March, 1916.] 



THK ORCHID WORLD. 



123 



TWIN FLOWERS. 



Twin flowers we have had ahnost every 

 year since we began to grow Lycaste 

 Skinneri, and I certainly think that vigour 

 has a great deal to do with their production. 

 As our plants have yielded a very large 

 number of flowers in past years they are 

 somewhat weakened, and this is probably the 

 reason why we have no examples of twins 

 this season ; we have removed many of the 

 spikes in order to assist recuperation. I have 

 also heard once or twice of twin flowers in the 

 Broadoaks collection near here. When twins 

 appear I think the effect is spoiled as one 

 flower seems to be in the way of the other. — 

 E. Rogers, Bridge Hall Gardens, Bury. 



U # U 



Twin Flowers. — So far as I am aware, 

 twin flowers are rare in Lycaste Skinneri. In 

 Mr. F. D. Godman's collection. South Lodge, 

 Horsham, this species was grown in compara- 

 tively large quantities, at least 500 flowers 

 each season. The plants certainly grew well, 

 and from 12 — 15 flowers were often produced 

 on a single bulb. During a period of about 

 five years I must have seen quite 2,500 

 flowers, but never remember a single instance 

 in which a spike carried more than one flower. 

 There was, however, a plant of Lycaste 

 Ballias, South Lodge variety, which once 

 produced a twin-flowered spike, but this was 

 several years ago, and the only example I 

 have ever seen. — Lycaste. 



& g| 



Referring to the note on twin flowers, 

 page 98, it may be of interest to recall some 

 remarks made by the late Jas. Douglas 

 concerning Lycaste Skinneri cultivated in the 

 Higham Hall collection. The owner, Mr. 

 Borwick, was accustomed to use fish manure 

 for his Orchids, generally in the form of dry 

 powder distributed in the compost, although 

 sometimes added to the water. Under this 

 treatment twin flowers were by no means 

 uncommon, although one was usually removed 

 in the bud state so as to allow the other ample 

 room for development. Mr. Douglas, himself. 



was a skilled grower of Orchids, and for 

 Lycaste Skinneri he advocated a compost of 

 leaf-mould and peat. In his batch of a dozen 

 plants two twin-flowered spikes appeared in 

 one season. One would infer from the above 

 that the fish manure in the one case and the 

 leaf-mould in the other acted as vigorous 

 stimulants, the ultimate result Ijeing excessive 

 development of the inflorescence, which in 

 Lycaste Skinneri took the form of twin 

 flowers. 



II II P 



Although I do not remember any 

 instances of twin flowers in Lycaste Skinneri, 

 we did have an example in the closely allied 

 Anguloa Clowesii, which happened last year 

 on a fairly strong plant. I do not remember 

 seeing any similar examples in other 

 collections. — E. Johnson, Borde Hill Gardens, 

 Cuckfield. 



II II 1.^ 



A fine plant of Anguloa Clowesii was at 

 one time in the collection of Major Joice)-, 

 Sunningdale Park ; in fact, it was the one to 

 which the R.H.S. granted a First-class Certifi- 

 cate, June 1 2th, 1894. In the year 1902 this 

 specimen was growing in a 14-inch pot, when 

 it produced the unusual number of 30 spikes, 

 with a total of 33 flowers, there being three 

 examples of twin flowers. 



V4 i'i 



Concerning this interesting subject, the 

 only case of twin flowers I ever remember 

 seeing on Lycaste Skinneri occurred some 

 thirty years ago. The plant had evidently 

 been well cultivated, for no less than 16 

 flowers were produced from one bulb, and 

 there were two examples of twin-flowered 

 scapes. — James Cypher, Cheltenham. 



% II II 



Referring to the mention of twin flowers 

 on Lycaste Skinneri, we decided to examine 

 some 300 plants of Cymbidium eburneum, 

 which are now in spike and flower in our 

 collection, and notwithstanding a careful 

 inspection we entirely failed to find a single 



