Td4E. ORGEEED ARE VIEW, 
VoL. XVI.] FEBRUARY, 1908. [No. 182, 
. DIES ORCHIDIANI. 
Another new Odontioda! but it surely must have been a freak of the 
Calendar which arranged its appearance on the last day of the old year. A 
meeting of the R.H.S. had been fixed for that day, and Messrs. Charlesworth 
exhibited Odontioda Craveniana, an interesting hybrid between Cochlioda 
Neetzliana and Odontoglossum cordatum, which gained an Award of Merit. 
But if exhibited in-1907, it was not recorded then, and as it was not included 
in the novelties of 1907, we may consider it to be a plant of the present year. 
It links up the brilliant Cochlioda Neetzliana with the Mexican Odonto- 
glossums, and is a very promising acquisition. 
This reminds me of a still more brilliant acquisition, at all events, so far 
as colour is concerned, namely, Odontioda Devossiana, a hybrid between 
C. Neetzliana and O. Edwardii, which gained a First-class Certificate from 
the R.H.S. in the previous October, the exhibitor in this case being M. H. 
Graire, of Amiens. Its portrait may be seen at page 41 of the present issue. 
The combination of crimson with dark purple has yielded a hybrid of great 
brilliance of colouring, and I think it should now be crossed with some big 
white or blotched Odontoglossum. And a second cross would probably 
yield something remarkable, both in size and colour. 
The incident recalls a curious record that appeared last year, to the effect 
that neither the Cochlioda nor the Odontoglossum could be successfully 
used as the pollen parent. It was promptly corrected, I remember, and had 
this not been the case, the present hybrid would have come as a still greater 
Surprise than it did, for obviously one of the two must have been used as 
the pollen parent. One must evidently be careful when speaking of impossi- 
bilities in hybridising Orchids. 
The question of hybridising with mixed pollen seems to have progressed 
since I last alluded to it. It appears that the capsule of Lelia xanthina 
crossed with mixed pollen derived from Cattleya Warscewiczii and C. 
Owiana aurea, formerly mentioned, has now yielded both Lezelio-cattleya 
Phryne and L.-c. Ophir, just as if the two crosses had been made separately. 
