REPORT 



PLANTS EXHIBITED. 



i. 



HORTICULTUEAL. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



ORCHIDS are so extremely popular to-day that the holding of 

 a special Conference on these plants by the Eoyal Horticultural 

 Society, in May last, seemed quite natural, seeing that they to 

 some extent represent the horticultural respectability of many 

 nineteenth century gardens. That the exhibition was very 

 successful goes without the saying, and visitors had indeed a 

 good opportunity of forming for themselves very vivid impres- 

 sions as to the beauty and variability of these interesting 

 plants. For the benefit of those, however, w T ho were not able 

 to attend, our report is both critical and explanatory. 



One of the first points which strikes one in connection with 

 the late Conference is the fact that in the main professional 

 botanists were conspicuous by their absence, so that the burden 

 of management fell almost entirely on the shoulders of amateur 

 and trade growers, aided of course to the utmost by the officers 

 of the Royal Horticultural Society. That the absence of 

 Professor Reichenbach and others was, in a way, very unfor- 

 tunate is generally acknowledged, and in what manner I hope 

 to show in this report under another head. Perhaps it is 

 best that the Orchid Conference and its results may after 



