172 



THli ORCHID WORLD. 



[May, 1914. 



lending to clear up the doubts as to the 

 affinities of many of these aUied forms, so 

 troublesome from a taxonomic point of view. 



Odontoglossum crispum. 

 F.C C, R.H S., June, 1884. Width of flower 3\ inches. 



A CLASSIC 

 ODONTOGLOSSUM CRISPUM. 



When we see in bloom to-day one of the 

 early certified forms we wonder how we could 

 have been so pleased as we were, but 

 " Ignorance is bliss " stood then as truly as it 

 does to-day, and we look into the future and 

 wonder if it zai// prove, as Mme. de Stael said: 

 " Very like the past." Can the future advance 

 be as great as has been experienced m the 

 past thirty years. 



To-day I have been given a plant by Mr. J. 

 Gurney Fowler which will add to my collec- 

 tion of " Museum Specimens of Antiquities." 

 It is in bloom and therefore the more 

 interesting. Its complete history is as follows: 

 Odontoglossum crispum roseum guttatum, 

 F.C.C., R.H.S., Sander, June loth, 1884. The 

 rose only shows on the back of the sepals. It 

 was purchased by Mr. H. M. Pollett, the 

 subsequent history being as follows : Mr. 

 Pollett's sale, June 4th, i8gi, 16 gns. ; Mr. 

 Welbore Ellis's sale, June 3rd, 1901, with 

 another plant, 20 gns. ; Mr. H. T. Pitt's sale, 



March 22nd, 1906, il gns., when it was 

 bought by Mr. J. Gurney Fowler. 



In i8g8 Mr. W. Ellis photographed it and 

 sent me a copy, and to-day the plant is alive 

 to compare with it. It would be most 

 interesting if those who have these classic 

 Odontoglossums would publish them so that 

 a record could be made. The figure of this 

 one shows it to be only a " mirum," whose 

 ground colour has but little rose in it, and the 

 spots light brown. 



f/c B. C razos/iay, RIarch 22n(i, nji 4. 



LYCASTE GIGANTEA. 



IN the year 1843, Lindley, finding that the 

 genus Maxillaria brought together a 

 group of species inconveniently large for 

 .systematical purposes, found it desirable to 

 reconsider the distinctive marks, and so see 

 how far the genus was capable of sub-division. 

 This resulted in the establishment of the 

 genera Warrea, Promenaea, Paphinia, 

 Scuticaria and Lycaste, the latter bearing the 

 name of a celebrated beautiful woman. 



In this age of progress m the production of 

 beautiful flowers we are, perhaps, unmindful 

 of those floral gems which years ago gave so 

 much satisfaction to our forefathers. Lycastes 

 at the present time do not convey to us that 

 sense of beauty which Lindley evidently 

 attributed to them when he named the genus. 

 The hard and formal design, as well as the 

 stiff and wax-like nature of their flowers, 

 renders them more entitled to be described as 

 elegant and quaint, at least on comparison 

 with the recent results of our successful 

 hybridists. 



The subject of our illustration is Lycaste 

 gigantea, an unusually fine specimen flowering 

 in the establishment of Messrs. Charlesworth 

 and Co. This species was originally 

 described by Lindley, in 1843, who remarked : 

 " Although the colours of this species are not 

 gay, yet its large size and the great height to 

 which its flowering stem rises (full two feet) 

 are remarkable features ; besides which its 

 flowers are among the largest in the race of 

 Orchids." 



