40 ORCIIID-GEOVVER S MANUAL. 



once brought to us, and no two of them were exactly alike. The same 

 may be said of Plialaenopsis Schilleriana, of which we have seen many 

 plants in bloom, varying much in the colour of the flower and in the 

 shape and markings of the leaf, all however being handsome. In a wild 

 state, varieties appear to be unlimited, crossed and recrossed, as they 

 doubtless are, by insects. Who, for instance, would have thought, in 

 years gone by, of importing so splendid a plant as Plialaenopsis 

 Schilleriana, which is beautiful not only in blossom but in foliage ? Then 

 came P. Stuan-tiana, P. leucorrhoda, P. violacea, and many others ; 

 and we are told there exists a still finer species, with scarlet flowers ! 

 Let us hope the latter will soon be added to our collections ; what a 

 contrast it would make with the white and mauve coloured kinds now in 

 cultivation ! Mr. Dominy and Mr. Seden have succeeded in raising 

 many choice varieties of Cattleya, Calanthe, Gypripedium, Goodyera, 

 Bendrohium, Masdevallia, and have succeeded in crossing different 

 genera, &c. ; Mr. Mitchell has raised the fine Pendrohimn Ainsworthii, 

 Mr. Cookson has raised the lovely PJia.jus Coolisoni, Dendrohiiim Venus, 

 and many good Cypripedinms, Mr. Bleu the lovely Cattleya calummata 

 and Miltoniopsis Bleuana ; and some Cypripediunns have been raised by 

 the late Mi-. Cross, formerly gardener to the Dowager Lady Ashburton 

 at Melchet Court. Let us hope these hybridists and others may persevere 

 in the good work, and produce something new in other genera. Many 

 kinds seed freely if the flowers are fertilised, and they produce many 

 seeds in a pod. 



The seed, having been gathered as soon as ripe, should be sown at 

 once, but it requires great care, as it is not so easy to raise as that of 

 many other plants. Some of the kinds are a long time germinating ; 

 we have known Orchid seeds to lie twelve months before the plants 

 make their appearance. It is highly interesting to watch their gradual 

 development, from the tiny germ to the first small pseudobulb, and so 

 on up to the flowering stage. The best place in which to sow the seeds 

 is on the top of an Orchid pot, where they will not get disturbed, and 

 where the peat or moss is in a rough state ; do not cover the seed, but 

 give a little water with a fine rose pot, just to settle it. The rough 

 blocks of wood on which another plant is growing also aiford a 

 capital situation to sow upon, but the surface should always be kept a 

 little moist. After germination, those which were sown on pots should 



