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THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
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r. Formai gardening, with veronica and phlox in the foreground
THE
STANDARD CYCLOPEDIA HORTICULTURE
A DISCUSSION, FOR THE AMATEUR, AND THE PROFESSIONAL AND COMMERCIAL GROWER, OF THE KINDS, CHARACTERISTICS AND METHODS OF CULTIVATION OF THE SPECIES OF PLANTS GROWN IN THE REGIONS OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA FOR ORNAMENT, FOR FANCY, FOR FRUIT AND FOR VEGETABLES; WITH KEYS TO THE NATURAL FAMILIES AND GENERA, DESCRIPTIONS OF THE HORTI- CULTURAL CAPABILITIES OF THE STATES AND PROVINCES AND DEPENDENT ISLANDS, AND SKETCHES OF EMINENT HORTICULTURISTS
BY
L. H. BAILEY
Illustrated with Colored Plates, Four Thousand Engravings in the Text, and Ninety-six Full-page Cuts
IN SIX VOLUMES
VOL. Ill— F-K
PAGES 1201-1760. FIGS. 1471-2047
THIRD EDITION
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., LTD. 1919
The rights of reproduction and of translation are strictly reserved
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COPYRIGHT, 1900 BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
REWRITTEN, ENLARGED AND RESET
Set Up and Electrotyped. Published May 12, 1915 Reprinted May, 1917; March, 1919
. DEPT.
.rtlount Pleasant P J. HORACE MOFARLAND COMPANY HARRISBURQ, PENNSYLVANIA
FULL -PAGE PLATES
Facing page
XL. Formal gardening, with veronica and phlox in the foreground (in color)
Frontispiece
XLI. A good fern in southern California. — Alsophila australis '. 1217
XLII. A young Celeste fig tree, as grown in Georgia 1234
XLIII. Floriculture. — A house of begonias, with a row of ferns 1242
XLIV. Forcing of grapes. — Muscat of Alexandria 1263
XLV. Ferns in a public garden, with springtime bloom (in color) 1307
XLVI. Type of an old-time formal garden. — Washington's garden at Mt. Vernon . 1315
XL VII. Fringed gentian. Gentiana crinita 1327
XL VIII. The garden gladiolus, variety "Peace" (in color) . . . ... . 1343
XLIX. The Niagara grape (in color) . 1380
L. The grapefruit. About one-third natural size 1391
LI. A home greenhouse 1410
LII. Heliotrope, an old-time favorite 1452
LIII. Good use of spring flowers. — Mertensia virginica 1470
LIV. Herbs and shrubs employed about a pond 1481
LV. Hollyhock .... 1497
LVI. Roman hyacinth. — One of the forms of Hyacinthus orientalis . . . .1614
LVII. A night-blooming cactus. — Hylocereus tricostatus in Hawaii. Hedge planted by
Sibyl Moseley Bingham between 1831 and 1840 ... ... 1625
LVIII. One of the many beautiful garden irises. — Probably one of the hybrid or deriva- tive forms of the germanica group . 1657
LIX. Japanese irises. — Iris Icevigata 1675
LX. The black walnut. — Juglans nigra 1717
(v)
4f\ r**i i --, f~\
. 9 i i i 3
FABA (phago, to eat; yields edible seeds). Legu- minosse. A genus established by Tournefort for cer- tain plants now referred to Vicia. Faba vulgaris, Moench, is the horse bean, broad bean or Windsor bean, now accepted as Vicia Faba. From other groups in Vicia, it differs mostly in its stiff erect habit and the very large fleshy seeds and pods. The name Fabacese is sometimes used instead of Leguminosse, and some- times for the papilionaceous leguminosa?.
FABIANA (after Francisco Fabiano, Spanish bota- nist, Valencia). Solandcese. Small heath -like shrubs; one is sometimes grown in cool greenhouses and in mild climates for its bloom.
Erect and branching plants, sometimes viscid: Ivs. small and crowded : fls. usually many, terminal or oppo- site the Ivs., small; corolla long-tubular, dilated or ventricose above, often contracted at the throat; stamens 5, attached on the corolla-tube; disk fleshy, annular or lobed: caps, oblong, 2- valved. — About 20 species, Bolivia, Brazil to Patagonia.
imbricate, Ruiz & Pav. Fig. 1471. Height 3-8 ft.: Ivs. ovate, scale-like, imbricated: fls. sessile or nearly so, white, with a short reflexed limb, borne profusely. Peru. B.R. 25:59. R.H. 1903, p. 291. G.C. III. 32: suppl. Sept. 27; 52:210. Gn. 60, p. 430; 72, p. 511. G.W. 2, p. 511.— This plant is apparently little grown under glass in this country. It is a rather com- mon shrub in S. Calif., where it blooms at different sea- sons. In Eng- land, it is said to thrive best near the sea . Good bushes produce a wealth of well- lasting bloom in late spring. It prop, without difficulty from potted cuttings in Aug.
L. H. B.
FAGARA : Xanthoxy- lum.
FAGELIA (after Caspar Fagelius, plant cultivator). Syn. Bolu- sdfra, Kuntze. Legumi- nbsae. One species, a fast- growing, twining sub-shrub from S. Afr., covered with clammy hairs, and bearing all summer axillary racemes of pea-like fls. which are yellow, the keel tipped violet; standard reflexed;
keel obtuse, exceeding the wings ; stamens diadelphous : pod about 6-seeded, turgid. Cult, outdoors in S. Calif, and abroad under glass. The plant is allied to Caja- nus, but its seeds are strophioled, pod swollen, not flattened, and the 2 upper calyx-lobes nearly distinct. The Fagelia of Schwenke (1774) is Calceolaria.
bitumindsa, DC. Sts. sev- eral feet long, woody at base: Ifts. 3, rhomb-ovate, pale and glandular-dotted beneath, to 1^ in. long: fls. about ^in- long: pod 1^ in. long: plant strong-smelling. B. R. 261 (as Glycine, showing fls. also veined with red) . — Blooms in winter in S. Calif.
L. H. B.
1472. Fagopyrum
esculentum. (XI)
1471. Fabiana imbricata.
(XX)
77
FAGOPtRUM (beech wheat, from the likeness of the fruit to a beech-nut). Polygonaceae. Probably only 2 species, of Eu. and N. Asia. Quick-growing annuals, with alternate deltoid or hastate Ivs., small whitish fls. in racemes or panicles, 5-parted calyx, 8 stamens, 1-loculed ovary ripening into a floury 3-angled achene. — Both species are grown for the grain, from which flour is made; and in horticulture sometimes used as a catch-crop or green- crop in orchards and elsewhere for the good effect on the land.
esculentum, Moench (Polygonum Fagopyrum, Linn.). BUCKWHEAT (which see). Fig. 1472. Lys. large and broad, long-petioled : fls. white, fragrant, in panicled or corymbose racemes: achene or grain with regular angles.
tataricum, Gaertn. (Polygonum tatdricum, Linn.). INDIA- WHEAT. BUCKWHEAT. Fig. 1473. More slender: Ivs. smaller and hastate or arrow-shaped, shorter- petioled: fls. greenish or yellowish, in small mostly simple racemes from the If .-axils: achene with wavy or notched angles, smaller than in buckwheat. — Useful in short-season climates and on poorer lands. The Fig. 1473 is made from LinnaBus' original specimens of his Polygonum tataricum, now deposited in the Linnaean herbarium, London. L jj g
FAGUS (ancient Latin name). Fagacese. BEECH. Ornamental trees, chiefly grown for their handsome foliage, good habit and the conspicuous color of the bark; also valuable timber trees. There are marked horticultural forms.
Deciduous: winter-buds conspicuous, elongated, acute: Ivs. alternate, distichous, dentate or nearly entire, with caducous small stipules: fls. monoecious,
(1201)
1202
FACTS
FAG US
with tht IVG.: stagnate in sl^nder-peduncled pendu- lous heads, appearing at the base of the young shoots; perianth 5-7-lobed; stamens 8-13; pistillate with 3 styles, usually 2 in an axillary peduncled involucre: fr. a brown, ovate, triangled nut, 1 or 2 in a prickly, dehis- cent involucre. — Eight species occur in the cooler regions of the northern hemisphere. The species of the southern hemis- phere, often included under Fagus (as F. betu- loides and others), form the genus Nothofagus, which see.
The beeches are tall deciduous hardy trees, of noble, symmetrical habit, with smooth light gray bark and clean dark green foliage, which is rarely attacked by insects or fungi. They are among the most ornamental and beautiful trees for park planting, and attractive at every season, especially in spring, with the young foliage of a tender deli- cate green, and the grace- ful, drooping heads of the staminate flowers. All of the eight species known, save one, are in cultiva- tion and differ compara- tively little from each other. The American and the European species are especially much alike, but the first has the bark of a lighter color, the head is broader and more roundish, and the leaves less shin- ing, turning clear yellow in fall, while the latter has a more ovate head and shining foliage, which turns reddish brown in fall and remains on the branches almost through the whole winter. It is sometimes used for tall hedges. In Europe, the beech is a very impor- tant forest tree, and the hard and very close-grained wood is largely used in the manufacture of different articles and for fuel; but it is not very durable in the soil. The sweet nuts are edible, and in Europe an oil is pressed from them, used for cooking and other purposes.
1473. Fagopyrum tataricum.
1474. Fagus grandifolia.
(XH)
The beech prefers dryish situations, and grows best in sandy loam and in limestone soil. Propagated by seeds sown in fall where there is no danger of their being eaten by mice, or dried after gathering and kept mixed with dry sand until spring. The young plants should be transplanted every second or third year; otherwise they make long tap-roots, and cannot always be transplanted successfully. The varieties are grafted on seedling stock, usually in the greenhouse in early spring; grafting in the open usually gives not very satisfactory results.
Both in Europe and the eastern United States the beech forms extensive forests. It is today the common hardwood tree of central Europe, particularly in Den- mark and Germany, raised as pure growth or mixture. It requires a loamy, preferably calcareous soil, shuns poor sand and swamp," ascends to 3,500 feet in the Alps; prefers north and east exposures, endures much shade, protects and improves the soil, and produces large amounts of wood to the acre. The wood is heavy (specific gravity 0.65 to 0.75) hard, straight-grained, of close texture, not durable. Beech is not used as build- ing lumber, but is extensively used for ordinary wooden ware, furniture, wheelwright and cooperage stock. (F. Roth.)
grandifdlia, Ehrh. (F. ferruginea, Ait. F. americana, Sweet. F. atropunicea, Sudw.). AMERICAN BEECH. Figs. 1474, 1475. Tree, to 80 ft., rarely 120 ft.: Ivs. ovate-oblong, acumi- nate, coarsely serrate, silky beneath when young, with 9-14 pairs of veins, dark bluish green above, light yellowish green beneath, 2%-5 in. long: involucre covered with slender, straight or recurved prick- les, %in. high. E. N. Amer., west to Wis. and Texas. S.S. 9:444. Em. 182. G.F. 8:125. A.G. 12:711. F.E.20:586. Var. pubescens, Fern. & Rehd. Lvs. soft-pubescent below, sometimes only slightly so. Var. caroliniana, Fern. & Rehd. (F. ferruginea var. caroliniana, Loud. F. ro- tundifolia, Raf.). Lvs. broader, of firmer texture, darker above: involucre rufous-tomentose, with fewer and shorter prickles: nut smaller, not exceeding the involucre. From N. J. and S. 111. to Fla. and Texas.
sylvatica, Linn. EUROPEAN BEECH. Fig. 1475. Tree, to 80 ft., or rarely 100 ft.: Ivs. ovate or elliptic, remotely denticulate, silky beneath and ciliate when young, with 5-9 pairs of veins, dark green and glossy above, pale beneath, 2-4 in. long: involucre with mostly upright prickles, about 1 in. high. Cent, and S. Eu. to Caucasus. M.D.G. 1902:579-582. H.W. 2:20, pp. 42, 43. F.E. 33:615. Fig. 1475 contrasts the Ivs. of the American and European species. A great number of varieties are in cult., of which the following are the most remarkable: Var. pen- dula, Lodd. Fig. 1476. With long, pendulous branches, the larger limbs mostly horizontally spreading. G.C. III. 51:114. G.W. 15, p. 662. B.H. 1907, p. 393. Gn. 42, p. 65; 55, p. 267; 64, p. 167. G.F. 1:32 (adapted in Fig. 1476). Gng. 6:258. G.W. 2, p. 15; 9, p. 510; 15, p. 663. G.M. 52:807. Var. tortudsa, Dipp. (var. suenteliensis, Hort.). Dwarf form, with twisted and contorted branches and small Ivs. M.D.G. 1912:110. Var. pyramidalis, Kirchn. Of pyramidal habit. Var. purpfcrea, Ait. (var. atropur- purea, Hort.). Fig. 1477. Lvs. purple. M.D.G. 1901:
1475. Fagus grandifolia (left), and F. sylvatica. ( X 1A)
FAGUS
FATSIA
1203
163; 1908:499. G.C. III. 24:305. F.E. 13:472; 14: 874. A.G. 18:837. G.W. 2, p. 539. A form with very dark purple Ivs. and of compact habit is var. Riversii, Hort. There are other forms, differing in the shade of purple, as var. cuprea, Hort., and also some with rosy pink variegated Ivs. Var. purpftrea pendula, Hort., has
1476. Fagus sylvatica var. pendula.
purple Ivs. and pendulous branches, but is of slow growth. Var. Zlatia, Spaeth, has yellow foliage. Var. heterophylla, Loud. (var. asplenifolia, Lodd.). Lvs. deeply cut, often almost to the midrib, into narrow lobes. A very graceful variety, forming a dense and low, shrubby tree. Mn. 1, p. 61. F.E. 18:314. P.G. 3: 163. Less important varieties, but sometimes grown, are the following: Var. cristata, Lodd., with deeply toothed, curled, small and clustered Ivs.: of slow growth. Var. incisa, Hort. Similar to var. hetero- phylla, but Ivs. less deeply cut. Var. macrophylla, Hort. Lvs. large, to 5 in. long. Var. quercifdlia, Schelle (var. quercoides, Hort.). With deeply toothed and sinuate, rather narrow Ivs. Var. quercoides, Pers., often confused with var. quercifolia, is a form with dark and rough, oak-like bark. M.D.G. 1909:509.
F. asidtica, Winkl.=F. orientalis. — F. Engleriana, Seemen. Tree, about 50 ft. tall: Ivs. obovate or oval-obovate, glabrous below: stalk of fr. 2-3 in. long, glabrous. Cent. China. — F. jap6n- ica, Maxim. Lvs. small, elliptic, crenate: involucre small, slen- der-peduncled, half as long as the nuts. Japan. S.I. F. 1:35. — F. orientalis, Lipsky (F. asiatica, Winkl.). Pyramidal tree: Ivs. elliptic to oblong-obovate, nearly entire: lower prickles of the involucre changed into linear-oblong lobes. Asia Minor to N. Persia.— F. Sieboldii, Endl. Lvs. ovate, shortly acuminate, cre- nate, with 9-14 pairs of veins: lower prickles of the involucre chang- ing into slender linear or obovate-oblong lobes. Japan. S.I.F. 1 : 35. — F. sinensis, Oliver (F. sylvatica var. longipes, Oliver). Tree, about 50 ft. tall: Ivs. ovate or rhombic-oval, finely pubescent below: stalks of fr. lJ^-2 in. long, pubescent above. Cent. China.
ALFRED REHDER.
FALLUGIA (after Virgilio Fallugi or Falugi, an Italian botanical writer, end of the seventeenth cen- tury). Rosdcese. Ornamental woody plant sometimes cultivated for its handsome white flowers and the attractive heads of feathery tailed fruits.
Deciduous shrub: Ivs. alternate, small, 3-7-lobed at the apex, stipulate: fls. 1-3, terminal on elongated branchlets, perfect or polygamous, with 5 narrow bracts inserted between the calyx-lobes; calyx-tube cupular; sepals 5, imbricate; petals 5, suborbicular, yellowish white; stamens numerous in 3 rows; pistils many, on a conical torus, pubescent; style slender: achenes with long persistent plumose styles. — One species in S. W. N. Amer.
This plant is a low divaricate shrub with slender spreading branches, and conspicuous white flowers at
the tips of slender branchlets, followed by dense heads of feathery tailed fruits. Hardy as far north as Massa- chusetts; demands well-drained soil and a sunny warm position; likes limestone soil; stagnant moisture, par- ticularly during the winter, is fatal to it. Its best place is in a rockery of southern aspect. Propagation is by seeds, which are freely produced.
paradoxa, Endl. Shrub, to 3 ft.: Ivs. cuneate with 3-7 narrow-oblong lobes decurrent into the linear petiole, revolute at the margin and whitish tomentose below, M-Kin. long: fls. 1-3, 1-1 K in. across, white: achenes with feathery tails 1-1 3^ in. long. June- Aug.; fr. Aug.-Oct. Calif., Nev. and Utah south to Mex. B.M.6660. M.D.G. 1900:207. ALFRED REHDER.
FARADAYA (Michael Faraday, famous chemist, 1794-1867). Verbenacex. Climbing shrubs, allied to Clerodendron, with opposite simple Ivs., and fls. in terminal or nodular panicles; corolla tubular, widened upward, with a 4-lobed limb of which one lobe is larger; stamens 4, paired, exserted; ovary 4-lobed and 4-celled: fr. a drupe. There are about a half-dozen species in Austral, and S. Pacific islands. They appear not to be in the trade. F. splendida, Muell., of Austral., may occur in choice collections: it is a tall glabrous climber with ovate, acuminate coriaceous Ivs. 6-12 in. long, and large white fls. in terminal panicles.
FARFUGIUM: Ligularia.
FATSIA (from a Japanese name). Araliacese. Half- hardy shrubs or small trees, used for subtropical foliage effects in the North, and planted permanently far South.
Fatsia has 2 species, belonging to the Panax series, in which the petals are valvate, while in the Aralia series they are more or less overlapping, but the sides affixed at the base. Within the Panax series, Polyscias has the pedicel articulated under the fl., while in Fatsia and Acanthopanax the pedicel is continuous with the fl. Fatsia is distinguished from the hardier and less
1477. Good specimen of purple beech. — Fagus sylvatica
var. purpurea.
familiar but worthy Acanthopanax by the greater length and distinctness of the styles. This genus is doubly interesting as producing the famous rice paper of the Chinese, and two rivals of the castor-oil plant in bold subtropical effects, made by large Ivs., the lobes of which spread out like fingers.
While fatsias require more care in the North than the hardy aralias, their massive subtropical appearance is
FATSIA
FEIJOA
highly distinct. A perfect specimen is figured in Gar- dening 5 : 133, where W. R. Smith says of F. papyrifera: "This plant produces the beautiful substance known as rice paper; it grows to 10 ft. high, with a st. 4 in. diam., full of white pith like the elder; in a full-grown speci- men the pith is about 1 in. diam. It is divided into pieces 3 in. long, and by the aid of a sharp instrument is unrolled, forming the thin, narrow sheets known as rice paper, greatly used by the Chinese for drawing figures of plants and animals, and also for making arti- ficial fls. Until about 1850 the source of this substance was unknown to scientists. The Chinese, on inquiry, gave very fanciful figures and descriptions of it. ... It is destined to be a people's plant, as J^in. of the root will grow and form a good plant the first season. It has survived most winters for the past 5 years in Washington, D. C."
As associates in groups of bold-habited plants, F. W. Burbidge (Gn. 45, p. 321) suggests Polygonum sacha- linense, Chamaerops Fortunei and Rodgersia podo- phylla. For contrast with feathery and cut-leaved foli- age, he suggests bamboos, aucubas, cut-leaved maples
1478. Fatsia japonica.
and various ivies. Fatsia may be grown in the temper- ate house in the North, outdoors southward. It is easily grown and propagated. The species are unarmed; the very spiny plant sometimes referred to this genus as F. horrida, is treated under Echinopanax, which see. Siebert and Voss declare that most of the plants sold as Fatsia japonica are Aralia spinosa. These plants like shade. Full sunlight for an hour or two in early morning is enough. They should have a shelter-spot, where the wind will not whip their foliage.
papyrifera, Benth. & Hook. (Aralia papyrifera, Hook. Tetrapanax papyri ferum, Koch.). Height 5-7 ft. (accord- ing to Franceschi, 20 ft. in the open ground in S. Calif.) : branches and young Ivs. covered with stellate, more or less deciduous down: mature Ivs. reaching 1 ft. long, cor- date, 5-7-lobed ; lobes acute, serrate ; sinus very deep : fls. inconspicuous, white, in sessile, globose clusters. Formosa. B.M.4897. A.F. 7:385. Gng. 5:133. Gn. 45, p. 321.
japonica, Decne. & Planch. (Aralia japdnica, Thunb., not Hort.? A. Sikboldii, Hort.). Fig. 1478. Lvs. downy at first, finally shining green: fls. in umbels. Japan, China. — Abroad are cult, forms with white or golden margins and a form reticulated with gold mark-
ings. Var. Mdseri, Hort., is regarded as an improved, more compact-growing variety which originated with Moser of Fontainebleau. Intro, into Amer. by Mon- tarioso Nurseries, Santa Barbara, Calif.
WILHELM MILLER.
N. TAYLOR, f
FEDIA (application doubtful). Valerianaceas. One glabrous branching annual of the Medit. region, some- times grown as an ornamental and also as a salad plant. Lvs. entire or dentate: fls. red, small, in more or less dense terminal cymes; peduncles thick and fistular; corolla with an elongated tube and a 2-lipped limb, irregular at the base; stamens 2; style entire or 2-3-fid. F. Cornucopias, DC. (Valeridna Cornucopias, Linn.), a variable species, usually with purplish sts., grows 10-16 in. high: Ivs. nearly all radical, oval-oblong, shin- ing green. It is sometimes known as African valerian. The Ivs. are eaten as salad, being related to corn-salad. The plant seems not to be in the American trade.
FEIJOA. The FEIJOA, or PINEAPPLE GUAVA (Feijba Settowiana, Berg, family Myrtaceae) is indigenous to western Paraguay, southern Brazil, Uruguay, and parts of Argentina, where it is common in the forests, and the fruit is highly esteemed by the natives though not cultivated. It was introduced to southern Europe in 1890, and is grown along the Riviera, both in France and Italy. From the former country it was introduced to the United States about 1900, and is becoming widely planted in California. Its distribution in other countries is very limited.
Feijoa is of 2 species. It is the Orthostemon of Berg, not of Robert Brown. F. obovata, Berg (0. obovatus, Berg), is considered by Niedenzu to be a variety of F. Sellowiana. It is a white-tomentose shrub, with bisexual showy fls.; petals 4, spreading; stamens numer- ous, in many series, colored; ovary 4-celled, bearing a thickish style; pedicels 1-fld., at the ends of the branches or becoming lateral. The other species is F. Schenckiana, Kiaersk., of Brazil, described first in 1891. The genus is closely allied to Psidium, but is distinguished by the albuminous seeds and stamens suberect in the bud.
