THE ORCHID WORLD. 
18S 
In an establishment where many pods are 
made and sown the free germination of the 
coarser kinds (not necessarily in all cases 
inferior) may lead to wrong conclusions, viz., 
that there is something the matter with the 
seed of the choicer and more valuable crosses 
because of the hesitancy with which it may 
germinate ; and there follows the probable 
result of the houses becoming filled with 
third-rate, coarse-growing hybrids, although 
seed from the more delicate crosses may have 
been sown in equal quantities. The applica- 
tion and care sufficient to show good returns 
with the former may fall short with the latter. 
But there is much matter for conjecture re- 
garding the fertility of Orchid seed, and no 
doubt we frequently blame ourselves for a 
poor harvest when it is really the seed that 
is at fault. It is somewhat difficult to collect 
data, as our non-success with any given cap- 
sule of seed might be put down to two causes, 
our inability to raise it or to sterility. 
It is a safe generalisation to say that in 
Orchids the seed between two varieties of 
the same species is always good and fertile ; 
between two species of the same genus gener- 
ally good and fertile ; between two genera 
seed may be produced that will germinate 
vigorously, such as in the genus-hybrids de- 
rived from Cochlioda and Odontoglossum, or 
which produce little and poor seed, such as 
in the genus-hybrids derived from Sophronitis 
and Cattleya. Secondary hybrids are much 
less consistent in their fertility than the pri- 
maries, and the tendency is no doubt towards 
sterility, and particularly where there is a 
wide divergence between the various species 
that are mingled in the hybrid. Out of a 
great number of capsules carried on Sophro- 
Cattleyas — chiefly Thwaitesii, Doris, Saxa 
and Wellesleyae — which we have ripened very 
little fertile seed has resulted, although pods 
form pretty freely, frequently to ripen off 
before their time. The pollen from these 
Sophro-Cattleyas has also lost in potency ; 
there is a want of consistency and surety in 
the results, pods forming in a half-hearted 
way or not at all, or becoming yellow before 
their due ripening period, or ripening off to 
contain little or no fertile seed. In the case 
of Epiphronitis Veitchii, a genus-hybrid of 
widely-separated parents, no one to my know- 
ledge has e\'er been able to " set " a pod on 
it. We must thus conclude that this is a case 
of a primary genus-hybrid being completely 
sterile. There are, however, among Catt- 
leyas, Odontoglossums and Cypripediunis 
many cases of multiple hybrids containing 
more than three species, and we must take 
this as a proof that the field of operations 
is no narrow one ; and if we come across 
avenues that lead out of it in which we would 
like to wander, but which we find closed, with 
Sterility written in big letters on the gate, 
we must turn back with the best o'race 
possible. 
The chief instrument in the Orchid- 
breeder's hands, after all, is selection, and 
this should be used to the utmost. Wonderful 
results are assured even within the limits of 
two or three species if the principles of selec- 
tion are sensibly adhered to. 
For some unexplained reason the seed pro- 
duced by crossing two species that are not 
too widely separated is usually of a more 
robust vitality than that obtained from the 
intercrossing of two varieties of the same 
species, and this has given rise to the general 
acceptance of the hybrid being a stronger 
grower, and hence of easier cultivation than 
the species ; but this is only half true, and at 
the most can only be applied to primary 
hybrids, and then perhaps should be confined 
to the period of their adolescence or pre- 
flowering state. In genus-hybrids obtained 
from crossing the closely-allied genera Brassa- 
vola, Laelia and Cattleya, the same vigour is 
in evidence, and even, as already observed, 
there is a marked impulse to germinate and 
grow of the seed derived from the apparently 
widely divergent Odontoglossum and Coch- 
lioda. It is impossible to draw any satisfac- 
tory inferences from these facts, and difficult 
to explain, even hypothetically, the tendency 
to infertility in hybrids, themselves so vigor- 
ous and so easily obtained. 
I have not yet had sufficient experience of 
the handling of the seed of secondary Odon- 
tio'da to venture a very strong opinion, but 
I have already felt that the impulse to 
