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B. vciTHCosa is readily distinguished from B. caudata, B. Lanceana, and B. viaerostaehya, by die
obovate (not oblong, oval, or ovate) form of the labelliim, :iiid from B. maculata by the great dispLiritj'
between its sepals and petals. Another peculiarity is to be found in the little green \vart5 which are
profusely scattered over the lower parts of tie tabellum, and wliich suggested to Professor LINDLEY the
specific name. {Vide Bot. Reg. 3/wc. 1840, No. 66.) B. verrucom idso differs from its congeners in
the form of the pseudo-bidbs, which ;ire rounder at the edges tlian in Uie other species, and likewise more
deeply furrowed; their colour, too, is diu-ker.
As regards culture, the treatment ordinarily applied to Orchidace?e will be suitable for B. verrucosa;
the plant, liowever, is a slow grower. It tlowered at Tooting in ¿Vpril, 1840.
1JI tlie Vignette arc seen the famous Ciiinampas (or floating gardens) of Mexico, of which HUMBOLDT,
in his " Pereonal Narrative," has given such an interesting account. They occur in the River Chalco,
about ten miles from tlie capit;il, and owe their singular appellation to the circumstance of their having
been formed upon what \\-ere originally drifting masses of reeds, roots of trees, &c., M'hich, acquiring consistency
by degrees, were at length compact enough to support a fresh vegetation of their own. Their
peculiar fitness for what we call "kitchen gardens" seems to have early attracted the quick eye of the
Indians, and the care sliU taken of them by these industrious people is sufliciently attested by the rich
variet}' ol" fruits and vegetables which they furnish daily to the markets of Mexico. " In fine eveninijs,"
says Hi'MnoLDT, " hundreds of csinoes, crowded with Indians neiitly dressed, tlieir heads crowned witli
the most gaudy flowers, iire seen passing in every direction : each boat with its musician, and some of the
party singing or dancing, or both."
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Iiumui floro."
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