The plant grows to an ultimate height of 15 feet. Its leaves are similar in form and appearance to those of the olive, but larger, the upper surface glossy green, and lower surface silvery gray, forming a contrast that makes the shrub effectively ornamental. This effect is much heightened by its flowers which are produced in late spring and are \l/2 inches in diameter, composed of four cupped petals, white outside and purplish crim- son within, surmounted by a tuft of crimson stamens 1 inch long. The oval or oblong fruits, 2 inches in length and 1 Y^ inches in thickness, ripen in autumn and early winter. The skin is dull green, with sometimes a touch of crimson on the cheek; it incloses a layer of whitish, granular flesh, which surrounds a quantity of translucent, melting pulp, containing twenty to thirty seeds. The flavor bears a pronounced resem- blance to that of the pineapple, this being enhanced by the fact that the seeds are so small that they cannot be felt in the mouth. While commonly eaten fresh, the fruit may be cooked in several ways, crystallized, or made into jam or jelly.
The feijoa does not seem to thrive under strictly tropical conditions, preferring a climate such as that
FEIJOA
FENDLERA
1205
of southern California or the Riviera, free from exces- sive humidity, and cool at least part of the year. In France, the plants have passed uninjured through temperatures of 12° F. A good loam, rich in humus, is the ideal soil for the feijoa. It has been successfully grown on heavy clay, by working in a quantity of light material, but it does not do well on light or sandy soils. The situation seems to be of little importance, provided the land is well drained. While the plant is notably drought-resistant, for best results in growth and fruit- ing a liberal supply of water is necessary. During the dry season, irrigations should be as frequent as for citrous trees. Fertilizers must be applied with caution, or they will stimulate growth at the expense of fruit. A small quantity of bone-meal, or other fertilizer not too rich in nitrogen, may be advantageously applied each year, while well-rotted manure will supply the much-needed humus, if it is lacking in the soil. The plants should be set 15 or 18 feet apart, and require very little pruning. Seedlings usually come into bearing at three to five years; grafted or layered plants will some- times bear the second year.
In some instances, seedling feijoas fruit sparingly or not at all, either through the failure of the flowers to be properly fertilized or because of unfavorable soil or sur- roundings. Although isolated plants are often productive, it has been suggested that the feijoa is sometimes self- sterile, and two or more bushes should be planted together to permit of cross-pollination. The difficulty can probably be obviated, in a measure at least, by propa- gating asexually from strains of known productiveness.
The fruits fall when mature, and must be laid in a cool place until they are in condition for eating, which can be detected by a slight softening, and also by the odor, — a fragrance most delightful. If picked before fully mature and ready to fall, the fruits lack much of the delicate flavor of a perfectly ripened specimen. Very little care is required in packing, and the fruits can be shipped long distances without difficulty. They spoil quickly in a hot, humid atmosphere, but if stored in a cool place they can be kept for a month or more in perfect condition.
The shrub is attacked by a very few insects, the only one noted in either California or southern Europe being the black scale (Saissetia oleae), which rarely requires combative measures. No fungous diseases have been observed on mature plants.
Propagation is usually by seed, but some vegetative means must be used to perpetuate named varieties. Fruits for seed should be selected with a view to desira- bility in every character, as in precocity of bearing and productiveness of the parent. While the feijoa does not come absolutely true from seed, fairly good results are usually secured from selected seeds.
One of the best mediums for germinating the seeds is a mixture of silver-sand and well-rotted redwood sawdust. This gives an almost sterile medium, in which there is little danger of damping-off, to which fungus the young plants are very susceptible. With care in watering, however, any light porous soil, not too rich in humus, may be used. Sow the seeds in pans or flats, covering them to the depth of ^ inch. Germination will usually take place within three weeks. A glass- house is not necessary, but the flats containing the seeds should be kept in a frame with lath or slat cover- ing to provide partial shade. The seeds will retain their vitality a year or more, if kept dry. As soon as the young plants have made their second leaves they should be pricked off into 2-inch pots; after attaining a height of 4 inches they should be shifted into 3-inch pots, from which they can later on be transplanted into the open ground.
Cuttings can be successfully rooted under glass. They should be of young wood from the ends of branches, and about 4 inches in length. Inserted in clear sand over bottom heat they will strike roots in a
month or two; without bottom heat they root very slowly. It is sometimes advised to keep them covered with bell-jars until they have formed roots.
Layering is used in France to perpetuate choice forms. It is somewhat tedious, but more certain than any other vegetative means of propagation. Those branches which are closest to the ground are bent down and covered with soil for the space of 3 to 6 inches. They require no care except to keep the soil fairly moist, and they will root in six months.
Whip-grafting and veneer-grafting are successfully practised under glass, using as stocks seedling feijoas of the diameter of a lead pencil. The cions should be of about the same diameter and of young but firm wood.
Several named varieties have been established, of which the most prominent are Andre and Besson.
F. W. POPENOE.
FELICIA (for Herr Felix, a German official). Com- posites. Herbs or sub-shrubs, grown under glass or as pot specimens.
Leaves alternate, entire or dentate: heads usually long-peduncled, the corolla blue or white, the disk yellow. Much like Aster, from which it differs in having pappus bristles in one series, and in other technical charac- ters.— Forty to 50 species ' in Afr.
amelloides, Voss, not Schlechter 1898 (Cin- eraria amelloides, Linn. Aster rotundifblius, Thunb. A. capensis, Less. Agathsea caelestis, Cass. A . rotundifolia, Nees. A. amelloides, DC.). BLUE DAISY. BLUE MARGUERITE. Fig. 1479. An old green- house plant, 1-2 ft., with roundish ovate opposite Ivs. and large, solitary heads of an exquisite sky-blue. S. Afr. B.M. 249. A.F. 13:657. F.R. 1:674. Gng. 6:149.— There is a variegated- Ivd. variety (I.H. 8: 296). Grown easily from cut- tings. Handled like a cineraria; or, if grown from spring cuttings for winter bloom, like a chrysanthemum, but with more heat in the fall. An elegant pot-plant, and useful for bedding in a protected place. Var. monstrdsa, Hort. Fls. double the size of the type.
petiolata, N.E. Br. (Aster petiolatus, Harvey). An undershrub more or less prostrate and useful for hanging-baskets: Ivs. obovate or lanceolate, wedge- shaped at the base, rather papery: fls. at first rose- colored, gradually changing to aster-blue. S. Afr. B.M. 8370. F.E. 33:503. G.C. III. 42:82.— Intro, in S. Calif, in 1912. jj. TAYLOR-!
FENDLERA (after Augustus Fendler, a German naturalist, botanical explorer of New Mexico). Saxi- fragaceas. Ornamental woody plant grown for its hand- some white flowers.
Deciduous shrub: Ivs. opposite, short-petioled, entire, 3-nerved: fls. solitary or rarely 2-3 at the end of short lateral branchlets; calyx-lobes and petals 4; stamens 8; ovary almost superior: fr. a 4-celled, dehis-
1479. Blue daisy.— Felicia amelloides.
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FENDLERA
FENUGREEK
cent caps., with flat, oblong seeds. — Two species from Texas to Mex. Allied to Philadelphia, but differing in its 8 stamens and superior ovary. They are grace- ful ornamental shrubs with small, grayish foliage, covered in June along the slender, arching branches
1480. Fendlera rupicola. ( X
with graceful white fls., resembling in shape a Maltese cross. Hardy in New England, and growing best in a well-drained, sandy or peaty soil and sunny position. A very handsome and graceful plant for sunny rock- eries or rocky slopes. Prop, by seeds or by greenwood cuttings under glass.
rupicola, Engelm. & Gray. Fig. 1480. To 4 ft. : Ivs. linear-lanceolate or linear-oblong, 3-nerved, revolute at the margin, grayish tomentose beneath, 3^-1 in. long: fls. milky white, 1 in. across; petals rhombic- ovate, with distinct claw, spreading; stamens erect. June. G.F. 2:113 (adapted in Fig. 1480). G.C. III. 36:410. B.M. 7924. R.H. 1891, p. 42; 1899, p. 129. M.D.G. 1899:231. G. 28:601. ALFRED REHDER.
FENNEL. Species of Fasniculum (Umbelliferae), annuals or treated as such, used as salad or condimental herbs. Native of southern Europe. The common fennel (F. offidndle, Linn.) is grown mostly for its young leaves, which are used in flavoring, and also for its aromatic seeds. Leaves sometimes eaten raw. Sow seeds in late fall to ensure early germination in spring, or sow in early spring. In any good soil, the plant comes to maturity quickly. This plant has become in California one of the most widely naturalized Euro- pean weeds. It is a pest in pastures, said at times to attain 12 or 15 feet.
The Florence or sweet fennel is F. duke, DC. The bases of the crowded leaf-stalks are much thickened, making a bulb-like enlargement above the ground. This thickened base has an oval form in cross-section. Earthing-up blanches these thickened leaf-bases, and after boiling they are fit for eating. A good fennel bottom may be 3 or 4 inches high. This is an Italian
vegetable, but is in the American trade. Easily culti- vated annual; matures quickly. Sow in spring, and later for succession.
Giant fennel is cultivated for ornament, and is described under Ferula. Fennel-flower is a name of Nigella. L H B
FENUGREEK ( Trigonella Fcenum-Grxcum, literally Greek hay). An annual legume indigenous to western Asia, cultivated for human food, forage, and for medi- cinal qualities; widely naturalized in Mediterranean countries; little grown in America.
Fenugreek is an erect little-branched plant with 3- foliolate leaves. The seeds are 1 or 2 lines long, brown- ish yellow and marked with an oblique furrow half their length. They emit a peculiar odor, and contain starch, mucilage, a bitter extractive, a yellow coloring matter, and 6 per cent of fixed and volatile oils. As human food they are used in Egypt, mixed with wheat flour, to make bread; in India, with other condiments, to make curry powder; in Greece, either boiled or raw, as an addition to honey; in many oriental countries, to give plumpness to the female human form. The plant is used as an esculent in Hindostan; as an early fodder in Egypt, Algiers, France, and other countries border- ing the Mediterranean. Formerly the seed was valued in medicine; now it is employed only in the prepara- tion of emollient cataplasms, enemata, ointments and plasters, never internally. In veterinary practice it is still esteemed for poultices, condition powders, as a vehicle for drugs, and to diminish the nauseating and griping effects of purgatives. It is commonly used by hostlers to produce glossy coats upon their horses and to give a temporary fire and vigor; by stockmen to excite thirst and digestion in fattening animals; by manufacturers of patent stock foods as a flavoring ingredient.
Fenugreek does not succeed on clays, sands, wet or sour soils. It yields most seed upon well-drained loams of medium texture and of moderate fertility; most fodder upon rich lands. For seed-production, potash and phosphoric acid should be applied; for forage, nitrogenous manures. Deep plowing and thorough harrowing are essential. Ten to twenty pounds of seed should be used broadcast, or seven to ten pounds in drills 18 inches apart. Thinning when the plants are 2 or 3 inches tall, and clean culture throughout the
1481. Fern-balls as received from the dealer.
season until blossoming time, are necessary for a seed crop. The crop may be mown, dried and threshed four or five months after seeding. An average yield should be about 950 pounds an acre. As a green manure, fenugreek is inferior to the clovers, vetches and other popular green manures of this country. It possesses
FENUGREEK
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the power of obtaining nitrogen from the air by means of root-tubercles. — For description of the plant, see Trigonella. M. G. KAINS.
FfeNZLIA: Gilia. FERDINAND A: Podachxnium.
FERN-BALLS (Fig. 1481) are the dried rhizomes of ferns, imported from Japan. Dealers often start them into growth, and sell them when the mass is well covered with its delicate vegetation. To start them into growth, the balls are drenched in a tub of water and then hung in a warmhouse, not in direct sunlight. When the plants are well started, gradually expose them to more light and to a copier air. Give liquid manure if they do not grow satisfactorily. The species are mostly Davallias, apparently D. bullata and D. Mariesii.
Fern-balls (Davallia bullata) are of Japanese origin. They are natives of deep mossy forests (the mosses on trees as well as on the ground), with abundant humidity in the air, as in Kiso or some parts of
1482. Ferns in formal shapes.
Fukushima districts. Toward the end of every winter, an expert goes into these forests and gathers the vines of such ferns. They should be carefully kept in the bamboo baskets in which a large quantity of mosses are contained, which must be sprinkled with water on the way to the metropolis. The people out- side of large towns or cities do not care much for this plant. When the plants arrive in the cities or towns, they fall into the hands of gardeners who make many shapes with the vines (Fig. 1482). This is done before any leaves appear. Then the balls or other shaped articles are hung from the ceiling beam quite near to its end but not exposed to rain or hot sunshine. The ferns should not be subjected to pouring rain or showers, although they like dew. They should have some sprinkling of cool water once every day after sunset. The plant dislikes dust or warm impure water. The best fertilizer is the extract of fish-meal or cake ("abura- kasunazumi"). Prices run from 20 cents to 50 cents United States money according to the shape of balls and general excellence. (Issa Tanimura.)
1483. Sporan-
FERNELIA (Jean Francois Fernel, 1497-1558, physician to Henry II of France). Rubiacex. Four small evergreen trees or shrubs of the Mascarene Isls., rarely grown in choice warmhouse collections. Lvs. small, opposite, coriaceous, short-stalked, ovate-oblong or nearly orbicular : fls. small, solitary or in 2's, provided with a 4-toothed calyx-like involucre; corolla short- tubed, salver-shaped, with 4 spreading lobes; stamens 2, affixed in the corolla-throat; disk annular; ovary 1-celled below and 2-celled above: fr. a small berry. F. buxifblia, Comm., is the species likely to be in cult. It is a much-branched shrub 4-5 ft. high, with pbovate or oblong Ivs. }^in. or less long, and many whitish fls. in the axils of the Ivs.: berry dry, size of a pea, red, borne inside the involucre. Mauritius. L H B
FERNS. The plants included under this name com- prise an entire order, made up of several distinct fami- lies. They include plants varying in size from a hair- like creeping stem bearing a few simple, moss-like leaves, to tall trees 80 or more feet in height, with a stem or trunk nearly a foot in diameter. Singularly enough, the extremes in size are both found in tropical regions, in which most of the species abound. Most of the ordinary native species, as well as the larger part of those in cultivation, consist of an erect underground stem or rootstock with leaves, often called fronds, clustered in dense crowns, or in the cases of creep- ing stems with scattered leaves. In gardening parlance, other plants are sometimes called ferns, as species of lycopodium and selaginella, as well as ^ts™0f>a fem6" Asparagus plumosus.
In the life of an individual fern plant, two distinct phases occur, represented by two separate and unlike plants. The ordinary fern plant represents the asexual phase of growth (sporophyte), producing its spores normally in spore-cases (sporangia, Fig. 1483), which are borne in masses (son, Fig. 1484) on the back or margin of the leaf, or in a few cases are grouped in spikes or panicles, or in rare cases spread in a layer over the entire under surface of the leaf. The sexual stage (gametophyte) develops from the germinating spore, and consists of a tiny usually scale-like green heart- shaped prothallus (Fig. 1485), which bears the sex- organs (archegonia, female, and antheridia, male) on the under surface. After fertilization in the archegonium, the egg develops directly into a young fern plant (Fig. 1485). Many ferns also propagate vegetatively by runners or offsets, by bulblet-like buds, and in certain species the tips of the leaves bend over and take root, as in our common walking-leaf (Camptosorus, which see).-
Ferns frequently hybridize. The crossing takes place naturally in the prothallium stage. They are not crossed by hand, as are the seed-plants, but from the accidental mixing when prothallia of allied species are growing together. Fig. 1486 (G.F. 9:445) is a hybrid between two native species; it has been found in the wild in several parts of New England.
Great diversity has existed in the matter of the separation of the ferns into genera. Hooker, relying mainly on artificial characters drawn largely from the sorus, recog- nized about seventy genera only, many of them heterogene- ous groups of plants with little resemblance in structure, habit or natural affinities. John Smith, relying on stem charac-
1484. A sorus or fruit- ters, Presl on variation in vena- dot of a fern. tion and habit, Fe"e, Moore,
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1485. Prothallus of a fern, with a young leaf arising.
and others, have recognized a much greater number of genera, ranging from 150 to 250, or even more. In the very unequal treatment by Diels in Die Natiir- lichen Pflanzenfamilien (Engler & Prantl), some 120 genera are recognized. A somewhat similar differ- ence prevails in regard to the number of species. The Synopsis Filicum of Hooker and Baker (1874), supplemented by Baker's New Ferns (1892), recognizes some 2,700 species. It is the too prevailing tendency in this work (1) to fail to recog- nize many valid species which have been described by German and French botanists, and (2) to mass under one name very diverse groups of species from distant quarters of the world — from 8 to 10 species not infre- quently appearing as a single so-called "variable species." The most recent book dealing with the whole order of ferns, the Index Filicium by Carl Christensen, recognizes approximately 150 genera and 6,000 species, and this number is continually increased as the result of further tropical exploration and more careful study. New forms are constantly coming in from the less-explored parts of the world, and within the last few years several new species have been described from the United States, including some from the better-known parts. Of this number some 200 species are in occa- sional cultivation in America, but the species that form the bulk of the fern trade do not exceed two dozen. In Europe several hundred species have long been in cultivation. Most of the species thrive best in the mountain regions of the tropics, the mountains of Jamaica and Java having nearly 600 species each, and the Andes also a large number. About 165 species are native in the temperate United States, representing some thirty-five genera; our native species are so widely distributed that usually not more than twenty-five to fifty will be found within the limits of one state, and the common species of the best locality do not number more than twenty. Recent explorations in southern Florida have discovered in that state the presence of a considerable number of West Indian species not found elsewhere in the United States.
The ferns are commonly classified as part of a group of spore-bearing plants, with vascular (woody) tissue in stem and leaves; this group is technically known as the Pteridophytes, and is ordinarily divided into three orders; viz., the Equisetales, including the horsetails and scouring rushes; the Lycopodiales, including the selaginellas and the club mosses, or ground pines; and the Filicales, including the true ferns and their nearer allies (see pp. 7-9, Vol. I) . The Lycopodiales and Equi- setales are really not as closely related to ferns as this grouping would indicate.
It should be noted that neither the family nor the generic limitations are in a settled condition. The researches of Bower, Lang, Jeffrey, and others have resulted in some changes of classification which are not included below because they are not complete enough. Their conclusions are undoubtedly correct but are not at present usable.
The families of the order Filicales may be distin- guished as follows:
A. Spores of one sort. (Isosporous.)
B. Sporangia fleshy, with no ring, rising from the interior
tissues of the If. (Eusporangiate ferns.)
1. Ophioglossaceae. ADDER'S-TONGUE FERNS. Her- baceous small ferns with the sporangia borne in spikes
or panicles on highly modified divisions of the large fleshy foliage Ivs.; prothallium tuberous, subterranean, without chlorophyll.
2. Marattlaceas. Coarse ferns with large fleshy sporangia on the under surface of the If., arranged in circular or boat-shaped receptacles; prothallium above ground, green.
BB. Sporangia rising from an epidermal cell, with an elastic ring of peculiar cells, which assist in scat- tering the spores by rupturing. (Leptosporangiate ferns).
c. Lvs. filmy, usually only 1 cell thick between the veins.
3. Hymenophyllaceae. FILMY FERNS. Sporangia attached to a thread-like receptacle arising in a cup at the end of the If. : ring complete, horizontal or oblique.
cc. Lvs. herbaceous or leathery.
D. Ring incomplete or rudimentary: sporangia in
panicles.
4. Osmundaceae. FLOWERING FERNS. Coarse swamp ferns developing copious green spores early in the season: sporangia in panicles at the apex or middle of the If. or on separate Ivs.
DD. Ring apical: sporangia usually single under a scale, or in panicles.
5. Schizaeaceae. Upright or climbing ferns with ovate sporangia, which open vertically.
DDD. Sporangia sessile, either single or in clusters of 3-6.
6. Gleicheniaceae. Terrestrial ferns with Ivs. of firm texture and usually of indetermi- nate growth: sporangia
opening vertically, in clusters of 3-6.
7. Ceratopteridaceae. Aquatic ferns with succulent foliage: sporangia very large, scattered, with a broad ring: Ivs. of 2 sorts, the sterile usually float- ing.
I486. An example of a fern hybrid. — Dryopteris
cristata X D. marginalis.
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DDDD. Sporangia numerous, collected in definite serve to indicate not only the relatively great age of
clusters (sori) . the plant but its slow rate of continuous development,
8. Cyatheaceae. Mostly tree ferns with sessile or as well.
short-stalked sporangia in conspicuous receptacles, £ree ferns are primarily forest dwellers and occur
opening obliquely (Fig 1179 Vol II) either as component parts of the dominant forest
9. Polypodiacese. Ferns ' with stalked sporangia ^ro^h ,or' more commonly, as a sort of thicket or
AA. Spores of two sorts: minute microspores and con- change; they reach, therefore, their best development,
spcuous macrospores. (Heterospor- ous.) These spores develop into two sorts of prothalli, those from the micro- spores developing only antheridia, and those from the macrospores only arche- gonia.
10. Marsiliaceae. Small plants rooting in mud, the Ivs. either quadrifoliate or reduced to mere filamentous petioles: sporangia borne in oval conceptacles on the leaf-stalks. Often aquatic, with the leaves floating on the surface of water in pools or lakes.
11. Salviniacese. Small or minute plants with the aspect of liverworts, floating on the surface of pools: sporangia in mostly spherical conceptacles.
The literature on the ferns is very ex- tensive, since they have ever been attrac- tive plants in cultivation. Many of the species have been illustrated in elaborate treatises by Schkuhr, Kunze, Hooker, Greville, Blume, F4e, Mettenius, Moore, and others. Our native species have been illustrated in the two quarto volumes of D. C. Eaton, "The Ferns of North Amer- ica." A valuable summary of the more common fern species is found in Dr. Christ's "Die Farnkrauter der Erde" (1897), and a recent structural and morphological treatment is by Sadebeck, in Engler & Prantl: "Die Naturlichen Pflanzenfamilien." Schneider's "Book of Choice Ferns" is the most complete treat- ise on the species under cultivation. A useful American horticultural manual is Robinson's "Ferns in Their Homes and Ours." An excellent little handbook for the wild species of this country is Under- wood's "Native Ferns and Their Allies." L. M. UNDERWOOD.
R. C. BENEDICT.f
Tree ferns.
