234 



THK ORCHID \V(JRLD. 



[July, 1915. 



Concerning Odontiodas of the future it is 

 rather difficult to say much, so great are the 

 surprises Hkely to be. The trend of recent 

 events, ho\ve\er, shows that there is a 

 promising future for those of yellow ground. 

 Enthusiasts of this welcome section of cool- 

 house Orchids would place a verv high value 

 upon a golden-yellow flower symmetrically 

 marked with red or scarlet blotches, and 

 although this description may appear some- 

 what startling, there is little doubt that the 

 production of such a glorious flower is by no 

 means impossible. 



Odontoglossum triumphans will probabl)' 

 pro\ e the most suitable base upon which all 

 such flowers can be produced, for in it we have 

 a yellow ground, which could no doubt be 

 considerably brightened, and a fairly regular 

 system of blotching. Perhaps the greatest 

 difficult)' will be encountered in obtaining 

 blotches of sufficient bnlliancy, for the yellow 

 ground upon which they w'ould be placed 

 invariably has a dulling effect. Evidence of 

 this is to be seen in Wilckeanum, and other 

 hybrids having a yellow ground, which 

 causes the blotching to assume a brownish 

 appearance. 



Among the most recently produced Odon- 

 tiodas are a few with yellow-tinted ground. 

 These appeared in Joan (Oda. Charlesworthii 

 X Od. ardentissimum) and ]\fadeline (Oda. 

 Charlesworthii x Od. crispum), Oda. Charles- 

 worthii being O. Harryanum x C. Noezliana. 

 In these the yellow is derived partly from 

 Harryanum, which generally shows a creamy- 

 white tint on the back of the flower, and more 

 especially from the Cochlioda Noezliana, the 

 inner and invisible part of which contains a 

 considerable amount of yellow material. If 

 some of these yellow-tinted varieties are mated 

 with suitable hybrids containing triumphans 

 there will surely be a fair number of distinct 

 and beautiful flowers amongst the progeny^ 

 At the recent Chelsea .Show a First-class 

 Certificate was awarded to Oda. Colmania?, a 

 beautiful flower of golden-yellow colour, 

 blotched with chestnut-red, and raised from 

 Oda. Bradshawis and an Odontoglossum 

 hybrid probably containing triumphans. It 

 proved a welcome novelty. 



Dendrobium crassinode. 



Manchester Notes. — Mr. E. H. 

 Davidson, of Twyford, Berks, has been 

 elected a Vice-president of the Manchester 

 Orchid Society. Mr. W. W. Field, who has 

 recently commenced duties as Orchid grower 

 to ^Ir. S. Gratrix, of Whalley Range, was 

 previously in the employ of "Sirs. Bateman, 

 Manor House, Morley, and Mr. Robert Clay, 

 of Northenden. The Manchester Orchid 

 Society has exactly 100 Members. 



CiRRHOPETALUM ROBUSTUM. — An excel- 

 lent specimen of this truly remarkable and 

 very rare species was exhibited by Sir 

 Jeremiah Colman, Bart., Gatton Park, Surrey, 

 at the recent Chelsea Show. A native of New 

 Guinea, from whence many good novelties 

 have come, this plant was first discovered in 

 1890, and flowered some three years later in 

 the collection of Col. Trevor Clarke, of Welton 

 Place, Daventry. On Jul}' nth, 1895, it was 

 exhibited at the Royal Horticultural Society 

 by ^Messrs. Veitch, when it was awarded a 

 First-class Certificate, a high honour indeed 

 for a Cirrhopetalum. The chief points of 

 interest are the robust nature of the plant, for 

 it is certainly the largest species of the genus 

 in cultivation, and the handsome flowers of 

 greenish-yellow colour tinged with purplish- 

 red in the centre ; the fleshy lip is deep 

 red-purple, and the column dull yellow. A 

 curious feature is the entire absence of 

 marginal hairs or appendages on the sepals 

 and petals. For kind permission to reproduce 

 the accompanying illustration we are indebted 

 to the Editor of the Gardeners' C hronicle. 



