±2 



orchid specialists. The taking up of the genus Odontoglossum for 

 hybridisation soon diverted people's attention from the Dendrobium 

 hybrids, which, however beautiful, could not compete with the more 

 beautiful Odontoglots. At first the greater difficulty of raising 

 Odontoglossum hybrids was against their becoming popular, but of 

 late years superior cultivation has made these hybrids quite common, 

 comparatively speaking ; and already over thirty different crosses 

 have been raised. Quite recently a cross between the genus Miltonia 

 and Odontoglossum has been raised, the resultant cross being called 

 Odontoma. 



By way of parenthesis it may perhaps be here mentioned that 

 botanists give a new generic name to a cross when two different 

 genera are used in the crossing. Entomologists hitherto have 

 retained the generic name of one of the subjects of crossing, very 

 often the female parent. The botanical nomenclature is undoubtedly 

 the more correct. 



Although it was at first found so difficult to raise Odontoglossum 

 hybrids, natural hybrids are known to be very common in the wild 

 state. It is true many of the supposed natural hybrids have never 

 been proved, but in some cases the same result has been obtained by 

 an artificial crossing, and many of the natural hybrids reveal the 

 characters of two species so clearly that the assumption of what the 

 two parents originally were appears to be fairly clear. Crosses 

 between species of the genus Oncidium have, I believe, never yet 

 been obtained, or with species in any allied genus ; yet natural 

 hybrids again are suspected. The three species, Oncidium marshal- 

 liauum, O. forbesii and O. dasystyle, all growing in South Brazil, are 

 strongly suspected of crossing one with another. Although 

 Oncidiums are so difficult to raise they will form a seed-pod readily 

 enough in this country. Doubtless many striking new flowers will 

 be revealed when the crossing of Oncidium has been successfully 

 accomplished. Many other hybrids have been raised between 

 different genera, as well as within other genera. Such are 

 Zygopetalum hybrids ; Zygopetalum with Batcmannia ; Zygopetalum 

 with Colax, Epidendrum with Sophronitis, Masdevallia hybrids, 

 Phahenopsis hybrids, Vanda hybrids, Sophronitis with Cattleya 

 and many others ; but the hybridisation has not been extensive in 

 these instances. 



The genus which has received far and away the most attention in 

 recent years is Cypripcdium. It was found that species in this genus, 

 and the allied Se/enipedium, could be raised comparatively quickly from 

 seed, and it is doubtless in no small measure the comparative ease 

 of cultivation that has made so many people give this genus such a 

 large share of their attention. The seventy or so species have been so 

 crossed and recrossed that to-day there are close on 1500 different 

 crosses described, and the number is ever increasing, many of the 

 older hybrids being now re-crossed again. Cypripcdium can be raised 

 from seed to flowering plant under three years, sometimes within two 



