May, 1913] THE ORCHID REVIEW. 153 
well-known Orchids which extend their area to Australia. A few others 
are occasionally met with in botanical collections, including representatives 
of the remarkable Australasian group Diuridez, which form such a large 
element of the Australian flora, and which are beautifully illustrated in 
Fitzgerald’s work on Australian Orchids. 
It may be added that Bentham enumerated about 228 species of 
Australian Orchids in the Flora Australiensis, belonging to forty-eight 
genera, the largest genus being Caladenia, the Spider Orchids, with twenty- 
seven species, Pterostylis and Dendrobium, twenty-four each, Prasophyllum, 
twenty-three, Thelymitra, sixteen, and Diuris, thirteen, but a number of 
others have since been described. About two-thirds of the species belong 
to Diuridz, only a few of the twenty genera having outlying representatives 
in New Zealand, and the Malayan Archipelago. The other third of the 
species belong to twenty-eight genera which extend from Asia, but a good 
many of the species are only Australian. It would be very interesting to 
know if any of the native species are cultivated in Australian gardens. 
Fitzgerald believed there were a few native hybrids, and he made some 
experiments in hybridising, but we .do not know with what results. 
ORCHIDS AT VENTIMIGLIA, 
A VERY successful attempt is being made in the well-known gardens of La 
Mortola, situated between Mentone and Ventimiglia, to grow Orchids in the 
Open air, by fastening them on to the bark of living trees and old tree 
stumps, and possibly a few notes taken during a recent visit may be of 
interest to readers of the Orchid Review. 
It is obvious that, considering the climate of the Italian Riviera is not 
extremely warm, the best success is obtained from those Orchids requiring 
Cool house cultivation in this country. The collection comprises several 
Oncidiums, including brevifolium, crispum, dasytyle, Forbesii, incurvum, 
and maculatum, whilst a strong plant of the first-named was producing a 
branched panicle of over fifty flowers. Several nice healthy pieces of 
Odontoglossum crispum and O. triumphans, Ccelogyne cristata, and 
Dendrobium superbiens were also noted. But undoubtedly the Orchids 
which succeed best in this district are Lelia anceps and albida. Several 
Plants of the former were pushing up their long slender flower spikes. 
This magnificent garden was planted many years ago by the late Sir 
Thomas Hanbury, and is chiefly celebrated for its splendid collection of 
Cacti and Succulents. Mons. A. Berger, the able curator, is very sanguine 
as to the prospects of being able to possess a representative collection of 
Orchids, and as soon as it is seen that those already obtained can be 
Successfully cultivated a greater number will be procured. 
C. ALwyn HARRISON. 
