About Orchids Part 9

would be grotesque. One Sunday afternoon, ten years ago, he amused himself with investigating the structure of a few Cypripeds, after reading Darwin's book; and he impregnated them. To his astonishment the seed-vessel began to swell, and so did Mr. Cookson's enthusiasm simultaneously. He did not yet know, and, happily, these experiments gave him no reason to suspect, that pseudo-fertilization can be produced, actually, by anything. So intensely susceptible is the stigmatic surface of the Cypriped that a touch excites it furiously.

Upon the irritation caused by a bit of leaf, it will go sometimes through all the visible processes of fecundation, the ovary will swell and ripen, and in due time burst, with every appearance of fertility; but, of course, there is no seed. Beginners, therefore, must not be too sanguine when their bold attempts promise well.

From that day Mr. Cookson gave his leisure to hybridization, with such results as, in short, are known to everybody who takes an interest in orchids. Failures in abundance he had at first, but the proportion has grown less and less until, at this moment, he confidently looks for success in seventy-five per cent. of his attempts; but this does not apply to bi-generic crosses, which hitherto have not engaged his attention much. Beginning with Cypripedium, he has now ninety-four hybrids--very many plants of each--produced from one hundred and forty capsules sown. Of Calanthe, sixteen hybrids from nineteen capsules; of Dendrobium, thirty-six hybrids from forty-one capsules; of Masdevallia, four hybrids from seventeen capsules; of Odontoglossum, none from nine capsules; of Phajus, two from two capsules; of Vanda, none from one capsule; of bi-generic, one from nine capsules. There may be another indeed, but the issue of an alliance so startling, and produced under circ.u.mstances so dubious, that Mr. Cookson will not own it until he sees the flower.

It does not fall within the scope of this chapter to a.n.a.lyze the list of this gentleman's triumphs, but even _savants_ will be interested to hear a few of the most remarkable crosses therein, for it is not published. I cite the following haphazard:--

Phajus Wallichii Phajus tuberculosus.

Loelia praestans. Cattleya Dowiana.

" purpurata Cattleya Dowiana.

" " Loelia grandis tenebrosa.

" " Cattleya Mendellii.

" marginata Loelia elegans Cooksoni.

Cattleya Mendellii " purpurata.

" Trianae " harpophylla.

" Percivalliana "

" Lawrenceana Cattleya Mossiae.

" gigas " Gaskelliana.

" crispa " "

" Dowiana " "

" Schofieldiana " gigas imperialis.

" Leopoldii " Dowiana.

Cypripedium Stonei Cypripedium G.o.defroyae.

" " " Spicerianum.

" Sanderianum " Veitchii.

" Spicerianum " Sanderianum.

" Io " vexillarium.

Dendrobium n.o.bile n.o.bilus Dendrobium Falconerii.

" " " n.o.bile Cooksonianum.

" Wardianum " aureum.

" " " Linawianum.

" luteolum " n.o.bile n.o.bilius.

Masdevallia Tovarensis Masdevallia bella.

" Shuttleworthii " Tovarensis.

" " " rosea.

Of these, and so many more, Mr. Cookson has at this moment fifteen thousand plants. Since my object is to rouse the attention of amateurs, that they may go and do likewise, I may refer lightly to a consideration which would be out of place under other circ.u.mstances. Professional growers of orchids are fond of speculating how much the Wylam collection would realize if judiciously put on the market. I shall not mention the estimates I have heard; it is enough to say they reach many, many thousands of pounds; that the difference between the highest and the lowest represents a handsome fortune. And this great sum has been earned by brains alone, without increase of expenditure, by boldness of initiative, thought, care, and patience; without special knowledge also, at the beginning, for ten years ago Mr. Cookson had no more acquaintance with orchids than is possessed by every gentleman who takes an interest in them, while his gardener the early time was both ignorant and prejudiced. This should encourage enterprise, I think--the revelation of means to earn great wealth in a delightful employment. But amateurs must be quick. Almost every professional grower of orchids is preparing to enter the field. They, however, must needs give the most of their attention to such crosses as may be confidently expected to catch the public fancy, as has been said. I advise my readers to be daring, even desperate. It is satisfactory to learn that Mr. Cookson intends to make a study of bi-generic hybridization henceforward.[9]

The common motive for crossing orchids is that, of course, which urges the florist in other realms of botany. He seeks to combine tints, forms, varied peculiarities, in a new shape. Orchids lend themselves to experiment with singular freedom, within certain limits, and their array of colours seems to invite our interference. Taking species and genera all round, yellow dominates, owing to its prevalence in the great family of Oncidium; purples and mauves stand next by reason of their supremacy among the Cattleyas. Green follows--if we admit the whole group of Epidendrums--the great majority of which are not beautiful, however. Of magenta, the rarest of natural hues, we have not a few instances.