The term "tree fern" is applied com- monly to ferns of the family Cyatheaceae, to distinguish them from species of other families of ferns which, for the most part, are not at all arborescent. A compara- tively small number of Cyatheaceae, it is true, have the trunk short, and oblique or decumbent; but in most species the trunk is erect and greatly elongate (commonly 3 'to 40 feet high) and the whole plant so unmistakably tree-like in size and pro- portion, that the name "tree fern" is a most appropriate one for the family. The leaves are usually large and are borne in a radiating palm-like crown at the apex of the trunk, or caudex, as it is often called. The trunk itself, in the case of an ordinary mature individual, is marked by numer- ous close-set leaf-scars (Fig. 1487); these
HI
f ••-'- '
1- -••*.• t-
1487. The trunk of a tree fern. — Cyathea arborea.
both as to species and number of indi- viduals, upon lofty mountains and upon the seaward side of ranges which are drenched constantly by cool moisture- laden winds from the ocean.
The successful cultivation of tree ferns under glass is predicated upon these facts, although not all the species here men- tioned are horticulturally known in this country. It is found that most species should be grown at a temperature of about 60° F. and in a rather shallow soil; that a continuously wet but well-drained sub- stratum is essential; and that in general a tolerably high atmospheric humidity also is requisite for best growth. Very bright sunlight must be guarded against in all but a few species, among these being the common tropical American Cyathea arborea, which grows naturally in rather open places, and C. furfuracea, a native of Cuba and Jamaica which assumes a not unattractive form in drier open situations. As in other groups of ferns, there are cer- tain species which demand unusual care and minor variations of treatment, such as wrapping the trunk in sphagnum as a safeguard against drying out. These special requirements can be determined only by experience.
The Cyatheaceae are divided technically into three tribes: Thyrsopterideae, Dick- sonieae, and Cyatheae. The first mentioned consists of a single species, Thyrsopteris elegans, Kunze, from Juan Ferndndez. The two latter tribes may be distinguished as follows:
Sori terminal upon the veins, at or near the margin of the segments; indusia at least bilobed, the outer lip formed of the more or less modi- fied lobule of the leaf Dicksonieae.
Sori borne upon the back of the veins ; indusium (if present) not formed of the leaf -margin in any part . . Cyatheae.
The Dicksonieae consist of three genera: Culcita (often known as Balantium), with about six species, all of small stature and nearly devoid of trunk; Dicksonia, with five tropical American species and several hardy Australasian species, the latter not uncommon in cultivation and capable of enduring unusually great extremes of cold ; and Cibotium, with four North American species and several which occur in Asia and the islands of the Pacific. (See under Cibotium and Dicksonia.)
It is in the Cyatheae, however, that the greatest variety and extremes of leaf form are noted, and consequently the species of this tribe are most highly esteemed in cultivation. They are commonly asso- ciated under three genera: Cyathea, Alspphila, and Hemitelia, distinguished mainly by characters of the indusia. One
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of the most graceful species of all is Cyathea arbor ea, introduced into England from the West Indies by Admiral Bligh in 1793. There are numer- ous species almost equally fine, many of which are not in general cultivation. The species with clean trunks, from which the leaves are freely deciduous after maturity, are the most pleasing; and among those which deserve especial notice are the following: Cyathea minor, a very slender Cuban plant with trunk 6 to 12 feet high and 1 to IK inches thick, its several slender bipinnate leaves borne in a spreading crown; C. portoricensis, a tall Porto Rican species with large nearly tripinnate leaves, its rachises dark, lustrous, purplish brown; C. elegans, of Jamaica, a close ally of C. arbor ea, often attaining a wide spread of leaf at an unusually early age; C. Werckleana, C. hemiotis, and C. hastulata, of Costa Rica, a peculiar subgroup charac- terized by having the leaves fully tripinnate, the ulti- mate rachises discontinuously alate; C. diver gens, extend- ing in one form or another from the Andes to Costa Rica, its huge fronds exceedingly lax and sometimes even in large plants recurved nearly to the ground; C. insignis of the Greater Antilles, in technical characters allied to the well-known C. princeps of Mexico; C. suprastrigosa and C. conspersa of Costa Rica and Pan- ama, delicate graceful tripinnatifid plants of the high mountains; C. punctifera of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, a plant of lower range, its huge tripinnatifid fronds remarkably beautiful from the strong contrast afforded by the slender rich brown rachises and the unusually vivid green leaf -segments; C. aureonitens of Costa Rica and Panama, a lofty plant with leaf -scars in distant zones, having the unusual habit also of shedding piecemeal all its large tripinnatifid fronds, seasonally.
Of Alsophila, the two best-known species in cultiva- tion are doubtless A. australis and A. aspera, the latter a common West Indian plant. A. myosuroides, of Cuba, Mexico, and Central America, has lately been reintro- duced to cultivation. It is a remarkably handsome plant, its rather harsh, heavy, gray-green, tripinnatifid leaves borne from a copious mass of slender, glossy brown scales. Another beautiful species, A. Salvinii, from Mexico and Guatemala, has very large tripinnate • fronds, with woody castaneous rachises in striking contrast. A favorite species in cultivation also is A. quadripinnata (A. pruinata), native in the West Indies and from Mexico to Chile, its short trunk bearing huge four-pinnate fronds, bluish or silvery white beneath.
The genus Hemitelia includes not only plants of the above sort, with tripinnatifid fronds (as, for example, the well-known H. capensis), but also plants of a dis- tinctly different type known as the subgenus Cnemi- daria. These are H. horrida, of the West Indies, and numerous related species of the American tropics, many of which have long been cultivated in European conservatories. They are characterized mainly by short trunks and large, leafy, simply pinnate or bipin- natifid fronds, and make a beautiful display in cultiva- tion. Among them may be mentioned H. speciosa, H. bella, H. grandifolia, (H. insignis), H. spectabilis, and H. subincisa. Their characters have recently been dis- cussed at some length. (See Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 16:25-49, 1912.)
Considering the wealth of material available in the American tropics and the comparative ease with which it may be secured, it is remarkable that so little atten- tion has been given to the introduction of recently described species. The novelty and beauty of many of these render an effort to this end exceedingly desirable and advantageous from a horticultural point of view. Costa Rica in particular has yielded many interesting new species within late years. This region, which has been called the richest in the world, will doubtless be equaled by certain parts of the Andes of South America, when that immense territory shall have been adequately explored. WILLIAM R. MAXON.
Cultivation of tender ferns.
To grow commercial varieties of ferns profitably, the first care should be to secure the necessary number of properly built and equipped houses, with a con- veniently arranged workshop. The house which gives the most general satisfaction runs north and south, has an even-span roof, and with a fall to roof of 6 inches to the foot. Its benches should be arranged to be about 7 feet wide, with a 24-inch path on either side. In an 18-foot house this will permit of having a 7-foot center- table, two SH-foot side benches and two 24-inch paths. Benches should not be more than 3 feet above the walks, as this will bring every part of the bench within easy reach, and will permit of every plant being in constant sight and easily cared for, which fact is essential in the profitable cultivation of trade ferns.
The width of house is immaterial, but when houses adjoin, a width of 27 feet has been found to be very satisfactory, as this permits the construction of three 7-foot benches, two 24-inch paths, and two paths 2% feet wide under each gutter.
Thorough provision should be made for ventilation. For a 27-foot house, a continuous row of ventilators of at least 3 feet in width should be provided, with some reliable apparatus for raising same. Heating is the next important consideration. Either steam or hot water will give equally good results if properly installed. The safest way for the average grower is to give the heating contract to some reliable firm. Water-taps should be so arranged that a 25-foot hose attached to same will easily reach any part of the house. A 25- foot hose can easily be carried about without injuring either itself or benches and plants; and iron pipe is of only half the cost of good hose. In most fern-houses drip is a source of great annoyance, and should be pre- vented by the use of drip-bars, by having a drip-groove plowed into the headers immediately under the ven- tilating-sash, and also by having a groove in sides of gutter-plates. This very slight additional expense will very soon pay for itself by saving a great number of plants, especially when growing very small ferns in houses, such as have been transplanted from spore- pots into boxes. Ventilators should fit into a groove in ridge of house and be hinged to the ridge. When ventilators are so arranged, air, which is very desirable on a good many warm rainy days in the summer, can be given without having plants in the houses suffering from excessive moisture. Burning of the foliage will also be avoided, as the plants will at no time be exposed to the direct rays of the sun. Ventilators hinged on header and opening on ridge will always give trouble. No matter what kind of covering is put over the open- ing, if it efficiently excludes the burning sun's rays it will also prevent the ingress of air.
A propagating-room should be provided; and in the case of general trade ferns raised from spores, it is a very safe rule to calculate on having from 60 to 70 square inches of room in the propagat ing-frame for every 1,000 plants desired. The propagating-frame should be 3J^ feet wide, have sides 9 inches high, and, to insure an even moisture, its bottom should be cov- ered to the thickness of 1 inch with fine cinders with the fine ashes removed, which make very clean and efficient drainage material. 'The frame should be covered with light sash constructed with drip-bars, to carry off condensation.
Shading of fern-houses should have close attention. It is best effected by the application of a suitable wash to the outside of glass on roof. The following composi- tion for a wash has given excellent results for a number of years: To two gallons of benzene or turpentine add one pint (or more, according to time the shading is desired to remain on houses) of linseed oil, five pounds of pure white lead and enough whitening to make proper thickness (which can very easily be ascertained
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by applying some of it to a piece of glass while adding the whitening) ; thoroughly mix and apply to outside of glass with a soft brush of the same width as glass. This shading, by the addition of more or less linseed oil, may be made to stay on houses up to one year. If properly applied in spring, it will be just right during the hot days of summer, and in the fall and winter, when more light is gradually required, the frosts gradu- ally will have reduced the shading, thus admitting more light at the necessary time.
Much time, annoyance and expense will be saved by a careful arrangement of the workshop, or potting-room, a thing which in most cases is totally neglected. It should be so built that potting-benches are about 3 feet above the floor and 5 feet wide. They may be perma- nently constructed of substantial material, in order that a number of pots of different sizes can be conveniently stored, and that potting material can be thrown from cart or wagon directly onto potting-benches. By an improper arrangement of workshop great expense, loss of time and material are incurred by having to handle material repeatedly in small quantities.
Propagation by means of spores.
To grow ferns from spores successfully, it is advisable to sterilize soil on which they are to be sown, which can best be done by subjecting it to a high temperature by means of steam under a pressure of ten to fif- teen pounds; and for this purpose a properly equipped workshop should be provided with a tight box about 3 by 3 by 8 feet or larger if an uncommonly large number of ferns is to be grown. It should be fitted with a grating made of 2-inch laths spaced 1 inch apart and placed 2 inches from bottom of the box. This grating may be covered with burlap, and if a %-inch steam pipe is fitted between bottom of box and grating, and connected to highest point of steam boiler (to insure getting perfectly dry steam), the soil is ready to be sterilized. After having cooled off, the soil is in practically the same condition as before so far as moist- ure, friableness, and the like are concerned, and this cannot be said of soil that has been sterilized by burn- ing and by other methods. This steaming process will effectually destroy all forms of life in the soil and leave it for the use of spores alone. In most localities, the water used for moistening spores is impure and full of the spores of low forms of plant life, which are very destructive to the prothalli of ferns. To prevent this, the workshop should be provided with a receptacle in which the water intended for use on ferns while in the prothallus state can be raised to a boiling temperature, which will effectually destroy all spores that may be present in the water. This is best done by leading a 1-inch steam-pipe to within 6 inches of the bottom of the receptacle and turning on a reasonable pressure of steam. If boiled twelve hours before intended for use, it will be cool enough to be applied, and will be pure. A fern workshop should also be provided with a dry closet, having a number of shelves about 12 inches apart, for storing fern-spores.
In beginning the cultivation of ferns, it is advisable to purchase the spores from some reliable firm which makes fern-growing a specialty, until a sufficient num- ber of stock plants can be grown to supply spores for home demand. Spores will do about equally well in pots or pans. Pans 12 inches square and 4 inches deep are used for that purpose, as also are the 6-inch com- mon flower-pots. The 12-inch pans should be supplied with IV-j inches and the 6-inch pots with 3 inches of coal cinders for drainage. Soil for sowing spores on is best composed of five parts, in the proportions of two parts good garden soil, two parts of finely screened peat and one of sharp clean propagating sand. Leaf -mold may be used instead of peat, if easier to procure. This soil should be thoroughly sterilized, as already directed. The spore-pots should be filled with the soil to within
w
1488. A fern pan.
% inch of the top; press firmly. The rest of the pots should be filled with the same composition after it has been passed through a screen of about J'g-inch mesh, then made absolutely level, firmly pressed and thoroughly watered with sterilized water. Three or four hours after watering will be the best time to sow spores. The spores should be thinly scattered over the surface of the soil, a quantity that can be held on a surface of % square inch being abundant to sow one 12-inch pan. Spores should not be covered with soil. Immediately after sowing, the sash of the propagating-frame should be tightly closed and kept so until spores show signs of germination, when a small quantity of air should be given and gradually increased, so that by the time the first small fronds have made their appearance they may have been sufficiently hardened off to have the sash removed entirely. In sowing spores, great care will be necessary to prevent them from getting mixed, fern-spores being very minute and so light that the slightest movement of air will carry them long dis- tances. While sowing spores, all spore-pots should be kept tightly covered. Being kept in a very close and
humid atmosphere after sowing, the spores should not require any watering for one or two weeks, by which time they will have sufficiently settled not to be dislodged by a very gentle overhead watering, which should be given whenever soil shows the least sign of being dry. Sterilized water should be used until after the first delicate fronds have been formed. As soon as the first little fronds have made their appearance, care should be taken to weed out all undesirable varieties, which, even with the very best of care, will occasionally creep in. A temperature of 65° F. should be main- tained in the propagating-house.
As soon as the first small fronds are evenly formed all over the surface of the pot, the little plants should be transferred in clumps of four or five plants each, to well-drained pans (Fig. 1488) or boxes filled with soil composed of one-half rich garden soil and one-half peat or leaf-mold, finely screened. In transplanting, great care should be exercised not to cover the remain- ing prothalli, but to have them just level with the sur- face of the soil. The clumps of plants should be kept as loose as possible, as this will give each individual plantlet a better chance to form the necessary number of rootlets, and it will, later on, also be easier to separate the plants. Boxes for transplanting ferns are most convenient when 4 inches deep, 14 inches wide and 22 inches long. These boxes will hold about 200 plants placed about 1 inch apart. As soon as the little plants have formed two or three fronds each, they should be separated and transplanted singly into boxes similarly- prepared as before, where they may remain until sufficiently strong to be potted into 2- or 2J^-inch pots.
Times of sowing fern-spores are the first weeks of March, July and October. When making three sow- ings a year, and allowing a sufficiently longer time for slower-growing varieties, a constant supply of plants will be assured. In calculating on time of sowing spores of commercial varieties of ferns, it will be helpful to divide them into two classes, as some varieties are con- siderably slower of growth and will consequently have to be sown earlier, in order to be ready for sale at the same time as the more rapid-growing ones. The follow- ing popular commercial kinds will require from nine to ten months between times of sowing and potting. The names are those that the plants bear in the trade:
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Doodia caudata. Doryopteris nobilis. Lastrea aristata.
variegata. chrysoloba. opaca.
" Sieboldii. Lygodium japonicum.
scandens.
Nephrodium hirtipes. Nephrolepis exaltata.
cordata compacta. Platyloma Bridgesii.
" falcata. Polypodium aureum.
fraxinifolium, etc. Polystichum coriaceum.
setosum. Pteris Victoria.
" tremula Smithiana.
Adiantum cuneatum.
' variegatum. " grandiceps. " Bausei.
decorum._ Fergusonii. gracillimum. mundulum. tenerum. Wiegandii. Cibotium Schiedii.
regale.
Cyathea medullaris. Cyrtomium caryotoideum.
Fortune!. " falcatum. Davallia tenuifolia stricta.
" Veitchiana. Dicksonia antarctica. Doodia aspera. Doodia aspera multifida.
The following trade ferns will develop into plants large enough to be potted in about six months after sowing spores:
Adiantum pubescens. Pteris cretica albo-lineata.
hispidulum. magnifica.
Alsophila australis. Mayii.
Gymnogramma calomelanos. nobilis.
chrysophylla. hastata. decomposita. adiantoides.
peruviana. internata.
sulphurea. Sieboldii.
Lomaria ciliata. leptophylla.
gibba. Ouvrardii.
platyptera. palmata.
Nephrodium immersum cris- serrulata.
tatum. cristata.
Nephrodium molle corymbif- nana.
erum. tremula.
Onychium japonicum. Wimsettii. Pteris argyrsea.
It should also be borne in mind, when calculating time of sowing, that spores sown in the autumn will require about four weeks longer for development than those sown at other times of the year.
Fern-spores are borne on the back or under side of fronds. In some cases they are borne naked on under surface of frond, while in others they are produced under a scale-like membrane or indusium. In some cases, as in Pteris, the edge of the pinnae is folded back over the spores, while in adiantums a small part of the leaflet is folded back over each little fruit-dot to serve as a shield or indusium. Davallias form a small sack- like receptacle at the extremity of the pinnae. The proper time of gathering spores is when they assume a light brown, rather dry appearance, or in the indu- sium-bearing kinds when the indusium or shield begins to open. Spores should be gathered on a dark day when the fronds are slightly moist, as they will be better retained in that condition, and will not be so liable to get mixed when disturbed. Fronds, or parts of them, should be cut off entirely in most cases, put up in tight paper bags and stored on shelves in a dry closet for a week, by which time, in most cases, they will be suffi- ciently dry to have spores removed from them by rub- bing the frond in a sieve which has about twenty meshes to the inch. When thus separated from fronds, the spores should be put up in small seed-bags and placed in air-tight jars until required for .sowing. Cared for in this manner, perfect success has been invariably secured, even after keeping spores for years.
Propagation by other means.
Some ferns form little plants at the ends of pinnae and of fronds, which upon attaining to sufficient size may be detached from parent plants, planted into shallow, well-drained seed-pans, and for a week or two left in the propagating-frame, where they will soon form roots, when they can be potted. Among such are Adiantum caudatum, A. Edgeworthii, A. lunulatum var. dolabriforme, Asplenium Belangerii, A. bulbiferum, A. salicifolium, Polystichum angulare var. proliferum, and many more.
A very useful decorative fern is Nephrolepis daval-
lioides var. furcans, and it will make a beautiful speci- men plant in a comparatively short time. To grow large quantities, the old plants should be cut back to within 6 inches of surface of soil and placed in a house where a bottom heat of 90° F. may be secured, when they will soon form a large number of short, strong fronds. At this time they may be divided into a number of small plants, potted off and placed in the same posi- tion as the parent plants. A somewhat slower method is to plant put a number of plants on a bench into 5 inches of soil, in which soil the rhizomes, running over the surface, will form a number of small plants, which may be detached and grown on.
A beautiful fern is Adiantum Farleyense, and it deservedly ranks as the greatest favorite among fern- lovers. It is best propagated by division. From old plants, cut off all fronds down to the rhizomes, wash off soil, cut rhizomes into pieces ^ inch long, insert same into well-drained fern-boxes about Yi inch apart, in \l/i inches of clean, sharp propagating sand. Place same in propagating-frame in a temperature of 70° F. In this position each little fragment of rhizome will form two or three little fronds in about fifteen or twenty days, when they may be potted off singly into 2-inch pots and kept in a temperature of 70° F. The soil best adapted to A. Farleyense is finely chopped sod which has been piled for about six months, with one- fifth well-decomposed cow-manure added. To attain perfection in growth and coloring, A. Farleyense should be kept in a light, airy and sunny house, in which every condition of moisture and atmosphere can be kept under absolute control. In a house of this kind, the greatly admired and beautifully pinkish tint may be easily obtained and fronds will be hardy and of good substance. A temperature of 70° F. is at aU times desirable.
General culture.
To grow ferns such as are used for jardinieres and decorative work and mentioned in the two preced- ing lists, a temperature of no less than 55° F. should be maintained at all times at night in coldest weather, with a rise of temperature in the daytime of 10° or 15°. To keep ferns in a healthy and growing condition, to prevent and to kill insect pests and dis- eases, a proper condition of atmosphere should be care- fully maintained at all times. Extremes in heat, moist- ure or dryness should never be allowed. On a warm, dry, sunny day, when a great deal of air has to be admitted, much of the moisture of the house is conse- quently carried off; it will be of great benefit then to syringe the ferns once or twice a day, also occasionally to dampen floor of houses. An excessively dry atmosphere induces the development of the very troublesome pests, thrips and red spider. On damp and rainy days a saturated atmosphere should be prevented by supply- ing a little artificial heat, even if some air has to be admitted at the same time. This slight expense of heating on damp days will abundantly pay for itself by causing the growth of strong, thrifty plants. An excessively moist atmosphere causes parts of fronds of a great many plants to turn black and to rot off, besides inducing the development of almost incurable fungoid diseases.
The soil for deep-rooting ferns should be as follows: Three parts fibry loam, one part fibry peat, one part leaf-mold, one part sand, one part sphagnum moss, one-half part broken crocks and one-half part broken charcoal. These ingredients should be thoroughly mixed and ample drainage provided. For shallow- rooting ferns the following compost should be used: One part fibry loam, one part peat, one part leaf- mold, one part sphagnum moss, one-half part broken crock, one part sand, one-half part broken charcoal. If the charcoal cannot be readily secured, half the amount of sand and finely broken crocks will answer,
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although the composition as prescribed is preferred, as charcoal keeps the soil sweet and may spare time for repotting.
In potting ferns after they pass 4-inch pots, a pottmg- stick should always be used as the potter cannot very well firm them with his fingers, and it secures eveness in potting. Ferns should be potted tight, especially old plants. Also old plants should be partly shaken out and the roots shortened somewhat, and if carefully handled will quickly reestablish themselves and make better plants. A potting-stick is very handy also for pressing the compost between rhizomas, and it can be done much more neatly than with the hand.
In the selection and growing of stock plants, the care- ful grower should always be on the watch for types t which are most perfect in shape, in character of indi- uvidual fronds, in coloring, freedom of producing spores, /and exemption from the attacks of insects and fungous ' diseases. In a large number of ferns a great difference between the different plants of the same species will be apparent to the careful observer. Some plants of same species have beautifully developed fronds, but are carried on long, weak stems, which makes them unfit for general use. Others may be of compact, sturdy habit of growth, but with poorly shaped individual fronds. In some individuals the coloring will be greatly superior. By
i closely studying all these points and by continually selecting only the most per- fect types of ferns from the young plants, one can in a few years work up a very desirable and superior stock. The same stock plants of the rapid-growing varie- ties of ferns should not be carried over for more than three or four years, but young and more desirable plants should continually be selected and grown to take their places.
