THE ORCHID WORLD. 
59 
a fortnight afterwards before the purveyors 
got all the articles overwhelmed on that 
night removed. And it is noteworthy and to 
the credit of the Society's servants that, 
although the whole apparel of the feast — 
broken crystal and viands — lay mixed with 
valuable plate for so many days, not a single 
article was lost. The spoons and forks were 
recovered by raking them out of the mud, 
and not one was missing." 
^ ^ ^ 
NEW PLANTS. 
Cattleya Milo (Mossia; x maxima). A 
distinct hybrid. The whole flower is very 
light mauve colour ; the lip shows strongly 
the influence of maxima, being beautifully 
veined with fine markings of light magenta. 
Exhibited by Messrs. Sander and Sons at the 
R.H.S., Oct. 25th, 1910. 
Cypripedium Princess Mary (mveum x 
Helen II.). A beautiful porcelain-white 
flower, minutely spotted with purple ; the 
staminode is stained with yellow. Helen II. 
is a hybrid between insigne x bellatulum. 
This plant, which is the only one raised from 
the seed-pod, was exhibited by Mess/s. Sander 
and Sons at the R.H.S., Oct. 25th, 1910, when 
it received a First-class Certificate. 
Spathoglottis Zebrina (Fortunei x ph- 
cata). An interesting cross between a deci- 
duous and an evergreen orchid. Plants of 
slender growth. Flowers with yellowish 
background ; sepals and petals marked with 
carmine ; lip blotched at apex with deep rose, 
and spotted on the side lobes. Exhibited at 
the R.H.S. by Sir Jeremiah Colman, Bart., 
on Oct. 25th, 1910. 
The Botanical Magazine for November 
contains a figure (t. 8346) of Houlettia San- 
den. This interesting species was imported 
from Peru by Messrs. Sander and Sons, St. 
Albans, and flowered for the first time in 
Europe in January, 1910, in Messrs. Sander's 
nursery at Bruges. There is also a plant at 
Kew, which has not yet flowered, but thrives 
well under the treatment suitable for Lycaste 
Skinneri. 
CONTROL OF THE WEATHER. 
In his inaugural address to the Institution of 
Electrical Engineers on November loth, Mr. 
S. Z. de Ferranti, the president, discussed 
coal conservation. It would be a desirable 
thing, he said, if, instead of the dark weather 
that we now often experienced owing to cloud 
obstruction, we could have continuous sun- 
shine at certain times of the year. The 
amount of sunshine would, no doubt, be 
largely increased by the abolition of all smoke 
m the air ; and he believed the time would 
come when it would be thought no more 
wonderful largely to control our weather than 
it was now thought wonderful to control the 
water after it had fallen on the land. He 
thought that it would be possible tO' acquire 
knowledge which would enable us largely to 
control by electrical means the sunshine which 
reaches us and, in a climate which usually has 
ample moisture in the atmosphere, to produce 
rainfall when and where we required it. 
Dealing with the question of the rapid rate 
at which our coal supplies are being used up, 
Mr. Ferranti stated that coal could be used 
more efficiently for the production of electri- 
city than for any other purpose. In coal fires 
and steam engines whose boilers are heated 
by the direct burning of coal all the by- 
products of the coal, such as ammonia, which, 
in the form of sulphate of ammonia, is so 
useful to the agriculturist, are lost. The 
labour required for distributing coal to all 
parts of the country and for clearing away 
the ash is enormous. 
Mr. Ferranti's proposal is to erect 100 elec- 
trical generating stations, each having a 
capacity of 250,000 kilowatts, in suitable parts 
of the country, and to be situated in places 
where both coal and water are readily avail- 
able. 
The day is not far distant when we may, 
by touching a small switch, turn on sufficient 
electrical heat for any desired temperature to 
be maintained in our orchid-houses, and while 
sharp Jack Frost is placing his snow-white 
mantle on all unpirotected vegetation, we may 
peacefully sleep through the night believing 
that our plants are safe and sound. 
