The amateur who has followed us thus far with interest, may inquire how long it will be before he can reasonably expect to see the outcome of our proceedings? In the first place, it must be noted that the time shortens continually as we gain experience. The statements following I leave unaltered, because they are given by Messrs. Veitch, our oldest authority, in the last edition of their book. But at the Temple Show this year Norman C. Cookson, Esq., exhibited _Catt. William Murray_, offspring of _Catt. Mendellii × Catt. Lawrenceana_, a lovely flower which gained a first class certificate. It was only four years old.
The quickest record as yet is _Calanthe Alexanderii_, with which Mr. Cookson won a first-class certificate of the Royal Horticultural Society. It flowered within three years of fertilizing. As a genus, perhaps, Dendrobiums are readiest to show. Plants have actually been "pricked out" within two months of sowing, and they have bloomed within the fourth year. Phajus and Calanthe rank next for rapid development. Masdevallia, Chysis, and Cypripedium require four to five years, Lycaste seven to eight, Loelia and Cattleya ten to twelve. These are Mr. Veitch's calculations in a rough way, but there are endless exceptions, of course. Thus his _Loelia triophthalma_ flowered in its eighth season, whilst his _Loelia caloglossa_ delayed till its nineteenth. The genus _Zygopetalum_, which plays odd tricks in hybridizing, as I have mentioned, is curious in this matter also. _Z. maxillare_ crossed with _Z. Mackayi_ demands five years to bloom, but _vice versâ_ nine years. There is a case somewhat similar, however, among the Cypripeds. _C. Schlimii_ crossed with _C. longifolium_ flowers in four years, but _vice versâ_ in six. It is not to be disputed, therefore, that the hybridizer's reward is rather slow in coming; the more earnestly should he take measures to ensure, so far as is possible, that it be worth waiting for.
[Footnote 9: Mr. Cookson writes to me: "Give some of the credit to my present gardener, William Murray, who is entitled to a large proportion, at least."]
PAGE Aerides Lawrenciæ 160 Angræcum arcuatum 134 " caudatum 135 " Duchailluianum 134 " Ellisii 135 " falcatum 133 " Kotschyi 135 " Leonis 135 " Sanderianum 134 " Scottianum 135 " sesquipedale (Æranthus sesquipedalis) 135 Anomatheca cruenta 11