82 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
ziliensis; Stanhopea eburna x S. tigrina, which bore fruit, but it 
decayed before ripening. . 
With regard to Cypripediums, Mr. Veitch sends the following obser- 
vations as the result of his experience. No progeny has yet been raised 
from crossing the species of Selenipediwm with Cypripediwm (Sect. 
Coriacea, Benth., Paphiopediwm, Pfitzer), or vice versd, or between 
species of either of these sections and the hardy cypripedia ( foliose, 
Benth.). 
The species chiefly used in the experiments were, of Selen., well-nigh 
all in cultivation ; of Cyp. (coriacee), the group of species known among 
horticulturists as the barbatwm section, distinguished by their one-, 
rarely two-, flowered scapes, their tessellated foliage, and their semi- 
lunar staminode ; and the group called the Stonei section, distinguished 
by their many-flowered scapes, their pendent, narrow petals and shield- 
shaped staminode ; and in Cypripedium ( foliose), our native species. C. 
Calceolus, and the American species C. spectabile, C. pubescens, &ce., 
have formed capsules in abundance, but they were invariably barren. 
Interesting eXperiments upon the capability of pollen have been made by 
Professor EK. Strasburger, which show that very similar effects of imperfect 
fertilisation can be produced where it cannot be said that there is any 
affinity at all. Thus, he found that Lathyrus montanus would put out 
pollen-tubes, which will enter the ovary of Convallaria latifolia ; those of 
Agapanthus wmbellatus will penetrate deep into the style of Achimenes 
grandiflora. Those of Fritillaria persica will not only enter the ovary 
of species of Orchis, but will even excite the development of the ovules 
and will cause them to begin to swell. The pollen-grains of Achinvenes 
grandiflora will not, on the other hand, penetrate the stigma of 
Agapanthus. 
The possibility of the pollen-grains of one species or genus developing 
tubes on the stigma of another species or genus does not depend upon the 
possibility of hybridisation between them. As a rule, the pollen-tubes 
penetrate the style or ovary to a depth proportional to the relationship of 
the species ; though Lathyrus montanus and Convallaria, as mentioned 
above, are exceptions. 
That varieties of the same species exhibit greater capacity for exciting 
the development of pollen-tubes than species of the same genus, depends 
simply on a greater resemblance in the composition of the nutrient 
material, furnished to the pollen grains and tubes by the stigma and 
style. 
Hybridisation is an evidence of sexual affinity, but its non-occurrence 
is no evidence of the absence of affinity. 
ExcesstvE Preporency, or Fause Hysprivs.—The question as to 
the influence of the male or female parent respectively has often engaged 
the attention of hybridisers. In some features one parent has seemed 
to predominate, in others the other parent; while perhaps as a general 
rule neither does so, but the progeny are strictly intermediate between 
them. 
Experience, however, leads one to the conclusion that, starting from 
the intermediate condition, either parent may predominate in every degree, 
up to an apparently exact imitation of itself in the hybrid offspring. In 
