30 THE ORCHID REVIEW. [JANUARY, 1910. 
whether to call a flower Leliocattleya elegans or L.-c. Schilleriana, so great 
is the range of variation. 
I have a plant from the woods, thought to be Cattleya x Heathu. In 
habit it is fairly intermediate between its supposed parents. The flowers so 
far have been all malformed, the petals being connate. These and the 
sepals take after C. Harrisoniana in colour ; the lip favours C. Walkeriana, 
but is of lighter hue. 
RAISING ORCHIDS FROM SEED. 
A CORRESPONDENT suggests that we should give an article on raising 
Orchids from seed, remarking that it would be of great interest to many 
amateurs who, like himself, have never been able to raise any plants from 
seed. 
We hope to devote a little more space to the subject, and will commence 
with a few suggestions as to possible causes of failure. Several persons 
have remarked that they have sown what was apparently good seed, but no 
seedlings resulted. This may have been because the seed was not good, or 
because the almost microscopic seedlings died before they were large 
enough to be noticed. A few hours drought will do this. When once the 
seed is sown the compost should never be allowed to become dry. A good 
Cattleya or Lelia capsule—say L. cinnabarina—would be a good subject to 
commence with. Take an established plant of which the compost is in 
good condition, and will not require disturbing for some time, and sprinkle a 
little seed thinly on the surface, at the same time making up a pan of new 
compost in some moist shady corner of the house, and sprinkling a few 
seeds on this also. The seeds, when examined under a pocket lens, should 
look slightly thickened and opaque in the centre. The compost should be 
kept constantly moist and shaded, but in other respects it may be treated in 
the ordinary way. The seeds should be examined with the lens pretty 
frequently to watch their progress. If all goes well they will begin to swell, 
soon becoming tiny green globules, after which a small growing point will 
be noticed, which will be followed by the production of a few root hairs, 
and then a true root, and a minute leaf. After this stage is reached they 
may generally be considered safe. We shall be glad to hear the result of 
any trials made in this way, and we may add that epiphytic Orchids 
generally begin to grow at once, and as they remain on the surface of the 
compost their progress can be watched. 
MONOMERIA BARBATA,—This very interesting little Orchid was exhibited 
at the R.H.S. meeting held on December 7th last, by F. W. Moore, Esq., 
Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden, Glasnevin, and received a Botanical 
Certificate. The genus was described by Lindley in 1830 (Gen. & Sp. 
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