June, 1606.] THE ORCHID REVIEW. 165 
It has been a very great pleasure, and most instructive to study the 
differing ways of attaining the same object. In some places the great 
interest lay in the hybridizing that was made the chief feature; in 
another it was the effort to perfect the housing accommodation, and give 
the best atmospheric conditions, so as to get the plants to grow as well as 
possible, and thus improve the shape and colour of their flowers; in others 
it was the duplication of fine varieties by division, &c.—the common ground 
being a desire to fill the houses with as fine varieties as possible, and a 
boundless enthusiasm in the work. 
We saw some splendid things in flower, and also thoroughly enjoyed the 
inspection of bulbs and leaves, and the histories attached to some of the 
plants. Everyone showed us the greatest kindness, and took an amount of 
trouble to make our visit interesting. 
I have not asked these gentlemen’s permission to write of their Orchids; 
but I feel I would like to share the pleasure of these visits with others who 
are not able to go and see for themselves. 
We went first to see Baron Schroder’s collection—a collection that has 
taken a great many years to form, some of the plants having been there 
considerably over twenty years. Their owner has rejected everything but 
the best, with the natural result that a magnificent collection has its home 
there. Every plant is distinguished by some special beauty or value, and 
many are quite unique; and amongst these latter are some of the finest 
Odontoglossum crispums known, such as apiatum, Veitchianum, 
Sanderianum, and Baroness Schréder. Some beautiful things were in bud 
and flower; but it was a pleasure even to read the labels of those that were 
not, and to think of the beauty they represented. Some of the finest grown 
Calanthes I have ever seen were here in flower—magnificent spikes, quite a 
little forest of them ; there was also open a wonderful spike of Lelia anceps 
Schreederiana; and we noticed how much better it looked here than when 
shown at the R.H.S. meeting. The want of background there always 
seems to detract greatly from the beauty of the individual plants shown 
upon the Committee’s table. 
At Mr. Cookson’s we saw a number of very fine things in flower ; one 
Odontoglossum house was a real feast ; fine varieties, and fine spikes, one 
plant carrying seventeen flowers and a pod from last yearas well. There 
was a very rich O. xX ardentissimum open; but I think the best of all were 
two plants of O. crispum xanthotes; ‘‘ Cooksonie” and ‘“ Ardarroch 
variety,” good spikes of each, and in their gracefulness, beauty of shape, 
and purity of colouring they made a lovely picture. Standing out from 
the rich things with which they were surrounded, they seemed to attract 
the eye from every part of the house. Disbudding does not find favour 
here, but their owner seems to have a wonderful knack of multiplying his 
