176 



THE ORCHID WORLD. 



[May, 191 5. 



hybridist. On this account the Societ)- should 

 offer every inducement to raisers in order that 

 the\- may bring forth their latest productions. 



Now it is by no means easy to determine 

 exactly what this inducement should be. 

 Although the F.C.C. and A.M. awards have a 

 recognised value amongst a limited number 

 of the Society's Fellows, it is ver\- ques- 

 tionable whether the general public have any 

 idea as to which of the two is the highest 

 honour. In the \"ear 1862 a Second-class 

 Certificate was brought into use, although, 

 unfortunately, it has long since remained in 

 abeyance, but it served to denote clearly the 

 relative distinction. For exam.ple, in June, 

 1864, Cypripedium Hookerae was exhibited 

 by Mr. B. S. Williams and received a Second- 

 class Certificate, while in July of the same 

 }ear Mr. W. Bull obtained a First-class 

 Certificate for anodier variety of the same 

 species. In this method of grading an\ one 

 can form a correct opinion of the comparative 

 value of the two varieties, but an Award of 

 Merit would determine no position whatever. 



Now supposing First and Second-class 

 Certificates were only used for fully-grown 

 plants, the Award of Merit could then be 

 utilised for those immature plants which the 

 Committee wished to recognise as worthy 

 additions with a future before them ; by 

 so doing considerable encouragement and 

 reward would be given to the raiser. \\ hen 

 these A.M. seedlings reach maturity they can 

 then receive their due appreciation by the 

 awarding of First or Second-class Certificates, 

 as the case may deserve. 



When the first seedling of a new hybrid 

 opens its flowers, how is it possible for anyone 

 to tell whether of its kind it be good or bad ? 

 It may be an average variety, or perhaps one 

 of the finest that will ever be seen, but its 

 true position of merit can only be ascertained 

 by comparison with others of its kind. Thus 

 it comes about that manv of the R.H..S. 

 First-class certificated plants are inferior to 

 those which have obtained an Award of Merit. 



Take, for example, the introduction of a 

 new h\brid that is recognised by man\- 

 members of the Committee as an advance in 

 the production of a beautiful flower, and to 



which a First-class Certificate is granted. 

 What does this award really mean ? According 

 to tradition it should convey to the minds of 

 one and all that it is the best of its kind, a 

 position which it may only hold for a few 

 weeks, for when first seen no one knows its 

 true value. Evidently the intention of the 

 Committee was to recognise the fact that the 

 raiser had made a meritorious advance, but 

 this would have been best effected by the 

 granting of an Award of Merit, leaving the 

 exact position of honour to be decided later, 

 whenever our knowledge of the particular 

 hybrid in question had advanced sufiicientl\'. 

 The tendency of the Committee is to grant 

 awards as though made directly to the raiser 

 in recognition of his skill, although in 

 conformity with the R.H.S. rules they should 

 be granted to the actual plant. 



R.A.RITIES IN MR. COBB'S 

 COLLECTION. 



DL RING the past few months the 

 following rarities have been flowering 

 in Mr. Walter Cobb's collection, at 

 Xormanhurst, Rusper, the formation of which 

 was commenced so long ago as 1869. 



Angrascum Leonis is in first-class condition. 

 It was discovered by Leon Humblot in the 

 Comoro Islands, and introduced by him into 

 European gardens in 1885. It is a remarkable 

 addition to the genus, and in a horticultural 

 sense one of the most useful of Angraecums 

 on account of the freedom with which its 

 chaste blossoms are produced. Botanically it 

 is a very interesting plant ; its leaves are 

 equitant, that is to say, the upper surfaces on 

 each side of the mid-nerve cohere to each 

 other, except at the base, like the leaves of 

 some species of Iris, and the blade is thence 

 brought into a vertical position and imparts a 

 habit to the plant that is peculiar to the 

 species so far as our present knowledge of the 

 genus extends. The ancipitous winged 

 pedicels, the funnel-like upper part of the 

 spur of the labellum, and the cleft rostellum 

 are also notewortli\- characters. 



Odontoglossum Wallisii is now rarely seen 



