88 



THE ORCHID WORLD. 



[January, 191 5. 



Cypripediums are always interesting and 

 generally beautiful. They belong to the class 

 of Orchid known as terrestrial, by which is 

 meant they grow on the ground, in distinction 

 to those termed epiphytal, which usually 

 grow on trees. When potting terrestrial 

 Orchids the compost should not be raised 

 above the rim of the pot. Cypripediums have 

 no pseudo-bulbs, hence they are without a 

 large store of food to keep them alive when 

 watering is neglected ; they will not succeed 

 if allowed to remain dry for any length of 

 time. 



This species is liable to insect attacks, of 

 which the minute yellow thrip is the worst ; 

 it may be destroyed by dipping" or washing 

 with some suitable insecticide or fumigation. 

 Scale and bug should be carefully removed 

 by a brush or sponge and then destroyed. 



ONCIDIUM SPLENDIDUM. 



THIS IS one of the most useful raid- 

 winter flowering species, its stiff and 

 erect spikes of bloora lasting fresh for 

 a period of about two months, while the 

 bright yellow colour of the expansive 

 labellum causes it to be of immense decorative 

 value. The flowers closely resemble the 

 better known On. tigrinum, but there is a 

 very marked difference in the habit of the 

 bulbs and their leathery leaves, as well as 

 in the time of year when the flowers are 

 produced. The following interesting account 

 of the species is taken from Messrs. Sander 

 and Sons' Keichenbachia. 



The first record of this fine Oncidium 

 appears to be in Richard's herbarium, where 

 there is a dried specimen, presumably 

 collected in Guatemala by Mons. Herment in 

 1852. It was not, however, until ten years 

 later that it found its way into cultivation, 

 as it flowered for the first time in Europe in 

 January, 1862, with M.M. Thibaut and 

 Keteleer, of Paris, who received plants from 

 Mons. Herment, of Caen. These were 

 distributed among a few Continental 

 collections, and although their fame had 



reached England there was not a plant m 

 the country until about eight or nine years 

 after its introduction. Lord Londesborough, 

 an enthusiastic lover of horticulture in his 

 time, was araong the first to possess a 

 specimen of it. This flowered and was 

 exhibited at a meeting of the Royal 

 Horticultural Society in February, 187 1, when 

 its masses of large, handsome flowers caused 

 a great sensation, and, needless to say, the 

 plant obtained a First-class Certificate. 



Within recent years various firms have 

 been stimulated to import this species, and 

 collectors have been despatched to various 

 localities of Tropical America in the hopes 

 of finding it. An erroneous impression 

 prevailed that it was a native of Mexico, and 

 our own collectors were sent to that country, 

 but after a fruitless search of some months 

 they informed us that it was nowhere to be 

 found. Then we directed them to go to 

 Guatemala, and after a little time they found 

 what they sought and sent it home, but not 

 in great quantities until more recently, when 

 they obtained a better knowledge of its 

 habitats. 



Notwithstanding these importations, how- 

 ever, it can hardly be said that this species 

 is so frequently met with as it ought to be. 

 Perhaps this is because many consider they 

 are near enough to it when they have On. 

 tigrinum, a Mexican species, which is certainly 

 related, but which is inferior to splendidum. 

 Their habit of growth is quite distinct, and 

 the flowers, although resembling each other 

 at a casual glance, are very different in form. 

 In Oncidium tigrinum the sepals and petals 

 are spreading, and the lip is characterised by 

 its long shank, with two auricles at the base 

 and deeply emarginate blade ; while in 

 splendidum the sepals and petals are always 

 recurved, and the lip is, comparatively, only 

 slightly emarginate, and does not possess a 

 narrow shank. 



There are other differences m the crest and 

 column sufficiently distinct to keep these two 

 plants apart as separate species, and On. 

 splendidum is exclusively a native of 

 Guatemala, while On. tigrinum has as yet only 

 been found in Mexico. The former is 



