IHl' ORCHID WORLD. 
99 
SOME FACTS CONCERNING CATTLEYA AUREA. 
By EMILY THWAITES. 
THL Orchid KevicoJ lor January this 
year speaks of Cattieya aurea as one 
of the handsomest and most popular 
orchids grown, on account of its very beautiful 
colouring-. But it has, I think, other pxoperties 
that make it the most useful species, as well 
as one of the most beautiful and popular — 
any way, for hybridising purposes. 
It has not a particulai'ly strong constitution 
of itself, and is not easy to keep in robust 
health ; but seedlings from it are most vigor- 
ous. Take, for instance, Sophronitis grandi- 
fiora hybrids (which we rather specialise m 
at Chessington). Sophro-Cattleya Dons 
(Sophronitis grandiflora x Cattieya aurea) 
stands alone among them for vigour and 
strength of constitution ; every bulb cut oft 
starts growing and quickly makes a plant, and 
flowers readily and regularly ; while if the 
plants are not cut they make double leads, and 
break back wonderfully. 
Other Sophronitis grandiflora hybrids, with 
Cattieya Trianae, C. Mendelii, etc., are not 
nearly such strong doers, unless it be 
Sophro-Cattleya Blackii, which more nearly 
approaches Sophro-Cattleya Doris, and as 
this is a quarter aurea it has the same reason 
for being strong. 
We have noticed, too, how remarkably it 
affects the season of flowering, often pulling 
them right back to its own. We had, last 
year, Brasso-Cattleya Mrs. J. Leemann (B. 
Digbyana x Cattieya aurea), Cattieya Empress 
Frederick (C. Mossiae x C. aurea), and Catt- 
ieya Octave Doin (C. Mendelii x C. aurea), all 
in flower directly after the Cattieya aurea had 
finished blooming, though the other parent or 
each of these hybrids is an early summer 
flowering species. 
In another way, too, we have proved its 
vigour. We fertilised a flower of Brassavola 
Digbyana with pollen of Cattieya aurea and 
Cattieya gigas. We rather feared the Catt- 
ieya gigas would take upon itself the whole 
business of forming the seed, it seeming n 
stronger species ; but no, every seedling we 
raised proxed to be of Cattieya aurea parent- 
age ; all were Brasso-Calllcva Mrs. J. Lee- 
mann. 
Finally, it is wonderful in the way it affects 
the appearance of its hybrids. If one uses a 
dark flower w ith it, it seems to make it much 
richer, as in Cattieya Fabia (C. labiata x C. 
aurea). If it is used with a white one it also 
improves that ; and, though it is not a parti- 
cularly good shape itself, it does not often 
intrude its own narrow petal, but somehow 
adds a touch that no other Cattieya can, so 
that we can scarcely think of a beautiful Catt- 
ieya hybrid without finding Cattieya aurea 
somehow concerned in its ancestry. 
L/ELIA GOULDIANA. 
Messrs. Sander and Sons, St. Albans, have 
just received news from their collector, Mr. 
Forget, that after an arduous search he has 
been successful m re-discovering the habitat 
of this brilliant and beautiful Laslia. 
This orchid has only once before been 
imported, in the year 1887, when Messrs. 
Sander received an importation and named it 
in honour of the late J. Gould. The man 
who discovered and collected the plants has 
since met with a tragic death, having been 
shot in the Brazils. The following is an 
extract from Mr. L. Fo^get's letter: — 
" 1 2/! i/io. 
" This letter to let you know about the 
plant wanted, and found all right. In rase of 
accident, I am no more nervous here about 
danger than elsewhere, but the excitement is 
gi'eat, and has some reason. A Mexican, 
now on the frontier, has murdered an Ameri- 
can official, and this has caused anew the 
excitement, and bands of Americans are 
searching for the Mexican to lynch him. 
Also, as bands of Mexicans are going about 
looking for Americans to avenge the lynch- 
ing, or rather the burning alive of a Mexican 
in Texas, and I have the chance to be 
taken for one, it is not very comfortable. 
Three have been killed last Sunday. Both 
