irroratus_ from _Ph. grandifolius_ x _Cal. vestita_; Seden
made the same cross, but, using the variety _Cal. v. rubro-occulata_, he
obtained _Ph. purpureus_. The success is more interesting because one
parent is evergreen, the other, Calanthe, deciduous. On this account
probably very few seedlings survive; they show the former habit. Mr.
Cookson alone has yet raised a cross between two species of Phajus--_Ph.
Cooksoni_ from _Ph. Wallichii_ x _Ph. tuberculosus_. One may say that
this is the best hybrid yet raised, saving _Calanthe Veitchii_, if all
merits be considered--stateliness of aspect, freedom in flowering,
striking colour, ease of cultivation. One bulb will throw up four
spikes--twenty-eight have been counted in a twelve-inch pot--each
bearing perhaps thirty flowers.
Seden has made two crosses of Chysis, both from the exquisite _Ch.
bractescens_, one of the loveliest flowers that heaven has granted to
this world, but sadly fleeting. Nobody, I believe, has yet been so
fortunate as to obtain seed from _Ch. aurea_. This species has the rare
privilege of self-fertilization--we may well exclaim, Why! why?--and it
eagerly avails itself thereof so soon as the flower begins to open.
Thus, however watchful the hybridizer may be, hitherto he has found the
pollen masses melted in hopeless confusion before he can secure them.
One hybrid Epidendrum has been obtained--_Epi.
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