100 THE ORCHID REVIEW. 
DIES ORCHIDIAN/-. 
A RATHER interesting question is raised by Mr. James Douglas in the 
Gardeners’ Chronicle for February 29th, respecting figures of Orchids. 
Speaking of Stanhopezas, at page 264, he remarks :—‘‘ The figure of S. 
Haseloviana in the Bot. Mag. for January, has again brought to my mind 
an idea which has been there before: whether or not in the production of 
these coloured plates it would not be better to have the flowers photo- 
graphed in the first place ; and if not the flowers, because they are to be 
coloured, certainly the parts of the flower that have not to be coloured, and 
the drawing of the plant itself, which is sometimes given. In the plate 
alluded to, are the tops of the column and the pollinia in two positions? 
I make these comments because I had some excellent photographs from 
the Rev. F. D. Horner some three or four years ago of Stanhopea tigrina 
flowers, and they certainly were very different from the coloured plates of 
long ago, and the modern ones do not seem to be any better.” 
I have nothing to say as to the particular plate in question, though 
with respect to photographic rep ions generally 1 think there can be 
no doubt as to their superior accuracy, as compared with drawings. In 
practice, at all events, very few artists succeed in giving the perspective of 
the flower and the relative amount of light and shade with anything like 
that degree of accuracy seen in an average photograph, and even the 
outlines and proportions of the different parts of the flower in many recently 
published drawings leave much to be desired. Some time ago friend 
brought me three figures from the horticultural journals of a new hybri 
Cypripedium, all drawn from the self-same flower (there being but one), 
and all were different, both from each other and from a photograph of the 
said flower ; indeed, evidence derived from the text was required to show 
that ali were intended to represent the same thing. 
; . k 
Of course my remarks are intended to apply to illustrations 1" blac! 
and white, because no process of photographing colours has yet sai 
perfected, though some recent experiments have yielded promising pee 
How far photographing the plants first and colouring them 7 0 
would succeed is perhaps doubtful, though I am_ perfectly certain that 3 
camera that was ever made would give representations at all like $f 
figures that I could mention, a certain Eulophiella among the a 
Process of reproducing colours by photography would revolutions 
horticultural works. 
