
grows upon rocks in the little island of Sta. Catarina, Brazil, in
company with _Loelia elegans_ and _L. purpurata_. There the four dwelt
in such numbers only twenty years ago that the supply was thought
inexhaustible. It has come to an end already, and collectors no longer
visit the spot. Cliffs and ravines which men still young can recollect
ablaze with colour, are as bare now as a stone-quarry. Nature had done
much to protect her treasures; they flourished mostly in places which
the human foot cannot reach--_Loelia elegans_ and _Cattleya g.
Leopoldi_ inextricably entwined, clinging to the face of lofty rocks.
The blooms of the former are white and mauve, of the latter
chocolate-brown, spotted with dark red, the lip purple. A wondrous sight
that must have been in the time of flowering. It is lost now, probably
for ever. Natives went down, suspended on a rope, and swept the whole
circuit of the island, year by year. A few specimens remain in nooks
absolutely inaccessible, but those happy mortals who possess a bit of
_L. elegans_ should treasure it, for more are very seldom forthcoming.
_Loelia elegans Statteriana_ is the finest variety perhaps; the
crimson velvet tip of its labellum is as clearly and sharply-defined
upon the snow-white surface as pencil could draw; it looks like
painting by the steadiest of hands in angelic colour. _C. g. Leopoldi_
has been found elsewhere. It is deliciously scented. I observed a plant
at St. Albans lately with three spikes, each bearing over twenty
flowers; many strong perfumes there were in the house, but that
overpowered them all. The _Loelia purpurata_ of Sta. Catarina, to
which the finest varieties in cultivation belong, has shared the same
fate. It occupied boulders jutting out above the swamps in the full
glare of tropic sunshine. Many gardeners give it too much shade. This
species grows also on the mainland, but of inferior quality in all
respects; curiously enough it dwells upon trees there, even though rocks
be at hand, while the island variety, I believe, was never found on
timber.

Another hot Cattleya of the highest class is _C. Acklandiae_ It belongs
to the dwarf sectio