76 THE ORCHID REVIEW. 
NOTICE OF BOOK. 
Hand-List of Orchids cultivated in the Royal Gardens, Kew. London, 
Printed for Her Majesty’s Stationery Office by Eyre and Spottiswoode, 
1896. 12mo., pp. 225. 
A series of Hand-lists of plants cultivated at Kew is in course of prepara- 
tion, and the last issued is devoted to Orchids. The preface occupies 
twelve pages, and the remainder consists of an alphabetical enumeration of 
the species, varieties and hybrids in the collection, with the authority, 
native country, and as often as possible a reference to a published figure, 
for example—AcINETA BaRKERI, Lindl. Mexico, Bot. Mag. t. 4203—and thus 
will be very useful to those who are in any way occupied with Orchids. 
It is printed on one side of the paper only, and thus space is afforded for 
additions, if necessary. The list contains about 200 genera, 1800 species; 
and fifty garden hybrids. The preface contains much interesting matter 
about the collection, from which the following is extracted. 
The collection of Orchids cultivated at Kew is essentially different from 
any, at least in this country, in the possession of a private collector, and 
perhaps its only rival is that of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin- 
Its main object is botanical, and to represent the family Orchide im % 
comprehensive a way as possible. The scientific interest attaching t 
Orchids is very great. But even as regards form they can only be studied 
from dried specimens with great difficulty, and as regards their varied and 
remarkable structural arrangements and the striking mechanical contrlv- 
ances for cross-fertilisation which they exhibit, they cannot be studied in 
the dried state at all. While the Kew collection contains representatives 
of all the most beautiful and popular species, it is more particularly rich 0 
others which at first sight are not particularly attractive. Most of these; 
however, on careful examination will be found to possess no small degree of 
charm and interest. ’ 
Orchids have been continually cultivated at Kew from their earliest 
introduction into this country. The varied fortunes which have attend 
the collection practically reflect the history of the progress which has bee? 
made in the art of growing Orchids under artificial conditions. i 
In the first edition of Aiton’s Hortus Kewensis 15 non-British species 
are enumerated as cultivated at Kew. Sir J. E. Smith wrote oe Le 
have scarcely seen any one species of this genus (Epidendrum), except in ® 
dry state, before the year 1787, when E. cochleatum flowered at Kew, ue 
was it till October, 1792, that E. fragrans, of Swartz, exhibited its rich and 
elegant bloom in the same collection. At present, several species are “ae 
seen flowering in the spring and: autu ioned, 
, som mn.” In the work just ment 
a Srandifolius was figured and described under the name of Limodoru™ 
