jimi', U)i5.] 



IIII'; ()K( HID WORI.I). 



190 



ORCHIDS AT CHELSEA. 



AL rilOl'Gtl wr arc acciisluincd tu ^ivc 

 considerable credit tu the hybridists 

 ^ on account of their skill in producin<4- 

 hybrid Orchids, we must not forget that it 

 is the same individuals who raise improved 

 varieties of certain species. To the actual 

 man engaged in looking after the seed-pans 

 it little matters whether his tiny seedlings are 

 species or hybrids, for in each case they 

 require his closest attention to bring about 

 successful results. A general consideration 

 will show that species are more difficult to 

 raise than hybrids. 



A close inspection of the Orchid groups 

 at the recent Chelsea Show fully proved how 

 extremely energetic the seed-raiser has been 

 during the past few years, for hybrids there 

 were in abundance, their form and coloration 

 appearing unlimitable. There is an increasing 

 tendency among trade growers to cultivate, 

 as far as circumstances will allow, only 

 hybrids possessing a vigorous constitution, 

 for this is undoubtedly a most important 

 point to consider when supjilying plants 

 to amateurs, manj- of whom oftentimes 

 lack the facilities necessary to ensure 

 perfection of growth being obtained. It is 

 of little use producing a beautiful flower 

 if its constitution is such that only a 

 professional can accomplish its successful 

 cultivation. 



] he Chelsea Show may well be taken as 

 the finest exhibition of flowers held during 

 the year. It is a show which in normal 

 times of peace many continental enthusiasts 

 rarely fail to visit. On this account it is not 

 to be wondereci at that exhibitors endeavour 

 to stage their finest jjroductions, and 

 indirectly record another milestone of their 

 progressive work. The improvement of 

 sjiecies is necessarily very slow, for it must 

 always be remembered that it is not the 

 typical form of the species, with all its 

 vigorousness, that is selected, but one that 

 stands well outside the normal limits, such, 

 for example, as an albino variety, with its 

 apparently delicate constitution, and those 

 species which show so little desire to 



|)erpetuat{' thc-mscKes that tliey are even 

 rare ni their native land. 



As regularly as this great spring show 

 arrnes each year so do the albino varieties 

 oi ("attleya Mossias come into flower. There 

 is, however, one unfortunate point regarding 

 this sj)ecies, its constitution is weakly, and 

 were it not for the continual importations oi 

 vigorous plants it is doubtful whether it could 

 have been represented as well as it has been 

 in the past. The demand for imported plants 

 has so much decreased of late, that there is 

 luit little means of discovering albino forms, 

 and were it not for the seed-rai.ser these 

 white varieties woukl be little more than a 

 sweet memory of the past. 



The chance that two superb varieties of 

 any species should intercross in their native 

 home is very remote, and still more so is the 

 chance that two albino forms should meet. 

 The seed-raiser not only overcomes this 

 difficulty, but he takes good care to use as 

 l)arents two of the finest white forms he can 

 procure, and by this means he improves on 

 nature b\- l)reeding from selected parents. 

 Thus we find the seed-raiser taking the place 

 of the importer, and producing numerous 

 albinos of superior merit. Nt)t only have 

 albino forms of Odontoglossum crispum been 

 raised true from seed, but the much cherished 

 \arieties with yellow spotting are every 

 season becoming more plentiful. History 

 often repeats itself, and we are now admiring 

 the sjTOtted crispum just as much as we did 

 twenty years ago, the only difference being 

 that then we chose spots of rose-purple while 

 now we select those of bright yellow colour. 



Yellow Odontiodas. So accu.stomed are 

 we to consider Odontiodas as red flowering 

 that it looks like a misprint to call some of 

 them yellow. In the primary hybrids of 

 Cochlioda N<ezliana we see how the red 

 colour of this small flowering species covers 

 the entire surface, or at least the blotched 

 area, and this same effect is produced in the 

 majority of the secondaries. An examination 

 will show that this red colour is chiefly 

 situated on the surface, while the inside 

 ])ortion is often of yellowish colour. On 

 further hybridising some of these primary 