The stock should be shifted into larger pots whenever necessary, and placed in a light, airy house, in which all neces- sary conditions are under perfect con- trol, and in which a temperature in cold- est weather of 55° F. at night, with a rise of 10° or 15° in daytime, can always be maintained. The house should be shaded just enough to prevent fronds from turning yellow. Proper attention to atmospheric conditions of stockhouse should never be neglected. Stock plants should not be permitted to remain pot- bound for too long a period of time, except with a few kinds, such as alsophilas, dicksonias, cyatheas, cibo- tiums, Pteris tremula, P. argyrsea, some davallias, and Polyslichum coriaceum, which, if given too much nour- ishment, will often be very slow in setting spores.
Insects which are most troublesome to ferns are thrips, red spider, scale and mealy-bug. They are mainly present in a too-dry atmosphere. Thrips, red spider and mealy-bug are easily prevented by a prop- erly moistened atmosphere, also by spraying of foliage once a week with tobacco water. As tobacco greatly varies in strength, every grower will have to determine to his own satisfaction how strong to make his solution. The preparation known as "Rose-leaf tobacco extract," has proved very efficient in destroying these insect pests. To fifty gallons of water add one quart of the extract, and apply with some good insecticide sprayer and a force pump. Fifty gallons of this solution will be enough to spray 100,000 ferns in 2J4-inch pots.
Bearing in mind the foregoing advice, the amateur fern-grower may determine the proper way in which to raise his plants. He may not have a fern-house, but he can have a tight glass box or Wardian case. The bot- tom should be a zinc tray, to prevent drip on the floor and to prevent too rapid drying out of the soil. The top or roof of the box should be hinged, so that it can
be raised. In this miniature greenhouse many interest- ing ferns can be grown. Lycopodiums and selaginellas (which see) are treated in much the same way as ferns.
NICHOL N. BRUCKNER.
X. E. E. ScHMITT.t
List of tender ferns. (X. E. E. Schmitt.)
Acrostichum. A widely distributed class of ferns found in tropics of both hemispheres; some have fronds that are solitary, while others are pinnatifid; some are deep-rooting and require a loamier soil, while others are shallow-rooting and require a very shallow and porous soil. They -are a class varied in many respects; the fertile fronds are totally covered on the under side with the spores, generally brown in color, and when ripe, after shedding the spores, will perish and be succeeded by the barren fronds. Propagated by division and spores. Winter 55° to 60° night. They should have a perfect drainage, the deep-rooting ones of ordinary depth, but the shallow-rooting are best grown in a depth of about 2 inches of soil and very porous, as for davallias, the shallow-rooting species; they all love a moist and shady atmosphere except A. aureum, which will stand sun with its roots in 2 inches of water; it is found in Florida and tropical America.
Actinopteris. A low -growing and charming class of ferns with palm-like or rayed fronds. They thrive best in a compost of loam, peat, chopped sphag- num moss, coarse sand and crocks (broken small), in equal parts; they should have ample drainage, filling the pots about half-full with crocks. They require a good light and plenty of moisture; they are best propagated by spores; they can also be divided. Winter temperature, 58° to 60°.
Adiantum. The maidenhair ferns with fronds, the individual pinnae of which vary from not more than J^inch in width in A. gracillimum to the large A. peruvianum with pinnae 2J^ to 3 inches long. They are hardy, stove and tem- perate ferns, and require a deep rich soil and plenty of water during the growing season, and less during the resting-period, which is usually from December to the latter part of February. They should be allowed to get fairly dry but not wilted before they are watered again. In most species or varieties of garden origin, re- move part of the old fronds just as growth commences; with some of the denser-growing sorts, all the fronds may be cut away just as the new growth is commencing, as it is very tedious and there is not much gained thereby. It should be cut close, but with sparser or large-growing sorts as A. trapeziforme and many other strong- foliaged sorts, it is better to leave all the good foliage possible to stimulate the new growth; turn the plants out of the pot, cut away the lower half of the ball and trim in the sides of the old ball close to the rhizomes with a large knife, then loosen slightly the edge of the ball with a sharp-pointed stick so that the roots will feel the effect of the new move readily; never round off the sides in a slant or sloping manner as the old crowns are very closely knit together and trouble would be experienced in getting them wet through again. Should they become too dry, give a little water every few minutes until they are given enough to penetrate the old ball. The crowns should be let down a little deeper than they were when turned out of the pot. The surface should be slightly pointed here and there which will help the water more readily to penetrate. Have the pots well drained, placing a thin layer of sphagnum moss over the crocks which will keep the drainage clean. Fill in the soil, pack firmly with a potting stick up to the height required to receive the ball, which should be low enough to give a light covering of soil; they throw out their new roots from top, bottom and sides; then place in a layer of soil, tightening it with the potting stick, place layer after tightening as before until it has reached the required height ; give a fair watering, fill about twice the space left from the top of the soil to the rim of the pot. They will not require any water for two or three days, then give a light sprinkling with a watering-pot with a rose on. They will require to be looked over every other day or so. In about a week's time they will require a moderate watering, but not so heavy as at first. After potting, an increase of 8° to 10° in tempera- ture, both by night and by day, is necessary. Some of the smaller- growing sorts will require a deeper drainage and smaller pots. Adiantums with a few exceptions will not tolerate syringing at any time, particularly during dull or cloudy weather, as damp may settle in the foliage and ruin several plants, but care must be taken that they have sufficient water at the roots, as in the growing season they take a good supply of water. The temperature in winter for greenhouse ferns should be 52° by night, adding 6° to 8° by day; stove should be 56° to 58° by night, adding about 6° by day. Adiantums require a mixture of chopped or hand-broken fibry sod that has been stacked about six months, one-half part peat, one- half part leaf-mold, one part well-decayed cow-manure preferred (as they are good feeders), one and one-half part sand, one part chopped sphagnum, one-half part broken crocks and one-half broken charcoal about % inch in size, using fine and all; place in
1489. Cyrtomium f alcatum. Young plant.
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even layers in the order above stated, then turn three or four times which will leave the whole evenly mixed, when it will be ready for use. For cult, of A. Farleyense, see p. 1212.
Alsophila. Tree ferns, natives of tropical America and Australia. A. australis and A. excelsa will stand sun with a copious supply of water. Soil as for Dicksonia. Winter temperature for Australian species, 50° to 55°; for West Indian, 58° to 60° night.
Anemia. A pretty class of small-growing ferns, sometimes called the flowering ferns, as the fertile sprays appear along with the sterile frond. They require an open porous soil and are not deep-rooted. Moderate temperature, 52° to 55° winter temperature by night. Propagated by spores.
Angiopteris. Giant ferns, more resembling a cycad than a fern, were it not for the spore cases. They are native of tropical Africa, tropical Asia and the Philippines. They are deep-rooting, with heavy and fleshy roots, and enjoy a rich deep and porous soil. They require a high and moist temperature, not less than 60° by night in winter and will stand 90° or more in summer. They require shade during summer, with more light during winter. A soil as for dicksonias, with the addition of a little manure is satis- factory. They should be potted just as growth is commencing. Care should be taken not to bruise their fleshy roots; should any be damaged they should be cut off with a sharp knife. Propagated by spores and division, both a slow process, but more readily by the large and fleshy scales carefully removed from the old plants, laid between sphagnum moss, sand and broken crocks in a case with a bottom heat of 80° or a little more; they should be laid on a slant with inner side of scale facing upward. When they have formed buds, emitted roots, and made two or three leaves, they may be detached and potted singly in as small pots as their roots will permit; return to case and inure to more light and air gradually; each scale may bring four or five plants.
Blechnum. Ferns of easy culture, requiring moderate shade. Allied to Lqmaria. Several of them are dwarf tree ferns; others have spreading rootstock. They will not stand dryness; require a moderately strong soil containing a small amount of manure.
Cheilanthes. A class of dainty and graceful ferns. They require an open and porous soil; will not tolerate syringing, and require a good light at all times. Propagated by spores and division, spores preferred. They will not stand an overabundance of moisture at any time, but will well repay proper care, as they are all very beautiful. Some have fronds resembling the palmate fronds of Doryopteris, while others are very much divided. The soil should consist of one part fibry loam, one part peat, one part leaf-mold, one part sand, one-half part broken crocks, one part sphagnum moss and one-half part broken charcoal, broken quite small, the whole thoroughly mixed together and the pots well drained. A temperature of 50° to 55° suits them best in winter.
Cyathea. Beautiful tree ferns, native of New Zealand and tropi- cal America. C. medullaris will grow to a great height, from 60 to 75 feet, and is often seen in its wild state far above the surrounding vegetation. Will stand full sun. Temperature for New Zealand species, 50° to 55° winter; tropical American, 55° to 60° nights. Soil as for Dicksonia.
Cyrtomium. Fig. 1489. Ferns of easy culture. Require a greenhouse temperature of 48° to 50° by night in winter; will stand a strong light and partial shade. Useful for fern-dishes. Allied to Aspidium. General culture for ferns.
Davallia is a beautiful class of ferns found both in the tropical and subtropical zones. The smaller-growing forms can be grown in shallow baskets or pans and have a fair amount of rest in winter. The Japanese fern-balls are probably D. bullata and D. Mar- iesii, and can be laid out in the garden and frozen down to zero and when the growing season returns watered and they will begin to grow again. Dayallias with heavy rhizomes or any of the surface creeping sorts will want to be kept a little on the dry side during the resting period, which is from the beginning of December to about March, when they will gradually recommence, and water should be given accordingly. They must be syringed at least twice daily tin winter, as black thrip is liable to attack them; should they be attacked, dip in a medium solution of aphine or fresh tobacco water. Should the plants be too large to handle, syringe them with aphine or tobacco water at night and give a thorough syringing with clear water the next day; apply two or three times, then stop for two or three days, then repeat, after which the troubles will be over. The cooler kinds will commence their growth about a month later than stove kinds. They should be repotted or top-dressed just as growth commences, if they require it.
D. pallida is a fern which rests from December to March, at which time gradual increase of water may be given it and by the end of March it will be commencing its growth. It should be care- fully separated, taking care not to injure the points of the rhizomes. Many of them will be found all the way to the bottom of the pots or pans m which they have been growing. It is well to leave an old specimen undisturbed for three or four years and only give a light top-dressing in the spring as growth is commencing, and weak liquid manure about every two weeks as the fronds are unfolding; but always water with clear water first, then follow with liquid manure. It requires a stove temperature of 58° to 68° by night, adding 6 to 8 by day on bright days, during its resting period, with corresponding increase during the growing season of about 20°. It needs a good strong light but also shade. It requires a good supply of water during its growing season and only a small amount once a week, but must be syringed twice daily. The composition of the soil should be an open and porous material consisting of the following: two parts fibry loam which had been stacked about six months and broken up by hand (not sifted or pulverized), one part hbry chopped peat, one part leaf-mold, one part sand, one- half part broken charcoal, using in the same manner as the crocks, one part sphagnum moss chopped roughly, all the parts of this
- . — j"w •*" «^. A 11^ 1^1.0 vi ^anw sauting ue wen drained oy
placing a flat piece of crock over the holes flat side down. The soil should be hand-picked so as to be free of worms and insects. Ihis process is slow and tedious, but when there is taken into con- sideration the length of time a plant is to remain undisturbed, too much care cannot be taken. Place the curved pieces one against the other until the entire bottom is covered, then place a good sprinkling of clean % inch soil (no dust), and cover the whole with a thin layer of sphagnum moss, covering the crocks evenly so that no soil will pass through. The receptacle is now ready for the soil Place some of the roughest of the soil directly over the moss, then falling up to within 2 inches of the top, pack down evenly with a wide potting stick so that they will not sink afterward; now put m the rhizomes one by one, setting the points so that they will be evenly distributed, and firm the soil tightly with the fingers, as a potting stick cannot well be used on account of bruising; let them be about even with the top on the sides and slightly rounded in the center; stake the fronds with light stakes to keep them steady, which will give them a neat appearance as they will have to remain until the new growth has developed and the plant is reestablished with new roots, when they will sustain themselves without any
given as when first potted, but after this the plants will require water more frequently as they will be making roots rapidly as will be indicated by the foliage that has developed. Directly after pot- ting keep the house close and increase the air gradually until full air can be given. Hard-leaved ferns like davallias can stand a light syringing three or four times a day on all bright days but none on cloudy days unless there is artificial heat on. Decrease syringing as the cool nights of the end of summer and autumn approach; the temperature may also be lowered until it falls to the winter tempera- ture with the declining season. The foregoing soil is suitable for most shallow-rooting ferns.
Dennstsedtia. With creeping rootstock. Winter temperature, 52° to 55°. Propagated by spores and division. Culture as for Microlepia.
Deparia. A small group of ferns with arching fronds. Stove winter temperature, 55° to 58°. Propagated by spores or bulbils that form on the fronds. Culture, see main article (p. 1210).
Dicksonia. An interesting class of tree ferns from Australia. They require a cool temperature and partial shade in summer, but their stems must be syringed frequently. They must never be allowed to dry at the roots, and even more copiously watered in summer. Winter temperature, 45° to 48°; can be stood outside in summer. Can be propagated by spores or side growths carefully removed from the parent stem without injuring the heel. Require a soil of taree parts loam, one part peat, one part leaf-mold, a little more than one part sand, some broken crocks and sphagnum moss with the whole, and well drained.
Didymochlxna. An interesting group of ferns of distinct habit and growth. Winter temperature, 55° to 58°.
Diplazium. A rather coarse-growing but interesting class of ferns, grown mostly in the greenhouse. Allied to Asplenium. A fairly porous soil suits them best. Propagated by spores or division. Winter temperature, 55° to 60.°
Doodia. A small and distinct class of ferns of cool temperature, 48° to 52°. Propagated by spores and division. For culture, see main article (p. 1210),
Drynaria. Plants with a thick and downy rhizome. Propagated by spores and division. All stove ferns allied to Polypodium.
Dryopteris. Small stove ferns. Require' a winter night tem- perature of 55° to 58°.
Gleichenia. A genus of most beautiful and graceful ferns, natives of Australia, New Holland and tropical America. They thrive best in a compost of one part loam, one part peat, one-half part sand, one-half part broken crocks, one part sphagnum moss; in pot- ting, the center of the plant should be dropped a little below the rim of the pot so that the outer rhizomes can rest on the new soil, leav- ing the center a little deeper than the outer edge; pin the rhizomes down carefully but do not cover; pot firmly; give a gentle water- ing; syringe several times a day, but take care not to oyerwater. They love a cool, moist atmosphere; the tropical American ones can stand a little more heat, also a little sun; winter temperature for New Holland ones, 48° to 52°; American, 50° to 55°. Care should be taken at all times not to ovorwater or let them get too dry; the best way is to sound them with your knuckles, and in fact almost any plant of careful treatment should be treated the same way.
Goniophlebium. Mostly a deep and free-rooting class of ferns, demanding culture as for Polypodium.
Hemionitis. An interesting class of low-growing stove ferns requiring a porous soil. Winter temperature, 55° to 58°. Propa- gated by spores, or by pinning a mature frond having formed buds, on a surface of porous sandy material, which readily form new plants.
Hemitelia. A distinct and striking class of tree ferns, native of tropical America and the Philippines. They are all stove ferns requiring 60° winter night temperature and ample moisture and shade at all times; soil as for Dicksonia, as they are heavy and deep-rooting.
Hymenophyllum. A class of ferns of most graceful and delicate structure; native of tropical America. They require a deep shade and a shallow compost to grow in as they are found growing on tree ferns and sandstone; the following will suit them best: sandy, lumpy peat with very small pieces of sandstone and live sphagnum
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moss, carefully placed between the small rhizomes and grown in a dense shade. Their foliage should never be allowed to become dry; they should be grown in a case. Winter temperature, 52° to 55°.
Hypolepis. A class of ferns with creeping rootstock, of easy culture, requiring shade. Propagated by spores and division. General culture of ferns.
Leucostegia. A class of ferns allied to Microlepia and Davallia, which see. Deep-rooting ferns of easy culture. Winter temperature. 52° to 55°.
Lygodium. A class of ferns of easy culture, requiring a deep rich loamy soil. L. palmatum is hardy. For culture, see main article (p. 1210).
Marattia. A bold, distinct, and interesting class of ferns. Allied to Angiopteris, which see for treatment.
Meniscium. A small class of interesting low-growing ferns. Require a medium temperature of 52° to 55° in winter. General culture of ferns (p. 1210). Propagated by spores.
Microlepia. A class of mostly strong-growing and graceful ferns of easy culture; M. hirta var. cristata, being crested, makes a beautiful specimen. They like a strong open soil with a little cow- manure added and a fair supply of water at all times. They require good light but shady. Propagated by division or spores.
1490. Pteris cretica var. albo-lineata. (X H)
Nephrolepis. A large group of ferns having more garden forms than any other class of ferns, and the end is not yet in sight, as every year or two another form appears; the type N. exaltata will grow fronds 4 to 5 feet long, while some of the variations will grow them as short as 8 inches long. All the forms of N. exaltata will stand sunshine under glass. A compost of three parts good fibry loam, one part manure, one part sand, a small sprinkling of leaf-mold and sphagnum moss thoroughly mixed, suits them best. They like a fair supply of water at all times. When potting, always drop the plant down so as to cover % inch, as the young fronds will readily push through the soil. N. Bausei is deciduous. N. Duffii is a small frpnded and beautiful species. Propagated readily by runners, of which they furnish an abundance; pin the runners down over the surface of the soil; in a short time they will make a lot of young plants which can be taken up when they have made two fronds, potted up into 2-inch pots, kept close for about two weeks, when more air can be given them; then pot on as required.
Notholcena sinuata. Native of Mexico; an interesting and grace- ful fern of downy foliage. Grows well in a medium temperature. Care must be taken in watering; it will not stand syringing. An
open porous soil suits it best. Propagated by division or spores, spores preferred.
Onychium. A class of interesting and graceful ferns of easy cul- ture for which see main article. Winter temperature 48° to 52°. Propagated by spores or division.
PeUaea. A very interesting class of low-growing ferns of neat and graceful habit. Winter temperature 55° to 58° at night. Requires a porous soil and good light ; will not stand very much moisture on foliage. Thrip and mealy-bug are the worst enemies. Readily propagated by spores or division.
Phlebodium. Ferns of strong-growing habit. See Polypodium.
Phyllitis. A class of shallow-rooting ferns of easy culture. Allied to Polypodium, which see.
Phymotodes. Somewhat shallow-rooted, but fairly strong-grow- ing ferns, of easy culture. Best grown in pans. Require partial shade and a porous soil as for shallow polypodiums or davallias. They may also be used to cover walls in greenhouses, and to grow on trunks of tall tree ferns.
Platycerium. The stag and elk's-horn ferns. A distinct and most interesting class of ferns. They naturally grow in the forks of trees and on rocks. They are best grown on blocks or rafts; fibry peat and live sphagnum moss suit them best. They should have plenty of water in the growing season and a moist atmosphere at all times. Winter temperature at night, 58° to 60°, adding 5°.to 7° by day.
Polypodium. Comprising many divisions and many of them in common cultivation. They are native of all climes. Some are hardy with hardly any protection, white some require stove temperature. Some are deep-rooting, while others are very shallow-rooting and require a very porous soil. They are mostly evergreen excepting the hardy species, which are deciduous. Some of the shallow-rooting species will grow on a surface of very shallow material composed of peat and moss, while others require an addition of loam. They are varied and distinct and can be employed for many purposes, to cover walls in a greenhouse or conservatory or rockwork out-of- doors. Some are very decorative and bold in habit, while others are graceful and beautiful. The deep-rooting kinds require a com- post of two parts loam, one part leaf-mold, one part peat, one part sand, one part sphagnum moss, one-half part broken crocks and one-half part broken charcoal; they require ample drainage and an ample supply of water when growing, and reduced amount when at rest in winter. The shallow-growing sorts will require ample drainage and a compost of one part fibry loam, one part peat, one part sphagnum moss, one-half part broken crocks and one-half part charcoal. Some of the sorts will grow on a mossy surface or can be employed to cover walls or unsightly places in a greenhouse and by receiving an occasional syringing will do well, while others are better grown in pots or pans. Pans for many are preferred.
Polystichum. Many of these are hardy or will winter out-of- doors with moderate protection. Propagated by spores or by pin- ning down the fronds on a porous surface until small buds are fairly well rooted, when they may be detached and potted singly. A moderate soil suits them best.
Pteris. Fig. 1490. A various group, some of them hardy, others suitable for greenhouses and for stoves. They are not par- ticular as to soil; a mixture of two parts peat, one part loam and one part sand will suit them. The variegated forms should be pro- tected from very strong light. Some of the species propagate readily by division of the creeping rhizomes. Most of the tender species thrive in an intermediate or greenhouse temperature.
Selaginella. A class of plants of decorative and useful character and varied in form of growth as S. csesia, S. arborea and S. Witt- denovii; will grow to 15 or more feet, while others will not rise over 2 inches or so. Propagated by cuttings in the larger-growing kinds, division in most kinds, and pegging in some tall - growing species. Take down a tall-growing sort and peg it to mossy and sandy surface and in a short time when fairly well rooted, it may be potted sepa- rately in the regular mixture for Selaginella. Compost for Selagi- nella, two parts loam, one part fibry peat, one part leaf-mold, one part sand, one part sphagnum moss, one-half part broken crocks and one part charcoal. Mix the whole thoroughly, drain well as recommended for ferns. S. grandis and S. Lyallii require a Wardian case and will need a very moist atmosphere at all times, also a tem- perature of 60° by night, with corresponding increase by day in winter; in summer, 80° to 90° by day.
Todea. The filmy ferns of New Zealand are T. superba, the finest of them all; they are rare and seldom met with; they love a deep shade and coolness at all times; a temperature of 40° to 45° in winter suits them best. Their fronds should never be allowed to become dry. The strong - fronded ferns are stove ferns, requiring a winter temperature of 55° to 60°.
Trichomanes. A class of filmy ferns of great beauty, requiring a cool and moist atmosphere. They should be grown in fibry peat, sphagnum moss, sand, and broken crocks in equal parts. They are very shallow-rooting and must be handled with the utmost care in repotting. They must be potted tight, and if small broken sand- stone can be had, all the better; the depth of the soil need not be more than 1 to 1 K inches. Temperature 45° to 50° in winter. They should be grown in a Wardian case, kept close except an opening on the coolest side. The fronds should never become dry; but should be sprayed several times a day if there is danger of their becoming dry.
Vittaria lineata. A very unusual fern growing naturally on trees in southern Florida. It does best fastened on a block in a mixture of fibry peat and sphagnum moss or in shallow baskets in the fore- going materials with a portion of sand, broken crocks and charcoal broken small. Pot firmly but let the material be shallow. It loves plenty of water at all times and a good light. Propagated by divis- ion and spores. Winter temperature 55° by. night.
