8o 
THE ORCHID WORLD. 
[January, 1913. 
probable explanation of the fact is that the 
ovules of the Zygopetalum have been stimu- 
lated into growth without being fertilised by 
the male, or pollen, parent. 
Oncidium flexuosum, it has been said, 
cannot be fertilised by its own pollen. The 
flower withers jirematurely and fails to set 
seed. Occurrences such as this are probably 
due to the poisonous effect which the plant's 
pollen has upon its own stigmatic surface. 
Such sterility may sometimes be overcome 
by immersing the pollen in water for a few 
hours, in order to remove the poisonous 
substance. It may not be improbable that 
the stigma has a poisonous effect on the 
pollen. 
The lecturer concluded by stating that 
although our knowledge of fertilisation is 
as yet too imperfect for it to be of much use 
to the Orchid raiser, it may throw some light 
on the phenomena of sterility. We may 
anticipate the making of yet more wonderful 
mongrels than those which now delight the 
amateur, confound the botanist, and confuse 
the student of nomenclature. 
ORCHIDS AT PALMERSTON 
NORTH, NEW ZEALAND. 
PRIVyVTE owners of Orchid collections 
are few and far between m New- 
Zealand. Nevertheless, I obtain as 
much pleasure from my comparatively small 
greenhouse as many of the important 
European growers do from theirs. 
Up to the present success has fallen to my 
lot. My Orchid house is maintained as an 
intermediate one, and the artificial heat 
obtained from the hot-water pipes, together 
with the necessary shading and ventilation, 
render the structure quite suitable so far as 
the climate of our country is concerned. 
My collection is composed of various 
Odontoglossums, varieties of Cypripediums, 
several Cattleya and La^ho-Cattleya hybrids, 
Dendrobiums in many varieties, and numerous 
Oncidiums. The latter genus is a favourite 
of mine, and at the present time On. 
Cavendishianum and On. tigrinum are in flower 
and have well repaid me for my trouble. 
I particularly admire the lovely blue flowers 
of Vanda coerulea, and often wonder whether 
any of the m.any plants in English collections 
could be made to grow in New Zealand. The 
long voyage of six weeks would probably be 
too much for them. Acrides odoratum grows 
well in my intermediate house, and last season 
produced two fine spikes of bloom. 
I have only to go a few miles out of 
Palmerston North to be in the thick, 
untouched bush with its beautiful under- 
growth and tree ferns in countless numbers, 
many of which are as high as sixty feet. 
Dendrobium Cunninghamii, with its pale rose 
and cream coloured flowers, looks very pretty 
when growing in its natural position high up 
on the trees. One specimen which I recently 
found had stems over five feet in length. The 
flowers, an inch in diameter, are produced 
during November to February. 
Pterostylis Banksii is another Orchid found 
near here. It grows in open paddocks and 
dies down each year. The curious hood- 
shaped fiov/ers are green in colour and striped 
with white. Acianthus Sinclarii is a tiny, 
transparent-looking plant, which bears 
racemes of small greenish-white flowers 
during the month of August. 
Gastrodia Cunninghamii is often found 
growing in damp bush. It is a strange 
looking plant, about two feet in height and 
with a thick, starchy root, frequently used as 
food by the natives. Microtis porrifolia is 
fairly common, and is also known as the 
onion-leaved Microtis. The flower spike 
bears from 20 to 80 very small green flowers. 
Earina suaveolens is fairly plentiful in this 
district. The white flowers are not very 
large, but they are extremely sweet-scented, 
and when large plants, or a number of smaller 
ones, secure themselves to the bark of a tree 
the flowering mass is quite a picture. The 
months of April to June are those in which 
the best floral display is produced by this 
species. 
I am somewhat alone in my hobby, 
and frequently lack the encouragement pro- 
duced by a little friendly competition with 
