AUGUST, 1423.] THE ORCHID REVIEW. 235 
ORCHID, COLLESTIOns. 
By JULIA .\.. STUCKEY, Unley Park, S. Australia. 
HILE I admire the skill and patience of the hybridist, and can 
imagine the pleasure and sense of triumph with which the beautiful 
flower of a successful cross is regarded by its originator, I am beginning to 
wonder if our hybrids are not displacing the Orchid species. In a recent 
list there are Cattleyas, Lalias, Cymbidiums, Cypripediums Dendrobiums, 
Odontoglossums, a few Oncidiums, one Vanda, and some species in the 
miscellaneous section, but by far the greater number of the 775 plants are 
hybrids. In another list from a well-known firm there is but one named 
Oncidium, though there are thirty-five Odontiodas and hundreds of 
other hybrids. In the third catalogue the hybrids outnumber the species by 
scores, and one misses the old names and varieties among a wonderful list 
of Odontoglossums. 
In private collections it is perhaps excusable that one whole house 
should be devoted to one kind of Orchid, if the owner has the means to 
gratify his taste, but in public gardens the preservation of the species seems 
to me imperative. How are the young people to know the intricate variety 
of form in Orchids if they see only Cattleyas or Odontoglossums? To a 
grower of Cypripediums, Orchid foliage has one general appearance, and 
rather limited range of colour; yet the Dendrobium with its vivid leaves, 
the Aérides with its climbing habit, the Angraecum with its long spurred 
flowers, the Thunia, Phaius, and Bletia, with their characteristic foliage are 
well worth the attention of students. : 
Are we not in danger of forgetting the small, but wonderfully-constructed 
Orchid in the effort to obtain an Odontoglossum with a different spotting, 
or a larger flower than someone has already shown? I would like to see 
Orchids grown by the ordinary citizen as he now cultivates Dahlias, or 
Phlox, or greenhouse plants, but it can only be the most easily managed 
species, or the older and less expensive hybrids. 
LycastE CRUENTA.—The specific name of this plant is derived from the 
sanguineous blotch at the base of the labellum. It was discovered by Mr. 
G. Ure Skinner in Guatemala, and sent by him to England in 1841. 
PLATYCLINIS GLUMACEA.—This was one of Cuming’s discoveries in the 
Philippine Islands, and was sent by him to Messrs. Loddiges, in whose 
nursery it fowered for the first time in 1841. The graceful pendulous 
crowded racemes of flowers appear in March and April, and, although of a 
homely colour, have a pleasant fragrance, somewhat like that of new-made 
hay. 
