142 THE ORCHID REVIEW. [May, 1912. 
process. Such an experiment would not be difficult to make, and little 
time and trouble would be lost if nothing came of it. 
Loeb further describes his experiments in ‘‘ artificial parthenogenesis,” 
which are well known and which undoubtedly seem to confirm the other 
ideas mentioned above. TuHeEo. D. A. COCKERELL. 
University of Colorado, 
Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A. 
Messrs. Peeters, Brussels, write, in connection with the same question, 
that they pollinated Zygopetalum Mackayi with Odontoglossum crispum, 
and the resulting seedlings were identical with Zygopetalum Mackayi. 
These were again pollinated with O. crispum, but the second generation 
was again indistinguishable from the Zygopetalum. They, however, did 
not remove the pollinia of the seed bearer, so that one cannot be certain as 
to what really took place. Mr. J. S. Moss, however, states that he has 
repeated the process a third time, always first carefully removing the pollen 
from the seed bearer, and the result was still indistinguishable from the 
Zygopetalum. 
Mr. Cockerell’s note throws much light on the suggestion that in such 
cases fertilisation proper does not take place—that the alien pollen tubes do 
not enter the mycropyle of the ovule—hence no transmission of characters, 
but that the ovules are developed parthogenetically as the result of the 
stimulus of pollination. Such a result is not due to dominance as usually 
understood, and it emphasises the importance of cases of so-called paternal 
dominance. 
LALIA GORTONII. 
Mr. C. WarREN, Mickleham, Dorking, writes :——*‘ I should like to ask your 
opinion on an Orchidaceous plant which has been rather puzzling me. It 
is known as Lelia Gortonii, and I have looked at all the books of reference 
within my sphere, and do not find it noted in any volume of the Orchid 
Review, nor in Watson’s Book of Orchids. It is a strong-growing plant, with 
round pseudobulbs, which become furrowed after the first season, which are 
about an inch high, and bear a single leaf, or on strong growths two may be 
present. The leaves are from four to seven inches long, and lanceolate. 
For the last four years I have had plants under this name in my charge, and 
have never been fortunate enough to flowerthem. I am beginning to wonder 
if I have confused it with Lelia Groganii, which is a hybrid between Lelia 
flava and L. crispa. I hope you will be kind enough to clear me up this 
mystery.” 
A similar note was sent to the Journal of Horticulture, and “ W.B.” 
replies, that the first and only time he saw a plant under this name was in 
1904, when on a visit to Mr. Rothschild’s collection at Tring Park. His 
