THE PIvANT WORLD 121 



Easter Lily Bulbs. — It is perhaps well known that the supply of Lil- 

 hmi Harrisii bulbs is grown in the Bermudas, and in the haste to market 

 the crop the bulbs are often gathered before they are fully mature. In 

 order to compare the value of mature and immature bulbs Mr. A. F. 

 Woods, of the Department of Agriculture, selected fifty healthy plants 

 growing in one of the best bulb fields of Bermuda. Twenty-five of these 

 plants were dug about the middle of May and the bulbs shipped to the 

 United States, where they were stored in a cool place. The remaining 

 25 plants were dug and shipped the latter part of July. At this time the 

 tops of the plants were dead. Both lots of bulbs were planted in pots in 

 August in the usual manner. The following winter the immature bulbs 

 produced 64 per cent of badly diseased and worthless plants and 36 per 

 cent of poor plants, averaging but 4/^ flowers each. The mature bulbs 

 produced 68 per cent of good strong plants, averaging 7 flowers each, 

 and 32 per cent showing some disease of the leaves, but even with these 

 most of the flowers were all right. The plants were Vi taller than those 

 from immature bulbs. 



Dutchman's Pipe for a Porch Vine. — One of the handsomest of the 

 quick-growing perennials for a porch is the dutchman's pipe (^Aristolochia 

 macrophylla) , a native of the Eastern United States. It is a very tall- 

 growing vine and in a few years will cover the entire front of a house, if 

 not controlled, with its tangle of branches and great heart-shaped leaves. 

 It makes a dense and impenetrable shade, and not the least of its attrac- 

 tions are the curious U-shaped, three-lobed flowers which are borne 

 in great profusion in early spring before the leaves are fully mature. 



Oranges in California. — According to a recent paper in a publication 

 by the U.S. Geological Survey on the water supply in the orange-growing 

 region of California, it costs in the neighborhood of $900 an acre to get 

 a citrus orchard in bearing condition, including land, water, and interest 

 on the investment. Under favorable conditions a ten-year-old orchard 

 should produce $200 gross and $100 net per acre. When all conditions 

 are satisfactory it takes five or more years of hard, patient, and intelligent 

 work to place an orchard on a paying basis. 



Professor L. M. Underwood, in pursuing further his studies on 

 our North American ferns, has reached the conclusion put forth by the 

 German botanist Willdenow, nearly a century ago, that the royal ferns 

 of America and Europe, hitherto known as the same species {.Osviunda 

 regalis), are really entirely distinct. Our royal fern is henceforth to be 

 known as Os77iunda spectabilis Willd. The chain-ferns, which we have 

 hitherto called Woodivardia, are placed by Professor Underwood in two 

 distinct genera, though the specific names remain the same. They will 

 be called Anchistea Virginica and Lorinseria areolata. 



