76 THE ORCHID REVIEW. 
THE FUTURE OF THE*CYPRIPEDE. 
Mr. JOHNSON makes some interesting remarks about Cypripedes at page 60, 
and I, for one, can fully endorse all that he says of them, and would very much 
like to see their more general cultivation. For beauty some of them are 
unique, and for lasting qualities when in flower they have no equal. At the 
time of writing (February 18th), we have a plant of C. x Arthurianum in 
flower which opened in November. It had eleven flowers in all. Only three 
are left; the rest have been cut—not because they were over, but for use—and 
those left, though past their best, are still good. The plant while in flower 
has stood amongst Odontoglossums ina Cool house. We have other varieties 
in the stove which have been in flower since various dates in December, and 
are still quite passable. With such a useful and accommodating class of 
plants as these, it makes some of the Orchids in general cultivation not worth 
growing, especially in the neighbourhood of large towns, where mills and 
factories abound. Take, for instance, Lelia anceps. After growing thesé 
plants for the year round, some of the coloured varieties did not last in 
flower with us more than two days perfect, and the white varieties not as 
long as we would wish. Unfortunately, the Cypripedium is not so popular 
round Liverpool as it is round Manchester, as a visit at any time during the 
winter months to one of the meetings of the Manchester and North of 
England Orchid Society will prove. I should very much like to see them 
more popular and more generally cultivated, which they richly deserve, for 
very often valuable room is wasted upon things which, be as careful as you 
may, will either not succeed with all your care, or only do so for a time and 
then deteriorate. Tastes, however, differ and must, of course, be considered, 
for whoever pays the piper has the sole right to select the tune. 
THoMAS ARCHER. 
West Derby, Liverpool. 
Have you observed how many more flowers the hybrid Cypripedes have 
than the parent species—all save those having pardinum for one parent? 
Our X Rossianum blooms twice a year; a xX Lathamianum now in flower 
(ina ten inch pot) has nineteen single flowers and three twin-flowered scapes; 
making twenty-five in all. Our hybrid Harrisianum roseum (much larger 
than the usual one) blooms from every vegetation, and I could go on giving 
you other instances, Possibly the climate here may have something to do 
with it, for with us C. superbiens flowers splendidly, and I believe it is 4 
shy bloomer generally. : 
Florence, JANET Ross. 
