30 



REPORT ON THE 



the seed has always proved barren. Lalia anceps appears to be 

 an exception, for it seeds freely whether crossed with a cattleya 

 or with any of the Brazilian laelias. The period from the germi- 

 nating of the seed to the appearance of the first flower varies 

 immensely in the different crosses, thus Lcrlia triophthalma raised 

 from seed sown in 1875 flowered in 1883, this is the shortest 

 period known to ns ; Lalia calof/lossa from seed sown in 1858, 

 flowered for the first time in 1877, or nineteen years, this is the 

 longest period known ; the others have taken periods that may 

 be said to average from ten to twelve years. 



Among cypripeds some very curious facts have been elicited 

 through muling. Thus, the East Indian species cross freely with 

 each other, and a numerous progeny has resulted therefrom. 

 The South American species, the selenipedia as they are called, 

 also cross freely with each other, and many new forms have been 

 obtained ; the hybrids in both sections flower within a few years 

 from the seed being sown. But in the case of the crossing of 

 Indian with South American species, the process has been much 

 slower in producing results. An infinitely smaller percentage of 

 the seed germinates, and those seedlings that survive are so slow 

 in arriving at the flowering stage, that up to the present time not 

 a single plant has produced a flower, although the plants continue 

 strong and healthy in appearance and increase in size every j'ear. 

 One thing is certain, the three-celled ovary of the selenipeds 

 offers no impediment to fertilisation by the pollinia of Cypripeds 

 with a one-celled ovary, for we have plants raised from C. caudatum 

 x C. barbatvm, and many other like crosses between other species 

 have yielded seed. 



Cypripedium Sedeni was a remarkable cross in many respects, 

 it was, in fact, raised from two crosses, C. Schlinrii x C. longifolium, 

 and the same two rice versa. It will be observed that in this 

 case, one of the parents, C. longi/olium, is much more robust in 

 habit and growth than the other parent, C. Schlinrii. [Plants 

 of C. lorujifolium , C. Schlimii, and C. Sedeni, were here shown.] 

 No perceptible difference was observed between the plants raised 

 from the two separate crosses, they agreed in habit, foliage, 

 colour of flower, in fact, in every particular. No such similar 

 result has been obtained by us among cypripeds. A vice versa 

 cross between the same two species produces seedlings that vary 

 more or less from those produced from the first cross. Thus 

 C. tessellation resulted from C. barbatum x C. concolor, and 



