116 THE ORCHID REVIEW. 
two or three small spots, and there are generally one or two narrow lines at 
the extreme base. The lip is yellow, with a large red-brown blotch near 
the tip, and has the usual deltoid shape. The strong contrast between the 
sepals and petals gives it a very bizarre and elegant appearance. It is 
dedicated to Mr. Stevens. 
R. A. R. 
ORCHID HYBRIDISATION. 
(Continued from page 85.) 
Last month we left our hybridist warring with slugs and thrips, and 
generally striving to safeguard his fondlings against the adverse circum- 
stances which oppose their progress from infancy to maturity, in which we 
may hope he has been successful. And the next question is, How long 
must he wait before reaping the fruits of his labour? This depends largely 
upon circumstances. It may be as little as two or as much as nineteen 
years, though both extremes are exceptional. Calanthe x Dominii, the 
first hybrid which reached the flowering stage, was only two years old when 
that event took place, and now Disa x Veitchii and D. x kewensis have 
successively broken the record by flowering in twenty-one and eighteen 
months respectively, from the time the seed was sown. Cypripedium x 
Arnoldianum, too, flowered when under two years old. 
It may be interesting to give a few particulars under this head. Disa 
evidently heads the list, and Calanthe probably comes next, as the average 
period of reaching maturity is from three to four years. Cypripedium, 
Selenipedium, and Dendrobium, follow closely, then Masdevallia, Chysis, 
and Phaius crossed with Calanthe, about four to five years. Zygopetalum 
and Lycaste require rather longer to reach the flowering stage, and last of 
all comes Cattleya and Lelia and the various crosses between them, for 
which seven to ten years is perhaps about the average, with four years. 
aS a minimum and nineteen as a maximum period. 
A few more exact details will further illustrate this point. Calanthe 
Alexandri flowered within three years, and one or two other cases of equally 
rapid development are on record for the genus. Cypripedium x Juno 
flowered in three years and eight months after the seed was sown, and 
Dendrobium x Cybele in six years. Selenipedium Schlimii crossed with S. 
longifolium flowered in four years, according to Mr. Veitch, while the re- 
verse cross required six. Zygopetalum maxillare crossed with Z. Mackayi (by 
the way was not this Z. intermedium ?) flowered in six years, but the reverse 
cross in nine. Cattleya x William Murray flowered when four years old ;. 
Lelio-cattleya x Aurora, L.-c. Proserpine and L.-c. Tresederiana in seven 
years; L.-c. Cassiope and L.-c. Stella in eight; L.-c. x Arnoldiana in ten 4 
