HYBRIDISING AND RAISING ORCHID SEEDLINGS. xxxLx. 



be bedded in pans or baskets of peat, and placed in a light position in the 

 house, not too far from the glass. Potting on as required is all that now 

 remains to be done, but the seedlings should be encouraged to make 

 vigorous growth, without any attempt to rest them during the winter. 



The Flowering Period.— When the seedlings become strong enough 

 the first scape may be expected, and the grower will be able to see the 

 result of his labour. But it will be well to remember that the plants 

 have seldom reached their full development at this period, and the flowers 

 may be expected to improve as the plants become stronger. The quickness 

 with which they flower will depend to some extent upon the way they are 

 grown, and for this reason it is best to keep them moving as much as 

 possible, so as to get them large enough to flower early. We have m a few 

 cases seen great differences between seedlings out of the same capsule when 

 grown under different conditions, and time may be gained by not resting 

 them in the winter while they remain small. Some genera flower much 

 sooner than others, the period varying from about two years, in a few cases, 

 up to five or six years, or occasionally even longer — the date being calculated 

 from the time the seed is sown. Calanthes, Disas, and a few other terres- 

 trial Orchids are among the quickest to flower with a few Epidendrums, 

 there being quite a number of cases on record of seedlings which have 

 flowered under two years old. A few Cypripedes have also flowered very 

 early, but generally speaking they are of slower growth, and the same may 

 be said of Cattleyas and their allies. A few may flower the third year, but 

 more in the fourth and fifth. In every group, however, there appear to be 

 a few precocious individuals, while others seem to lag behind, some of the 

 latter being of weak constitution. The only way of hastening the period of 

 blooming in any group is to get them strong as early as possible by liberal 

 treatment. 



Selection of Parents. — Although this is a subject which naturally 

 comes at the very beginning of the work, it is not likely to receive much atten- 

 tion until some progress has been made in raising seedlings. It is a matter 

 on which a great deal might be written, but in many small collections 

 the choice of parents is limited, and most of the popular species that flower 

 at the same time have already been hybridised together, as well as many of 

 the earlier hybrids. And there are many crosses which are not worth 

 making, because the characters of certain species neutralise each other. 

 Generally, plants having strongly opposed characters are not worth crossing. 

 For example a hybrid between the darkest and lightest coloured species in a 

 genus is likely to be of a pale undecided tint, which would justify a remark 

 sometimes made about two species being spoilt. Although one cannot 

 always forsee what the result of a given cross may be, it is generally possible 

 to give a very good guess, especially at the present time, when the result of 



