326 THE ORCHID REVIEW. 
the one which produced the green flower originally described in your pages. 
It is just what one might term a poor form of C. x Harrisianum, being 
neither one thing nor the other—that is to say, it is neither an ordinary 
form of Harrisianum, nor yet the variety virescens as described. With 
reference to the plant being potted in loam, there is a little mistake. When 
I divided the plant I found that it had a mixture of a little loam, but the 
greater portion of the potting material consisted of peat and sand, the : 
whole being in a decayed condition, though the plant was perfectly healthy. 
Tam afraid that evidence of this kind will not quite bear out the statement 
of the expert reported at page 267 of the September number, that no 
variety of Orchid would alter its character into another. 
H. J. CHAPMAN. 
Cambridge Lodge, 
Camberwell. 
A HYBRIDIST’S NOTES. 
FURTHER observations on the time of ripening seed-pods have convinced 
me that there is no fixed rule as to the influence of foreign pollen in this 
matter, but that certain species have a prepot in infl ing the time 
of ripening which other species do not possess. For example, Laelia anceps 
pollen seems invariably to cut down the time needed to ripen pods of the 
Cattleya labiata group by about six months, while pollen of the latter species 
does not appreciably lengthen the time needed by an anceps pods to ripen. 
On the other hand, Broughtonia sanguinea, which, both with its own and 
with foreign pollen, ripens its seeds in 1} to 2 months, has no power to 
quicken the ripening of C. Bowringiana, with which it gave good seed in 8} 
months. Probably certain species have power to impress this, as well as 
other peculiar characteristics, upon their hybrid offspring, just as the 
Cattleyas of the guttata group always transmit the three-lobed lip to their 
hybrids with species having an entire lip. 
This summer a pod of C. Triane x labiata ripened, which was remark- 
able in two ways—the pollen was 35 days old before it was used, and the 
pod ripened in 7} months. Only a few seeds were plump, but one of them 
grew fast, and is now pushing a leaf. 
Cattleya Dowiana seems to have the most perishable pollen of any 
Cattleya experimented with, as I get no pods from it if over a week or ten 
days from the flower. Nor have I been able to get pods with C. Rex 
pollen. of the same age. Very hot and damp weather seems to shorten the 
life of all sorts of Orchid pollen very materially, though no change is visible 
to the eye. 
L. MEAD. 
Oviedo, Florida. eer 
ot. 