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Cultivation of hardy ferns.
The hardy ferns are easy to transplant and tenacious of life under adverse conditions, but since the beauty of fern foliage is brought out only by luxuriance of growth, it should be the aim to plant only where such can be secured.
Ferns in general require positions in which the soil retains an even amount of moisture at all times. Most species do not grow well in a cultivated border or where the space between the plants is not mulched or given a ground cover of mosses or other plants which hold the temperature and moisture of the soil surface more evenly and allow the ferns to grow roots near and on the surface of the ground. Also when the earth is bare between the plants, the rains dash mud on the under side of the fronds — a condition under which no fern can thrive. However, some of the stronger-grow- ing species, as the osmundas, because of their height and strong deep roots will do well in a cultivated border. A study of the soil surface where the fern is growing well in the wild will show about what is necessary.
Some ferns, as the maidenhair (Adiantum), have strong wiry stems which will push up through a very heavy covering of leaves, while other species, as all of the evergreen ferns, grow in positions in which the annual fall of leaves does not remain on their fronds. The larger number of ferns prefer no heavier mulch than is made by the death of their own fronds, which naturally fall away from the center of the plant, mulch the surrounding soil but leave the crown of the plant uncovered and unhindered for its growth in the spring. Many of the smaller ferns which have neither deep nor strong creeping roots require a ground cover of other plants or simulated conditions to prevent their being heaved out of the ground during the winter. A number of species with strong creeping roots as Dennstsedtia punctilobula (Dicksonia pilosiuscula) and Dryopteris (Aspidiwri) novaboracensis eventually form thick masses which completely coyer and fill the ground with roots. When this condition has been attained, no soil mulch or cover is needed, and even the old fronds had best be removed before growth starts in the spring.
Ferns may be separated into two classes by their stems: (1) those with creeping stems; and (2) those having a central crown or cluster of crowns.
Those with creeping stems spread and form large masses. They not only send up a crop of fronds in the spring but continue to grow new fronds during the season. This class of ferns may be transplanted at any season with ordinary care, in fact the fronds may be mowed off and the roots taken up in sods and relaid like turf, but better results will be secured with more care to preserve the younger and newly started fronds.
Those ferns with distinct crowns naturally send out only one set of fronds each year. This class of ferns is best moved after the plants have ceased growth in the fall or before growth starts in the spring. Especially is this the case with those species having deciduous or fragile fronds which easily become wilted or broken. When transplanting while in leaf, it is necessary to preserve fully half of the fronds to insure a good growth the following year. The evergreen species, as the Christmas fern (Polystichum or Aspidium acrosti- choides), Dryopteris (Aspidium) marginalis and others with hard coriaceous foliage, can with reasonable care be transplanted at any season of the year.
In general, the soil for ferns should be rich in humus and mineral matter and sufficiently friable to allow penetration by the fine roots. A heavy clay is not satisfactory but may be corrected by the addition of a sandy soil and thoroughly rotted manure or leaves. A pure leaf-mold is not a good fern soil because it is lacking in minerals and is too light and loose for any fern except the Adiantum. A good sandy loam with too little clay to bake and not enough vegetable
matter to be spongy will suit the larger part of ferns. It will be noticed that most species of ferns with crowns grow in the wild where their roots reach through the surface mold to a more mineral soil underneath; in fact they often grow in apparently poor yellow loam.
The following ferns grow luxuriantly in full sunlight with suitable conditions of soil and moisture: Pteris aquilina, Onoclea sensibilis, Dennstsedtia punctilobula (Dicksonia pilosiuscula), Dryopteris (Aspidium) nova- boracensis, and the osmundas.
Practically all the remaining species prefer more or less protection from the direct rays of the sun, but darkness or dense shadow is not required. Even the species which grow in deep, dense shade apparently need only the humid atmosphere found there, since
1491. Dryopteris simulata.
near waterfalls and springs they grow in the open. In mountainous regions in which the atmosphere is cool and not drying, many species grow in full sunlight which require more or less shade in drier climates. Among such might be mentioned Asplenium Filix- foemina, A. acrostichoides, Phegopteris hexagonoptera, D. polypodioides, Dryopteris (Aspidium) Thelypteris, D. cristata, Onoclea Struthiopteris, Woodwardia vir- ginica, and W. angustifolia.
There are about seventy-five native American species which can be grown in northern gardens, and also a good number of quite distinct varieties. There are hardy species in foreign countries so that a complete collection of hardy ferns would probably reach 150 species.
The following species not natives of the United States are hardy at Philadelphia: Dryopteris chrysoloba, D.
XLI. A good fern in southern California. — Alsophila australis.
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dilatata, D, Filix-mas, D. pseudo-mas Pinderi, Nephro- dium hirtipes, Polystichum Braunii, P. lobatum and P. setosum.
The following notes are drawn from experience in cultivation of these native ferns in the neighborhood of Philadelphia.
Adiantum pedatum prefers light, loose, rich soil in cool, moist shade, with yearly mulch of leaves. Soil conditions are more important than shade. Where established in a wild state will endure the full sunshine coming with the removal of trees until soil conditions change or it is crowded out by stronger plants.
Adiantum Capillus-Veneris. Soil conditions about the same. See that leaf-covering is not of too large and heavy leaves.
Asplenium acrostichoides. Culture as A. Filix-foemina.
Asplenium angustifolium thrives on rich rather moist soil in shade. Avoid complete removal of fronds when planting in early fall, as this fern quickly sends up new fronds to the weakening of the following season's growth.
Asplenium Bradleyi. A small rare fern. See Camptosorus and A. pinnatifidum for cultivation.
Asplenium ebenoides. Culture same as for A. pinnatifidum or Camptosorus.
Asplenium Filix-foemina. Give good rich loam, moist, with drainage, with some shade. Endures full sunlight in cool climate. A beautiful and extremely variable fern. A number of forms are catalogued.
Asplenium montanum. Cultivated as Camptosorus or A. pinnatifidum.
Asplenium pinnatifidum. A small evergreen fern found in the wild in cool shaded places in which there is an uniform amount of moisture in the soil and when the air is not given to quick extremes of temperature and humidity. Ferns of this character need about the same careful placing as do real alpine plants. Planting between stones is advisable. No winter cover, no bare soil and no plant stronger-rooted than a moss near it.
Asplenium platyneuron prefers partial shade. Care must be taken to prevent smothering by leaves, and to plant where the least likely to be heaved by frost. It is found most plentifully as a native on banks growing with grass and other plants in partial shade. The fronds are evergreen, but become discolored in severe weather. Any good loam suits it. Easy to move at any season but difficult to maintain in masses.
Asplenium resiliens (A. parvulum). Culture of A. platyneuron,
Asplenium, Ruta-muraria. Culture same as A. pinnatifidum.
Asplenium Trichomanes. A small fern growing well where A. platyneuron does. The shade of a small rock will suit it.
Asplenium viride. See A. pinnatifidum for culture.
Camptosorus rhizophyllus. WALKING-LEAP FERN. In wild state is found in cool, shaded positions not subject to excessive drought or moisture. It prefers a moist atmosphere but this is not necessary for good growth but where the best soil and atmospheric condi- ditions prevail the leaves often attain a length of 18 inches before rooting. Avoid all winter covering.
Cheilanthes. Low-growing rock ferns generally doing well in fairly dry positions. C. lanosa prefers deep shade and more moist soil. C. lanosa, C. tomentosa and C. Fendleri at least of the species are perfectly hardy at Philadelphia.
Cryptogramma acrostichoides should have shade throughout year.
Cystopteris bulbifera. Will do well in usual deciduous shade in any loam, but grows best and produces far more numerous bulblets when planted on a moist bank of gravelly soil in the shade of kalmia.
Cystopteris fragilis should be planted in shade in positions where it will receive no covering of leaves. The fronds die in early August in the drier situations. It will grow in positions which become exceedingly dry in midsummer. It forces well in a coolhouse.
Dennstxdtia punctilobula (Dicksonia pilosiuscula) prefers shady, moist situations where it does not receive any covering by falling leaves of large size. Grows well in sunshine. May be transplanted at any season, and takes kindly to heavy enrichment. The best fern to grow in quantity for cutting during the summer. Can be readily grown as a north border to a shrubbery in any medium to light loam.
Dryopteris Bootti is found in a wild state in moist, shaded posi- tions, but will grow well in shade in quite dry positions. Does not need shade in winter. Use good loam.
Dryopteris cristata prefers moist to wet soil in shade. Will often burn with direct sunlight. Evergreen, quite variable. Var. Clin- toniana is larger. The fern and variety appear to need swamp conditions to grow well.
Dryopteris Filix-mas. Practically the same conditions as for D. marginalis.
Dryopteris Goldieana prefers deep, moist, rich soil in cool shade. Grows finely in shaded places and soil suited to rhododendrons.
Dryopteris marginalis wants rich soil in rather deep shade dur- ing the entire year, but will grow well in partial shade — and endure even full sunlight, though not growing so luxuriantly. This is one of the native ferns commonly sold by collectors in city markets. It is evidently seldom established by purchasers of plants in full leaf. Once wilted the plants will not recover.
Dryopteris noveboracensis does best in rather moist, rich soil in partial shade, but will endure full sunlight with good soil con- ditions. Prefers light rich loam. One of the common field ferns growing in large masses either alone or with Dennstsedtia puncti- lobula. When cut it wilts quickly so is of little value for bouquets.
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Easily transplanted at any season. Will not endure heavy mulch of leaves. Not evergreen.
Dryopteris spinulosa is less common in America than the var. intermedia, which occurs wherever conditions favor its growth. It has the finest cut or divided fronds of any of the large evergreen ferns, being almost the equal of the deciduous fern, Dennstsedtia punctilobula, in this respect. The fronds are gathered extensively for florists' use. In culture, give the same conditions as for Poly- stichum acrostichoides, with heavier shade and more moisture. The best fern to grow under coniferous trees.
Dryopteris simulata (Fig. 1491) is much like the following and requires similar conditions. It occurs in boggy woods from Maine to Maryland and perhaps westward.
Dryopteris Thelypteris prefers quite moist situations with at least partial shade. With congenial soil and moisture does well in sunlight. A distinct and pleasing deciduous fern.
Lygodium palmatum is rather difficult to establish. Give a deep rather moist light loam in partial shade.
Onoclea sensibilis prefers a rich, moist soil in partial shade or full sunshine. It will also grow in shade. It likes a heavier soil than most ferns and uniform moisture. Does poorly in dry soils. Onoclea Struthiopteris should be given a rich, moist soil with at least partial shade. The fronds will "burn" in fierce sunlight. A good fern to grow north of a wall or building where specimen plants are desired.
Osmunda cinnamomea prefers moist, partially shaded situa- tions, but will grow well in full sunshine in rich soil not exceedingly dry. Perhaps the most beautiful of the osmundas. Best to move while dormant.
Osmunda Claytoniana, a native of low ground, both in shade and sunshine, but will grow equally well in rich soil only fairly moist. Best transplanted when dormant.
Osmunda regalis prefers a peaty soil in very wet, boggy posi- tion in partial shade, but will grow as well in full sunshine if soil is rich and not dry. A very distinct fern.
Pellsea atropurpurea prefers rather dry positions in partial shade, winter and summer. It will not endure heavy mulching. Will grow in full sunshine, but not to its full size. It may be transplanted at any season.
Phegopteris Dryopteris prefers good soil in shade not over moist or dry. Avoid coating of leaves. It is a beautiful species and useful for planting on rockwork in shade. The fronds die in August.
Phegopteris hexagonoptera needs good soil in shade. Fronds die down rather early. Will not grow well through a leaf mulch.
Phegopteris polypodioides prefers moist, shaded positions, but will grow in any good soil not too dry. The fronds die down in late summer, especially in the drier positions. Any winter cover- ing of leaves must be removed.
Polypodium vulgare prefers good, light soil in well-drained but moist situations in shade, with no other plants growing with it. It will endure very dry places, but will be dwarfed. Will also do well in full sunlight if soil conditions are good. As a native it grows in positions in which it does not receive any yearly coating of fallen leaves, and, wherever planted, should not be covered with coarse material. Plant perfectly evergreen; height 6 to 10 inches. Polypodium incanum of Virginia and the South is hardy but not vigorous at Philadelphia.
Polystichum Braunii. This fern needs good deep light loam, not spongy, with humus and shade winter and summer. A distinct and beautiful evergreen fern open to improvement by selection and culture, although belonging to the class of "crown" or "tree" ferns which do not have the chance to vary or "sport" which the species with vegetative roots do.
Polystichum (Aspidium) acrostichoides should be given shade both summer and winter for best results, and in no case can shade in summer be omitted. The plants will endure sunshine for a few years but will not be thrifty, and will eventually die. One of the more common florists' ferns — the Christmas fern — the sterile fronds of which are gathered and stored by the million for winter use by florists. They are found on the north side of the hills and the best grade grows not in low ground nor where the soil is shallow but where good loam with no winter leaf covering are the condi- tions. The planting of this fern for the sale of the fronds may become profitable as demands increase and its wild habitats become forbidden grounds to pickers. In culture give (1 ) northern exposure; (2) good corn land; (3) no loose or bare earth between plants; (4) no grass; (5) no real cover of leaves in the fall. Give with these a good supply of moisture such as the lower half of a hillside can easily be made to receive from the overflow from rainfall on the upper half. There must be good drainage.
Polystichum fragrans. Positions in the wild suggest dense cool moist shade with good drainage.
Polystichum Lonchitis. Grows well under conditions for P. acrostichoides as far south as Philadelphia.
Pteridiumaquilinum, to be grown to perfection, should have con- siderable sunlight, with moist, rich soil, kept cool and loose with a coating of leaves or other material. In such a position it should grow to 4 to 5 feet high, with other dimensions corresponding. However, it will grow in almost any position. It has strong, creep- ing rootstocks, so that attention is necessary to keep a healthy group within bounds. The earliest fronds put forth die in late summer, but those of later growth remain green until frost, so that with attention to the removal of dead fronds a group will look well until fall. The rootstocks break or crack easily so that plants are injured by transplanting and grow poorly until again estab- lished. Early spring is the best time to move plants.
Woodsia. Small rock ferns mostly requiring winter shade and doing best on rock banks facing the north.
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Woodwardia angustifolia wants a moist situation in deep shade. Does well in moist peat north of a bank or wall. Will endure full sunlight in positions where it has become established, but will not grow well when transplanted to sunny position. W. mrginica needs more moisture. p^ ^y^ BARCLAY.
Culture of asparagus fern (Fig. 1492).
The sprays of Asparagus plumosus look so much like certain ferns or selaginellas, that the plant is commonly known as asparagus fern; and the cultivation of it is therefore treated at this place. (For the botanical account, see p. 407, Vol. I.) The first and all-impor- tant factor in the cultivation of asparagus fern is the construction of the bed. To meet with any degree of success, the bed must have perfect drainage. The house should be 25 or 30 feet high, and wired at the top and bottom. The wires beneath are made fast to each side of an iron trellis about 8 inches apart and at the top an equal distance apart, in order that the strings may be as nearly straight as possible.
1492. A house of "Asparagus ferns." — Asparagus plumosus.
The early growth of Asparagus plumosus var. norms is very slow; but as soon as it is transplanted and well rooted in a rich soil, the growth is more rapid, the tender shoots developing into a vine which will be ready to cut for the market in about a year. There is great difficulty in securing the seed of the nanus. In a whole house, there may be only a few seed-bearing strings. After being picked, the berries are allowed to dry for a month, and are then ready for planting. A good, rich soil, cov- ered with a thin film of sand, serves very well to start them. The temperature should be about 65°, and as nearly constant as possible. When the plant is well rooted, it is removed to a deeper soil or potted in 3- or 4-inch pots and placed on a bench. Here it remains a year, and is then placed in the bed.
Up to this time a small amount of labor suffices to keep the plant growing in a healthy condition; but from now on great care must be taken and much labor expended to produce the best crop. The bed into which the young plant is set should be carefully laid with rocks at the bottom, so the water can escape freely. Over this place 2 or 3 feet of soil, manure, and
dead leaves. It is but a short time now that the roots have room to expand before the shoots appear above the trellis, and the stringing begins. Strong linen thread is used for strings.
The first crop will not be ready to cut before the end of the second year, — that is, from the time the seed is planted. As soon as this crop is exhausted, new strings are put in place of the old, and another crop is started. This goes on year after year. Now that the plant has gotten its growth, it is more hardy, and is constantly sending up new shoots. If the bed is well made in the beginning, the asparagus need not be disturbed for eight or ten years. However, at the end of that time it is well to take the plants up and fill the beds with fresh soil and manure.
In the spring, when the sun gets high, the asparagus houses are shaded with a light coating of white lead, whiting and kerosene oil. This is absolutely necessary, as the summer sun would in a very short time burn the tops of the vines. The vine flowers in the fall, and only
on strings that have been matured six months or more.
The vine alone is not the onlysourceof profit. When the plant is a year old, a few of the most nearly perfect sprays may be taken without injuring its growth . These are very desirable in the market. There is, of course, some waste in working up the Asparagus to be shifted, but on the whole, it is very slight. The different forms in which it is sold utilize by far the greater part of it.
Insects destroy the shoots and sprays. This is prevented to a great extentbyinsectpowder. The cut-worms do the most damage. About the only way to get rid of them is to pick them off the strings during the night, as they gen- erallyseek shelterunder the thick clusters of the plant at daylight.
There are many drawbacks in growing asparagus, among which are expensive houses, the slow growth of the plants (which makes it necessary to wait at least two years before receiving any return from the expenditure), injury from insects, and the great amount of labor involved in looking after the houses. WILLIAM H. ELLIOTT.
FERNS, POPULAR NAMES OF. Adder's Tongue F., Ophinglossum vulgatum. Asparagus F., Asparagus plumosus. Beech F., Phegopteris. Bird's-nest F., Asple- nium Nidus. Bladder F., Cystopteris. Boston F., Neph- rolepis exaltata var. bostoniensis. Brake, Pteridium. Bristle F., Trichomanes. Buckler F., Dryopteris. Cali- fornian Gold F., Ceropteris triangularis. Chain F., Woodwardia. Christmas F., Polystichum acrostichoides. Cinnamon F., Osmunda cinnamomea. Climbing F., Lygodium. Dagger F., Polystichum acrostichoides. Deer F., Lomaria. Elk's -horn F., Platycerium alci- corne. Female F., Asplenium Filix-foEmina. Filmy F., Hymenophyllum. Floating F., Ceratopteris. Flowering F., Osmunda; sometimes also Anemia. Gold F., Ceropteris. Grape F., Botrychium. Hart's-tongue F.,
FERNS
FERONIELLA
1219
Phyllitis Scolopendrium. Hartford F., Lygodium palma- tum. Hay-scented F., Dennstsedtia punctilobula. Holly F., Polysiichum Lonchitis. Lace F., Cheilanthes gracil- lima; also Dryoptcris intermedia. Lady F., Asplenium Filix-fcemina. Lip F., Cheilanthes. Maidenhair F., Adiantum; more particularly A. Capillus-Veneris abroad and A. pedatum at home. Male F., Dryopteris Filix-mas. Marsh F., Dryopteris Thelypteris. Oak F., Phegopteris Dryopteris. Ostrich F., Matteuccia Struth- iopteris. Pod F., Ceratopteris thalictroides. Rattlesnake F., Botrychium virginianum. Royal F-, Osmunda regalis. Sensitive F., Onoclea sensibilis. Shield F., Dryopteris F., and Polystichum. Stag-horn F., Platy cerium. Sun F., Phegopteris. Sweet F., Myrica asplenifolia; abroad, various Dryopteris. Sword FM Nephrolepis exaltata. Venus' Hair F., Adiantum Capillus-Veneris. Walking F., Camptosorus rhizophyllus. Wall F., Polypodium vul- gare. Wall-rue, Asplenium Ruta-muraria. Washington F., Nephrolepis exaltata var. washingtoniensis.
FERONIA (from Feronia, Roman goddess of forests). Rutdcese, tribe Citreas, subtribe Feroninse. Spiny deciduous tree with hard-shelled fruit; related to Citrus, for which it can perhaps be used as a stock.
Leaves odd-pinnate, deciduous: fls. small, perfect or by abortion male in terminal or axillary panicles; petals 5 (rarely 4 or 6) ; stamens twice as numerous as the petals; filaments much longer than the anthers, dilated at base and densely pubescent on the sides and within; ovary at first 5-celled, later becoming by confluence 1-celled: fr. with a hard, compact woody shell; seeds oval, lenticular, with a thin hairy brown testa immersed in an acid edible pulp; cotyledons fleshy, aerial in germination. — Only 1 species is known.
Limonia, Swingle (Schlnus Limbnia, Linn. Limonia acidissima, Linn. F. elephdntum, Corr.). WOOD- APPLE. Spiny deciduous tree, native to India, Ceylon and Indo-China: bark gray, rough: Ivs. odd-pinnate, 3-7-foliate; Ifts. opposite, obovate, blunt at the apex, sometimes emarginate, entire-margined with a short petiolule; rachis margined, articulate, spines long and straight, axillary: fls. (sometimes male by abortion of the ovary) dull red, small, in terminal or axillary long- pedicelled panicles; petals 5 (rarely 4 or 6); stamens 10 (rarely 8 or 12), filaments short, dilated at base and densely pubescent on the sides and within; anthers large; ovary 5-celled, with many ovules in each cell; stigma cylindrical, sessile: frs. globose or oblate, 23^-3 in. diam., having a hard, woody rind filled with a pinkish edible pulp in which the numerous woolly seeds are immersed. For discus- sion of name and synonomy, see Journ. Wash. Acad. Sci. 4:325 (n. 12, June 19, 1914). 111. Roxbg., PI. Coromandel., PL 141. Gt. 34:1206. Wight, Ic. PL Ind. Or., PL 45; Beddome, Fl. sylvat. South Ind., 1:121; f albot, For. Flor. Bombay, fig. 124; Engl. & Prantl, Nat. Pfl.-fam. III. 4, 193, fig. 112. — The pulp of the fr. which is acid, is used for making jellies somewhat similar to black currant jelly. It is also made into a kind of chutney with oil, spices and salt by the natives of India. The fls. and Ivs. of this tree have an odor of anis and are used as a stomachic. The com- monly cult, species of Citrus can be grafted on this plant and wood-apple seedlings are now being tested as stocks by the U. S. Dept. of Agric. in Calif, and Fla. and also in the greenhouses in Washington, D. C.
WALTER T. SWINGLE.
FERONIELLA (diminutive of Feronia, Roman god- dess of forests). Rutacese, tribe Citreas, subtribe Fer- oninse. Small much-branched spiny tree, related to Feronia and suggested as a possible stock for citrous fruits.
