249, REPORT OF THE CONFERENCE ON GENETICS. 
HYBRID ODONTOGLOSSA. 
By pE Barri Crawsaay, F.R.H.S. 
WHEN I decided to read a paper at this Conference I thought an ex- 
haustive one, to date, would be better than “a few remarks.’’ Upon 
mature consideration, I think our knowledge has hardly arrived at a 
pitch high enough to make a paper really exhaustive ; therefore in dealing 
with this most intricate and interesting subject, I propose to give what 
I term a synopsis and “a few remarks ’’ upon some of the most easily 
understood results that have been achieved. 
The evidence we have to deal with is in some cases questionable 
rather than positive, as in our earlier days we Odontoglossum raisers 
crossed all and sundry things, and in only some of the earlier hybrids 
did we produce anything equal to, or in advance of, Nature’s creations ; 
in the later stages, and quite recently, the ratio of success becomes in- 
creasingly greater. Perhaps it may be questioned whether our hybrids 
are in advance of Nature’s, but I think after calm deliberation it will be 
agreed that we have already attained this result. 
To prophesy, unless you know, is highly dangerous, but I do not fear 
to state my conviction that in the future we shall produce very many 
hybrids far in advance of even our present standard, by utilising what, 
for some unknown reason, Nature has deprived herself of the opportunity. 
(Perhaps she did so to avoid the confusion which we are now making—yviz. 
the creation of hybrids to the exclusion of species, except in their finest 
forms.) 
What I mean is, of course, patent to all; it is, selecting and crossing 
the finest forms of species whose habitats are such distances apart that 
they cannot cross each other, and then applying the same process to 
the resulting hybrids inter se. 
Form, colour, and size will be the chief points in the hybrid of the 
future as regards its bloom, combined with a good constitution as regards 
its vegetative organs. 
If anyone does commence breeding Odontoglossa now (and I sincerely 
hope this paper may be the means of inciting some to do so) I entreat 
them to use only good and fine parents, for we can get enough rubbish 
from the importations. Rather than produce poor results, produce none 
at all. 
NATURAL HyBRIDs. 
I shall but make a passing reference to these, as it is quite impossible 
to state that many of them are hybrids in the proper sense of the word ; 
that is, the result of the union of two pure species. So many of them. 
must be only crosses of a hybrid with a species, chance crossing having 
produced such numbers of bad varieties, even worse than the poor forms 
of the species. This remark applies to all the hybrids and crosses of 
