336 ‘THE ORCHID REVIEW. j NOVEMBER, I9gI0. 
periods. Examples‘of O. Pescatorei and O. x Rolfez are also flowering 
well. O. grande is naturally an autumn bloomer, and is now particularly 
effective, its large yellow and brown flowers making a grand display where 
the plants are well grown. It likes a little more warmth than O. crispum, 
and some growers place it regularly in the Intermediate house during the 
winter months. 
Cypripedes, like Odontoglossums, may be relied upon to give a coeds 
of flowers all the year round, but it is during the autumn and winter that 
they make their great display. This is largely due to the popularity of the 
fine old C. insigne, and to the fact that it has now been united by hybridisa- 
tion with most of the species which flower at the same period, and then 
recombined with a multitude of hybrids. C. insigne is a host in itself, for 
there are numerous spotted forms to select from, including the grand 
Harefield Hall var., and several good yellows, of which Sandere is still the 
best. C. Fairrieanum, now happily accessible to everyone, and the 
beautiful C. Charlesworthii, are also autumn bloomers, and the latter is 
unapproached for beauty of colouring, the rose-coloured dorsal sepal and 
white staminode forming a striking contrast. A batch. of this charming 
little plant is now the brightest feature in the house, 
Of hybrids the name is legion. First we may mention C..x Arthurianum 
(insigne X Fairrieanum), a very graceful flower, and C. xX Hitchinsiz 
(insigne X Charlesworthii), most like the former parent, but dwarfer and 
more prettily spotted. Then we have a host of showy things obtained by 
crossing C. insigne with the hybrids of C. villosum, Boxallii, Spicerianum 
and others which flower rather later in the winter. and spring, and by 
further crossing the various hybrids with each other. C. x cenanthum 
superbum, one of the earliest of these complex hybrids, is now flowering 
freely. It may be described as a mixture of C. insigne, villosum and bar- 
batum, and the combination of colour is very effective. Though now 
surpassed in beauty by some of its offspring, C. x Milo, x triumphans, 
xX Pollettianum, and x Baron Schréder—all of which are now in bloom— 
it has the advantage of being within the reach of the most diminutive 
purse, which is sometimes a consideration. The superb hybrids Germaine 
Opoix and Gaston Bultel are also believed to be derived from C. X 
cenanthum on one side and C. Fairrieanum on the other, though they are 
so distinct from C. X Baron Schréder as to have caused a doubt whether 
they can have the same parentage. These perhaps should not be mentioned 
under this heading, for the price is rather prohibitive at present. But there 
are now hosts of hybrids containing more or less C. insigne in their 
parentage which are just as easily grown, and the number is increasing 
every year. Hybridisation and selection are effecting such improvements 
that there is little likelihood of the group declining in popularity. 
