January, T9I3-1 
THE ORCHID WORLD. 
79 
resolution to the members of its Orchid 
Committee : — 
" Awards will not be recommended to any 
plants the natural size and character of the 
flowers of which have been in the opinion 
of the Committee in any way improved 
through disbudding or dressing." 
Exhibitors will therefore be able to obtain 
awards for all plants, whether disbudded or 
not, so long as the flowers have not been 
unduly enlarged or improved beyond their 
natural state. 
THE ESSEN ORCHID SHOW. 
THE idea of holding the recent Orchid 
Show at Essen, Ruhr, originated with 
Baron Max von Fiirstenberg, of 
Schloss Hugenpost, whose collection of 
species is considered to be the finest on the 
Continent. The Mayor of Essen and Dr. 
Goldschmidt, the well-known amateur, also 
took considerable interest. Mr. Linne, the 
Director of Essen Public Gardens, and Mr. 
Beyrodt, of Marienfelde, acted as organisers. 
Baron von Fiirstenberg's rich collection of 
species and hybrids occupied the whole of the 
Octagon Hall of the Museum. In the adjoin- 
ing hall, Mr. Veerhoff, director of the famous 
gardens of Herr Krupp von Bohlen and 
Holbach, staged a magnificent group of 
home-raised plants, both species and hybrids. 
Dr. Hans Goldschmidt (gr. Mr. Faulhaber) 
exhibited many choice species and hybrids, 
and a unique collection of Anoectochili, con- 
taining many rare and new species only to be 
found in his garden. These plants were 
exhibited m a large glass case, the back cf 
which consisted of a pastel painting repre- 
senting a view from Darjeeling on the 
Himalaya Mountains, the native home of 
many of the plants. 
Mr. W. Herzog, grower to Herr Geheimrat 
Hammerschmidt, of Bonn, showed a very 
interesting series of Orchid seedlings which 
had been grown on scientific principles by the 
aid of fungus. 
The Orchid trade was represented by Mr. 
Bohlmann, Hamburg ; Mr. Hennis, Hilde- 
sheim ; Mr. Wolf, Dusseldorf ; Mr. Beyrodt, 
Marienfelde ; and Messrs. Charlesworth 
and Co. 
THE PHYSIOLOGY OF 
FERTILISATION. 
THE lecture given by Prof. F. Keeble 
at the Orchid Conference dealt with 
the physiology of fertilisation, a very 
interesting subject which in no small way 
concerns the Orchid hybridist. The founda- 
tions of our knowledge of fertilisation, 
remarked the Professor, were made over 
three-quarters of a century ago by Amici, 
who in 1830 discovered that pollen giams 
send out tubes which, after passing down the 
style, or column, fertilise the ovules. The 
male and the female organs, each consisting 
of a mass of cytoplasm containing a nucleus, 
thus fuse with one another and form a single 
cell, or zygote, which in due course gives rise 
to the embryo of the seed. The cytoplasm 
of the egg-cell is considerably larger than that 
of the male, or pollen, parent, although there 
is great similarity between the nuclei. It is 
not yet possible to say that all the characters 
of the offspring are equally contributed by 
the two parents. 
We must recognise that fertilisation has a 
two-fold significance. On the one hand, it 
allows the formation of an individual which 
derives material from both parents ; on the 
other hand, the male, or pollen, tube entering 
the egg-cell creates a certain stimulus which 
starts the latter into growth. 
In support of this latter assertion the 
Professor mentioned how the egg-cells of 
sea-urchins may be made to develop by 
altering the chemical composition of the 
sea-water m which they are placed. And, 
also, how the unfertilised eggs of the frog 
may be made to develop by simply puncturing 
each one with a fine glass needle. It will, 
therefore, be seen that stimulation may be 
either chemical or mechanical. 
It is well known that Zygopetalum 
Mackayi when fertilised' with the pollen of 
Odontoglossum crispum yields only progeny 
in every way similar to itself ; there is no 
sign of hybridity in the seedlings. The 
