NOVEMBER, 1909. | THE ORCHID REVIEW. 323 
two or three such glorious exceptions that one becomes quite reconciled, 
and a further and careful analysis-explains why, in the aggregate, they are 
disappointing. 
I shall come back hts to that list, and will, in the meantime, set 
forth the reasons, as they appear to me, why it is not more prepossessing. 
Sophronitis has, in comparison to any Cattleya of the labiata group—the 
group which contains the largest and best flowers—a small flower, and 
relatively a small column. Therefore the same hypothesis which applies to 
Brassavola Digbyana-as a seed-bearer applies here—the pollen tubes of the 
Fig. 25. SOPHROCATTLEYA Doris. 
(Sepals and petals cardinal r red, shaded with a bloom of plum blue ; 
ip veined with yellow.) 
smaller flowers fail to reach the ovary of the larger one, or succeed in 
reaching those ovules only which are immediately at the base of the column. 
My own experience is that a large percentage of the pods of these Cattleyas 
come off quite empty or contain no fertile seed. The consequence is that 
the operator in these cases is thrown back upon the Sophronitis itself as 
the seed-bearer, and all who have handled this seed will agree with me that 
it is so small, of such poor quality and so uncertain that an infinitude of 
