1883.J 



AND HURTICLLTLRIST. 



sun had reached its summer solstice. The mytho- Crossed Asparagus.— We see it stated that the 

 logical story is founded on the fact that the plant Gardeners' Monthly is opposed to the idea that 

 continued to open its flowers as the sun declined, asparagus can be crossed. Nothing is further 

 or, as Ovid might say, its affection for its beloved from the fact. The Gardeners' Monthly was 

 was in proportion as the lover fled from her to his , really the first to show, even many years ago, that 

 winter quarters. The Helianthus was named sun- ' the asparagus had separate sexes, and that it really 

 flower simply because the flowers resembled the could not seed at all unless crossed ; that is to say, 

 sun, and there is no relation between it and the that one plant must have the pollen from another 



sun-flower of mythology. 



Yet there are peculiarities worth noting. 



plant in order to produce seed. The position of 

 Trav- the Gardeners' Monthly simply is that there 



elers across the American plains, where sun-flow- cannot be any special variety, such as some 

 ers abound, have often observed a great propor- named plants have been sent out. But there is no 

 tion of flowers facing one direction, but there were reason why there may not be an improved race. 



always some in others, and these exceptions seemed 

 to prevent any generalizations as to special points 

 of the compass being favored more than others. 

 He has growing in his garden plants of Helian- 



If, for instance, a female plant which is a strong 

 grower and delicious eating, is fertilized by a poor 

 wiry plant, the progeny may be expected to be in- 

 ferior. If fertilized by one as good itself, the prog- 



thus mollis, from seeds gathered by him some i eny would be superior. There can be no ques- 



years ago from near Odin, in Illinois, and the flow- i tion about which seed would produce the best re- 



ers always seemed to have, to a great extent, a gen- suits. The plants would not be uniform, but there 



eral southern leaning, but until this season he had would be a general superiority. There can be no 



notthoughttomakeexact figures early enough tobe special \ ariity of asparagus, but there can and 



satisfactory. This season he found the first flowers there ought to be great care in the selection and 



open on the 7th of August. The upper portion of isolation of plants intended for seed, if one wishes 



the flower stalk is curved, so that when the flower to keep at the top of the heap with first-class as- 



opens some quarter of an inch of stem is at right 1 paragus. 



angles with the lower portion, and the face of the 



a ■ ,.1 I, ■ ^ 1 T4. u .1 Oil from Pine. — An important industrv, ac- 



nower is exactlv horizontal. It was subsequently ^ 



r J ^1- ^ ..u d • J • .u- t, ■ » 1 cording to La Xature, has sprung up within the 



found that the flower remained in this horizontal _ ^ .._ .. .. 



position till the last disk-floret had expanded, occu- 

 pying about three days, when the whole head com- 

 menced to take an erect position, taking about 

 three days more to fully accomplish. Commenc- 

 ing to open on the 7th of August, by the nth there 

 were sixty-eight flowers expanded, all facing ex- 



last few years in the French department of Landes. 

 It consists in extraction and applications of oils 

 from pine. These oils are of two sorts, the heavy 

 (pinoleum), obtained by distilling the resinous 

 wood at a low temperature, and used for painting 

 and wood-preser\ ing ; and the light oil for illumi- 



,, ,. . • 1 * ^u • r nation, got bv distilling in special apparatus, and 



actly southeast on opening, but on the evening of 1 *=" ■ . ^ ^, . ,. , ... 



,., , c luui-ji J ijurified with chemical agents. This light oil has 



this dav three were found which had changed^ " . . 1 r 



round to northeast, with a slight tendency up from 

 the horizon. On the 14th there were seventy- 

 three flowers open, twenty-one of which faced 

 northeast. On examining the matter carefully the 

 inclination to the north was found to be due to a 

 slight spiral or uncoiling growth during the ad- 

 vance from the horizontal rest to the erect position. 

 All do not do this, but uncurve rather than uncoil. 

 While this accounted for the northward advance, 

 often as much as ninety degrees in so many flow- 

 ers, it still left the reason for the original facing of 

 the flower to the southeast among the many prob- 

 lems of plant life yet to be solved. 



He referred to the several reasons offered in ex- 

 planation of polarity in the leaves of the compass 

 plant, pointing out the unsatisfactory character of .A(,ency. — Nehcmiah (irew, in 1682. first suggested 

 all of them. fertilization as the use of pollen by flowers. Cam- 



the same chemical composition as oil of turpentine 

 (CjoHie), and distils at the same temperature (150'^ 

 to 160), but has the advantage of not resinifying. 

 It contains neither pinic nor sylvic acid. .\s it 

 does not emit vapors except at a high temperature, 

 its use for hghting purposes is quite safe. Its lu- 

 minous intensity is greater than'that of petroleum : 

 it contains 88 per cent, of carbon, while petroleum 

 has 82 per cent. Two similar burners showed the 

 pine oil to have an advantage of 33 per cent, in 

 luminous intensity : the consumption was also less. 

 In the department of Landes roots and old stumps 

 of pine, formerly unutilized, are now made to ren- 

 der considerable quantities of oil. 



Fkktili/..\tion of Flowers hv Insect 



