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REPORT OX THE ORCHID CONFERENCE. 



with Mr. Ridley, that Cattleya labiata is a recognized species. 

 The names of varieties are almost invariably the names of 

 individuals, who will in fulness of time pass away, if they have 

 not already passed away, and we shall be inquiring who those 

 persons were. If we endeavour to "kick out" and repudiate 

 these various names, we shall find ourselves in almost greater 

 difficulty than now. I entirely endorse, if I may be allowed to 

 say so, the opinion expressed by Dr. Masters and Professor Foster, 

 that horticulturists should keep to horticulture and botanists 

 to botany. If we hand over the dead languages as a means by 

 which genera, species, and, if necessary, varieties, are to be 

 described by botanists, we shall get a general distinction which 

 will be of great value. You have heard what Mr. Ridley has 

 said about the difficulty of getting flowers for preservation. 

 Now I am most anxious that the perfectly unique Herbarium, 

 which has been collected together by Professor Reichenbach, 

 should still get reinforcements of novelties from this country ; 

 but, at the same time I venture to say, that as patriotic English- 

 men we should do all we can to help our great Natural History 

 Museum at South Kensington, and the Herbarium of the Royal 

 Gardens at Kew. It is not, after all, a great sacrifice if you 

 have looked at your flowers for three or four days, while 

 it is certainly beneficial to the plants, to cut the flowers ; and 

 now that Mr. Ridley has thrown himself, I may say, on the 

 compassion and generosity of Orchid growers, I trust that his 

 appeal will not be made in vain. I shall venture, at all events, 

 to trouble him with more flowers than I have done up to the 

 present time, in the hope that he will throw into the waste-paper 

 basket those which he does not require, and in the hope that 

 there may be something which will be of advantage to him. 



Thanks having, on the motion of Mr. Harvey, been cordially 

 voted to Sir Trevor Lawrence for his kindness in presiding, the 

 proceedings closed. 



W. S. Johnson, "Nassau Steam Press," 60, St. Martin's Lane, London, W.C. 



