MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 159 
war period resulted in losing a large majority of stock plants 
necessary to subsequent displays the parent plants which 
would have been difficult to replace were taken care of in the 
permanent conservatories. Chief among these were the new 
types of pink, white, and double poinsettias introduced from 
Europe before the war. The common red form was allowed to 
a as it could readily be replaced from American florists’ 
stock. 
The Christmas floral display for 1920 will be entirely dif- 
ferent from that of previous years. The bright scarlet poin- 
settias which formerly constituted an important feature of 
the show will be set aside for the delicate, softer-colored 
bracts of the new hybrid pink and white types, over a thou- 
sand plants having been propagated from the few plants car- 
ried over. These are of varied heights, due to the inten- 
sive cultivation necessary to obtain sufficient numbers for the 
exhibit. The tall specimens of eight feet or over were prop- 
agated from cuttings obtained from parent plants last March. 
As the warm weather approached these parent plants were 
planted outside to further increase their growth that they 
might furnish a sufficient number of cuttings for the pres- 
ent Christmas display. The dwarf plants in large pots were 
rooted during the latter part of September. The poinsettias 
are exhibited in two embankments bordered by the Jeru- 
salem cherries (Solanum Pseudo-capsicum). The cyclamens 
which ordinarily require over twelve months’ preparation will 
not be included in the 1920 display. 
ORCHIDS 
The donation by the late D. S. Brown of his entire orchid 
collection to the Garden has necessitated transferring the 
flowering orchids to the more spacious floral display house. 
The hundreds of orchids in the Christmas floral display con- 
stitute the largest exhibit of epiphytic plants ever staged in 
St. Louis, comparing well with the large flower shows in 
the East which are concentrated from several collections. 
Mr. Brown’s favorite slipper orchids dominate the ex- 
hibit. Some of these he personally raised from seeds, over five 
years being required from the time of pollination to the pro- 
duction of the first flower. One of his hybrids, a soft yellow 
variety resulting from intercrossing Paphiopedilum insigne 
Eirmanianum with the pollen of P. nitens Leeanum he dedi- 
eated to his daughter, calling it Paphiopedilum ‘‘Sidney 
Brown.” Another he named for his orchid grower, J. C. 
- Krumm, who managed the collection up to the time of its 
