8 
THE FEOBIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[Januaet, 
I may here mention that from being a great 
admirer of sweet-scented, and what are com¬ 
monly termed old-fashioned flowers, I retain 
a number of sorts not now seen such as Kose 
du Roi or Lee’s Perpetual; the Red and the 
Blush-coloured Quatre Saisons, the first of 
the Perpetual class introduced, only semi¬ 
double, but very sweet-scented; the semi- 
double Red Cabbage or Provence Rose, with 
the White, the Common Double White, and 
the small variety called Spong, which latter was 
the principal variety in use for early forced 
Roses before Perpetuals were introduced, 
York and Lancaster has also a place amongst 
old favourites, while the old Common China 
is grown in numerous beds, and is still 
(December 18) blooming freely. The weather 
until now has kept open, and there are 
numbers of Perpetuals still flowering, while 
Mignonette and many sorts of Annuals are 
quite fresh and gay. —John Websteb, Gordon 
Castle Gardens. 
CYPRIPEDIUM SEDENI 
AND ITS OFFSPRING. 
f OME very handsome hybrid Cypripediums 
were exhibited in flower at the Royal 
Horticultural Society’s floral meeting 
on December 11, Those particularly 
alluded to were three allied forms which have 
sprung from C. Sedeni, and which though 
sufficiently distinct from each other, have a 
striking family resemblance which is the more 
apparent from their similarity of colour—white 
more or less flushed with a purplish tint of 
bright rose. Mr. O’Brien has made {Gard. 
Chvon,, N. s., XX., 754) some observations on 
these plants, which we gladly transfer to our 
pages :— 
“ The handsome varieties exhibited by 
Messrs. Veitch, augmented by the noble 
flowers of C. Schrdderce shown by Mr. Bal- 
lantyne, gr. to Baron Schrbder, The Dell, 
Egham, at the Royal Horticultural Society’s 
meeting, and in all of which C. Sedeni had 
formed one of the parents, served to illustrate 
the importance and happy character of that 
cross. C, Sedeni was raised at Messrs. Veitch’s 
nursery by crossing C. Schlimii with C. lon- 
gifolium, and vice versa, the result in each 
case being much the same—a circumstance 
which has generally been found to hold good in 
intercrossing this section of Cyjnipedium —no 
matter which the seed-bearing parent may be, 
the result in the offspring is a strictly inter¬ 
mediate form. Before the advent of C, Sedeni 
the delicate but beautiful and distinct G. 
Schlimii was much sought after, but in C. 
Sedeni all the coveted beauty was found to be 
increased, its colour intensified, its size en¬ 
larged, its floriferousness increased tenfold, 
and added to all, a rudely robust constitution 
imparted; it is not therefore to be wondered 
at that to all who desire a lovely, easily culti¬ 
vated plant, the possession of C. Schlimii 
should be of little consequence when they can 
easily obtain and grow its more sturdy off¬ 
spring. When we call to mind the many huge 
specimens of C. Sedeni, with their hundreds of 
elegant rose-coloured flowers, which seem to 
he perpetually blooming in our Orchid collec¬ 
tions, we cannot wonder at its being such a 
general favourite; nevertheless, all due con¬ 
sideration should be given to the meek-looking 
little C. Schlimii, not only on account of its 
own beauty, but for the important part it has 
played in giving us a new and beautiful race. 
With respect to the other parent of C. Sedeni 
(C. longifolium), it had vigour, a floriferous 
habit, and good substance, but its pale green, 
purple-tinged flowers wanted colour, and that 
C. Schlimii supplied as well as assisting in 
modifying its angular form, and hence the 
happy combination. The interest in examin¬ 
ing the specimens exhibited was much in¬ 
creased by the forethought of Messrs. Veitch, 
who also exhibited C. Schlimii in bloom, and 
flowers of C. longifolium. 
“ G. cardinale ((7. Sedeni crossed with C. 
Schlimii album) may be likened to a gigantic 
very highly coloured C. Schlimii, it being 
rounder in all its parts than C. Sedeni, and 
having the patches of rose-coloured hair-like 
protuberances on the petals near the column 
much more clearly defined than in that variety. 
There is a brightness in the rosy tint of C. 
cardinale, particularly on the pouch-like label- 
lum, which makes it very attractive. 
“ C. calurum {C. longifolium crossed with 
C. Sedeni) is a noble plant, apparently as 
strong growing and free-flowering as C. longi¬ 
folium, and having large wax-like flowers, the 
petals of which are quaintly elongated and 
curled. The upper and lower sepals are 