Crimson, in a thousand shades, is frequent; pure white a little rare, orange much rarer; scarlet very uncommon, and blue almost unknown, though supremely lovely in the few instances that occur. Thus the temptation to hybridize with the object of exchanging colours is peculiarly strong.

It becomes yet stronger by reason of the delightful uncertainty which attends one's efforts. So far as I have heard or read, no one has yet been able to offer a suggestion of any law which decides the result of combination. In a general way, both parents will be represented in the offspring, but how, to what degree either will dominate, in what parts, colours, or fas.h.i.+ons a hybrid will show its mixed lineage, the experienced refuse to conjecture, saving certain easy cla.s.ses. After choosing parents thoughtfully, with a clear perception of the aim in view, one must "go it blind." Very often the precise effect desired appears in due time; very often something unlooked for turns up; but nearly always the result is beautiful, whether or no it serve the operator's purpose. Besides effect, however, there is an utility in hybridization which relates to culture. Thus, for example, the lovely _Cypripedium Fairieanum_ is so difficult to grow that few dealers keep it in their stock; by crossing it with _Cyp. barbatum_, from Mount Ophir, a rough-and-ready cool species, we get _Cyp. vexillarium_, which takes after the latter in const.i.tution while retaining much of the beauty of the former. Or again, _Cypripedium Sanderianum_, from the Malay Archipelago, needs such swampy heat as few even of its fellows appreciate; it has been crossed with _Cyp. insigne_, which will flourish anywhere, and though the seedlings have not yet bloomed, there is no reasonable doubt that they will prove as useful and beautiful as in the other case. _Cypripedium insigne_, of the fine varieties, has been employed in a mult.i.tude of such instances. There is the striking _Cyp.

hirsutissimum_, with sepals of a nameless green, shaded yellow, studded with spiculae, exquisitely frilled, and tipped, by a contrast almost startling, with pale purple. It is very "hot" in the first place, and, in the second, its appearance would be still more effective if some white could be introduced; present it to _Cyp. niveum_ and confidently expect that the progeny will bear cooler treatment, whilst their "dorsal sepal" will be blanched. So the charming _Masdevallia Tovarensis_, warm, white and lowly, will take to itself the qualities, in combination, of _Mas. bella_, tall, cool, and highly coloured red and yellow, as Mr.

Cookson has proved; so _Phaloenopsis Wightii_, delicate of growth and small of flower, will become strong and generous by union with _Phal.

grandiflora_, without losing its dainty tones.

It is worth mention that the first Flora medal offered by the Royal Horticultural Society for a seedling--a hybrid--in open compet.i.tion was won by _Loelia Arnoldiana_ in 1891; the same variety took the first prize in 1892. It was raised by Messrs. Sander from _L. purpurata_ _Catt. l.a.b.i.ata_; seed sown 1881, flowered 1891.

And now for the actual process by which these most desirable results, and ten thousand others, may be obtained. I shall not speak upon my own authority, which the universe has no reason to trust. Let us observe the methods practised in the great establishment of Mr. Sander at St.

Albans.

Remark, in the first place, the low, unshaded range of houses devoted to hybridization, a contrast to those lofty structures, a hundred yards long or more, where plants merely flourish and bloom.

Their span roofs one may touch with the hand, and their gla.s.s is always newly cleaned. The first and last demand of the hybridizer is light--light--eternally light. Want of it stands at the bottom of all his disappointments, perhaps. The very great majority of orchids, such as I refer to, have their home in the tropics; even the "cool" Odontoglots and Masdevallias owe that quality to their mountaineering habit, not to lat.i.tude. They live so near the equator that suns.h.i.+ne descends almost perpendicularly--and the sun s.h.i.+nes for more than half the year. But in this happy isle of ours, upon the very brightest day of midsummer, its rays fall at an angle of 28, declining constantly until, at midwinter, they struggle through the fogs at an inclination of 75. The reader may work out this proportion for himself, but he must add to his reckoning the thickness of our atmosphere at its best, and the awful number of cloudy days. We cannot spare one particle of light. The ripening seed must stand close beneath the gla.s.s, and however fierce the suns.h.i.+ne no blind may be interposed. It is likely that the mother-plant will be burnt up--quite certain that it will be much injured.

This house is devoted to the hybridizing of Cypripediums; I choose that genus for our demonstration, because, as has been said, it is so very easy and so certain that an intelligent girl mastered all its eccentricities of structure after a single lesson, which made her equally proficient in those of Dendrobes, Oncidiums, Odontoglots, Epidendrums, and I know not how many more. The leaves are green and smooth as yet, with many a fantastic bloom, and many an ovary that has just begun to swell, rising amidst the verdure. Each flower spike which has been crossed carries its neat label, registering the father's name and the date of union.

