134 THE ORCHID REVIEW. [May, 1923. 
Odontoglossum Lairessei is a garden-raised hybrid between Cervantesii 
and Edwardii. It was raised by M. A. de Lairesse, of Liége, and flowered 
for the first time in 1905. Our illustration proves the strong influence of 
O. Cervantesii in attracting the purple colour of O. Edwardii to the same 
region as the concentric lines of colour that are so characteristic of the 
former species. The only other hybrid that seems to have been raised from 
O. Cervantesii is O. Circe (Cervantesii X Pescatorei), and this flowered 
with Messrs. Charlesworth & Co. in the autumn of 1910. The flowers were 
white, with purplish spotting on the base of each segment. 
AN IMPORTATION OF DENDROBIUMS. 
O many years have elapsed since Dendrobiums were imported in large 
quantities that the arrival of another lot is a matter of interest. The 
plants have recently been received by Messrs. Stuart Low & Co., and 
although they comprise less than a dozen species, all are picked specimens 
selected in India, for in these days it would probably not be a profitable 
undertaking to pack and pay carriage on small pieces. The following are 
amongst the noteworthy species received :— 
D. Devonianum was discovered through the interest in Orchids taken 
by the Duke of Devonshire, who despatched a collector to the East Indies 
in 1835. Two years later plants were brought to the Chatsworth Gardens, 
among them being D. Devonianum, the subject of a coloured plate in 
Paxton’s Magazine of Botany, 1840 (vol. vii., p. 169). The pendulous stems 
of this species are about a yard long, and it is of interest to note that 
Paxton considered ‘‘ the proper way of cultivating it is to plant the specimen 
in a wooden or wire basket, filled with potsherds and sphagnum moss, and 
suspended from chains, rods, or pillars, a short distance beneath the roof 
of the tropical Orchidaceous-house. The stems should not be supported in 
an erect position, but allowed to fall over the edges of the basket. Pieces 
of the stem, placed in moss, and watered at first with care, will develop 
roots, and readily make an independent growth.” 
Robt. Warner considered D. Devonianum worthy of inclusion in his 
fine folio work, Select Orchidaceous Plants (II. t. 11). This work was 
published during the period 1865-75, and the note by B. S. Williams 
indicates that its culture was then fairly well understood, for he wrote :— 
‘This plant will thrive either on a block, or in a basket suspended from 
the roof. The best material in which to grow it is good sphagnum moss 
and rough fibrous peat, mixed with broken charcoal or crocks. It is subject 
to red spider, which, if allowed to accumulate, will cause the foliage to turn 
yellow and fall off. We have never seen this Dendrobe grown better than 
when plenty of heat and moisture is given during the growing season, and 
