MARCH 10, 1S9S. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



607 



Calamus Ciliaris. 



suffice to bring them out in a few 

 weelis. Ttiis, of course, applies to 

 those to be grown and sold as pot 

 plants. The stronger growing kinds 

 had best be kept growing on, shifting 

 as desirable till they are in 12-inch 

 pots or tubs, ripening the wood well at 

 the end of the second summer. These 

 will flower the following spring, and 

 after treatment becomes a matter of 

 simple routine, though it may be well 

 to mention that these large plants may 

 easily be kept in the open air for the 

 summer months, putting them outside 

 when their season's growth is well ad- 

 vanced. These large acacias for cut- 

 ting may be particularly commended 

 to florists who have glass and grow a 

 quantity of the material they use, 

 while others who make a specialty of 

 pot plants for market would assured- 

 ly find the dwarf growers a remunera- 

 tive article if well done. 



A. HERRINGTON. 



CALAMUS CILIARIS. 

 The rattan palms, or calamus, in- 

 clude twenty or more species of slen- 

 der growing and very graceful palms 

 that are found in a wild state in vari- 

 ous portions of the tropics, chiefly in 

 India or the East Indies. 



Some of the species become climbers 

 in their native country, and are said to 

 attain a length of stem of 200 to 300 

 feet, and to trail over the tops of forest 

 trees in Java and Borneo, but the sub- 

 ject of our illustration is one of the 

 smaller growing species, and not likely 

 to outgrow its accommodations for a 

 period of several years at least. 



Calamus ciliaris is a particularly 

 graceful palm in a young state, having 

 a slender, reed-like stem, and finely di- 

 vided pinnate leaves. The leaves of 

 this species are light green, the pin- 

 nae narrow and arranged very closely 

 on the stem, and the foliage is rather 

 soft to the touch, owing to its being 

 covered with short, hair-like bristles. 



C. ciliaris is essentially a warm 

 house palm, flourishing in a tempera- 

 ture of 70 to 75 degrees, with abundant 

 moisture, its tropical jungle habitat 

 giving us some idea as to its cultural 

 wants. 



The leaves of this species being rath- 

 er thin in texture, it is liable to at- 

 tacks of red spider unless freely 

 syringed and watered, but when well- 

 grown is very attractive, and while not 

 adapted for all trjide purposes is a val- 

 uable and effective plant for special oc- 

 casions. 



C. ciliaris suckers freely around the 

 base, and by careful handling these 

 suckers may be removed and establish- 

 ed, but it is necessary to keep them 

 rather close and warm for a time in 

 order to encourage the new roots, and 

 also to be careful that they are not al- 

 lowed to get too dry. 



W. H. TAPLIN. 



SOIL FOR BENCHES CARNATIONS. 



What can I use instead of sod for 

 the bottom of rose benches? Sod is 

 hard to get. Is there anything else as 

 good? 



What soil should be used for carna- 

 tions? Should it be different from that 

 for roses? My carnations have grown 

 tall, but have bloomed hardly at all, 

 notwithstanding they have shown 

 thousands of buds all winter. 



* J. R. E. 



The question has often been asked 

 and has occurred to all of us. What 

 is the best way to prevent the new soil 

 from dropping through the spaces be- 

 tween boards of rose and carnation 

 benches, as considerable will do if the 

 boards are from a half to three-quar- 

 ters of an inch apart, which they 

 should be for rose growing. This 

 question was asked, and answered 

 from the platform at the con- 

 vention of the S. A. P. years 

 ago in New York by John 

 H. Taylor, who said he put nothing on 

 the bottom. The small quantity that 

 fell through he could afford to lose, 

 and that is largely true. There is, 

 however, some waste about it, and I 

 have always found that you could pict 

 out of your compost enough soddy ma- 

 terial to lay over the cracks before you 

 wheeled in the bulk of your compost. 

 On carnation benches I always take 

 in a few barrow loads of rotted ma- 

 nure and distribute that over the 

 cracks. 



Carnations are grown in widely dif- 

 ferent textures of soil. On Long 

 Island, where they certainly grow 

 grand carnations, the soil is a yellow 

 sandy loam. Lately I have seen su- 

 perb carnations grown in the fat prai- 

 rie soil of Illinois, but they added to 

 that soil some clay and lime. In the 

 neighborhood from which I write there 

 is a great diversity of soil, some light 

 sandy loam, some heavy loam almost 

 a clay, and yet another, a brown light 

 loam, largely impregnated with lime. 

 Without any claims to analysis of soil 

 in the least, I know enough to say that 

 color and texture do not decide quali- 

 ty of soil, and it may contain In- 

 gredients that it would take a chemist 

 to demonstrate. It is certain that car- 

 nations do not all do equally well in 

 the same soil, and to classify all the 

 varieties - to their respective soils 

 would be a long chapter, even if it 

 were possible. One example I can give: 

 Daybreak, that yet glorious variety, 

 will produce its finest flowers and 

 stems in a heavy soil, while the well 

 known Scott does much better in a 

 light loam. 



