THE ORCHID REVIEW. 
[October, 1921- 
Several specimens were to be attached to each, and if judiciously selected! 
would flower at different seasons of the year. Present-day cultivators majr 
wonder how such huge logs were to be taken down from the roof and dipped 
in water, but Lyons got over the difficulty by using them as supports to the 
roof, and he was careful enough to first place the lower end in a pan oF 
water in order that woodlice and snails could not make these wooden 
pillars a hiding place, 
Thomas Appleby, in his Orchid Manual, published about i860, wrote :— 
“To .the uninitiated nothing in culture seems more strange than that 
flowering plants should grow and bloom on dead logs of wood.” But for 
how long they continued to flourish we are not informed, probably a couple 
of seasons, when they would be replaced by newly-imported plants. 
BRASSIA LONGISSIMA. 
C WO Brassias worthy of cultivation are B. Lawrenceana, named after 
Mrs. Lawrence, in whose collection at Ealing it flowered in 1840, and 
B. longissima. The latter is frequently mentioned as a variety of the- 
former, but it is, in fact, distinct. In 1868 Reichenbach described a plant 
from Costa Rica as B. Lawrenceana var. longissima, remarking that- 
notwithstanding the unusual length of the segments, he could not help¬ 
thinking it was but a form of the old B. Lawrenceana. But Messrs. Veitch 
years ago suggested that the two were distinct, and that the so-called variety 
may hereafter receive specific rank (Man. Ore. viii. 125). In size and colour, 
B. Lawrenceana considerably surpasses Lindley’s type, which is figured 
in the Botanical Register , 1841, L 18. 
At the Manchester Orchid Society, July 21,1921, a First-class Certificate 
was awarded to B. longissima when exhibited by Dr. F. Bedford, of Fulford, 
York. We have examined the flower spike and find that the long sepais, 
from which the name is derived, measure no less than eight inches in length, 
which is one inch more than the measurement given by Messrs. Veitch in' 
their Orchid Manual. This plant certainly deserves the name longissima, 
and considering that two spikes were carried on the same bulb, the addi¬ 
tional award of a Cultural Certificate was very appropriate. 
Brassia is closely allied to Oncidium, and of the thirty or more known 
species the tw r o most commonly met with are B. verrucosa and B. brachiata.- 
All are apparently lovers of much moisture, and when under cultivation 
care must be taken that good drainage is provided to allow the surplus- 
water to escape, otherwise the compost will rapidly became sour and cause 
the plants to pass into a sickly condition. An intermediate house where a- 
shady position can be found will prove a successful place. 
