THE ORCHID REVIEW. 7 
Orchid Society, which would lay the responsibility of selection with two 
Committees of the best Orchid experts in the country. Theoretically, no 
doubt, this would be an excellent method of selection, but it involves 
several difficulties, though, perhaps, not more than any other system. In 
the first place, the standard of excellence has varied greatly from time to 
time, and some of the awards which were made in the past would not be 
made to-day. (By the way, is this the reason why I frequently see in 
some of the Press reports that such and such a previous award was 
“confirmed” ?) Again, it may be said that the two Societies make their 
awards on a somewhat different system, though, for the present purpose, 
the detail is unimportant. Lastly, it may be remarked that some 
meritorious hybrids do not come before these Committees at all. 
It is estimated that about three hundred hybrids have now received the 
award of a First-class Certificate, but whether this includes hybrids having 
different names but identical parentage, I do not know. If so, the number 
would have to be reduced somewhat, for all such should be treated as forms 
of one, and come under a single entry, or the exigencies of an alphabetical 
arrangement—if such were adopted—would place some of them far apart. 
The admission of those to which an Award of Merit has been given 
would extend the list enormously, but some of them are worthy of admis- 
sion, and a few are scarcely inferior to others which have gained the higher 
award. Perhaps in practice it would be found desirable to include the best 
of these, in which case we should have to trust to the discretion of the 
compiler. But perhaps some of these difficulties would vanish as the work 
proceeded. In any case it would be a means of preserving the pedigrees of 
the best hybrids, and would be of considerable value to those who are 
interested in raising these beautiful plants. 
——_—- 
Probably the compiler of the Stud Book will encounter some difficulties 
under the heading of Nomenclature. Some time ago the hybrid between 
Paphiopedilum Charlesworthii and P. insigne was described and figured in 
these pages under the name of P. X Hitchinsie ; then it was discovered 
that it had also been named Cypripedium x Elmireanum. Now I see 
at page 373 of the last issue of this work records of C. xX bingleyense 
and C. xX Zethus with the same parentage. But we have also a C. X 
bingleyense derived from Charlesworthii and Harrisianum (O.R. vii, 
pp. 287, 291), which suggests some unfortunate confusion in the records— 
a matter which, in practice, it seems impossible to avoid. Some day, 
perhaps, some very fine hybrid with the same parentage will receive a 
First-class Certificate under a totally new name, which may land the author 
