THE ORCHID REVIEW. 317 
if the plant is not in first rate condition, and quite able to bear the stress 
of producing the big seed-pod, which will take the best part of a year to 
mature ; for it kills weakly plants. Never cross inferior varieties, because 
the progeny, if reared, would probably be worthless. And cross only those 
varieties from which, for some reason or another, something good might be 
expected. Be very careful in labelling the flower directly it is crossed, 
and remove its own pollen clean away, so that there may be no mistake in 
the parentage. 
When the seed is ripe the pod will split. Now immediately sow the 
seed on the surface of the compost, selecting plants which have lately been 
tepotted—recently imported plants, that are making plenty of roots, in 
preference to others—but make sure that any plant on which seed is sown 
will require to be kept moist for at least two or three months afterwards. 
The seed germinates more surely on plants that are suspended near the 
light. Be careful that the seed is not washed away by the first few 
waterings the plant receives; afterwards there is less danger. If the seed 
is good it will soon commence to germinate, and become round shaped, 
about the size of the head of a pin. This is a critical juncture, for if the 
compost is not just so, those green globules will speedily disappear. 
Therefore if the surface of the compost appears not to be in a good sound 
condition, commencing, as it often does, to become sour and decomposed, 
it is better at this stage to at once transfer them to sweet material in tiny 
seed pots, placing five or six in each pot, a number of which should be 
placed in teak baskets, and suspended in a shady part of the house, and 
kept continually moist. The cause of the surface of the compost becoming 
prematurely decayed is often insects living within the pot. In some 
gardens the compost become literally alive with a small species of fly, and 
these quickly destroy Orchid seed. When once these tiny globular plants 
become established in their new pots—and most will do so—they quickly 
form a little leaf, and a little root grasps the compost. After this the rest is 
comparatively easy. They will soon require to be potted off singly in the 
seedling pots, and then growing on. Be always watchful, do not over-pot, and 
see that fresh sweet compost is supplied whenever necessary. The aed 
are the chief points to be kept in sight in order to ensure a reasonable 
amount of success in raising hybrids. There is yet a large field open to 
hybridists. Even supposing quite new crosses cannot at all times be made, 
there is still no reason why crosses already in existence, if good, should not 
again be reared. By doing so better varieties might be obtained, rare more 
than that, advanced as we are in Orchid culture, we have still muc _ 
to learn before we can say to ourselves, “ These plants we possess, me a 
are absolutely sure of retaining them,” for, like other garden a6 , 
Orchids will sometimes die. 
