266 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[September S, 



Orchid Notes and Gleanings. 



SEEDLING HYBRID ORCHIDS AT OAK- 

 WOOD. 



It seems but yesterday since the first Orchid Con- 

 ference was held under the auspices of the Royal 

 Horticultural Society at South Kensington, but it is 

 more than three years ago, as it took place on 

 May 12 and 13, 1885. 



The paper read by Mr. H. J. Veitch, of Chelsea, 

 on " The Hybridisation of Orchids " on that occasion 

 no doubt stimulated many amateurs who had 

 begun the work of hybridisation, and will have 

 induced others to take up this interesting branch 

 of occupation. Mr. Veitch 's paper was published 

 in the Journal of the Eoyal Horticultural Society, 

 vol. vii., No. 1, 1886 ; and it may also be interesting 

 to remark that just forty years previously an even 

 more remarkable paper on " Hybridisation amongst 

 Vegetables " was communicated to the same society 

 by the Hon. and Very Rev. William Herbert, LL.D., 

 Dean of Manchester ; and published in vol. ii. of the 

 Journal, 1847. The learned Dean had laboured 

 assiduously in hybridising almost every class of 

 hardy and exotic plants, and, amongst others, hardy 

 Orchis and Ophrys, also Cattleyas, Bletias, &c. A 

 good botanist and practical gai'dener himself, he 

 strove to instill into the minds of gardeners the 

 importance of taking correct observations of the 

 work in which they were engaged. The whole 

 paper, which occupies fifty-four pages of the Journal, 

 is well worth careful study. In the passage referring 

 to seedling Orchids he says: — "An intelligent gar- 

 dener may do much for science if he keeps accurate 

 notes of what he attempts, and does not jump at 

 immature conclusions. . . . The cultivator has 

 the test of truth within his scope, — 



' Examenque improbum in ista 

 Castigat trutina ; ' 



and, far from being an evil, I look upon it as a great 

 advantage, because it will lead the industrious and 

 intelligent gardener to take a higher view of the 

 objects under his care, and to feel his own connec- 

 tion with science, and it will force the scientific to 

 rely less on their own dictation, and to feel that 

 they must be governed by natural facts, and not by 

 their own preference." Evidently at that time the 

 botanist laboured in his study over dried specimens, 

 and tried to lay down his own rules for the separ- 

 ation of genera, and the gardener toiled on, little 

 heeding the work of the botanist, and seldom caring 

 to keep any correct account of his work. Herbert 

 himself combined the two, and he tried, not unsuc- 

 cessfully, to induce others to do likewise. 



Amongst modern amateurs I do not know any one 

 who takes such intense interest in raising seedling 

 Orchids as Mr. N. E. Cookson, of Oakwood, Wylam- 

 on-Tyne, nor one who has been so successful. I visited 

 his garden rather more than two years ago, and he 

 had raised numerous seedling Cypripediums and also 

 a few Calanthes. He had also been successful with 

 Zygopetalums, and told me at that time that he 

 would advise beginners to start with the last-named 

 genus, as being the easiest to raise. Dendrobiums, 

 Cattleyas, Phajus, and other beautiful Orchids, have 

 been hybridized with results that are worthy of 

 record. Mr. Cookson is fortunate in having a 

 gardener almost as enthusiastic as himself, who 

 spares no pains to bring to a successful issue the 

 attempts of his employer. 



In a short conversation with Mr. W. Murray, 

 the gardener, he gave me several useful hints of a 

 practical nature on hybridising, which may be 

 summarised as under : — 



1. Hybridising the flowers, which is a simple pro- 

 cess, and consists in removing the pollen masses 

 from under their thin covering at the top of the 

 column and at once attaching them to the glutinous 

 mass on the column of the flower intended to bear 

 seeds. This is lower down, and at the front. The 

 sticky substance is placed exactly where a bee or 

 other insect would push its head when trying to 



extract the nectar from the flower. When the 

 pollen has taken effect, the petals close over the 

 column, Mr. Cookson says, to protect it from wet — a 

 wise provision of Nature. The flower soon fades, 

 and the seed-pod rapidly swells. 



