THE ORCHID REVIEW. 
VoL. XVII.] FEBRUARY, 1909. [No. 194. 
THE TWENTY BEST HYBRID CYPRIPEDES. 
HAVE not the writers of the articles in your last two issues made a mistake 
-inthetitle? ‘‘The twenty most expensive Cypripedes”’ would have been 
rather more appropriate. We are not all millionaires, but we love Orchids 
none the less, and can manage to get a good show of flowers that do not 
work out at about £100 per bloom. Ofcourse we like to know what these 
best varieties are, and hope to see the day when some of them will come 
within our reach. But will they be quite as highly appreciated when they 
can be purchased for 3s. 6d. each? Not so very long ago Cypripedium 
insigne Sandere was sold at quite a prohibitive price, and some of us 
wondered whether it would ever be included in our collections. Just as this 
seemed possible we read that someone was trying to make a “‘ corner” init, 
but happily the rumour proved false, and now it is accessible to everybody. 
But itis none the less beautiful, because all of us can enjoy the possession of 
it. I wonder how much this beautiful plant has done to popularise cool 
Orchid growing? There is now a hybrid closely resembling it, which I had 
the pleasure of seeing last autumn, namely C. X Bianca superbum, yet it 
was not included in either of the lists mentioned, though names of later 
date, and surely of less beauty, were included. 
Nearly all the best winter flowering hybrids have C. insigne in them in 
- some form or other, and if the list were limited to winter-blooming kinds 
one might include most of the hybrids with its own section. These are C. 
x Leeanum (with Spicerianum), C. xX nitens (with villosum), C. x 
Schlesingerianum (with Boxallii), C. x Hitchinsiz (with Charlesworthii), 
andC. X Arthurianum (with Fairrieanum), and all are forms of sterling 
merit. -Then other combinations between the species mentioned include 
C. xX Lathamianum (Spicerianum and villosum), and C. xX Niobe 
(Spicerianum and Fairrieanum), which can scarcely be omitted. These 
crossed among themselves have given a number of very beautiful secondary 
hybrids, the best of which are C. X aureum (Spicerianum and Leeanum) 
and C. x Hera (Boxallii and Leeanum), with their varieties. From these 
_ alone twenty easily grown, free-flowering, and highly decorative hybrids can 
easily be selected which are within the reach of all Orchid growers, 
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