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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ORCHID HUNTING IN DEMERARA. Those who have hunted for orchids on the English chalk downs will remember how fascinating is the search for these little gems of the floral world. Not only are the plants themselves interesting, but the valleys abounding with clear springs, the turfy slopes and breezy downs, all combine to enhance the enthusiasm of the collector and make him feel that all nature is lovely. In Demerara the same result is produced by an entirely different scene. The coast is flat, and where sand-reefs mark out the shore of some past age they are covered with dense forest or scrubby bushes, which confine the area of observation to a few yards. Yet within this little space there may be hundreds of species of trees, the limbs of each more or less occupied by epiphytal orchids and other plants, all compelling attention by exquisite forms and wonderful contrivances of root, leaf, and flower. The dense forest is too dark for orchids, but on its edge and along the banks of the creeks they are often very plentiful. To procure a few plants for our gardens a party was formed early in the year, and one fine morning found us paddling on the dark waters of a tributary of the Demerara river. Passing thickets of mangroves and low thorny bushes, we wind in and out among the forest trees which tower above us on either hand. The first round of seasons for the year has just commenced, and many trees are dropping their leaves as the new buds begin to appear. A few here and there are coloured, but the autumn tints of temperate climates are almost wanting. The change is so sudden that they have no time to put on the warm yellows, browns, and crimsons of'deciduous trees. The forest giant dares not remain bare for any length of time for fear his neighbours should extend themselves over...
| ISBN-13 | 9780217074575 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10 | 021707457X |
| Weight | 1.66 Pounds |
| Dimensions | 9.00 x 6.00 x 1.15 In |
| List Price | $33.59 |
| Format | Paperback |
|---|---|
| Pages | 516 pages |
| Publisher | |
| Published On | 2009-08-01 |
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