THE ORCHID REVIEW. 51 
structure will be observed—the one peculiar to Cypripedium and Seleni- 
pedium, the other common to the great bulk of the order. 
The column of Cypripedium consists of the large shield-shaped stami- 
node, or sterile stamen, in the centre of the flower, a second shield-shaped 
organ underneath, which is the stigma, and a pair of small roundish 
stalked bodies situated at the basal openings of the lip, which are the 
stamens. The latter organs secrete a sticky brownish or yellowish sub- 
stance, the pollen, consisting of single grains immersed in a glutinous 
fluid, which must be removed and smeared on the stigma in order to 
effect fertilisation. 
In other Orchids the structure of the column is very different.. Here 
we find a single fertile anther situated at the top of the column, and the 
pollen grains variously aggregated in masses, the pollinia, which are 
generally hidden under a little cap, the anther-case. On the face of the 
column near the top will be observed a little cavity, covered with a sticky 
exudation, and this is the stigma. The anther-case may be detached by 
a slight touch, and if the pollen masses be applied to the stigma, they 
will adhere firmly to the sticky surface. 
It is well known that the majority of Orchids are incapable of self- 
fertilisation, and that in a state of nature they are dependent on the visits 
of insects, who, in search of food, involuntarily carry the pollen from 
flower to flower, leaving it on the stigma, where required. The hybridist, 
though with a different object in view, still works in the same way. 
Assuming, then, that the necessary materials are at hand, we may next 
describe the operation. The flower intended as the seed-bearer should 
first have the pollen carefully removed, which may be effected by means 
of a pair of forceps or a pointed pencil or stick. Care should be taken 
not to injure the remaining parts, also that the pollen does not come in 
contact with the stigma. Now take the pollen from the second flower, 
place it on the stigma of the first, and that stage of the work is complete. 
The reverse cross may be effected at the same time if the pollen from the 
first flower is laid aside until the second one is ready to receive it. 
It is very important that the details of every cross should be carefully 
recorded, and a small pocket-book should be kept for the purpose. The 
crosses should be numbered consecutively, and a small ticket with the 
corresponding number tied on to the stalk of the fertilised flower. Oppo- 
site the number in the pocket-book should be recorded the date of the 
cross and the seed and pollen parents, then a space should be left for 
future use, such as date of sowing the seed, etc. 
Now comes a period of waiting, during which the chief thing necessary 
is to keep the plant healthy, avoiding checks and over-stimulation, so that 
the capsule with its contents may mature properly. A certain percentace 
of crosses will fail to take, and this may be large when experimenting 
