THE ORCHID REVIEW. . 227 
THE HON. ERASTUS CORNING’S ORCHIDS. 
THIs Collection is one of the oldest and most noted in the United States. 
It is situated a few miles below Albany, New York, at Mr. Corning’s summer 
residence—a farm of over 400 acres.. The gardens are under the manage- 
ment of Mr. William Grey, who has held the position for over forty years, 
and the Orchid collection embraces many hundred species and choice 
varieties, which occupy six houses. : 
The first house is nearly one hundred feet long, and is chiefly occupied, 
by Cattleyas and Lelias. The plants are grown on iron gratings, over open 
tanks of water, many of the roots extending down into it, and are apparently 
uninjured. At present there is very little of importance in flower, but 
among the better kinds noted were—Cattleya Trianz Colmanii (true), C. 
T. Corningii and C. T. Bonnyanum, C. Warscewiczii Normanii, C. x Pan- 
dora, C. x Penelope (type), Lelia anceps Dawsonii, L. a. Ballantineana, 
L. a. Hilliana, and L. a. Schroederiana. Here are also a fine lot of Leelio- 
cattleyas, including several fine L.-c x exoniensis, L.-c. x fausta, L.-c. x 
triophthalma, part of the type plant, L.-c. x elegans Turneri, L.-c. x Ame- 
Siana, a large plant of L.-c. x bella, L.-c. x callistoglossa, with four leads, 
and L.-c. x Veitchiana. Some fine specimens of Cymbedium eburneum, with 
many other species, are well grown at the cool end of this house. No canvas 
shading is used, but during the summer months the glass is heavily painted. 
The Cypripediums occupy a house sixty-five feet long, and comprise very 
_ many fine specimens of the leading species and hybrids, such as philippinense, 
preestans, Druryi, X vernixium, barbatum grandiflorum, with roo growths; 
barbatum biflorum, with 20 flowers; X nitens, x Arthurianum, x Smithii, 
x Niobe, x vexillarium, Stonei platytenium, &c. Of the Selenipediums 
may be mentioned such fine things as S. x albopurpureum and S. x 
Schroederze. 
Successful Orchid hybridisation has been carried on here since 1869, for 
experimental purposes only. The earlier crosses never reached maturity, 
but later experiments have developed some interesting results. Cypripedium 
Godefroyz ? crossed with C. niveum J produced from the same seed pod, C. 
concolor, niveum, Godefroyz, leucochilum, C. leucochilum pure white, bella- 
tulum, and nearly fifty intermediate forms. C. insigne Chantini fertilised 
with its own pollen produced thirty different results; C. x vexillarium 
similarly treated produced several seedlings, each one differing in some 
respect or other. C. x Harrisianum and C. x H. superbum crossed with 
their own pollen produced seedlings none of them exactly like their parent. 
A piece of the original type of C. Spicerianum crossed with its own pollen 
t Is there not some mistake here? Seedlings and hybrids do vary arora even from 
the same seed pod, but many of the arene a are very slight. No such case as the one 
now mentioned has ever been recorded before, and one would like to know more pacar 
and see some of the flowers. The experiment should certainly be repeated.—Ep 
