352 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 



Germaine Opoix^ produced by the skillful chief gardener of the 

 Luxembourg, was sold in London for 7,650 francs ($1,530). 



Such high prices are justified by the rarity of the plants, by the 

 difficulty of producing them, and by their wonderful beauty. Some- 

 times it requires 20 years of effort and cultivation to succeed in ger- 

 mination, nurse the seedling with the closest attention, combat all 

 the enemies that lie in wait for it, protect it from all the dangers 

 that threaten it, and bring it to flower. But gradually these rareties 

 are brought to light, and in a not far distant future the lovers of the 

 Cypripediums, who hitherto have had only some 50 types to choose 

 from, will have hundreds or even thousands. The hybrids have the 

 very remarkable character, so to speak, of being indefinitely prolific, 

 so that by crossing them among themselves their number can be 

 increased almost without limit. 



Each grower, in searching to create a new type, pursues an ideal 

 which is sometimes realized in a happy fashion. Perfection is not 

 obtained at the first stroke, but by successive improvements it is 

 finally approximated. Among the most successful creations of M. 

 Opoix, chief gardener of the Senate, may be mentioned the off- 

 spring of the Luxembourg Oenanthum, which was itself celebrated 

 for the gigantic dimensions of its flowers. In spite of its incom- 

 parable qualities, this plant was not yet the phenomenon dreamed 

 of by the insatiable hybridizer, so he searched for new blood to infuse 

 into it. For this he turned to a handsome little Indian Cypripe- 

 diiun, from the region of Bhatan, the Fairrie Cypripedium, which 

 had been introduced into Europe in 1855. This delicate species had 

 been lost successively by all the horticulturists who were ignorant 

 of the proper treatment to give it and the Luxembourg garden 

 was the onl}^ establislmient which had been able to keep it. From 

 this instance of longevity it may be seen that an orchid well 

 cared for may be kept almost indefinitely. By crossing this Cypripe- 

 dium with the giant Oenanthum there were obtained two prodigies 

 among the lady's-slippers, Germaine Opoix and Gaston Blutel, which 

 surpass everything thus far obtained in the splendor of the amply 

 spreading labellum and the warm coloring, characters manifestly in- 

 herited from Fairrieanum. The influence of the parents is dis- 

 played in these hybrids in a striking manner, as in an indefinite 

 number of other types, and such authentication gives to this study a 

 charm and a profound biological interest. 



The number of new types may be increased, moreover, in the near 

 future, in an extraordinary manner, thanks to a discovery of the 

 greatest importance which is yet to be mentioned. Despite the won- 

 derful results just cited, those who obtained them were ignorant until 

 within the last few years of the true reasons for the cultural technique 

 they employed. They knew this was the case from the numerous 