Leaves odd-pinnate, persistent, 3-6-paired; rachis cylindrical, sometimes narrowly winged; spines soli*
1493. Flower and fruit of Feroniella oblata. (FL nat. size, fr. X %.)
1494. Feroniella oblata. ( X %)
tary, in the axils of the Ivs.: fls. in much-branched axillary infl., perfect or by abortion male, usually 5- parted, having 4 times as many stamens as petals; filaments much longer than the anthers, dilated at base and having a hairy appendix on the inner side; style long, stigma cylindric, caducous; ovary at first 5-6- celled, later becoming by confluence 1-celled : fr. spher- ical or depressed globose, with a hard shell composed of radially arranged prismatic elements; pulp edible; seeds numerous, oblong or elliptical, with a smooth crustaceous testa; cotyledons aerial in germination. — Two species are known.
oblata, Swingle. KRASSANG. Figs. 1493, 1494. Spiny tree, 25-65 ft. high, native to Cambodge and Cochin-China: Ivs. odd-pinnate, 3-4-paired; Ifts. covered with small whitish hairs, especially when young, pellucid-punctate, oval or obovate, crenulate when young, often emarginate, with a very short petiole; rachis pubescent; fls. in many-fld. panicles, white, very fragrant, usually 5-parted, with lanceolate pointed petals; stamens 4 times the number of petals, anthers large, oval, filaments joined together at the base by the woolly pubescence of the appendices occurring on their inner side: fr. borne in clusters of 3 or 4, flattened spheroid, 2 to 2 1/3 m- diam.; pulp subacid, pinkish, edible. 111. Swingle in Bui. Soc. Bot. de France, 59, pi. 18 and fig. a, p.. 778. Lecomte, Fl. gen. Indo- Chine, 1 : 685, fig. 72, 1-5. — This species occurs commonly in the forests of Cambodia and is sometimes cult, by the natives for its frs. which, when young, have a pro-
1220
FERONIELLA
FERTILITY
ttoiincod orange odor :ind are used as a condiment in sauces. Young plants of this species are growing in the greenhouses of the Dept. of Agric. at Washington, D.C. lucida, Swingle (/'V/Ywia lucida, Schcff.). KAVISTA MATH. Small spiny tree, native to Java: Ivs. odd- pinnato, .'{ (i-p.'iin-tl; Ifts. oval or obqvatc, coriaceous, shiny above, margins entire or slightly crenulato, obtuse or omarginato at the apex; petioles pubescent, the terminal 1ft,. sessile; rachis pubescent, articulated: (Is. perfect or by abortion male, fragrant, white, rather large; sepals small, linear, pubescent; petals pointed- oval; stamens 4 times as many as the petals: fr. globose 2)^-2^i in. diain.; seeds small, with a thin hard testa, immersed in the glutinous pulp. 111. Iconos Hogor. 2 : 149. — The pulp is sometimes eaten in Java, like that of the wood-apple (Feronia Limonia), It grows wild in the drier parts of Java and has been intro. into the U. S. where it is being tested by the Dcpt. of Agric. as a stock for citrous fruits. WALTER T. SWINGLE.
FERRARIA (Giovanni Battista Ferrari, 1584-1653, Italian Jesuit, botanical writer and collaborator with the celebrated artist Guido Reni). Iriddcex. Half- hardy bulbous plants from the Cape of Good Hope (and recent species from other parts of Africa), rarely growing more than 6 inches high.
Corm large and irregular: foliage glaucous; lowest lys. long ana linear, the others ovate, clasping, succes- sively smaller, and topped by inflated sheaths from which emerge the fugitive fls.: these have 6 triangular, spreading, crisped, petal-like lobes, marked with many dull colors, as yellow, green, purple and brown; each spathe contains several fls., and the fls. are united at tne very base, connivent and cup-shaped below the spreading lobes; the fls. lost only from morning to afternoon of a single day{ but there is a fair succession; some are visited by carrion flies: fr. an ellipsoid mem- branous caps. — Only one species, F. undulata, is much known in cult., but the other 5 or 0 species of the Cape are doubtless of equal interest. This was known to pre- Linnamn authors as Flos indicus and Gladiolus indicus. The bulbs should be stored like gladiolus in a dry, warm place, away from mice.
A. F Is. dull brownish purple.
undulata, Linn. St. stout, erect, sometimes exceed- ing 1 ft: basal I vs. sword-shaped, 1 ft. and more long, flat, clasping and dilated at base; upper Ivs. and spathes lyfc-2 in. long: fls. 2 in. across, largely dull pur- ple; anthers oblong, with parallel cells. B.M. 144.
AA. Fls. greenish.
uncinata, Sweet. St. short, little branched: Ivs. 2-3, linear: fls. 2, the perianth greenish and with narrow very acuminate scgms. 1 in. long; anthers small, the cells nearly parallel.
AAA. F Is. dark purple.
atrata, Lodd. St. about 6 in.: Ivs. about 1, sword- shaped, firm, strongly ribbed, twice longer than st.: fls. 3-4, bright dark purple, 1^-2 in. diam. when expanded; anthers oblong, with cells parallel.
Other names arc advertised by Dutch bulb-growers, as /•'. iviminVii.s-ix. F. calettit, F. conchiflora, F. grandiflora, F. immac- iilnin, F. liliacca, F. rosea, F. Pavonia: these are to be sought under
WILHELM MILLER.
FERTILITY of soils: that condition of soils which makes them productive. The elements of productivity are, a full supply of available plant-food, a suitable and continuous supply of moisture, good physical conditions of the soil, coupled with suitable seed and climate.
Land may contain vast quantities of potential nitro- gen, potash, phosphoric acid and other plant-food, and yet be unfruitful, — infertile. Most of the potential plant-food in the soil is lazy, or not available in sufficient quantities in a single season to produce maximum crops. Average arable land which contains from 3,000 to 4,(XX)
pounds of nitrogen, an equal amount of phosphoric acid and four times an much potash in the first 8 inches of an acre, may produce only fifteen bushels of wheat to the acre, which requires, with the straw, but twenty- four, thirteen and twenty pounds of these three ele- ments respectively. Therefore, land may contain a great abundance of potential plant-food, and yet not contain enough of that which is available for a full crop. To make land more fertile, one or more of the follow- ing means may be employed. Usually deeper and more thorough tillage should first |>e resorted to, since most lands, by reason of careless fanning, cunt. 'tin much inert plant-food. Superior tillage is almost certain to produce fruitfulncss, and therefore should lie resorted to before more expensive methods are tried. Tillage not only makes plant-food more available, but it improves tin- physical conditions of the soil, thereby making it more adaptable to the plant; it may also assist in relieving the land of surplus water, and give to the soil the power of retaining stores of moisture by capillary action.
Moisture plays such an important part in productive- ness that it may be said to constitute its prime factor. Clay soils are usually composed of such fine particles that water percolates through them slowly, hence tin- larger part of the rainfall must either run off over the surface, or remain to be evaporated. The aim should be so to prepare the land by subdrainage, plowing and surface tillage, and by introducing at least one crop of tap-rooted plants in the rotation, that the surplus water will filter through the soil in a reasonable time. Percolation of rainwater through soils makes them more friable and warmer in spring, aerates the land, pro- motes beneficial biological and chemical changes, and brings to the soil the nitrogenous compounds contained in the rainwater. Soils that are reasonably porous have the power of retaining more moisture, and of giving it up to plants, when needed, to a greater extent, than either open sandy or close clay soils. Fertility, which results in fruitfulness, is governed very largely by the water and moisture conditions of the soil, and these, in turn, are to a considerable extent governed by the texture of the land and the amount of humus that it contains.
Legumes, used either as a harvest or cover-crop, pro- mote fertility. A cover-crop of clovers planted August 1, and analyzed sixty-four days after planting, con- tained nitrogen, in roots and tops, to the acre as follows:
Tops Roots Total
Pounds Pounds Pounds
Crimson clover 125 30 155
Red clover 63 40 103
Mammoth clover 07 78 145
Clovers and other legumes may be used to fix and store up the uncombined nitrogen of the air and to digest and make available the mineral constituents of the land, thereby greatly increasing the fertility of the soil.
In most of the semi-arid districts of the United States, except where irrigation can be successfully undertaken in the rich valleys, the problem of perma- nently maintaining and increasing the productivity of the soil is as yet unsolved. Better tillage may serve in many coses to prolong the time of profitable culti- vation, but unless something is done toward restora- tion it only postpones for a short period (ho day when the land must be left to the tooth of time and to the growth of such hardy plants as can maintain them- selves on a depleted soil. All such posture lands may be greatly ln-nefited by sowing, even in small quan- tities, in 'early spring with red and alsiko clover in humid districts, and bur clover in the rainloss-sum- mer regions. Lands adopted to orcharding that, have become depleted and that have a tenacious subsoil may be benefited by exploding a charge of dynamite
FERTILITY
FERTILIZATION
1221
in a hole about 1 inch in diameter and 2 feet deep at each plae:e> where :i tree is to he set. Sueli t rent rnent tends to promote filtration, to set, free plant-food by aeration and to improve! the physical condition of the adjacent soil, while at the same time it lessens the labor necessary to prepare the ground for tree- setting.
Hani manures, when properly oared for and intelli- gently applied, not only furnish acceptable plant-food but iunnus as well. Fertility and high productivity usually may be maintained many years by means of superior tillage, leguminous harvest, and cover-crops, and the manures of the farm. In some cases a high slate of fertility can be maintained only by occasional applications of commercial mineral fertilizers, such as
Khosphates and potash, but too often expensive ferti- /ers have been substituted for tillage, leguminous plants and barn manures.
Fertility may frequently be promoted by light applications (ten to twenty bushels to the acre) of quicklime. Lime serves to make plant-food more available, to improve soil texture and to correct acidity. It may also be applied beneficially to a green-manure fallow. Lime tends to sink into the soil, therefore it should be applied after the last plowing preceding the seeding, and should be covered and mixed with the soil by tillage. Hydrated, or biting lime, not only tends to set free plant-food but to flocculate the soil, thereby improving its physical condition. Its use is especially recommended on clay and moist lands and in orchards where the ground is much shaded. Applications of gypsum and salt are sometimes beneficial in main- taining fertility, but they, as well as lime, usually act indirectly, as the soil is seldom deficient in these con- st it nt cuts so far as they are required as plant-food. On high-priced lands, especially those; devoted to horti- culture, the soil should be made and kept fertile — well up to its highest productive power.
A bare summer fallow of one to three plowings and suitable surface tillage will not only destroy weeds, but liberate plant-food as well, while storing moisture in the soil for the immediate use of young plants. Hut a bare fallow, if not accompanied by the addition of some plant-food, may hasten the depletion of the soil. It is a mat I er of judgment, then, as to whether the particu- lar soil contains such abundant supplies of plant-food that some; of them may be removed; or whether it is very deficient. In the latter case a green fallow would be i'ar preferable to a bare one. In many cases a bare fallow is merely a method of mining-farming which hastens the time when the land must be turned out to pasture for economic reasons. Often productivity is increased more satisfactorily by means of green- manuring than by bringing plant-food to the land from outside sources. In most of the humid districts early sowed pe;is (which withstand late frosts) followed by buckwheat, and both plowed under some time before they mature, can be grown in time to fit the land for seeding in September to wheat, rye or timothy, the nurse crop being omitted. When the land might, be made too porous by this method, rye sowed in the fall, plowed under before coming to head and followed by peas, would greatly improve; the light and sandy soils by bringing stores of nitrogen and humus.
Nature, in producing and storing fertility, provides a great variety of plants and an infinite number of ways of multiplying them so that the land is fully covered with vegetation — except in desert regions. Upon the best of these Jands a vast animal life is main- tained while the remainder produces other plants to feed other animals. In the densely settled agricul- tural districts of China, for the last two thousand years the farmers have been returning as much to the land as they have taken from it; and the soil is now more productive than it was when first brought into cultivation. The problem of conservation and resto-
ration erf se>ils is nenv in America the most, serious one the; agriculturist has te) solve.
Sometimes soils are; re;nele;re;el unfruitful by the presence of delete-riems substances, as e>rganic aciels or alkaline salts, or a superabundance of se>me one or more of its usually useful ingredients, as water or nitre>ge;nous compemnels. An e>xce>ss of nitrogen stimu- lates the growth erf stalk anel straw at the e-xpe-nse of grain, or in the orchard it tends to the; fetrmatiem of wood rathe'r than to fruitfulness. The ae;ielity shoulei be corrected by lime1, as noted abe)ve, the surplus water removed by elrainagc, the nitre)ge;ne)iis matter reduced by the production of such crops as are; not harmfully aifect,e;el by its superabundance, such as forage crops which are; prized for their foliage; rather than for their seeds, while; the alkalinity may sometimes be overcome by deep tillage*, irrigation or application of gypsum in suitable amounts. J. p. ROHKKTB.
FERTILIZATION is the: fusion of sexually differ- entiated cells, anel with spe;cial reference to the seed plants it me;ans that a cell (a fertilized egg, or zygote) is thus formed which is capable of developing into the e-mbryonic plant later recognized in the plantlct of the; se;ed. The fusing cells, or gametes, are (1) the; egg (female cell), which is organized in the ovule, as describee! below, and (2) a sperm-cell, or nucleus (male cell), devele)pe;e! in the germi- nating pollen-tube. Fertiliza- tion is a process which may not be reaelily observed in the se;eel- plants except through the; use of careful histological methods. both m the fixation of material and in the subsequent pro- cesses of imbedding anel stain- ing. The phenomena are illus- trated in Figs. 1496-1497.
The term "fertilization" has always implied the union of male and female cells; but formerly, when less was known regarding the details erf the phenomenon, " fertilization " included the mere mechanical process whereby pollen from 1495. A pollen-grain of tnc anther was transferreel by Lilium philadelphicum . t to thc gti of thc
Section of a single gram ao' _ ynr *u:s ro,,Bon "fer- before the anther opena; t, nowcr: J the tube-cell; g. the genera- tllization by insects Or fer-
nv. ...|i. The large Bpheri- tilization by wind" — meaning
oul Ixxly in each cell in the ^i +___„(•„,. nc nnttan uv thoao nucleus: ( Magnified 500 tnc transl l)v U" '
agencies — arc freouent expres- sions in the work of Darwin and Wallace. In this last-mentioned sense, the wore! pollination is appropriate, and now commonly em- ployesd. If the silks of corn are pollinated with corn ix)llen, fertilization normally ensues and seeds are produced; but if the corn-silks are pollinated by the pollen e>f the lily, no seeds will be formed. It is obvious that cross-pollination has no limits; but cross-fertiliza- tion is limited to those cases in which the sexual cells unite and a new organism develops.
The development of some structures essential in fertilization are of interest in this connection. The mature; pollen-grain consists of a large tube-cell and nucleus and a small generative cell and nucleus. When lodgeel upon a suitable stigma the pollen-grain germi- nates by the development of a tube which enters the loose; tissue of the stigma and grows further into the conducting parts of the style. In some cases, definite stylar canals are present, but usually the tube we;elge>s itself between the yielding e;e:lls, absorbs nutrient in its course, anel force;s or dissolves its way to the ovule; or sceel-case, where, as a rule, it enters the micropyle anel approaches the embryo-sac and egg-cell. In its
1222
FERTILIZATION
FERTILIZERS
course the pollen-tube is doubtless "directed" by the distribution of food. Meanwhile, the generative nucleus of the pollen-tube divides into two sperm (male) nuclei, and these migrate to the growing end of the tube.
With the formation and opening of the flower, the embryo-sac attains its devel- opment. This structure is too complex to require full treat- ment here, but it is sufficient to say that, when approaching maturity, it consists of one large cell containing eight nuclei, four of which collect at each end of the cell. One nucleus from each end marches to the center, and the fusion which then commonly results gives a nucleus the divisions of which ultimately organize a so-called food, or endosperm, tissue, which may surround the embryo when formed.
At the micropylar end of the embryo-sac, another nucleus organizes the egg-cell — a prominent cell with consider- able protoplasm — and the other two degenerate or form the subsidiary cells of an "egg ap- paratus." The cells at the an- tipodal end of the embryo-sac are also of little present sig- nificance. At about the time of the maturity of the egg-cell the tip of the pollen-tube reaches and penetrates the wall
ft
3
V
1496. Outline of a pistil of Lilium philaddphicum.
A lengthwise view of pistil of the embryo-sac, then dis- almost through the center; solves and liberates the two
S'raingma haslbeeii lodged" ma^e nuclei- One of these fuses The course of the pollen- with the egg-cell, and this is tube, pt, is indicated by the important act under con- sideration. The other sperm nucleus often fuses with the indicated by the arrows: /, endosperm nucleus, .but that
the stigma; 2, S, the style, Jr.™ nnf ofTWt thf> pharaptf>r<3 show the triangular canal aoes, BCt HJ^ cnaract
which leads into the three Of the embryo. The fusion of
chambers of 4, the ovary, in egg and male nucleus unites, on the other hand, the charac- ters of the ovule-bearing and pollen-bearing plants in the may proceed immediately to
B. M. DUGGAR.
, ,
broken line. At the right, 1,2, 3,4, are cross-sections of the pistil at the levels
each chamber of which are
two rows of ovules. (Nat- ural size.)
fertilized egg, which develop the embryo.
FERTILIZERS. It is now well recognized that shade trees, ornamental shrubs, small fruits, and flowering perennials, as well as annual flowering and foliage plants, are often as greatly benefited by the use of proper fertilizers and manures as vegetables and ordinary farm crops. There are, nevertheless, occa- sional soils on which fruit trees, and shade trees in particular, require little or no artificial fertilization or manuring. For example, it was not found profitable to fertilize apple trees at the Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, New York, whereas at the Pennsyl- vania Agricultural College the use of fertilizers was not only strikingly helpful, but practically vital to success- ful orcharding. Instances of such contrasts in con- nection with trees and shrubs are always to be expected. On this account the giving of rule-of-thumb directions for fertilizing, in a work of reference which is designed to be generally applicable to the entire United States, is not only well nigh impossible, but may, if followed, lead to the most unreasonable procedure on the part of those not sufficiently conversant with their own
particular soil conditions. For this reason this dis- cussion will be confined largely to the general principles involved, since they not only fail to mislead the novice, but may serve as a safe and rational basis for general procedure for all.
Shade trees, ornamental trees and shrubs.
Because of the fact that trees have an extensive root-system, and hence possess a wide feeding range, they often stand less in need of artificial manuring and fertilizing than certain shrubs, especially if the la.tter have already been set for a long time.
It is to be presumed that most soils contain enough iron and magnesia to meet the needs of trees and shrubs, yet since these substances are just as essential to their growth as any of the three so-called "essential elements," it is well to bear in mind that very rare cases may be met with in which even iron or magnesia may be help- ful. In this connection it may be mentioned that the soil in a section of northern Michigan is said to con- tain so little iron that certain farm animals, if fed exclu- sively on the plants which grow there, cannot be reared successfully. It has even been found that manganese compounds are sometimes helpful to plants, and if the supply of iron is insufficient, they aid in pro- moting chlorophyl formation in the leaves, without which the higher plants cannot exist.
Some soils are relatively deficient in magnesia as compared with lime, and when such is the case, growth is likely to be restricted until enough magnesia is added to create a proper balance between the two. A much more frequent lack, in soils of the humid regions, is lime.
Unfortunately, an extended and systematic study of the lime requirements of trees and shrubs has not yet been made, although many valuable isolated observa- tions are on record. It would be of great value if such experiments were conducted on an extensive scale. Such experiments as were made in this direction in Rhode Island showed, for example, that the American elm ( Ulmus americana) and the basswood (Tilia americana) were both greatly helped by liming when grown on the very acid granitic soil of that state. From this it may be inferred that benefit from liming would also follow on many of the soils of the humid re- gions which are derived chiefly from granite and from certain of the sandstones, shales, slates, gneisses, schists and conglomerates.
The sugar or rock maple was found to be but little helped by lime, even where the elm and basswood
1497. Section of an ovule of
Lilium philadelphicum. Cut lengthwise; i, i, inner integu- ment, inclosing except at a narrow orifice (micropyle) where the pollen- tube, pt, enters the body of the ovule, which is chiefly occupied by the large embryo-sac with three nuclei, one Showed Striking bene- much disorganized, e, the endosperm fit. The common white nucleus, just being formed by fusion u;-~u ^«J +~ K« °f two nuclei from the respective ends
birch seemed to be of the embryo-Sac. d\ male nucleus. even less responsive to which has just migrated from pollen- liming than the sugar tube and is about to fuse with 9 , the 1° egg nucleus. The synergidse, or "egg
, apparatus," have disappeared. (Mag-
The Use of much nified 670 diameters.)
FERTILIZERS
FERTILIZERS
1223
lime may sometimes interfere with the growth of the Norway spruce. It is also unfavorable to at least some of the pines. The effect of liming on certain of these conifers is observable not only by way of its lessening the growth of the tree, but also by its causing a shortening of the needles.
The chestnut tree is reputed not to need liming, but even to be seriously injured, if lime is used.
Among the flowering shrubs, general experience points to the fact that lime should be avoided in con- nection with the growth of the laurels, rhododendrons, azaleas and the Ericace® generally. There is, however, no doubt as to the benefit to be derived from the use of lime in connection with many of the other ornamental and flowering shrubs. Experiments by Hogenson appear to show that sulfate of magnesia may some- times be very helpful to certain shrubs which are ordinarily injured by lime, although this work needs to be extensively supplemented before being accepted as a sure basis of procedure.
In general, the need of nitrogen for trees and shrubs is indicated by insufficient limb and leaf growth, although any other lacking essential ingredient may ultimately have the same limiting effect.
Whenever trees or shrubs are being set in poor land, it is well to work into the soil generous amounts of ground, steamed bone or superphosphate. The latter phosphate possesses, however, a very distinct advan- tage for subsequent application, due to its high con- tent of soluble phosphoric acid. Basic slag meal should be avoided for those trees and shrubs likely to be injured by lime, whereas for others it may be employed at the time of planting. These materials may be used when the trees or shrubs are set, if well mixed with the soil, and from one to four pounds may be used for a tree or shrub, according to their size.
High-grade sulfate of potash or muriate of potash may be similarly worked into the soil at the rate of half a pound to a pound a tree when potash is known to be deficient, but even in such cases it is sometimes advisable to withhold it until a year after setting, and then make the application alone, in conjunction with superphosphate, or in a complete fertilizer. Twice as much double manure salt or four times as much kainit is required to replace either the sulfate or the muriate of potash.
If the growth is not satisfactory, after the trees or shrubs have been set for some time, a complete fertilizer containing from 2 to 4 per cent of ammonia, from suita- ble sources, may be worked into the soil about the trees or shrubs, or it may even be scattered on the surface of the ground, in case the land is kept in grass.
