THE ORCHID REVIEW. 197 
Various offers were made for the specimen as soon as it was unpacked and 
staged, and Mr. Backhouse, of York, offered the same sum for it as M. 
Hye, who, however, had made the first offer, and consequently became 
the fortunate possessor. ‘It is said to be the highest price ever paid for 
an Odontoglossum. 
DIES ORCHIDIANZ, 
Last month I called attention to Mr. Chamberlain’s article on the 
Nomenclature of Orchids and some remarks thereon made by the 
Gardeners’ Chronicle, and I note with satisfaction that the said article 
has also been reprinted in the Gardeners’ Magazine (May 30, Pp. 357)- 
Mr. Hurst also has given us an admirable article on the same question 
(p. 165), and I cannot help thinking that the publicity thus given to 
the question will be the means of effecting a much needed improvement 
—indeed, I think signs of it are already visible. 
The Orchid Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society has been 
blamed for a good deal of the confusion against which so strong a 
protest has been made, chiefly because of its failure to carry out its own 
rules—and to this point I have several times called attention—and I 
therefore note with satisfaction that at a recent meeting the Committee 
did refuse to recognise an unauthorised name, though at the same time 
awarding the plant a Botanical Certificate. I allude to the plant 
exhibited as a new Pogonia on June gth. This case is fully provided 
for in the Society’s rules. ‘An award should be made to any plant 
that is considered by the Committee worthy of such distinction, even 
though it be unnamed, or not named in accordance with preceding 
regulations, provided that, within a reasonable time, to be determined by 
the Committee, a proper name be given. The certificate of an award 
made under the circumstances detailed in this paragraph should be 
withheld until the plant has been properly named.” A similar award was 
made to a supposed new Batemannia on the same date under similar 
conditions, both the plants being referred to Kew, where I believe they 
have since been named, and the conditions thus having been complied 
with, the certificates will, of course, be issued with the proper names. 
This is a very good beginning, and I hope the the Committee will 
invariably carry out the rule in future. Had they done so earlier 
they would have avoided the absurdity of certificating the old Bletia 
catenulata—the original species in the genus—under the new name of 
. Watsoniana, to which I alluded at p. 298 of our second volume. 
A large number of these Botanical Certificates have been awarded of 
