9 8 THE ORCHID REVIEW. 



have fallen into bad health, just the same as invalids' diet is sometimes 

 necessary for a patient in bad health, but no one would recommend the 

 treatment to be continued permanently. Of course pure sphagnum might 

 serve to grow certain Orchids to perfection, just as it would fail for certain 

 others, and the fact that pure sphagnum is not generally used to-day as a 

 compost shows that more suitable materials have been discovered. 



Before leaving the subject I would suggest that some of those who 

 have followed the new system for some time should bring a few of their 

 plants to the forthcoming Temple Show, duly labelled, so that we can 

 compare them with those grown by advocates of the old system. Better 

 still it would be to see the results of the two systems tried side by side. 



After speaking of the new compost, I may turn for a moment to what 

 might not inaptly be termed the new nomenclature, as exemplified in such 

 names as Lselia anceps Hollidayana Crawshayana, L. a. Hilliana rose- 

 fieldensis and L. a. Amesiana Theodora, all of which have recently appeared. 

 And I would ask seriously are such inordinately attenuated sesquipedalian 

 names really necessary ? We recognise genus, species, and variety, and I 

 suppose the fourth addition may be taken to represent subvariety, but does 

 this represent finality ? The Gardeners" Chronicle report speaks of the latter 

 as "a further extension of the fine L. a. Amesiana Crawshayana," so 

 I suppose its full name should be Laelia anceps Amesiana Crawshayana 

 Theodora, which would be a further extension of name, as well as of 

 character, but for the fact that at present the line is drawn at four names, 

 and something has to be left out. 



Of course, the line must be drawn somewhere, but when one remembers 

 that the specific name of some hybrids consists of three words, and that 

 we may have both varieties and subvarieties of them, the prospect is some- 

 what alarming. It is a common thing nowadays to find that variations 

 of both ranks are distinguished by the addition of two or three words each, 

 as if one was not sufficient. Once more, Where are we going ? 



These names are not by any means isolated examples, but rather types 

 of a class which is becoming too common. Some time ago an attempt 

 was made to form an organisation for " dealing with the nomenclature of 

 Orchids upon common sense lines" (seep. 23), but nothing has at present 

 come of it. Whether the above names are intended as examples of the 

 proposed nomenclature, or only to show the pressing need of the said 

 organisation, the reader must decide. I cannot. 



Argus. 