Care should be taken to keep the fertilizer away from the base of the trees or shrubs, and it should be applied for at least a considerable distance beyond the reach of the branches. For this purpose, quantities of fertilizers, ranging from two to thirty-five pounds, may be used for each tree, according to its kind, size and age, although even for large shrubs, from two to six pounds will usually be sufficient.
Just as the keen observation of the feeder is neces- sary in the fattening of the animal, so also the judg- ment of the experienced gardener is essential to the proper gaging of the amounts of fertilizer for trees and shrubs of all kinds.
Much is claimed, by those who have had experience in renovating old trees, for the plan of making a large number of holes under the tree, to a depth of 1 foot to 2 }/2 or 3 feet, and placing the fertilizer in these holes. This procedure has much justification, owing to the great "fixing" power of the soil, especially for phos- phoric acid and potash salts which are otherwise pre- vented from being quickly and readily carried down in large quantities to points where the deeper roots can immediately reach them. Even if fertilizer is employed in this manner it is also well to apply some of it to the
surface, in order to insure an even lateral distribution of at least a part of it.
Another drastic method of procedure in renovating old trees is to trench around a part or the whole of the tree, at a suitable distance from the trunk, to a depth of several feet, and then fill the trenches with new soil mixed with manure and a complete fertilizer contain- ing slowly-acting phosphatic and nitrogenous materials, and suitable amounts of potash salts. In such a case it is a part of the plan to cut off many of the ends of the old roots in order to make them branch and thus increase their feeding capacity.
Apples and pears.
Apple trees, as a rule, respond to liming rather better than pear trees; nevertheless, on very acid soils there are several good reasons for liming even pear trees. An occasional application of magnesian lime may be desirable, but if used it should be alternated with applications of purer lime.
On land known to be very rich naturally, or which has been highly manured for a series of years, neither fertilizer nor manure will be required for newly set apple or pear trees, and in only exceptional cases will they be needed, even for those just coming into bearing. When such exceptional conditions do not exist, it is usually a safer plan to fertilize the land with liberal amounts of potash, phosphoric acid, and rather slowly available sources of nitrogen, or else to employ such small amounts of quickly available nitrogen as will surely be used up before or by midsummer. If, on the other hand, excessive amounts of farmyard manure or nitrogenous fertilizers are applied, or if the application is too long delayed, late growth is promoted, with the result that the wood remains too soft. In such cases cracking and other serious injury is likely to follow during the winter season.
As a rule, the orchard may be used to advantage for some years after the trees are set, for the growing of quick-maturing crops, such as peas, early cabbages, radishes, and potatoes, or even for tomatoes, melons, or squashes. These crops may be well fertilized, and many of the earlier ones can be followed in the late summer by a cover-crop of crimson (scarlet) clover, or hairy vetch. If the soil is already rich enough, or is too rich, in nitrogen, barley or rye may be substituted for the legumes. These cover-crops can then be plowed under the next spring. Some growers even prefer weeds to any of these cover-crops because of saving the outlay for seed.
When the stage is passed in which extended cropping between the trees is possible, and the burden of fruit becomes great, especial care should be taken to apply an abundance of potash and phosphoric acid annually, and only enough nitrogen from legumes or fertilizers to insure adequate foliage, satisfactory wood-growth, and abundant fruit-spurs. For this purpose a suitably com- pounded complete fertilizer may be employed. If legumes are found to supply enough nitrogen one may employ annually from 200 to 600 pounds an acre of acid phosphate or basic slag meal, and from 50 to 400 pounds an acre of the muriate or high-grade sulfate of potash. If the double manure salt is used as the source of potash instead of the muriate or the high- grade sulfate of potash, the total application should amount to approximately twice as much an acre, because of its lower potash content.
The nitrogen for the orchard may be supplied in one, or, on light open soils, in two applications of nitrate of soda at such a rate that the total application for a season will not exceed from 100 to 300 pounds an acre, dependent upon the slowness of the growth of the trees. It is usually much simpler to make a single application of a complete fertilizer, in which the nitro- gen is present in nitrates, ammonium salts, soluble organic compounds and in less quickly available
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organic forms, than to apply nitrates at two or more different times. When such complete combinations are used the danger of loss by leaching is greatly les- sened and a satisfactorily continuous but properly decreasing supply of nitrogen for the trees is assured. The fertilizer application should not be made later than just after the time the fruit has set. Many good authorities even advise waiting until this time in order to gage the application according to the probable yield and requirement of the trees.
At the Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station, far better results were secured with double manure salt (sulfate of potash and sulfate of magnesia) than with muriate of potash, but in experiments else- where the muriate of potash has given as good results as the high-grade sulfate of potash. It is probable, in view of the known lack of carbonate of lime in the Massachusetts soil, that this rather serious deficiency was responsible for the poorer results with muriate of potash, for in soils elsewhere where the lime supply was sufficient, muriate of potash has acted well. It is, of course, possible that the magnesia of the double manure salt was helpful in the Massachusetts experiments. The results furnish, however, no positive evidence to that effect, but indicate strongly that the chlorin of the muriate of potash was probably injurious because of a lack of carbonate of lime.
The idea that the proportion of the various fertilizer ingredients affects the color of apples in a direct way has little to support it. It is rather tenaciously claimed, nevertheless, that basic slag meal has special value in adding color to apples, but this may be due solely to its adding a proper balance of mineral ingredients which could perhaps be equally well supplied by other phosphates. There is abundant evidence, however, that over-fertilization with nitrogen leads to the develop- ment of exceptionally heavy and abundant foliage; and the excessive shading lessens the color of the fruit. Direct exposure of the apple to the sunlight also lessens its tendency to shrivel. This is due, probably to its effect either on the proportion of the various chemical constituents of the skin, or to its thickness, by which evaporation of water is hindered. In order to insure even distribution of the color on the individual apples, severe thinning is essential, for otherwise one apple will partially shade another.
In some European countries the fertilizer for orchards is placed from 4 to 5 inches deep in holes 20 inches apart, at the rate of about an ounce and a quarter a hole. This method is, however, probably too expensive to employ in this country, though it may be especially effective for orchards which are in sod. If the work were capable of being done by machinery or by some suitable implement the method might possibly prove of economic value.
Peaches.
Peach trees are less in need of lime than apple trees, yet liming is nevertheless often desirable, even for its indirect benefits. The fertilizer required for peaches is much more than fof apples, for the reason that the trees grow far more rapidly and bear early and abundant crops. On poor soils generous fertilizing must be provided from the outset, but if the land is very rich or heavily manured, fertilizer may be omitted for the first year or two. If a soil is very poor it should receive at the outset from 300 to 500 pounds an acre of a fertilizer containing a moderate amount of nitrogen derived from appropriate materials, a fair quantity of available phosphoric acid, and a generous amount of potash in muriate of potash. On soils in which potash is naturally very abundant, the supply can be greatly lessened.
When the peach trees come into bearing, more nitro- gen will be required than at the outset, and the total quantity of fertilizer may then be increased one-half,
or even more than doubled. In the case of peach trees, constant watchfulness is required to make sure that neither too little nor too much nitrogen is used. An excess of nitrogen will prevent proper ripening of the fruit, and of the wood in the autumn, whereas too little will mean abbreviated crops, loss of vigor, and at the same time the lack will create conditions favorable to disease. In any case, ample supplies of phosphoric acid and of potash, as muriate, should be provided to meet any possible need. If a little extra nitrogen is required in the spring, it may be applied in nitrate of soda, or, if the soil is properly limed, sulfate of ammonia may be substituted for the nitrate of soda if desired.
In case one wishes to stock the land with phosphoric acid in advance, large applications of bone or basic slag meal may be made, ranging from 400 to 1,000 pounds an acre of the former and from 500 to 1,200 pounds an acre of the latter. The old plan of heavily stocking the soil and waiting a long time for the returns is, however, giving way to the frequently more economical plan of more nearly meeting the fertilizer needs from year to year, instead of tying up a large amount of money hi a long-tune investment.
Plums, cherries and apricots.
The plum and cherry, regardless of whether the latter is a sour or sweet variety, are certainly far more in need of liming than the peach, but data are not at hand as to the relative requirements of the peach and apri- cot. The fertilization of these fruits should not vary widely from the treatment required for peaches, except- ing that the quantity may be rather less, and the same care should also be exercised not to use excessive amounts of nitrogen.
Blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries and currants.
The blackberry is especially at home on very acid soils and a very light application of lime will meet all possible requirements of the plants, if indeed it is needed at all. The blackcap raspberry is more likely to be helped by liming than the blackberry, although it is well adapted to moderately acid soils. The Cuth- bert raspberry is appreciably helped by liming on quite acid soils, and the same is probably true of most or all of the red and yellow varieties. The gooseberry and currant, including the white and various red varieties are greatly benefited by liming. As much as two to four tons of ground limestone an acre, or its equiva- lent of slacked lime, are often very helpful to these plants. Raspberries, in particular, thrive well on a heavy, freshly rotted sod, as for example, on old grass land plowed the autumn before the plants are set. In many cases all that is required on such land is to supply an adequate mixture of an available phosphate and a potash salt, but whenever the cane growth is weak and unsatisfactory, or, when gooseberries and currant bushes do not show satisfactory growth, a moderate amount of complete fertilizer containing a fair amount of nitrogen in gradually available forms is likely to be beneficial. The use of heavy applications of nitrogen for raspberries, currants and gooseberries is not advised, for it will induce too great a growth of canes and foliage and interfere with the maturing and ripening of the fruit. The plants will also be rendered more readily subject to mildew.
Strawberries.
The strawberry grows well on moderately acid to very acid soils, and if lime is used the application should be light, rarely exceeding 1,000 to 2,000 pounds of ground limestone an acre.
An important point to be recognized by strawberry- growers is, that weak plants are not likely to be heavy bearers the next year. In consequence, the plants when set should be supplied with a fertilizer reasonably
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rich in available nitrogen. This fertilizer should usually be applied at the rate of 1,000 to 1,500 pounds an acre at the time of setting, and in the later years just after picking the crop of fruit, fertilizer may be scattered in a furrow turned away from each side of the bed, after which the furrow may be turned back again. Early each spring fertilizer should be applied broadcast over the beds. This should contain liberal quantities of soluble phosphoric acid and potash but only enough nitrogen to promote reasonable growth. This nitrogen should, however, be largely in readily soluble and available form. If too much nitrogen is used in the spring the fruit will lack color, and it may be soft and unsatisfactory, especially for distant ship- ment. It may even be necessary to omit all nitrogen in the spring, if the soil is exceptionally rich in humus or has been well manured previously. This can only be decided by the observant grower.
On many soils superphosphate is preferable to basic slag meal as a source of phosphoric acid for straw- berries, for the reason that too much lime is to be avoided, and furthermore, the phosphoric acid is largely soluble and better adapted to top-dressing. On an exceedingly acid soil the use of basic slag meal may be permissible for application at the time of setting, for the action of the soil aids in rendering it available to the plants.
Grapes.
Grapes may show some gain from the use of lime under certain circumstances, but they do not require it in even approximately the same degree as the cherry, plum, currant, and gooseberry. The chief need of this crop is available phosphoric acid and potash. If nitrogen is used, the quantity must be carefully regu- lated, and in Europe slow-acting forms of organic nitrogen are in special favor. Basic slag meal or bone- meal may be used as sources of phosphoric acid when the grapes are set, but later, superphosphate is to be preferred, especially if it is not most thoroughly worked into the soil. Sulfate of potash is often considered preferable to the muriate of potash for grapes, for it is alleged to give a better quality of fruit.
Quinces.
The quince responds to liming in about the same degree as the cherry and plum. It should receive enough nitrogen to insure reasonable growth, but no more; and on exhausted soils a moderate amount of available phosphate and muriate or sulfate of potash will be helpful.
Cranberries.
The cranberry thrives better at the outset, even on certain very acid soils, than after its acidity has been lessened by liming. If more nitrogen is needed than that naturally available from the humus of the bog, it is usually recommended that it be applied in small quantities, as nitrate of soda or preferably as nitrate of potash, provided the bog is already fairly dry and is likely to remain so; but if wet, sulfate of ammonia may be better The chief need of the cranberry vine is usually phosphoric acid and potash. The phosphoric acid for top-dressing may be in superphosphate, but if applied just before the plants are set one may employ bone-meal, or, if on very acid peat or muck soil, even raw rock phosphate.
In case spring applications of fertilizer are made, it must not be expected that they will always affect the cranberry yield of that particular season as much as the yield of the crop which follows. Such applications should ordinarily be made after the water is drawn off and the land has dried out to a reasonable extent. It is often helpful to apply fertilizer just after the cran- berry crop is harvested, but late spring applications develop stronger vines for the next season.
Pineapples.
The requirements of the pineapple crop vary widely, dependent upon the rainfall and soil conditions. Where the winter season is likely to be fairly cold, nitrogenous fertilizers should not be applied in the autumn, for otherwise injury from frost may follow. Neverthe- less, potash salts have sometimes been used at that tune with good effect. On certain acid soils, liming is necessary at fairly frequent intervals in order to bring out the best effect of superphosphates. If lime is not used, bone-meal or basic slag meal may sometimes be preferable to superphosphate as sources of phosphoric acid. From one and three-fourths to two tons of fer- tilizer an acre, annually, have been recommended for pineapples by the Agricultural Experiment Station of Florida. It is said that the fertilizer should con- tain 5 per cent of nitrogen, 4 per cent of available phosphoric acid and 10 per cent of potash, in order to meet the conditions in that state. During the first year and a half the applications of fertilizer are made four times a year, but after this period of time is passed, the first application of the year is made either in Feb- ruary or March, and the second after cutting the sum- mer crop. It is obvious that this rule might require modifications on other soil and also as influenced by different climatic or other local conditions.
Table beets, mangels, sugar beets and Swiss chard.
These plants are among the vegetables most in need of liming. Certain of them also have much greater ability than the cabbage and turnip to appropriate from the soil the required supply of phosphoric acid, for beets have been found to yield fair crops where cabbage plants, on account of a lack of available phosphates, failed to develop salable heads.
These plants are able to profit to a considerable extent, as concerns physiological functions, by the soda of nitrate of soda, provided the supply of potash is insufficient, yet it is unwise to limit the supply of potash intentionally, in order to bring out this action, for if this is done the net loss in crop due to insufficient potash may more than offset the advantage of attempting to make the soda fully effective.
All of these plants and many others take up, in vary- ing degrees, considerable more mineral matter than is represented by the sum of the minimum requirements, as determined for each essential ingredient in the presence of an abundance of all of the others. If, there- fore, the fertilizer contains soda, it will be taken up in considerable amounts by the plant to satisfy this "lux- ury" or "excess" consumption in conjunction with the potash physiologically necessary to the plant. Thus the extra potash which would otherwise be taken up to satisfy this excess in the mineral requirement is conserved in the soil for future crops. The use of nitrate of soda, therefore, as one of the ingredients of a fertilizer for these crops, results in insuring the crop against a shortage of potash and prevents the plants from taking up an unnecessary excess of potash, pro- vided an abundance is already present in the soil or is supplied in the fertilizer.
In Europe, beets of all kinds, and especially mangels, have been found to respond very favorably to nitrate of soda in comparison with the results with sulfate of ammonia, yet with certain cereals the yields, under similar conditions, have been larger with the latter. Notwithstanding this favorable action of nitrate of soda on these crops, it is so subject to loss by leaching that it is often better on very open soils to use it in conjunction with several other forms of nitrogen, rather than alone. This is especially true in conse- quence of the frequent occurrence, in certain sections of the country, of very sandy and gravelly soils and especially in view of the long period of growth of the chard, sugar-beets and mangels.
These crops all require generous supplies of nitro-
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gen, a fair amount of available phosphate, and high percentages of potash. In the case of sugar-beets, if grown for their sugar-content, the proper relationship of these fertilizer ingredients to one another is of great importance.
Cabbage, kale, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, turnips and kohlrabi.
These crops are all remarkably helped by liming on soils which are fairly acid. Liming, especially with caustic or slaked lime, has a tendency to lessen the development on these plants and on turnips, of the disease known as "club-foot" and "finger-and-toe."
What has been said of the action of the soda of the nitrate of soda, in connection with beets, is true also to a considerable degree of these crops; nevertheless, when the period of growth is long and the soil is either a heavy silt or clay, or exceptionally open and sub- ject to leaching, a combination of several sources of nitrogen in the fertilizer, is usually preferable. The reference to heavy silt and clay soils is made in con- sideration of the fact that sodium carbonate is left as a residual product after the plant has taken up the nitric acid of the nitrate of soda; and this sodium carbonate tends to deflocculate such soils and make them stiffer and more difficult to work than before.
Heavy applications of nitrogen are required for all these crops and some of them, as shown at Rothamsted and elsewhere, are more dependent than beets upon generous supplies of soluble and available phosphoric acid. These plants require also large quantities of potash.
The Swedish turnip, or rutabaga, usually responds to liming rather more than the flat turnip, although lime is often very helpful to the latter.
Several of these plants are especially dependent for their quality on rapid growth; hence, the nitrogen and phosphoric acid must be derived, to a large extent, from readily available materials.
One or two experimenters in this country who have grown turnips in pots and boxes claim to have found that the turnip can utilize rather unavailable forms of phosphoric acid, yet these results need further sub- stantiation in the field before their final acceptance, and in the light of the past field evidence, generous fertilizing with soluble phosphates appears to be desir- able. These plants, like the group described previously, respond to liberal amounts of potash salts, yet these salts seldom give very satisfactory results unless they are used in conjunction with liberal amounts of super- phosphate and nitrogenous fertilizers.
Carrots and chicory.
The carrot is less likely to show benefit from liming than most root crops, and chicory is even subject to injury by lime when carrots are slightly benefited. Owing to their long period of growth the nitrogen supply for these plants should not only include small amounts of nitrates and ammonium salts, but also soluble and insoluble organic nitrogen, in order that some of the nitrogen may be continually at the dis- posal of the plant throughout the growing season. These plants are dependent upon reasonable supplies of phpsphatic manures, and generous amounts of potash are likewise highly essential. The carrot responds in a less degree than mangels, to applications of soda.
Spinach, lettuce, endive and cress.
These plants are all likely to be greatly benefited by liming, even on soils of moderate acidity. Because of the fact that the quality and market value of these plants depends upon their making a rapid growth, large amounts of immediately available plant-food are essential. Some of the nitrogen should be present in the fertilizer in nitrates, some in ammonium salts and some in quickly available organic forms. No
attempt should be made to economize unduly in the use of readily available phosphates and potash salts, for the reason that these crops must have ample sup- plies of both. The growth of early lettuce, and of spring spinach in particular, may often be pushed forward with remarkable rapidity in the early spring by the use of fertilizers containing generous amounts of nitrates. In fact, these crops may be brought to maturity by such means much faster than by the sole employment of farmyard manure, especially if the manure is poor in nitrogen and not thoroughly rotted.
Onions.
The onion will not thrive and mature properly on highly acid soils which are extremely deficient in car- bonate of lime. It is often possible, where fairly good crops can still be grown without the use of lime, nevertheless to hasten the maturity of the onion crop from ten days to three weeks, by its employment. A lack of lime is often one of the causes of thick necks and of failure to ripen properly.
Since the onion crop is planted very early in the season, and because of the consequent opportunities for the loss of nitrogen if too large a part of it is applied in nitrates, appropriate proportions of nitrogen in ammonium salts and in suitable organic forms should also be employed in order to insure an adequate supply as needed.
Generous amounts of potash are required by these crops and it is of vital importance to use for the onion a large amount of superphosphate, because of the fact that it, like lime, hastens the maturity and the proper ripening of the crop. It is also equally important not to use such a large amount of nitrogen as to make it out of balance with the potash, and in particular with the phosphoric acid, for if this is done growth will be unduly prolonged, the onions will have thick necks, and they will not ripen satisfactorily nor quickly.
Potatoes.
Fertilizers for potatoes must be very different according to the section of the country in which they are grown. For example, in the North, where the sea- son is short, the nights cold, and where the crop must be hurried along to the utmost, unusually large pro- portions of nitrates and of ammonium salts are indis- pensable, whereas in warmer regions, organic sources of nitrogen may be employed more largely, or perhaps in some favorable cases, they may be used exclusively. The potato crop is in need of quite large quantities of nitrogen, ranging usually from forty to ninety pounds an acre.
The percentages of potash required in potato fer- tilizers should be adjusted more particularly with reference to the locality, and whereas in many of the potato regions of New England 200 pounds of potash (equivalent to 400 pounds of muriate of potash) are considered necessary for each acre, the quantity could be reduced to one-half or even less in certain portions of the Middle West, or it might perhaps in some excep- tional cases be omitted altogether.
For several reasons it is important to insure high percentages of soluble and available phosphoric acid in potato fertilizers, since it often becomes the limiting factor in potato-production over large areas of the United States.
The effect of the fertilizers may be somewhat nulli- fied or intensified, according to the choice of seed. In all cases, seed which has heated or which has been exposed to frost, should be avoided. It has also been shown at the Agricultural Experiment Station in Rhode Island that, if other things are equal, seed tubers which are rich in nitrogen will usually give larger crops than those in which the nitrogen-content is low. The advan- tage of the high nitrogen-content of the tuber becomes magnified in case they are sprouted once or twice
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before planting. No amount of nitrogen applied in the field appears to be able to offset finally and fully the disadvantage of the tubers with the low nitrogen- content. This doubtless explains the advantage of early dug potatoes, for seed purposes, as compared with those which are allowed to mature, for the former are usually richer in nitrogen.
Asparagus.
Sandy soil is ideally adapted to the growing of aspara- gus. Nevertheless, whenever it is intended to estab- lish a plantation on land of this character, it is wise to turn under considerable stable manure or else a heavy leguminous crop such as hairy vetch. If this is done, the general soil conditions are rendered much more favorable and the asparagus has a better chance to gain a good foothold. Wherever the land needs liming, some lime should be plowed under and a further appli- cation should be made on the surface after plowing. The land should then be thoroughly harrowed or otherwise tilled.
Fine ground bone and basic slag meal have been used for asparagus very successfully when worked into the soil at the outset, although the latter is rather better adapted to it on account of the greater availability of the phosphoric acid and the fact that it contains con- siderable lime.
Some of the best growers of asparagus, on sandy eoils, have found that muriate of potash is a better source of potassium than the sulfate.
In humid regions fertilizers for asparagus should contain a considerable amount of nitrogen in nitrates, though other forms of nitrogen are also particularly to be desired on light soils, such as those usually employed for this crop, because of the danger of the loss of nitrates by leaching. It is obvious that, for top-dress- ing, superphosphate is preferable to any other form of phosphoric acid, because of its greater solubility. An ideal fertilizer for asparagus should contain super- phosphate, potash salts, and high percentages of nitro- gen, a part being derived from nitrates, some from ammonium salts, and also some of it from organic sources.