When the capsule has arrived at maturity it splits 

 open, and the seed would be scattered unless it is 

 cared for. To ascertain if the seeds are good a few 

 are placed in vinegar, and under the microscope the 

 germ can be seen in the form of a black speck. 

 Some species of Orchids will ripen their seed-pods in 

 three months, and in the case of Calanthes I saw 

 nice plants from seeds, and the flowers from which 

 they had been obtained were fertilised only eight 

 months previously. Cattleyas, on the other hand, 

 are very slow. The seeds are seldom good if the 

 capsules ripen under twelve months. They sometimes 

 take as long as sixteen months to ripen good seeds. 



2. A good seed-bed is of the utmost importance, 

 and, perhaps, the seeds vegetate best if sown amongst 

 the moist growing sphagnum and fibrous peat, char- 

 coal, and potsherds, in which the parent plant is 

 growing. Perhaps it is best to have indifferent 

 plants of varieties of little value to sow the seeds 

 upon. The compost ought to be kept to an uniform 

 degree of moisture until the plants appear. Mr. 

 Cookson approves of planting them out singly in 

 very small pots as soon as the plants can be handled. 

 After this process they are again kept moist ; but 

 not at any time saturated with water, or allowed to 

 become dry. Mr. Cookson has had a great success 

 with Dendrobiums ; not one had been raised two and 

 a half years ago ; now there are 1700 plants from 

 twenty capsules. In fact, only twenty-two capsules 

 have been produced, and twenty of them gave a 

 plentiful supply of good seeds. The plants also grow 

 very rapidly ; for instance, a seedling, the production 

 of a cross between D. Wardianum and D. aureum, 

 has made three growths since it was pricked out on 

 March 13. No less than eighty different crosses of 

 Cypripediums have been made. Of C. Sanderianum 

 and C. Veitchii there are good plants. Also of C. 

 niveum crossed with C. Stonei, and C. Stonei with C. 

 Parrieanum. Mr. Cookson has also found that the 

 produce of weakly parents often give very vigorous 

 offspring. C. Veitchii (superbiens) and C. lieviga- 

 tum, for instance, are not robust growers, but their 

 offspring are. A remarkable instance of this may 

 also be found in the case of C. grande, raised in 

 Messrs. Veitch's nursery at Chelsea, by crossing C. 

 Roezlii with the pollen of C. caudatum. It is the 

 most vigorous of all known Cypripediums. It has 

 also been found that all C. Lowianum crosses are 

 unhealthy or diseased iu a young state, but the 

 plants that survive grow out of it. 



Amongst Cattleyas plants have been obtained of 

 C. Trianas crossed with Lielia harpophylla, and viae 

 versa. 



Masdevallia crosses have also been obtained, and 

 it was noteworthy that plants raised from crossing 

 M. tovarensis with M. chimtera grew with astonish- 

 ing rapidity. Seeds sown in March, 1887, produced 

 plants, on one of which I counted ten leaves. Mr. 

 Cookson was the first to obtain hybrid Odontoglos- 

 sums, as he stated in the Garden for February 10, 

 18S3, but all the plants perished. Bigeneric crosses 

 have also been named, and plants obtained, but it is 

 best to wait until the flowering of the plants verifies 

 the expectations that have been formed. Capsules 

 may be obtained containing good seeds of such 

 crosses, but it has been found when the plants 

 flowered that the progeny were exactly like the seed- 

 parent, showing that the flowers had in some way been 

 fertilised with their own pollen. Others besides Mr. 

 Cookson are working in this field. I have done a 

 little myself, but am free to admit that I have not 

 yet seen anything like so much progress made by 

 any amateur as has been made here during the last 

 five or six years. J. Douglas. 



MlLTOKIA MoEELIANA. 



The finest variety we have seen of this superb 

 Miltonia is in the Kew collection, and it is now 

 bearing several flowers. It is a variety of the 

 variable M. spectabilis, and very similar to that 



figured in the Botanical Magazine as M. s. var. atro- 

 rubens. Each flower is about 4 inches across, full, 

 and of a deep port-wine colour, shaded with rose. 

