162 THE ORCHID REVIEW. [Nov.-Drc., 1920. 
by the common possession of a column and lip is broken upby an infinity of 
detail which is at times bewildering, and a quaintness of shape and colour- 
ing that have contributed largely to the popularity of the family. Such 
qualities as these must be respected by our hybridists, when they take them 
in hand. 
Hybridisation has become the leading feature of modern Orchid culture, 
but it wouid be deplorable if it were permitted to banish a host of delight- 
ful little wildings from our collections. Happily, there is room for both, and 
we believe that a return to normal conditions will give the necessary oppor- 
tunity for the re-introduction of some that have been lost during the last few 
disastrous years. And the world is not yet exhausted of her novelities, as we 
have the best of reasons for saying. Hybridisation is fascinating work, and 
its results aré far too obvious to be ignored, but in the matter of surprises 
we doubt whether it has ever quite equalled the experiences of the punts 
days of Orchid importation. 
There is another phase of the question that must not be overlooked, and 
which is brought out by such an article as that on the Orchids of Costa 
Rica at pp. 129-132. Mr. Lankester reminds us, in picturesque language, 
how much yet remains to be done before the Orchid flora of one small spot 
on the earth’s surface is known, and it has brought an offer which shall be 
supported by every means within our power. Some of the scenes described 
may not be available for ever. ‘The inexorable march of civilisation, the 
ravages of coffee and rubber planting, and other circumstances beyond our 
control, threaten some of these fair scenes with destruction and their 
inhabitants with extinction. The very least that we can do is to secure 
materials for permanent preservation in such a national establishment as 
that at Kew, while yet there is time, and to make them available, if possible, 
by means of a descriptive and at least partially-illustrated monograph. 
This ought now to be possible. One of the earliest friends of the 
Orchid Review, who has ‘‘spent many happy hours in its company and 
among his favourite plants,” offers a donation of £50 towards the cost of 
such a work, on condition that twenty others do the same, or that an 
equivalent sum be raised. After a few suggested modifications, the proposal 
is as follows:—(1), That the fund raised be used to defray the cost of 
preparing and printing sucha work, the proceeds of sales being subsequently 
available for the same purpose, and that it be invested in the name of three 
Trustees. (2), That the work be arranged synoptically, with a view to show 
the stages of progressive development, and that it contain original references, 
synonymy, a few important figures, and the habitat of the species. (3), 
