AN ENCYCLOPADIA 
OF HORTICULTURE. 961 
Canker—continued. : 
cleansing, and a smearing of quicklime, made into a wash, 
often proves successful. Strong tobacco water will destroy 
insects, and a weak solution of sulphuric acid is also fatal 
to lichens and mosses, which should never be allowed to 
obtain a footing. The chief preventatives, therefore, are: 
Planting in well-drained soil; avoiding the use of any 
rank manure, to cause excessive growth; changing the 
old, or adding new, soil to injured trees; careful pruning, 
and the encouragement of early growth in spring, and 
subsequent well ripening in autumn. 
CANNA (derivation uncertain; according to some, trom 
cana, the Celtic name for cane, or reed). Indian Shot. 
ORD. Scitaminee. A large genus of stove herbaceous peren! 
nials, very extensively employed in sub-tropical and other 
` methods of summer gardening. Flowers spathaceous; 
anther attached to the edge of the petal-like filament. 
Leaves very ornamental. Few plants are more easily 
grown, or more quickly propagated. Seeds of many of 
the finer sorts may be bought cheaply from respectable 
seedsmen. ‘These should be sown in heat, in February or 
is Dittictor ‘them, and a covering of l}in. or 2in. of 
earth is not excessive. They should be sown thinly, in 
pans. As Ca are gross} and have somewhat brittle 
roots in a young state, it is a good plan to sow the seed 
singly in small pots. This method preserves all the roots 
intact, and prevents any check in potting off or dividing 
the plants out of seed pans or boxes. When this is not 
done, the plants must be potted off singly, as soon as they 
have formed two leaves, 3in. pots being used for the first 
shift. The soil can hardly be too rich and porous. Equal 
parts rotted dung, loam, and sand, with a little peat, form 
Canna—continued. 
a capital mixture for them. The plants must be kept in 
a growing temperature of 60deg. or so, during their earlier 
stages, and shifted as required into larger pots. Under 
proper management, the roots will fill Gin. pots by the 
middle or end of May. They ought not to be planted 
out till the end of May or the first week in June. Should 
fairly rich soil and a sheltered place be selected for them, 
they will not only grow, but flower freely during the late 
summer and autumn months. Cannas are also very effec- 
tive indoors, either for greenhouse or room decoration. 
For these purposes they may be grown on in 8in., 10in., or 
even 12in., pots, with rich soil, and placed either in a stove, 
intermediate house, warm or cool conservatory, window, or 
room. Liberal supplies of manure water will be of very 
great benefit. Propagation is also effected by means of 
divisions; they form a root-stock very like some of the 
commoner and more free-growing Irises, each portion of 
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Fig. 359. CANNA INDICA, showing Habit, Flowers, and Leaves. 
which, with bud and roots attached, may be converted 
into an independent plant. The best mode of procedure 
is to divide the rootstock ine: 
may be placed in 4in. pots # 
bottom heat of 60deg. or so, thi 
action and grow rapidly, ey may also be propagated 
by division without bottom heat. Those who grow large 
quantities seldom put their plants in pots at all. Stored 
in pots or boxes for the winter, they are divided and 
placed singly in similar positions in the spring, and trans- 
ferred from such vessels into the open air. The best open 
site for Cannas is in a sheltered spot, with a good depth 
of rich soil, and plenty of moisture. In such a position, 
their noble leaves are not so much injured by rough 
winds. After flowering, or at the end of the season, they 
may be lifted and stored away in boxes, or in pots of 
earth, in dry, frost-proof sheds, or under greenhouse stages 
during winter. In warm, sheltered situations, with dry 
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