Tie ORCHID REVIEW 
Voit. AVI.] MARCH, 1908. [No. 183. 
DIES ORCHIDIANI. 
THE question of hybridising with stored pollen, which is raised by Dr. 
Otto N. Witt, at page 35, is certainly interesting, and I hope that his sug- 
gestion that those hybridists who have made experiments will give us the 
benefit of their experience will bear fruit. I can quite understand that 
pollen which has been kept until dried up would be useless, and even if not 
dried up its vitality might be impaired by keeping, but I do not quite see 
why if it retained its vitality sufficiently to produce pollen tubes, and fertilise 
the ovules, that the resulting plants should be unhealthy. If the pollen, 
after storage, is able to progress to this stage all doubt about its vitality 
should be at an end. 
I know that experiments have been made, for some years ago one of our 
hy bridists showed me quite a sheaf of quills, in a drawer of his study, each 
containing pollen, sealed up, and with a small label attached, and with these he 
hoped to make several, as he thought, very important crosses. I met him some 
months afterwards and enquired how the matter was progressing. He 
shook his head. ‘‘ No good,” he remarked, ‘‘the pollen all dries up, and 
you might as well put little bits of stick on the stigma.” I conclude that 
that was the end of the matter, so far as he was concerned, but I think it 
can scarcely be as hopeless as that. If one could only lengthen the period 
of the pollen’s vitality by a few weeks, it might be possible to effect certain 
crosses which would otherwise be difficult.. I had just read an article on 
retarding Lily of the Valley, when I came across Dr. Witt’s article, and ~ 
tried to connect the two together. Ishould not recommend freezing Orchid ~ 
pollen, which I fancy would settle its vitality once and for all, but it might - 
be possible to lengthen its life by cutting the flowers as soon as they open, 
and placing them in a cool cellar, changing the water occasionally. Pollen 
in sealed tubes or in paper might also keep better in such a place than in an 
ordinary room. Hitherto most of this kind of work has been done by 
getting the pollen parents to produce occasional flowers out of season, but 
there may be something in the other method. 
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