68 -THE ORCHID REVIEW. 
utilise so largely cannot be had, and some of the substitutes are either less 
efficient or sold at an almost prohibitive price. Fogs, again, do not trouble 
the Belgian cultivator, or at all events not those highly charged with smoke 
and deleterious gases, as in the neighbourhood of London and some of our 
large towns. If our Belgian friends can beat us, by all means let us know 
why, but let them first send us the proofs. 
Last month I alluded to Ccelogyne cristata and its varieties. They are 
now literally one blaze of colour—if the term may be applied to an Orchid 
of such spotless purity. Surely this must be one of the very best of all 
cultivated Orchids, not even surpassed by Odontoglossum crispum and 
Dendrobium nobile, if the ease with which it can be cultivated be taken 
into consideration. Two of its varieties stand out clear and distinct, 
namely, alba and Lemoniana, though one or two others also possess certain 
distinguishing characters. I have been rather curious to learn the origin of 
these two fine forms. The first-named is an albino—perhaps the purest 
white Orchid known—and was described by Reichenbach in 1881 as variety 
hololeuca. But it had then been known under the name of alba for at least 
two years, and how much longer I am unable to say, for it is recorded in 
1879 by Mr. J. D. Richards that two large plants of it were in flower at 
Oakley House, Gledhow, Leeds, and that it bloomed later than the ordinary 
form under the same treatment. This was certainly not its first appearance. 
Perhaps~some of your readers can throw further light on the point. 
Lemoniana is stated to have appeared in the collection of the late Sir 
Charles Lemon, many years agc—certainly long before 1881, when two or 
- three records appeared. It was named after Sir Charles Lemon. It has 
also been called variety citrina, though which is the older name I am not 
sure. This recalls to my mind an amusing incident about it. Mr. Ridley, 
in a paper read at the Orchid Conference at Liverpool, remarked that the 
name Lemoniana was unobjectionable, ‘“‘ though the error made by its 
original namer, in imagining that Lemoniana meant lemon-coloured, may 
call up a laugh at his expense.” I cannot repress a smile, but it is not at the 
expense of the original namer. 
I observe in the Gardeners’ Chronicle for February 17th, an appreciative 
article on Cypripediums at Stand Hall, over the signature of “A.” It is 
undoubtedly true that these plants are coming to the front, and that the 
want of colour and variety about many of the exotic species is rapidly 
being obviated by cross-breeding and hybridisation, which has given an 
immense impetus to the formation of collections in general. But I am 
afraid that the writer does not read his Orchid Review very carefully. He 
makes Cypripedium Spicerianum-one of the parents of C. x Edwardii, 