Mr. Maynard takes the two first virgin blooms to hand: _Cypripedium Sanderianum_, and _Cypripedium G.o.defroyae_, as it chances. Let us cut off the lip in order to see more clearly. Looking down now upon the flower, we mark two wings, the petals, which stood on either side of the vanished lip. From the junction of these wings issues a round stalk, about one quarter of an inch long, and slightly hairy, called the "column." It widens out at the tip, forming a pretty table, rather more than one-third of an inch long and wide. This table serves no purpose in our inquiry; it obstructs the view, and we will remove it; but the reader understands, of course, that these amputations cannot be performed when business is intended. Now--the table snipped off--we see those practical parts of the flower that interest us. Beneath its protection, the column divides into three k.n.o.bbly excrescences, the central plain, those on either side of it curling back and down, each bearing at its extremity a pad, the size of a small pin's head, outlined distinctly with a brown colour. It is quite impossible to mistake these things; equally impossible, I hope, to misunderstand my description.

The pads are the male, the active organs.

But the column does not finish here. It trends downward, behind and below the pads, and widens out, with an exquisitely graceful curve, into a disc one-quarter of an inch broad. This is the female, the receptive part; but here we see the peculiarity of orchid structure. For the upper surface of the disc is not susceptible; it is the under surface which must be impregnated, though the imagination cannot conceive a mere accident which would throw those fertilizing pads upon their destined receptacle. They are loosely attached and adhesive, when separated, to a degree actually astonis.h.i.+ng, as is the disc itself; but if it were possible to displace them by shaking, they could never fall where they ought. Some outside impulse is needed to bring the parts together. In their native home insects perform that service--sometimes. Here we may take the first implement at hand, a knife, a bit of stick, a pencil. We remove the pads, which yield at a touch, and cling to the object. We lay them one by one on the receptive disc, where they seem to melt into the surface--and the trick is done. Write out your label--_"Cyp. Sanderianum Cyp. G.o.defroyae_, Maynard." Add the date, and leave Nature to her work.

She does not linger. One may almost say that the disc begins to swell instantly. That part which we term the column is the termination of the seed-purse, the ovary, which occupies an inch, or two, or three, of the stalk, behind the flower. In a very few days its thickening becomes perceptible. The unimpregnated bloom falls off at its appointed date, as everybody knows; but if fertilized it remains entire, saving the labellum, until the seed is ripe, perhaps half a year afterwards--but withered, of course. Very singular and quite inexplicable are the developments that arise in different genera, or even species, after fertilization. In the Warscewiczellas, for example, not the seed-purse only, but the whole column swells. _Phaloenopsis Luddemanniana_ is specially remarkable. Its exquisite bars and mottlings of rose, brown, and purple begin to take a greenish hue forthwith. A few days later, the lip jerks itself off with a sudden movement, as observers declare. Then the sepals and petals remaining take flesh, thicken and thicken, while the hues fade and the green encroaches, until, presently, they a.s.sume the likeness of a flower, abnormal in shape but perfect, of dense green wax.

This Cypripedium of ours will ripen its seed in about twelve months, more or less. Then the capsule, two inches long and two-thirds of an inch diameter, will burst. Mr. Maynard will cut it off, open it wide, and scatter the thousands of seeds therein, perhaps 150,000, over pots in which orchids are growing. After experiments innumerable, this has been found the best course. The particles, no bigger than a grain of dust, begin to swell at once, reach the size of a mustard-seed, and in five or six weeks--or as many months--they put out a tiny leaf, then a tiny root, presently another leaf, and in four or five years we may look for the hybridized flower. Long before, naturally, they have been established in their own pots.

Strange incidents occur continually in this pursuit, as may be believed.

Nine years since, Mr. G.o.dseff crossed _Catasetum macrocarpum_ with _Catasetum callosum_. The seed ripened, and in due time it was sown; but none ever germinated in the proper place. A long while afterwards Mr.

G.o.dseff remarked a tiny little green speck in a crevice above the door of this same house. It grew and grew very fast, never receiving water unless by the rarest accident, until those experts could identify a healthy young Catasetum. And there it has flourished ever since, receiving no attention; for it is the first rule in orchid culture to leave a plant to itself where it is doing well, no matter how strange the circ.u.mstances may appear to us. This Catasetum, wafted by the wind, when the seed was sown, found conditions suitable where it lighted, and quickened, whilst all its fellows, carefully provided for, died without a sign. It thrives upon the moisture of the house. In a very few years it will flower. In another case, when all hope of the germination of a quant.i.ty of seed had long been lost, it became necessary to take up the wooden trellis that formed the flooring of the path; a fine crop of young hybrids was discovered clinging to the under side.

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 cla.s.s certificate. It was only four years old.

The quickest record as yet is _Calanthe Alexanderii_, with which Mr.

Cookson won a first-cla.s.s 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 "p.r.i.c.ked 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 versa_ nine years. There is a case somewhat similar, however, among the Cypripeds.

_C. Schlimii_ crossed with _C. longifolium_ flowers in four years, but _vice versa_ 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.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 9: Mr. Cookson writes to me: "Give some of the credit to my present gardener, William Murray, who is ent.i.tled to a large proportion, at least."]