Benjamin Samuel Williams

"The finest example of a tropical conservatory we ever saw is the one at , the property of , at the time we saw it the plants were in excellent condition, reflecting great credit on Mr. Speed, the head gardener; the fine s and s give it a splendid tropical effect, and the beauties of all are considerably enhanced by a gallery, which thus enables the visitor to inspect the plants above and below, and no large plant house should be erected without a structure of this kind."

"are among the most beautiful of Orchids, many of them uniting every good quality that a plant can possess,—rich, evergreen, and regularly-curved foliage,—a graceful habit,—flowers of peculiar elegance. ... These plants are of easy culture, and if properly attended to are seldom out of order. They are found in the hottest parts of India and other warm countries, growing on the branches of trees, generally on such as overhang streams of water; and to grow them in anything like perfection, the climate in which they grow wild must be imitated as nearly as possible."

"Onc. Barkerii.—A remarkably handsome dwarf Orchid from Mexico; the flowers are very large; the sepals and petals rich brown barred with yellow; the lip a bright yellow, about an inch and a half across. It produces its branching spikes of flower during the dull months of winter, which greatly enhances it value, and it lasts six weeks in bloom."