﻿August, 1904.] THE ORCHID REVIEW. 235 



Even where paintings are kept such dried flowers supplement the record 



It was very instructive to look through the series of dried flowers of such 

 variable things as Odontoglossum crispum and its numerous hybrids, and note 

 the wide range of variation, some of which would be almost incredible were 

 their history not pretty well known. In a few cases a flower has been dried 

 from some particular plant for several successive years, and thus one can 

 see the improvement under good culture, and the variation in the spotting 

 from year to year, which is sometimes considerable, and frequently causes 

 surprise. Another use to which the method will probably be put, now that 

 seedling Odontoglossums are beginning to bloom, is to illustrate the amount 

 of variation between seedlings out of the same capsule. Some very curious 

 evidence is beginning to accumulate under this heading, and it should teach 

 us a great deal of what is going on in Nature, and throw light on the origin 

 of the blotched forms of O. crispum now so highly prized. 



But we must pass on to the paintings, of which Mr. Crawshay has a fine 

 series. They are mostly representations of single flowers, life size, and very 

 accurately coloured. We compared sixteen forms of O. X Andersonianum, 

 every one different ; in fact exhibiting a remarkable range of variation. O. 

 crispum and O. X Wilckeanum, were also represented by a fine series, 

 together with O. triumphans, O. X Coradinei, O. X Adrians, &c. 



We noted, also, the richly-coloured O. X Wendlandianum Crawshay- 

 anum ; three forms of the rare O. nevadense, all different .; O. X Leeanum ; 

 O. X loochristiense Theodora, a very round white flower, bearing a large 

 brown blotch on the sepals and lip, but only a trace of spotting on the 

 petals; and O. X Crawshayanum (Hallii ? X Harryanum J ), of which 

 the two seedlings differ considerably in the amount and colour of the 

 spotting. 



There were fourteen paintings of O. X Hallio-crispum, all from different 

 plants obtained from the same seed-pod. The seed parent was a poor 

 form of O. Hallii (a better not being available at the time), and the pollen 

 parent O. crispum roseum. Most of the seedlings have a yellow ground, 

 ranging from bright to pale yellow and cream colour, while one is suffused 

 with rose. All are well marked with rich red-brown, and one has a very 

 broad lip. One of the cream-coloured forms. Mr. Crawshay states, has been 

 mistaken for a X Wilckeanum form. 



O. X Wattianum formed a small but very interesting series. There 

 was the original form, having a nearly white ground to the lip, and the 

 blotch claret purple; O. X W. Hardyanum, with broader segments, a 

 yellow ground colour, and the markings dark blackish brown, and the single 

 artificially raised O. X W. Crawshayanum. This has now flowered three 

 times, and a flower has been painted on each occasion, the variation being 



