162 THE ORCHID REVIEW. 
well represented, and I hope their absence on this occasion may prove to be 
only an exceptional circumstance. 
The Sherwood Silver Cup, offered on this occasion for the best collection 
of Orchids staged by an amateur in a space not exceeding one hundred 
square feet, was won by Sir Frederick Wigan with a superb group, in which 
richness and variety combined with good culture and tasteful arragement to 
_ form a very charming picture, of which details will no doubt appear in your 
report. One of the plants was a very remarkable novelty, namely, a hybrid 
between Lelio-cattleya x Aphrodite and Lelia Digbyana, called Leelio- 
cattleya X Edgar Wigan, to which a First-class Certificate was given.- It 
is a first-rate addition to a group of hybrids which seems likely to occupy a 
very prominent position in a few years’ time, namely, those from Lelia 
Digbyana, whose remarkable fringed lip singled it out some years ago asa 
very promising subject for the operations of the hybridist, and the results 
are now gradually coming to hand. 
Speaking of novelties reminds me that these were rather below the aver- 
age in point of numbers, which is perhaps partly due to the fact that it is a 
jittle too early for many of the hybrid Lelio-cattleyas, of which so many are 
now reaching the flowering stage. One other very remarkable one, how- 
ever, was sent by Messrs. Charlesworth & Co., which gained an Award of 
Merit. This was Lzlio-cattleya x Ivernia, derived from L.-c. X callisto- 
glossa and Lelia tenebrosa, which, fine as it is, gave evidence that the plant 
is far from fully developed, and it will be surprising if it does not gain the 
higher award on some subsequent occasion. It is said that about sixty 
plants were entered for Certificates from the Orchid Committee, but of 
these not a fourth were successful, for the list of awards contains three 
First-class Certificates, eight Awards of Merit, and one Botanical Certificate. 
_ This, however, affords no very exact criterion of the meritorious exhibits 
shown, as a good many for various reasons were not “entered ” for Certifi- 
cates, and I believe that the best Orchid in the show would be ignored 
under such circumstances. I noticed also that two plants gained Cultural 
Commendations—a kind of award which I should like tosee more appreciated, 
for such awards carry a personal distinction to the grower, especially when 
the subject is a difficult one to manage. That they are not very highly 
appreciated will, I think, be admitted, and in any case I note that in the 
Manchester Orchid Society’s Rules they count as equal to a Botanical Cer- 
tificate in value, gaining one point, while an Award of Merit counts as two 
points, and a First-class Certificate, as no less than four—an arrangement 
which scarcely does justice to the cultural side of the question. 
