HYBRIDISING AND RAISING ORCHID SEEDLINGS. xxxvii. 



that is to say the embryo has not developed. The presence or absence of 

 an embryo can be ascertained with certainty if the lens is sufficiently 

 powerful. In the latter case the chaff ma}- be thrown away at once, but in 

 doing this one should be careful to see that all the seed is bad, for occasion- 

 ally a few good seeds will be present amongst a multitude of chaff (generally 

 near the apex of the capsule), and these might be easily overlooked. It 

 should be remembered that any good seeds are likely to fall first, so that it 

 is possible to see very quickly whether any good seeds are present, and 

 proceed accordingly. It is useless to sow a lot of chaff, and if that can be 

 left behind so much the better, for one can seldom deal with the whole, so 

 numerous are the seeds in a capsule. If most of them appear good one need 

 not trouble about separating the chaff. It is scarcely necessary to add that 

 the number on the capsule should be preserved, and that any necessary 

 entry should be made in the record book. 



Sowing the Seed will be the next stage of the process, and this too is 

 best done outside the house, because the minute seeds are so easily blown 

 about by light currents of air, and germinate where not wanted to. In 

 most cases the seed, or some of it, is best sown at once, though if the 

 capsules ripen in late autumn or winter they may be kept in paper in a dry 

 place until the days begin to lengthen, so that when they begin to germinate 

 circumstances may be favourable to their development. A label should be 

 added containing the number. 



Where to Sow. — The old custom was to sow the seed on the parent 

 plant, or on some adjacent one that will not require to be disturbed for 

 some time, and for Cypripedes and terrestrial Orchids generally, also for 

 Odontoglossums this plan is still the best. Care should be taken to choose 

 a plant that will not want potting for some time, and one where the com- 

 post is in a healthy condition. The plant should be removed to the shed, 

 and the seeds sprinkled thinly over the compost, after which a label should 

 be inserted containing the number of the cross, A light sprinkling with a 

 sprayer should now be given to settle the seeds, after which the plant may 

 be returned to the house. When once the seed has been sown the compost 

 must never be allowed to become dry, or the young embryo will shrivel and 

 quickly die. 



Epiphytic Orchids. — In the case of certain epiphytic Orchids, par- 

 ticularly those of the Cattleya group, another method of sowing is now 

 generally adopted. Blocks of soft wood (both pine and willow have been 

 recommended) are cut across the grain with a rough saw into thin blocks, 

 which are placed on a layer of crocks in a smallish pot, and the seeds are 

 sown on the rough surface of the wood. The blocks are sunk below the 

 rim of the pot, which is then covered with a piece of glass, and the seeds 

 kept constantly moist, by the use of a sprayer as often as necessary. 



