June 8, 1901. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
651 
“ Gardsning is the ptrrest of human pleasures, and the greatest 
refreshment to the spirit of man "— Bacon. 
©be ©aritetthtj 
Edited by J. FRASER, F.L.S., F.R.H.S. 
SATURDAY , JUNE 8 th, iqoi. 
The Editorial and Publishing Offices are 
now removed to 4, Dorset Buildings, 
Salisbury Square, Fleet St., London. 
Editorial matters are to be addressed to 
the Editor. 
All other communications and Remit¬ 
tances must be addressed direct to the 
Proprietors— 
HICKS, WILKINSON & SEARS. 
NEXT WEEK'S ENGAGEMENTS. 
Monday. June 10th.—United Horticultural Benevolent and 
Provident Society Committee’s Meeting. 
Wednesday, June 12th. — Royal Cornwall Agricultural Asso¬ 
ciation at Bodmin (2 days); Yorkshire Gala and Horticul¬ 
tural Exhibition at York (3 days) ; Colchester Rose and 
Horticultural Society’s Show. 
f ANDER’s Orchid Guide*.— Taking a 
general view of this work it seems to 
be a guide for the cultivator, a catalogue 
and a dictionary or book of reference com¬ 
bined in one. It runs to 330 pages, and has 
no index, but as the names are all arranged 
alphabetically no index is needed, being 
like a dictionary and index in itself. General 
cultural directions and the respective 
temperatures of the three different houses 
to which Orchids are generally relegated are 
given at the beginning of the book, but very 
briefly, and to compensate for this some 
details are given under each genus where 
the names crop up in alphabetical sequence. 
In the case of species and varieties the in¬ 
formation is tabulated in six columns across 
the page. The first column states whether 
the species or variety should be grown in 
the stove, intermediate or cool house; the 
second gives the name; the third the 
country; the fourth the description (this 
being the widest column) ; the fifth the 
season of flowering ; and the sixth the price. 
Directly following the list of species and 
varieties of each genus comes a list of 
hybrids, the information being given in three 
columns. In works of reference we think 
it would save time to have both lists amal¬ 
gamated in one, hybridity being indicated 
by a X in front of hybrids or the parents 
given in brackets beneath the name as is 
actually the case here, and sufficiently 
suggestive to every Orchid grower of any 
intelligence. Seeing that the list of hybrids 
immediately follows the list of species and 
varieties the case is not so wasteful of time 
as we have found it in some other books. 
On p.257 we find another triple set of lists, 
the first headed Table I. giving the name 
of the hybrid, followed by the seed parent 
and pollen parent in three columns re¬ 
spectively. The preface gives as a reason 
for it that the list has “ been compiled with 
a view to obtaining, as far as possible, a 
complete list of all known hybrid Orchids,” 
including those which are believed to be 
natural hybrids distinguished by an asterisk 
in front of them. Table II. gives the seed 
parent first, followed by the pollen parent 
and the product (hybrid) respectively. 
Table III. presents the pollen parent first, 
"Sander’s Orchid Guide, containing all the 
best known species, varieties and hybrids of Orchids 
in cultivation. Their native Countries, Descriptions, 
Seasons of Flowering, best methods of cultivation, 
temperatures, &c. Together with the Names and 
Parentages of all the known Hybrid Orchids up to 
Date, January ist, 1901. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans. 
Price 10s. 6d. 
followed by the seed parent and the product 
in this order. These three tables ought to 
be valuable to the hybridist as they show 
at a glance, comparatively speaking, what 
hybrids exist, and which male and which 
female parent has been used in their pro¬ 
duction. Lists on all these lines have pro¬ 
bably been made before, imperfectly or 
incomplete, it is true, but many of them 
have been compiled for private use by the 
raisers themselves and have never been 
placed at the service of the public. Hybrids 
are now so numerous that probably not a 
tithe of the growers could remember the 
same; hence the service that these lists 
should afford them when intending to break 
fresh ground in the raising of hybrids. Pre¬ 
suming that every species of a genus will 
cross with every other, it follows that the 
number of hybrids, which may yet be raised, 
must be very great. 
This latter statement brings us face to 
face with the limits of genera as hitherto 
recognised. Most growers will remember 
the relative facility with which some at 
least of the Miltonias hybridised with one 
another, while the would-be raisers of 
hybrid Odontoglossums failed time after 
time ; and even now the artificial hybrids 
in the latter genus are by no means numer¬ 
ous. A greater difficulty was experienced 
with the various types of Cypripedium. 
Seedlings raised by crossing the Old World 
species (Cypripedium) with the New World 
types often classed under Selenipedium have 
been announced but we have not seen any 
of them actually flowered to the best of our 
recollection. Apropos to this we may 
mention the fact that the old time genus 
Cypripedium has been broken up into four 
sections in the Orchid Review for 1896 p. 