Sandy soils are likely to be very deficient in phos- phoric acid; hence, the quantity of this ingredient should be high. The fertilizer should likewise carry a high percentage of potash on sandy soils, excepting in regions in which it is known not to be needed. Although potash is usually the least deficient element in the sandy soils of humid regions, the demand of the asparagus plant on this ingredient of fertilizers is so great as to make its use profitable, whereas on other sandy soils in semi-arid regions, potash might not be required.
Mefaru.
On soils that are very acid, it is imperative to use considerable quantities of lime for canteloupes and muskmelons. Such soils will, nevertheless, produce good crops of watermelons, even if liming is omitted, and heavy liming with slaked or burned lime may, in some cases, even decrease the yield.
Owing to the fact that these crops are generally grown on light, gravelly or sandy soil, a fertilizer is demanded for humid regions containing a fairly high percentage of nitrogen. This should be represented by nitrates, to a still greater extent by ammonium salts, and a part should be from suitable organic sources. It should also contain a high percentage of soluble and immediately available phosphoric acid .and gen- erous amounts of potash in order to bring the crop to maturity as rapidly as possible. Plants of this character which have an extensive amount of foliage, usually require high percentages of potash. Special care should be taken to keep the fertilizer from coming in contact with the seed.
Squashes and pumpkins.
The common summer squash, as well as the Hubbard and crookneck varieties, are less in need of liming than canteloupes or muskmelons. Nevertheless, on very acid soils liming is decidedly helpful. These crops are all heavy feeders on nitrogen, a considerable part of which should be in immediately available nitrates and ammonium salts. Moderately high percentages of soluble and available phosphoric acid are necessary, although the summer squash, at least, responds much less to phosphoric acid and more to potash than the cereals and most other cultivated crops. On this account, the percentage of potash in fertilizers for squashes should be high, excepting, of course, where the soils are already rich in available forms of this ingredient.
Celery.
Celery is a crop that will thrive well on slightly acid soils. Nevertheless, where the acidity is great, liming is very beneficial. The quality of this crop depends very largely upon its making a rapid and steady growth. On this account a constant water-supply is one of the most important features connected with its culture. It is of the highest consequence that celery should have a large supply of nitrogen embracing suitable proportions of nitrate nitrogen, ammonium salts and organic materials. Fair amounts of soluble and avail- able phosphates are desirable, and on. the muck or peat soils where this crop is frequently grown, espe- cially large quantities of potash should be employed, since this is the fertilizer ingredient which they lack to the greatest extent. The form of potash usually preferred on such soils is the muriate, although fre- quently kainit is said to have given excellent results. Either is perhaps preferable to the high-grade sulfate of potash or to the double manure salt.
Cucumbers.
Cucumbers are considerably more in need of liming than squashes. In other respects they should have essentially the same fertilizer treatment. Great care should be taken in connection with squashes and pumpkins, as well as with cucumbers, not to allow the seed to come in close contact with the fertilizer, or, indeed, with soil into which large quantities of fertilizer have been introduced. If fertilizer is used in the hill it is well to have it thoroughly incorporated with the soil. Subsequently, this soil should be covered with fresh earth before the seeds are planted.
Tomatoes.
The tomato will grow quite well even on soils that are distinctly acid. Nevertheless, moderate liming is often helpful. When tomatoes are grown in green- houses it has been found that very large quantities of lime are helpful, by virtue of lessening the tendency to certain diseases, but the necessity for it is less in the field because of the lower temperatures and less humid conditions.
In order to hasten the ripening of this crop, it is very important to have large quantities of soluble and available phosphoric acid, and abundant potash in the fertilizer. One of the most important features is to have the nitrogen supply so regulated as to bring about at once a rapid and vigorous growth of the plants, but the quantity must not be so great as to prolong the growing period unduly, since this will prevent early ripening; and it is a well-known fact that the early fruit generally sells for a much higher price than that which matures later. Furthermore, a large proportion of the nitrogen should be present as nitrates and ammonium salts which can be readily utilized. It is also desirable to apply the entire amount at the time when the plants are set, or, at least, very shortly after- ward, for if successive applications are made at a later
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date they will result in prolonging the growing period and delay the ripening of the fruit.
Peas and beans.
Peas are usually much more helped by liming than beans. The latter vary widely in their lime require- ment as shown by the fact that on a soil so greatly in need of lime that the Golden Wax and Low's Champion (a green-podded variety) will scarcely produce half a crop, the pole Horticultural bean is only slightly benefited, and the lima bean is practically indifferent to it.
Notwithstanding that these plants are capable of assimilating atmospheric nitrogen, it is nevertheless usually desirable, especially when they are grown to be marketed in the green state, to employ a fertilizer containing a small or moderate amount of readily available nitrogen. This will aid in developing a root- system until such a time as the plants can draw their nitrogen supply to a considerable extent from the air.
Peas and beans also require moderate amounts of potash and phosphoric acid, in fact much more than would be the case if they did not grow so rapidly, and hence reach the crop-producing stage in a short inter- val of time. The common white field bean has been found to require potash more than phosphoric acid, under conditions in which the cereals and the common farm crops showed a greater response to the latter.
H. J. WHEELER.
FERULA (old Latin name, perhaps from the verb to strike; possibly the stems were anciently used as ferules). Umbelliferae. GIANT FENNEL. Hardy strik- ing herbs, prized for their spring and early summer foliage.
Stout perennial glabrous usually glaucous thick- rooted herbs, of perhaps 50 species in S. Eu., N. Afr., and W. Asia: Ivs. pinnately decompound, the ultimate segms. filiform or small (rarely broadish and dentate) : fls. small, in elevated compound many-radiate umbels; petals broad, mostly ovate-acute, the point often inflexed: fr. orbicular or ovate, piano-compressed, membranous-bordered. — The giant fennels are valued for the excessive fineness with which their foliage is cut, and their clusters of perhaps 40-50 umbels of minute yellow fls. borne on stout sts.. which rise far above the foliage. In spring the masses of foliage are very refreshing. The bold fl.-sts. make the plants useful for bordering plantations and for stream sides. The ferulas yield gum-ammoniac, galbanum and asafetida. The genus is now held to include Narthex, Scorodosma and Euryangium. These plants are not to be con- founded with the true fennels, which belong in Fceni- culum. Ferula is closely allied to Peucedanum. The species are difficult to represent in herbaria, and they are confused.
communis, Linn. COMMON GIANT FENNEL. Robust, 8-12 ft.: Ivs. light green, very numerous, forming a fine mound or clump, the segms. linear-setaceous; lf.- sheaths very large: fls. yellow; central umbel on a branch nearly sessile, and the surrounding ones stalked and mostly male. S. Eu. to Syria. — Presumably the F. gigantea of trade lists belongs here, although F. giganiea, Fedtsch., of Cent. Asia, is recognized botani- cally.
Var. brevifdlia, Mariz. (F. brevifolia, Link. F. Unkii, Webb & Berth. F. nodiflbra, Guss.). Ulti- mate If.-segms. shorter than in the type. The gum- ammoniac of Morocco comes from this plant. B.M. 8157. See history in Kew Bulletin, 1907, pp. 375-388.
tingitana, Linn. (F. sdncta, Boiss.). Robust, the st. leafy below, paniculate-corymbose above: Ivs. triangu- lar-ovate, quarternate pinnatisect, the segms. narrow- oblong and cut: fls. orange, in globose umbels. N. Afr. B.M. 7267. — Long supposed to be the source of gum- ammoniac. Probably not in the trade.
glauca, Linn. (F. neapolitana, Tenore). Very tall (to 14 ft.), branching: Ivs. large, pinnately decom- pound; segms. flaccid and broad-linear, obtusish and 1-nerved, green above and glaucous beneath: bracts at base of peduncles membranaceous, oblong, deciduous : fls. yellow, in many umbels. S. France to Dalmatia. G.C. III. 32:441, 442.
F. Assafoetida, Linn. (Assafcetida disgunensis, Kaempf. Scoro- dosma foetidum, Bunge). St. 6-12 ft., very stout and much- branched: Ivs. puberulous and minutely glandular or somewhat tomentose, the radical ones large and ternatisect with segms. oblong- lanceolate and obtuse: umbels on fleshy peduncles, 20-30-rayed, the fls. yellow. S. W. Asia. G.C. III. 32:443. An evil-smelling plant, one source of the drug asafetida. — F. Ndrthex, Boiss. (Narthex Asafoetida, Falconer). St. 6-8 ft., with large sheaths: Ivs. pubescent when young, 1-2 ft. long, ovate, the segms. either entire or irregularly serrate. S. W. Asia. B.M. 5168. A source of asafetida. A specimen described in G. F. 3, p. 523, required 16 years to attain
sufficient strength to bloom.
L. H. B.
FESTUCA (ancient Latin name for a kind of grass). Graminese. FESCUE-GRASS. Annual or perennial grasses grown for ornament or as pasture grasses.
Blades narrow: infl. few-fld., paniculate; spikelets 2- to several-fld.; lemmas firm, rounded on the back, usually acute or awned from the tip. — Species about 100, in the temperate and cooler parts of the world.
A. Spikelets awnless: blades flat, 2-4 lines wide.
elatior, Linn. TALL or MEADOW FESCUE. One to 3 ft.: spikelets 5-8-fld., about ^in. long. G. 8:179. Gn. 25, p. 428. — Frequently cult, as a meadow or pasture grass. The form called F. pratensis is rather smaller and has narrower panicles (Dept. Agric., Div. Agrost. 20:155), sometimes sold under the name Bromus pratensis, meadow brome-grass. Eu.
AA. Spikelets awned: blades narrow involute. B. Sts. loose and decumbent at base.
rubra, Linn. RED FESCUE . One - half to 2 ft. : base of sts. usually red. Eu. — • Occasionally used in mixtures for pas- tures.
BB. Sts. in close
erect tufts.
c. St.-blades flat, the basal blades long and slender. heterophylla, Lam. VARIOUS - LEAVED FES- CUE. Fig. 1498. One to 3 feet., slender: panicle rather loose; spikelets 4-6-fld. Eu.— Cult, as a lawn grass in shady places.
cc. St.- and basal blades involute.
ovina, Linn. SHEEP'S FESCUE. Fig. 1499. Six to 20 in.: panicle con- tracted after flowering, 2-4 in. long. Eu. Dept. Agric., Div. Agrost. 20: 281. — Sown in mixtures for pastures.
glauca, Lam. (F. ovina var. glauca, Hack.). BLUE FESCUE. Resem- bles F. ovina but has silvery blue, or glaucous foliage. Eu. — Used for borders.
duriuscula, Linn. (F. 1498. Festuca heterophylla. ( X YZ) OlAna var. duriuscula,
FESTUCA
FICUS
1229
Koch). HARD FESCUE. Blades firm and comparatively thick, 3^1inediam., often rough. Eu. — Pasture mixtures, vaginata, Waldst. & Kit. (F. amethystina, Hort., not Linn.). Sheaths and panicles purplish: foliage bluish: panicle 8 in. long. Eu. — Used for ornament.
A. S. HITCHCOCK.
FETTICUS. Another name for Corn-Salad. FEVER-BUSH: Benzoin. FEVERFEW: Chrysanthemum Parlhenium. FEVER-TREE: Pinckneya jiubens. FEVERWORT: Triosteum.
FIBER PLANTS are treated only incidentally in this work, and with particular reference to the horticultural values of the groups to which they belong. See Cyclo. Amer. Agric., Vol. II, p. 281.
FICUS (ancient Latin name). Moracex. The fig, the India rubber plant, the banyan tree and the creep- ing fig of conservatory walls belong to this vast and nat- ural genus, which has over 600 species scattered through the warmer regions of the world.
Ficus has no near ally of garden value. It is a genus of trees or shrubs, often climbers, with milky juice. In the common fig the Ivs. are deeply lobed, but in most of the other species they are entire or else the margin is wavy or has a few teeth or an occasional small lobe. The Ivs. are nearly always alternate, F. hispida being the only species of those described below which has opposite Ivs. The foliage in Ficus varies from leathery to membranous, and is variable in venation, so the veins are very helpful in telling the species apart. Ficus is monoecious or rarely dioecious, the apetalous or sometimes naked minute fls. being borne inside a hollow more or less closed receptacle ; stamens 1-3, with short and united filaments ; pistillate fls. with 1- celled sessile ovary, ripening into an achene that is buried in the receptacle. What the horticulturist calls the fig, or fruit, is the fleshy receptacle, while the fruit of the botanist is the seed inside (Fig. 1500). In the following account, fruit is used instead of receptacle.
The fertilization or caprification of the fig is one of the most interesting and complicated chapters in nat- ural history, and is of great practical importance. See Fig, where the culture of F. Carica is discussed.
The most important ornamental plant in the genus is the India rubber plant (F. elastica), which ranks amongst the most popular foliage plants for home use indoors. This is not the most important rubber- producing plant, both Hevea brasiliensis and Castillo, elastica being producers of more and finer rubber.
The creeping fig (F. pumila, better known as F. repens or F. stipulata) is one of the commonest and best climbers for covering conservatory walls. It clings close and makes a dense mat of foliage, which is about as dark in color as the English ivy. The plant has been cultivated since 1771, but within the last half-century has come to be recognized as the best plant for its special purpose. Once in a long while it fruits in conservato- ries, and the fruiting branches are very unlike the bar- ren ones. They stand out from the conservatory wall instead of lying flat and close. The leaves of the barren branches are less than an inch long and heart-shaped, with one side longer than the other at the base and a very short petiole; the leaves of fruiting branches are 2 to 3 inches long, elliptic-oblong, narrowed at the base, and with a petiole sometimes % inch long (Fig. 1501).
Among the many wonders of the genus Ficus are the epiphytal habit of some, the huge spread of the banyan tree (F. benghalensis) , and the fact that some species ripen their fruits under ground. Some of the tallest tropical trees are members of this genus, and often they begin life by climbing upon other trees. The ficus often overtops and outlives the other tree,
which may be seen in every stage of decay, or may have entirely disappeared, leaving the giant climber twined spirally around a great hollow cylinder. The banyan tree sends down some of its branches (or aerial roots) into the soil, these take root, make new trunks, and eventually produce a great forest, in which it is impos- sible to tell the original trunk. The banyan in the
botanic gardens at Cal- cutta sprang from a seed probably dropped by a passing bird into the crown of a date palm a little more than a century ago. The main trunk not many years ago, was 42 feet in circumference, with 232 additional trunks, many of them 8 to 10 feet in circumference, and the branches extend over an area 850 feet in circum- ference, forming a dense evergreen canopy through which sunlight never pene- trates. The banyan under which Alexander camped, and which is said to have sheltered 7,000 men, now measures 2,000 ft. in cir- cumference and has 3,000 trunks. Other species have the same method of propagation, but F. beng- halensis is the most famous.
The various species are cultivated both indoors northward and as shade and fruit trees in Florida and California. In this country the most impor- tant commercially is the fig, Ficus Carica, now widely grown in Califor- nia. For the botanical treatment of this difficult genus recourse has been had to King's "The species of the Indo-Malayan and Chinese countries" in Ann. Bot. Gard. Calcutta 1 :185 pp. + 232 plates, 1888, and wherever possible below reference is made to the splendid illustrations of that work, thus, K. 130.= King, plate 130. For the African species the recent treatment of Mildbraed and Burret on Die afrika- nischen Arten der Gattung Ficus. Engler's Bot. Jahrb. 46:163-269 (1911), has been consulted.
The cultivation of Ficus elastica. (H. A. Siebrecht.)
The rubber plant (Ficus elastica) which is known all over this country, is perhaps the most popular and satisfactory house plant that has ever been cultivated. It is a plant for the million. Some florists have several houses especially devoted to the propagation and culti- vation of this tough and thrifty plant. There are also thousands upon thousands of young plants or rooted cuttings from thumb-pots imported into this country, especially from Belgium and Holland, for marketing every spring. It is estimated that from 80,000 to 100,000 rubber plants are sold in America in a single year. There are several varieties of the rubber plant, but the true Ficus elastica is the best, both for grow- ing and for selling. It can be easily told from the smaller-leaved variety, which is smaller and lighter colored in all its parts, the stem being smoother, and the sheath that covers the young leaves lacking the brown tint, which often runs into a bright Indian red.
1499. Festuca ovina.
1230
FICUS
The method of propagating now popular in America employs old bushy stock-plants, either in pots or tubs, or planted out into a bed where the night temperature can be kept from 60° to 75° F. As soon as the young shoots are 5 to 6 inches long they are operated upon. An incision is made at the place where it is intended to root the young plant, cutting upward on a slant mid- way between two eyes, making the cut anywhere from 1 to 2 inches long, according to the thickness and length of the young shoot or branch. A small wedge, as a piece of match, is then inserted to keep the cut open. A large handful of clean, damp, well-prepared moss is then placed around the branch to cover the cut and is tied moderately firm with twine or raffia. Some use a small piece of charcoal for a wedge in the cut; others coat the two cuts with a mixture of char- coal dust and lime. The latter practice is beneficial in that it expedites the callusing of the cuts and the root- ing of the young plant after being cut and mossed. The moss should be kept constantly moist, and the higher the temperature, within reasonable limits, the quicker the rooting process goes on. The roots of the young plant usually appear on the outside of the oval-shaped bunch of moss. A complete cut can then be made below the moss and the young plant potted. The smaller the pot at first the better. The leaves of the young plants should be tied up in order that they may not be injured by coming in contact with one another or by lying flat on the pots. The young plants now require a gentle bottom heat and frequent syringing, — a dozen times on clear days. As soon as the young plants are taken from the stock-plant, a little wax should be put on the end of the cut to prevent the milky sap from escaping. The best time of the year to propagate and root ficus is from the first of January to May. The European growers never start much before the Christmas holidays; and from then until spring they make all their cuttings.
The older method of propagating rubber plants is Btill the favorite one abroad; it employs single-eye cut- tings. Sometimes, if the branches are very thick, only one-half the stem is taken with the eye and a single leaf, the leaf being curled up and tied with raffia, and the small piece with the eye set into the prop- agating-bed. This is a bed of sharp sand, or sometimes of sand and chopped sphagnum moss or fine cocoa-fiber. Frequently the single- eye cuttings are put at once into the smallest -sized thumb-pot, with a mixture of very finely ground pot- sherd and charcoal filling about one- half the pot, and either soil or sand for the remainder. A small stick is used to hold the leaf upright. These pots are plunged into the propaga- ting-benches in either sand, moss or fiber, and a steady bottom heat of 75° to 80° is apph'ed and kept up until the plants are rooted. As a rule, such beds are inclosed in a glasshouse, in order to keep about them a close, warm and moist at- mosphere. Only ventilation enough to permit the moisture caused by the evaporation to escape is allowed on these beds. In this country, propagation by the first described method can be continued nearly all the year round. From experience of both methods, the writer can say that the top-cutting and mossing pro- cess is better by far, especially where plenty of stock plants can be maintained.
After being shifted from the smaller-sized pots into 3- or 4-inch pots, the young plants will stand a great deal of liquid manure as soon as they are rooted through
1500. Young figs. Showing how they arise from the axis of the leaves.
or become somewhat pot-bound. Many propagators plant out the young plants from 3- and 4-inch pots into coklframes after the middle of May, or when all danger of night frost is past. They do very well in the bright, hot, open sun, but must receive plenty of water. After being planted out in frames, they should be potted not later than September, and for early marketing as early as August. The plan of planting out and potting in the later part of summer or early autumn is a very prac- ticable one, as the plants do not suffer so much from the severe heat during the summer.
altissima, 28. aurea, 12, 30. australis, 26. Barter!, 9. Bellinger!, 27. benghalensis, 32. Benjamina, 13. brevifolia, 16. Carica, 1. comosa, 13. Cunninghamii, 23. diversifolia, 18. Duvivieri, 12. elastica, 12, 26. erecta, 17. glabella, 15.
glomerata, 25. heterophylla, 11. hispida, 6. humilis, 11. indica, 31. infectoria, 22. Krishnse, 8. lutescens, 18. macrocarpa, 3. macrophylla, 19. minima, 4. nitida, 29. opposite folia, 6. Palmeri, 21. pandurata, 10.
Parcellii, 7. populnea, 16. Pseudo-Carica, 2. pumila, 4. quercifolia, 11. radicans, 5. religiosa, 14. repens, 4. retusa, 29. Roxburghii, 24. rubiginosa, 26. Sieboldii, 17. stipulata, 4. variegata, 5, 12. villosa, 20.
KEY TO THE SPECIES.
A. Fr. large, edible: Ivs. deeply lobed, decid- uous for at least 5 months: plants almost hardy from N. Y. southward.
B. Lrs. wavy-margined or lobed 1.
BB. Lvs. deeply lobed: fr. roughish 2.
AA. Fr. not usually edible, at least not as the fig is edible: Ivs. entire or toothed, but not deeply lobed and not deciduous for such a long time: plants, with exception of F. macrophylla, not hardy, and cult, in green- houses or outdoors in frostless areas of Fla. and Calif. B. Habit climbing or trailing, often clinging
to walls, c. Plant a climbing shrub or tree: Ivs.
about 5 in. long 3.
cc. Plant a creeping vine: hs. less than 4 in.
long. D. Lrs. unequally heart-shaped at base... 4.
DD. Lvs. only slightly notched at base 5.
BB. Habit erect or straggling, shrubs or trees; not climbing or trailing.
c. Lvs. usually opposite 6.
cc. Lvs. always alternate.
D. Foliage variegated 7.
DD. Foliage not variegated, except in a variety of F. elastica.
E. The Ivs. cup-shaped 8.
EE. The Ivs. not cup-shaped.
F. Length of Ivs. more than 4 times
the breadth 9.
FF. Length of Ivs. less than 3 times
the breadth. Q. Form of Ivs. fiddle-shaped or
banjo-shaped, very large 10.
GG. Form of Ivs. not as above.
H. Lvs. lobed, much as in the
native oaks: a shrub 11.
HH. Lvs. not so lobed.
I. Primary lateral nerves more than 8 pairs, usually much more. j. The primary lateral nerves
50 pairs or more 12.
K. Sheath rosy, showy: Ivs.
4-12 in. long 13.
KK. Sheath inconspicuous: Ivs.
2-4% in. long. 33. The primary lateral nerves
less than 50 pairs. K. Color of fr. purplish. L. Tree 100 ft. or less: Ivs.
very long-acuminate. . . . 14. LL. Tree small: Ivs. short -
acuminate 15.
KK. Color of fr. not purplish.
Carica Pseudp- [Carica
macro-
icarpa
pumila radicans
hispida Parcellii
Krishnse Barteri
pandu-
(rata
querci- [folia
elastica
Benja-