290 THE ORCHID REVIEW. [OcroperR, 1912. 
Dearei, to which it was originally compared, though the shape of the spur 
and a green blotch near the base indicates a near affinity with the latter. 
It seems to have a strong constitution, but has not yet had time to get fully 
established. Not long ago the beautiful Dendrobium Sander was 
imported by the same firm, and it is evident that the supply of novelties 
from abroad is not exhausted yet. 
Some magnificent examples of cultural skill have also appeared at recent 
meetings, which suygests that increased attention is being paid to this 
important detail. The specimen of Vanda ccerulea four feet high, and 
bearing seventy-four leaves and two spikes, the best with nineteen flowers, 
for which Messrs. Sander & Sons received a Cultural Commendation on 
September roth, was a fine sight, and the sturdy plant of the same from 
Lady Werner's collection, which gained a similar award a fortnight later, 
was also magnificent, bearing a spike of fifteen flowers, some of them five 
inches across, and of the most brilliant colour imaginable. And yet Vanda 
ceerulea is often regarded as a difficult plant to grow. Then there was 
the magnificent specimen of Cypripedium Lord Derby from Baron Bruno 
Schréder’s collection, bearing fourteen spikes and forty flowers, which also 
gained a Cultural Commendation at the last meeting. Such specimens 
are not grown in a day, and it is only by good cultivation that the best 
qualities of an Orchid are brought out. A good many other Cultural 
Commendations have been awarded this season, and it is interesting to see 
such recognition of what, after all, is the most important department of 
Orchidology. 
An open letter from “ Progressive ” to the Council of the Royal Horti- 
cultural Society, which appears in the Journal of Horticulture (p. 306) 
affords matter for reflection. ‘ As a regular frequenter,”’ he remarks, “ of 
the fortnightly shows of the Royal Horticultural Society, it has often struck 
me of late that some move should be made by those in authority to 
encourage further the hybridising and cross-breeding of plants. The shows 
have attained to a certain pitch of perfection, their like cannot probably be 
found in the world, but there is still something lacking. The very perfection 
of the groups in the manner of staging and quality may, after a time, 
become monotonous unless something further is done 
in the way of 
encouraging the production of novelties. 
I am, of course, aware that 
individual and specific plants stand the chance of an Award of Merit or 
First-class Certificate in the Committee-room, but my complaint is more in 
regard to the groups that are displayed in the Hall. On several occasions 
I have seen the much sought-for Gold Medal awarded to otherwise very 
fine exhibits which have not contained a single real novelty. .-. . It 
