THE ORCHID REVIEW. 197 
that the plant will prove worthy of its distinguished name. But I think 
that a few of the names applied to certain Orchids during the past month 
have shown that the loyalty of their sponsors has rather outrun their discretion. 
Cattleya Queen-Empress, recently figured, is only a variety of C. Mossiz, 
and not the best of its kind either, and some other varieties which I have 
seen distinguished by similar names, can hardly be described as distinct, 
and are likely to disappear as quickly as they came. It isa poor compli- 
ment to anyone to apply their names to ephemeral productions of this kind, 
but, happily, we have a Cattleya which seems destined to bear the Queen’s 
name in perpetuity, as its distinctness is now well assured, and that is the 
beautiful natural hybrid between C. labiata and C. Leopoldi, known as C. X 
Victoria-Regina, of which the history, accompanied by a photographic 
illustration, was given at page 17 of the second volume of this work. 
I am rather interested in the list of curious crosses given by Mr. Hurst 
at page 179, and hope he will let us hear of their progress from time to time, 
and especially if young seedlings are produced from any of them. Several 
such experiments seem to have terminated with the ripening of the capsule, 
but if the seeds of Epidendrum vitellinum crossed with Odontoglossum 
crispum have germinated (page 114), and if seedlings of crosses between 
Sobralia and Cattleya and between Epidendrum and Dendrobium are in 
existence (page 180), some further experiments of this kind are worth trying. 
Ard the results should be placed on record as a guide to others. It is 
probable that many strange crosses will yet be heard of. 
ARGUS. 
BOTANICAL ORCHIDS AT KEW. 
SEVERAL very curious little South African Orchids have recently appeared in 
the cool Orchid house at Kew, and among them Disperis secunda, a species 
with yellowish-green flowers of most remarkable structure, each sepal bearing 
a sac-shaped spur. The genus is very rarely seen in cultivation. Holothrix 
villosa is a second Cape species with minute green flowers, and H. 
Johnstoni, with much larger white flowers, comes from the N yasa-land 
district of Tropical Africa. 
a 
CULTURE OF CYPRIPEDIUM BELLATULUM. 
WILL any of your readers kindly favour me with their successful culture of 
Cypripedium bellatulum. At first I could not grow it here at all successfully, 
as the plants kept damping off. I was advised never to let any water touch 
the leaves whatever, and to dip the plants. This treatment has succeeded 
much better, but still the plants are not what I should like, and I frequently 
find that wherever a leaf touches the pot it gets marked, and finally rots- 
