Nov. Dec., 1919.] THE ORCHID REVIEW. 179 
every pane of glass in the houses was broken by hailstones, and many of the 
. plants, especially Phalznopsis, were severely injured. 
In 1870, Mr. Swan went to Manley Hall, Manchester, to take charge of 
the Orchids of Sam Mendel, Esq., and here he remained for three years, 
_ until, in April, 1873, the collection was sold by auction, realising over 
£4,300, His next charge was the extensive collection of W. Leech, Esq., 
at Oakley, Fallowfield, Manchester, where he had ample scope for his 
energies, and where we find him engaged in the fascinating work of 
hybridising Orchids, then in its infancy. He speaks of having hundreds of 
seedlings, though they probably represented very few crosses. His first 
hybrid flowered in 1876, having been derived from Cypripedium Dayanum 
crossed with C. barbatum, and was called C. Swanianum, Reichenbach 
remarking, “‘I am glad to have the honour of naming the plant in honour of 
its raiser,” Mr. W. Swan. It isa very interesting hybrid, having retained 
the ciliate, unspotted petals of C. Dayanum, with the improved shape and 
much of the colour of C. barbatum. It seems probable that the experiment 
was commenced before he went to Fallowfield, for the seedling could hardly 
have reached the flowering stage in so short a time, but we have not found 
any record of this, nor yet of other Cypripediums that he may have raised 
at this period. 
The only other hybrid of this period that we remember flowered in 1881. 
It was raised from Dendrobium nobile crossed with the pollen of D- 
aureum, and Mr. Swan has recorded that the seed was sown in January, 
1875, the tiny seedlings were first observed in February, 1876, and early in 
1881 several of them produced their first flowers. A year later it was. 
described under the name of D. Leechianum, by Reichenbach, who 
remarked that it was so named by desire of Mr. Swan. It received a First- 
class Certificate from the R.H.S., in March, 1886, when exhibited by 
Messrs. Wm. Thompson & Sons, of Clovenfords, who had acquired some of 
the seedlings. It is now regarded as an improved variety of D. Ainsworthii, 
raised somewhat earlier from the reverse cross. 
Mr. Swan remained at Fallowfield for thirteen years, and on the 
collection being sold, through the removal of the family to London, he was 
engaged by E. G. Wrigley, Esq., who had a large collection of Orchids at 
Howick House, Preston, Mr. Swan’s first work being the potting of a batch 
ofa thousand Cattleya Mossiz, which were grown without shading of any 
kind, and flowered magnificently, one spike producing as many as five 
flowers. Two years later Mr. Swan was employed for a short time in the 
Public Parks, Preston, after which he was for five years in charge of the fine 
collection of G. C. Raphael, Esq., at Englefield Green, where Cypripediums 
were remarkably well grown, for he speaks of two-thousand flowers open 
together, and plants with thirty and forty flowerseach. Here he was able to 
