June, 1909.] THE ORCHID REVIEW. 167 
and Masdevallia x Courtauldiana in 1889, Phaius X Cooksoni, Dendrobium 
x Venus, D. xX Cassiope and Cypripedium x Dorisin 1890, C. X Bryaniand 
Leeliocattleya Phoebe in 1892, Cattleya x Harold and C. x William Murray 
in 1893, Odontoglossum x crispo-Hallii in 1898, with numerous later 
hybrids of excellent quality. 
Mr. Cookson followed his work up with all the instincts of a breeder, 
and some of his hybrid Calanthes show a remarkable brilliance of 
colouring. For example, one called C. x Oakwood Ruby, which is said 
to have been raised from C. X Sedeni Oakwood var., twice re-crossed with 
C. vestita rubro-oculata, and flowered in 1808, is of a brilliant ruby 
crimson, and this in turn, united with C. x William Murray, gave the 
dark C. X atrorubens. Phaius was evidently a favourite genus with Mr. 
Cookson, and he used both the handsome Madagascar species, P. simulans 
and P. Humblotii, with great success. The former united with P. Wallichii 
gave P. X Cooksoni and its variety Norman, which re-crossed with both 
the original parents, gave the secondary hybrids, P. X Clive and P. x 
Harold, while with P. Humblotiiit gave the handsome P. x oakwoodiensis, 
P. Humblotii with P. grandifolius had already given P. xX Cooksone, in 
1895, and with P. Wallichii it yielded P. x Phoebe, in 1899, and these 
hybrids re-crossed with P. Humblotii gave, respectively, P. x Ruby, in 1go2, 
and P. x Chapmanii ayear later. With Dendrobium also Mr. Cookson was 
very successful, the only hybrids of D. albosanguineum, D. bigibbum, and D. 
Maccarthize—known respectively as D. x Murrayi, D. x Sybil, and D. x 
Kenneth—being raised by him, together with D. xX Astrea, X Bryan, X 
Doris, X Harold, and x Lotus. 
Specially interesting events at Oakwood were the raising of Cypripedium 
insigne Sandere and C. Lawrenceanum Hyeanum true from seed, also the 
experiment which proved the parentage of the natural hybrid, Cattleya x 
Hardyana, the artificially-raised plant flowering there in 1896. 
Of late years Mr. Cookson has turned his attention to the genus Odonto- 
glossum, and some choice hybrids between O. crispum and O. Pescatorei 
have already flowered. He has also got together a very fine series of the 
choicest blotched forms of Odontoglossum crispum. 
The first Orchid named after Mr. Cookson, we believe, was Dendrobium 
nobile Cooksonianum, described by Reichenbach in 1885, but it had been 
sent by Mr. Cookson two years previously (Gard. Chron., 1883, i. p. 630), 
when Reichenbach called it a flower of D. nobile, ‘‘ showing lips in lieu of 
petals,” and it was remarked that the plant had produced such flowers for 
three years. 
Mr. Cookson has been for many years a member of the Orchid 
Committee of the R.H.S., and for more than six one of its Vice-Chairmen, 
and his lamented death leaves a vacancy on that body. 