 The flowers have the excellent quality of lasting 

 more than a month on the plant. 



Phaljenopsis at Kew. 

 The display of flowers of Phalamopsis in the 

 Orchid-house at Kew has for some weeks been 

 exceptionally fine, and is still good. The majority 

 of the flowers are those of P. grandiflora, and some 

 of the varieties are large and perfect in shape. We 

 notice that the plants are grown in tall cylinders, 

 and the healthy appearance of the leaves shows that 

 the treatment is the right one. A fine example of 

 P. Marian is also in flower. W. W. 



Orchids at Cambridge Lodge, Camberwell. 

 Most Orchids are well done at Cambridge Lodge, 

 the residence of R. J. Measures, Esq., but some 

 genera better than others. In the opinion of that 

 clever and observant Orchid grower, Mr. Simpkins, 

 who has charge of the collection, Cattleyas generally, 

 and many Lailias, are good plants for the smoke- 

 laden neighbourhoods ; Vanda ' tricolor, and the 

 varieties of V. suavis, are almost as manageable ; 

 Odontoglossums and Oncidiums thrive, and the 

 favourite of the hour, the Cypripedium, is, if liberally 

 treated, the most grateful and satisfactory of all. 

 A glance round the collection shows all these and 

 many other species in large numbers in robust health. 

 It 'is said that the foggy atmosphere of London does 

 not affect the health of the plants, if properly 

 managed, but plays havoc with the flowers in the 

 winter, and especially those of Cattleya Triance— 

 but not every year. 



Were there not a flower expanded the Cypripe- 

 diums in the two commodious houses devoted to these 

 plants would be a pleasant sight by the endless 

 variety of beautifully marked leaves — green, marbled, 

 blotched silvery-white, and other delicate shades ; the 

 under-sides of the leaves in many cases tinted dark 

 crimson or brownish-purple. Few plants amongst 

 those grown for the beauty of their foliage can excel 

 in the variety of leaf-marking the large specimens, 

 C. marmorophyllum, C. javanicum, C, Dayanum, C. 

 Veitchianum, the varieties of C. Godefroyre, and 

 others, as grown at Cambridge Lodge. But beautiful 

 though the varied foliage is, there is no lack of 

 flowers the year throughout. At present a large 

 number of rare species is in bloom or bud, 

 especially noteworthy being C. Ashburtonise expan- 

 sum X .which, withits circular and beautifully spotted 

 dorsal sepal and larger flowers, is immeasurably 

 superior to the commoner form, which is also in bloom 

 beside it ; C. gemnaiferum X is handsome in flower 

 and leaf; C. javanico superbiens X, a stately plant; 

 C. Charles Canham X , a fine large flower ; C. mar- 

 morophyllum X and C. selligerum majus X, two 

 excellent varieties ; and the Sedeniform section, 

 which seem to be perpetual flowering, make a 

 beautiful and varied show, being represented by 

 large specimens of C. Sedeni X , C. calurum X , 

 C. Ainsworthii X, C. cardinale X, and C. por- 

 phyrium X , many others being in hand. 



In the large class comprising the varieties of 

 C. barbatum there are likewise several in bloom, 

 the largest and richest-coloured being C. b. grandi- 

 florum nanum, and the prettiest of the light-tinted 

 ones C. b. pulcherrimum, which has flowers exactly 

 like C. callosum, but of the barbatum form. C. 

 Godseffianum X, and C. Germinyanum X,twoC. 

 hirsutissimum crosses are also in fine condition, as 

 also many hybrids which have not yet bloomed. 



The large and varied collection of C. insigue 

 occupy a span-pit in summer, as their flowers are 

 found to come better when so treated. 



The Cattleyas and Lailias are in splendid condi- 

 tion, and especially the large lot of Lslia elegans 

 Turneri varieties, some of which are still in bloom. 

 The Odontoglossums and Oncidium macranthum 

 and O. undulatum and others of that class are in 

 fine condition ; the house full of Vandas as good as 

 could be desired, and that of PhaUenopsis in a sound 



