208 THE ORCHID REVIEW. [Sepr.-Oct,, 1918, 
between the two layers was not honey, and that these Orchids had lost 
their power of secreting it, and hence are on the high road to extinction. 
Col. Godfery points out the desirability of further observations and 
experiments, for in any case O. mascula and O. Morio are locally abundant, , 
certainly not tending towards extinction, and there can be no doubt that 
both are effectively fertilised in this country. Col. Godfery saw no fewer 
than six humble bees of two species visit the flowers of O. mascula, and in 
one case got close enough to see the insect emerge from the flower with 
the pollinia affixed to its head. He also found pollen on the stigma in 
several cases. On another day he examined four spikes of O. mascula, of 
which 37 flowers were expanded, and in 23 cases both pollinia had been 
removed, while in 16 the stigmas had been fertilised. 
On another day he examined a field of O. Morio in full sunshine, and 
only saw two bees visit the flowers, one of which had two pairs of pollinia 
attached to its head. _ But although there was so little doing on this day, 
he obtained evidence that O. Morio is freely and effectively fertilised, for he 
collected seven spikes whose flowering was over, and found 44 flowers with 
swollen and developed ovaries against 16 not swollen. Of this species he 
found several spikes of a delicate pink colour, and one pure white, also one 
spike in a peloriate condition, each flower having three perfect lips, the two 
petals being duplicates of the lip in length, breadth, colour and markings, 
but there was no spur to these additional lips. The pink flowers mentioned, 
Col. Godfery thinks, must be less attractive to bees than the purple, for he 
remarks that of fifteen spikes gathered only two had one flower and two had 
two flowers fertilised, whilst in them all only one had both pollinia removed, 
and one other flower one only. In the whole field he saw only one pure 
white Morio, which had not yet been visited. Incidentally he remarks, “1 
noticed at Pisa that pink varieties of the purple Orchis laxiflora were 
fairly numerous, but white ones were much rarer.” 
No hybrid between the two species was found, but the appearance of 
such a plant in Britain may be expected at any time, as it was met with in 
Germany as long ago as 1879, and has since been recorded as a native of 
Switzerland and France. It bears the name of Orchis morioides, Brand. 
Col. Godfery’s record of the abundance of Orchis mascula mixed with 
cowslips, in Dorset, recalls a locality at Clifton, Notts., where many years 
ago a similar condition of things was found, the Orchis being so common as 
to give a purple hue to a large meadow near the Rushcliffe Brook. Here 
also a beautiful pure white variety was found, which was transplanted and 
cultivated for many years. Mention of Pisa also recalls a railway journey 
from Florence to Pisa, in April, 1911, when the marshes by the side of the 
line were purple with an Orchis, of which we were unable to secure 
specimens. Col. Godfery may possibly know the species. R.A.R, 
