38 THE ORCHID REVIEW. [Mar.-APRIL, 1920+ 
its viscid surface. A tiny-celluloid label, bearing a number, should now be 
tied loosely to the pedicel of the fertilised flower, posting this number into 
a memorandum book, with the dates and a clear record of the cross made. 
This should be done for every separate cross, and further details can be 
added later, as necessary. A book ruled into six or seven columns is useful 
for this purpose, as the columns may record, successively, the numbers of 
the cross, the parentage, and the date, leaving spaces for date of sowing, 
germination, and pricking off, with a final column for remarks. The 
corresponding number must, of course, be kept recorded on the labels used 
at every stage, so that the history of every seedling can be traced as it 
reaches the flowering period. 
Soon after the pollinia have been applied to the stigma the effects of 
pollination will be observed. The column wings begin to curve inwards, 
and the column itself to swell, while a change in the colour of the segments, 
followed by shrivelling, will be noticed. The capsule will now gradually 
progress towards maturity, but on the first signs of opening a piece of fine 
tissue paper should be placed round the capsule, and tied loosely round the 
stalk, so as to catch any falling seeds. When the pod splits the seeds may be 
regarded as mature, and they may then be shaken out on a piece of paper. 
One may now form an idea whether any of the seed is good by examining 
it with a low-power lens. At first sight it may appear like minute chaff, but if 
swollen and somewhat darker in the centre an embryo is present and should 
germinate under suitable conditions. Capsules that mature normally 
generally contain good seed, though it may be mixed with more or less 
chaff, the latter being pale and having a shrivelled appearance in the centre. 
It is useless to sow empty chaff, but one should be quite sure that no viable 
seeds are present before discarding the contents of a capsule entirely. 
The seeds should be sown as soon as ripe, being scattered thinly on the 
compost of plants that are in active growth, these being marked with a 
label containing the number of the cross. The compost should be in 
healthy condition, and should never be allowed to become dry. The 
position must also be shaded from direct sunlight. Progress may now be 
watched by means of a good lens. If germination proceeds smoothly the 
embryo will be seen to swell, push aside the seed coat, and become green, 
dltimately assuming a globular shape and producing a few root hairs, and 
finally the first true root and tiny leaf. We have watched all these 
‘processes, but it is an unfortunate fact that the seedlings too frequently 
reach the stage of a minute globule, and then refuse to progress further, 
soon shrivelling up.. The cause is generally attributed to the absence of a 
particular fungus, which, by making available the necessary food supply, : 
enables the on to. gas over the critical stage of its independent existence. 
: Age be continued.) 
