368 THE ORCHID REVIEW. (DrceMpER, 1922 
RAISING CYPRIPEDIUM SEEDLINGS IN AUSTRALIA. 
By ARTHUR YATES, Sydney, Australia. 
HE following account of my experiences in raising Cypripediums from 
seed may be of interest to other amateurs situated, like myself, far from 
the main centres of Orchid culture, and who have to depend on the 
information gained from the Orchid Review and other English publications, 
as well as on the lessons learned from actually tending their own plants. In 
Australia there are only a few professional gardeners skilled in the growing 
of Orchids, but I have been fortunate in always having one good practical 
gardener who, besides attending to the outside garden, could be depended 
upon to see to the watering, ventilating and shading of the Orchid houses, 
and also to keep the fires going during the winter season. Although our 
climate in Sydney is a warm one, we get sharp frosts frequently during the 
three winter months, but the days are usually sunny and the air very dry. 
My first experience in raising Orchid seedlings was through the gift to 
me of some seed of Cyp. insigne ~ C. Spicerianum by a professional 
gardener who had been trying his hand at cross fertilising. 1 had not much 
hope of being successful in raising any plants, as I had heard of the 
difficulties, and was without experience, and with few conveniences for seed- 
raising. However, the seed was sown round a healthy plant of Cyp- 
insigne, and for several months this was sprayed once or twice daily, but 
with no apparent results. Eventually it was decided that the experiment 
had failed, and no more special attention was given to it. Several months 
dJater my gardener noticed some microscopic seedlings growing around the 
surface roots of the mother plant, and we then did everything possible to 
bring them on. As soon as the plants were large enough to handle, they 
-were pricked off into the smallest pots I could procure, two or three in each 
pot, which were all well drained and firmly packed with a compost of 
-chopped green sphagnum and fern fibre. These pots were suspended in a 
shallow tray near the glass and surrounded with sphagnum to keep them 
uniformly moist. They were sprayed once or twice daily according to the 
‘weather, and within a couple of years or so they had developed into healthy 
plants large enough to be potted singly. My success in raising these 
salings, six or eight in all, encouraged me to go further into the 
fascinating hobby of raising new seedlings. I had a small collection of 
boa Cypripediums, and in rgrr I cross-fertilised ten of them. Within 
years I made fifty distinct crosses. Many of the latter failed to mature 
any seed. I was not aware at the time of the exhaustive effect of seeding 
oe eat ang ae were so weakened that most of them ceased to pare” 
Be le a ie ave not recovered. Each flower after being ene 
pen its seed, and this was sown in the manner describe 
