SEPTEMBER, 1906.] THE ORCHID REVIEW. 261 
of trees, to which it is attached, for yards, it loses all its leaves and has a 
bunch of roots and a flower spike varying from one to three feet in length, 
which blooms away gaily, but the absence of leaves greatly detracts from 
the appearance of the plant. This is also noticeable in the native habitat 
of the plants on the teak tree, in the dry season, the broken, shrivelled 
leaves giving the plants a sorry-looking, lifeless appearance, though they 
have never been disturbed in their growth at any time. Many of mine, 
though fully established, lose leaf after leaf, though the cause is not often 
apparent. A very destructive pest bores holes in the base of the leaf, and 
often rots them completely there, though the rest of the leaf is green and 
perfectly healthy-looking. Another pest sucks the green colouring matter 
out of the leaves, spoiling their appearance completely. 
This Orchid—as also Aérides and Saccolabium—has a great affinity for 
hard-wooded trees, especially the Teak tree, known locally as ‘ Djati.” 
This tree has large coarse leaves which protect the Orchids from both sun 
and rain. I have seen eight or nine different Orchids all growing upon this 
one species, Phalenopsis, Cymbidium, Aérides, Saccolabiums, and Den- 
drobes. Asa rule the Phalenopsis are on the lower part of the trunk, and 
the Vandas and Aérides on the higher and more exposed branches. This 
teak tree is grown in rows along the Government roads, mixed up with 
Tamarind and other species, but all the Phalenopsis have been well 
exploited, at any rate in this district. I had at one time about 2,500 of the 
large-flowered variety, broad-leaved, narrow-leaved, and with flowers 
varying from three to five inches across, though the latter size is unusual. 
(To be concluded.) 
THE HYBRIDISATION CONFERENCE, 
(Concluded from page 228.) 
A PAPER read on Tuesday afternoon, July 31st, on “ The Influence of the 
Parents on the colour of the Hybrid,” by Mr. F. J. Chittenden, though not 
dealing directly with Orchids, contained some conclusions that will be of 
interest to Orchidists. The lecturer spoke of a widely spread belief that 
the colour of the flowers of a hybrid are more influenced by the pollen 
parent than the seed bearer, and said that upon this belief was founded 
the advice to choose the flower with the most brilliant colouring as the 
pollen parent. This influence, on the other hand, had been denied, and 
many examples had been cited to prove the converse. In order to test 
the matter he had taken the records of 183 hybrids (mostly first crosses), 
of which the parentage appeared to admit of no doubt, and compared the 
colour of the hybrids with those of their parents. These hybrids be- 
longed to 67 genera. Out of the total of 183, 19 had parents whose flowers 
were alike in colour, and of the remainder 42 showed a predominance of the 
