imson. Slipper green at toe, coppery above.

_Fairieanum._--No orchid is so interesting as this in the point of view
which may be called historic. In the autumn of 1857, Mr. Reid of Burnham
and Mr. Parker, nursery-man, of Holloway, sent flowers of it to Sir W.
Hooker at Kew, asking what they might be. Shortly afterwards Mr. Fairie of
Liverpool showed a plant in flower at the R.H.S. meeting, and Dr. Lindley
named it after him. It is believed that all these plants were bought at
Stevens' Sale-rooms among a number of orchids forwarded from Assam. But
none have turned up since, and attempts to find the habitat have been
totally unsuccessful.

Those who expect to see a flower big in proportion to its fame will be
disappointed; but if small, indeed very small, Cyp. Fairieanum is striking
both in form and colour. The upstanding dorsal has a crest, from which the
sides curl back. Its ground-colour is white with a greenish tinge. Broad
lines of maroon fall downwards from the crest, lessening as they go, but
multiplying towards the edges, where they form a close network. The petals
curl as sharply as a cow's horn, inverted at the tips to show a maroon
lining; they are greenish above, with three sharp little maroon bars at
the base, and slender lines of maroon; maroon also is the narrow edging.
The shield of the column, small as it is, cannot be overlooked, for it
shines like a jewel--exquisitely mottled with the brightest green,
accentuated by a tiny arch of maroon on either side. Slipper greenish,
with blurred lines of maroon.

_Gertrude_ (Chamberlainianum x insigne Chantinii).--Dorsal white above,
bright green below, heavily dotted in lines with crimson-brown. Petals
finely gauffered, dusky crimson, spotted. The slipper, crimson-purple,
looks very bright by contrast.

_Tesselatum porphyreum_ (concolor x barbatum).--The pale ochreous tone of
one parent and the purple of the other have produced a very remarkable
result in combination. The general effect distinctly red. The round dorsal
is reddish above, of a deeper shade at base, with dotted lines of red; the
petals curve down, dark red at the base, fading towards the ends, which
are clothed in a pretty network of pale red. The green slipper is clouded
and netted over with crimson.

_Telemachus_ (niveum x Lawrenceanum).--The dorsal, very broad, is tinged
with purple in the centre. Crimson lines ascend from a green base and the
margin all round is white. The petals are green,