331, new names being given to each. Seleni¬ 
pedium has been divided into two groups or 
sections, namely, Selenipedilum and Phrag- 
mipedilum ; while Cypripedium has given 
place to Cypripedilum and Papbiopedilum, 
which may be correct enough botanically, 
but we could have wished that names with 
fewer syllables might have been used ; and 
no doubt many gardeners would re-echo 
this sentiment even if inclined to adopt the 
new classification. In the work under 
notice, however, these alterations have only 
been included in a note under the cultural 
directions, with lists of specific names be¬ 
longing to the respective sections. The 
distinctions are fairly well marked and no 
doubt indicate degrees of affinity, thus ex¬ 
plaining the difficulty of successfully 
intercrossing them. The diligence of the 
hybridist is here well indicated by the length 
of the list. While species and varieties of 
Cypripedium occupy eight pages of text, 
their hybrids fill nineteen pages. The list 
of hybrids seems very comprehensive, while 
on the other hand only a few of the recorded 
or named varieties of species have been 
listed. This may have been due to con¬ 
siderations of space and to the fact that 
many of the so-called varieties have been 
inadequately described, and no doubt many 
of them have been named twice by different 
growers or name givers unknown to one 
another. It seems to us, however, that C. 
Stonei platytaenium must have been omitted 
by an oversight. No variety of C. Stonei 
is here recorded, though in the after part of 
the book it is given as the pollen parent of 
the hybrid platycolor. 
Turning to Odontoglossum we find a 
somewhat different arrangement of the 
species and supposed hybrids. In a state 
of nature Cypripediums do not seem to 
intercross with one another notwithstand¬ 
ing the facility with which the operation 
can be effected artificially. The reverse 
holds good for Odontoglossum, the supposed 
natural hybrids being extremely numerous 
as the artificial ones are equally rare, only 
six being recorded here as far as we observe. 
The custom hitherto has been to describe 
the introduced forms as species or varieties, 
occasionally throwing out a suspicion of 
their hybridity. In the work under notice 
such forms are recorded in the list of species 
and varieties, while their supposed paren¬ 
tage is given in the descriptions. In the 
list of hybrids the names of all are given 
but the supposed natural hybrids are not 
again described, the reader being instructed 
to see under species. This certainly brings 
the artificial hybrids into great prominence. 
O. leroyanum (crispum x luteo-purpureum) 
was the first hybrid Odontoglossum raised 
in cultivation. It is on record that one 
form of O. excellens was raised artificially, 
but that is not here confirmed. While 
speaking of natural hybrids it is interesting 
to note that two well known types often 
described as species, and at other times as 
varieties of O. crispum, are here regarded 
as natural hybrids between the same two 
parents, namely, O. andersonianum and O. 
ruckerianum, these supposed parents being 
O. crispum and O. gloriosum. According 
to the botanists the law promulgated with 
reference to plants of hybrid parentage is 
that all hybrids from the same parents 
should bear the same name whichever of 
the parents was the seed bearer. There is 
certainly no clear line of demarkation 
between andersonianum and ruckerianum, 
as they merge into one another amongst 
some of the finest forms of them we have 
seen, and horticulturists are more or less 
at sea in the matter. 
It may be noted here that O. odoratum 
and O. gloriosum are legarded as distinct 
species, though some other authorities think 
differently. O. nobile is here recorded as 
the correct name for O. Pescatorei, the 
reason not being stated. The authors have 
a reason for it no doubt, but we wish it had 
been recorded. The method of recording 
synonyms is somewhat different from the 
usual custom in this country. For instance 
in the alphabetical list we have Alcxandvae, 
syn. crispum, and Bluntii , syn. crispum. It 
would have been more in accordance with 
usage if they had been written Alexandrae, 
see crispum, or Alexandrae, a syn. of crispum. 
Some Continental authors do write, how¬ 
ever, on the above plan, even regarding the 
same name as a synonym if given by a 
different author. 
The authors state that they have spent 
a great deal of time and thought on the 
book and have endeavoured to make it com¬ 
prehensive, reliable, useful and concise ; 
everything being arranged alphabetically 
and handy. With all that we agree, for the 
work must have been laborious, and 
gardeners and Orchid growers particularly 
ought to be grateful. 
Royal Horticultural Society.—The Rev. Prof. G. 
Henslow, M.A., V.M.H., has arranged to deliver the 
following lectures at Chiswick, on Wednesday even¬ 
ings, at 8 o'clock June 12th, Propagation of Plants 
without Seeds ; June 19th, The Awakeoiog of Buds 
and the Sleeping of Leaves ; June 26th, How Plants 
Climb ; July 3rd, Injuries to Plants by Smoke.— W. 
Wilks, Sec. 
Grand Yorkshire Gala.—It is forty-three years 
ago since this floral fete and musical exhibition was 
first instituted. It is now recognised as one of the 
principle fetes in the north. It is under the dis¬ 
tinguished patronage of his Majesty King Edward 
VII. and the principal nobility and gentry of the 
country. It lasts three days, and terminates each 
evening with a firework display. The music is to be 
supplied by the bands of the Coldstream Guards, 
the ist Newcastle Royal Field Artillery, and the ist 
West Yorkshire Rifle Volunteers. Prizes for 
flowers, &c., amount to over /750. Several profes¬ 
sional artistes have been engaged to add to the other 
attractions. The exhibition opens on Wednesday, 
June 12th. 
