56 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



for its appearance is that of a dead stick, with the lower 

 part rotted away leaving only the heart wood. But 

 far below the surface you will find a ten pound root 

 shaped like a sugar beet. This cactus has a pretty 

 flower that opens in the night. 



Some of the desert plants have escaped extinction by 

 reason of their strong odor. 'Polanisia uniglandulosa" 

 is an example. It is so fetid that no animal cares to 

 touch it. The flowers are ver\- pretty. 



Probably Dame Nature never came nearer producing 

 a "plantless spine" than when she made the shrubby, 

 green spined bush, Koeberlinia spinosa, which the 

 Mexicans call "junco." This is nothing but stem and 

 spines, but it is so profusely branched that it forms a 

 round head from three to four feet high. The flowers 

 grow from these smooth, bare spines, forming umbels 

 of pretty little white blossoms. 



All this plant life is the survival of unknown ages of 

 change that began when this region was perhaps partly 

 covered with water. The slow drying of these lakes 

 permitted the plants to adapt themselves to the chang- 

 ing conditions. Many of these are so resistant that 

 you may dig them up, or cut off branches and pile them 

 in a dry room, and after several months find them still 

 growing, throwing out new branches and even flower- 

 ing. I piled some Opuntia cactus in a dry room when 

 it was in flower and it continued to bloom and finally 

 ripened the fruit. I have had some of the smaller suc- 

 culent plants keep on growing while I was trying to 

 dry them in my plant press. Some of these must be 

 allowed to dry for a few days before they can be 

 planted, otherwise they will rot in the ground. This is 

 always done with the maguey. Surprisingly few of 

 these growths are useless to man. The natives have 

 cultivated and utilized them for centuries. 



From the sotol is made an alcoholic drink. Many 

 of the agaves, like the maguey, are used in a similar 

 way. The thick, fleshy leaves, or the bases of the 

 leaves which form fleshy bulbs, are cooked and eaten. 

 All this class of agaves furnish a fiber, so that you may 

 see a Mexican collecting the leaves and taking out the 

 fiber, with which he makes strong sacks, cords, ropes 

 and even coarse clothes. 



One of my pupils that lives in Sonoia said that we 

 could easily make an overland trip from C. Tuarez, 

 southwest, cross the Sierra Madre Mountains and come 

 out on the Gulf of California at Guaymas, and during 

 the journey he could get us enough roots, berries, nuts, 

 leaves and other native foods to" supply us and even 

 enable us to live well, provided he could have a rifle 

 for deer or for other animal food. 



As I have had some days' experience with this boy 

 on botanical trips, I know that he is as much at home 

 in the hills and mountains as in the dining room, and 

 as he speaks the Yaqui language he has no difficulty 

 in finding his way among those people. 



Only the magic touch of water is needed to make 

 these lands the richest in the world. 



When we bring cultivated plants into these regions 

 they often take on characteristics not found in those 

 parts from which the seed has come. Great changes . 

 are noticeable in the acidity of fruits, the greater num- 

 ber becoming sweeter. The long, hot days of sunshine 

 have a marked efifect upon the sugar content. 



Nearly all the northern part of the State of Chihua- 

 hua, as well as Coahuila and Sonora, partake of this 

 desert and semi-desert nature, and there is a similarity 

 in the plants, although we find different species in each 

 of these three states. 



Even the mountains on one side of a valley will have 

 species dififerent from those on the mountains of the 



other side. This is due to the character of the soil. 

 The Spanish bayonet (Yucca) thrives best on granite 

 and quartzite rocks; the ocatilla (Fouquiera splen- 

 den ) on clayey and slaty locations, while the cactus 

 is most abundant on limestone or on lava formations. 

 These preferences make the plants appear at times as 

 if they had been purposely arranged in belts or rows. 

 — Guide to Nature. 



RAISING ORCHIDS FROM SEED. 



One of the most progressive signs in horticulture is the 

 fact that in almost every garden there is a desire to im- 

 prove the dift'erent classes of plants, and to this end thou- 

 sands of seedlings are raised annually. (Jrchids are no 

 exception to this rule, and as seeds of most rare plants 

 are usually ofi^ered for sale, I see no reason why the great 

 orchid firms should not do likewise. The price, of course, 

 would depend upon the value of the plants used for 

 crossing and the possibilities of securing a percentage of 

 good varieties out of the resultant seedlings. Plants with 

 seed-pots have already been oft'ered for sale, and if ama- 

 teurs could buy seed, there would, no doubt, be a great 

 impetus given to the trade. 



Any one who contemplates taking up this interesting 

 branch of orchidology would do well if he started with 

 Cypripediums. or any of the terrestrial kinds. 



Seed should be sown, directly it is ripe, around the 

 base of older plants belonging to the same genus for 

 preference, although this is not essential. Select a speci- 

 men that will not require repotting for at least twelve 

 months, and see that the surface is free from moss or any 

 growth that is likely to choke the seedlings or impede 

 germination. The soil ought to be just below the rim of 

 the pot : then there is not so much fear of the seed being 

 washed away. Several plants should be picked out for 

 this purpose, because it often happens in the most up-to- 

 date establishments that seedlings only germinate on one 

 pot or seed-bed. 



After giving the host plant a good watering, the seed 

 may be sprinkled evenly over the soil with the blade of 

 an ordinary knife. From now onwards the soil must 

 never become dry, but extreme care should be exercised 

 in giving water. If seed is sown in only a few pots, the 

 receptacle may be stood in saucers of water until it rises 

 to the surface, and, failing this method, a fine-rosed 

 watering-pot can be employed. With ordinary care and 

 attention, germination will take place in six weeks or two- 

 months, as a general rule : but the grower must not be 

 impatient in this respect, as I have known seedlings to 

 appear twelve months and even longer after the time of 

 sowing the seed. 



^^'hen they have made one or two tiny leaves, they may 

 be removed with a pointed stick and placed singly in a 

 2-inch pot. The pots are filled with sphagnum moss, cut 

 un rather finely, and all the large heads are picked ofiF 

 when sorting out the rubbish and slugs. When all the 

 seedlings have been planted, the pots are plunged in some 

 old peat or other moisture-holding material, and lightlv 

 sprayed over directly the moss looks drv. As growth 

 advances, larger receptacles must be provided, and a little 

 fibrous peat incorporated with the sphagnum moss. It is 

 essential that the plants should be kept continually grow- 

 ing until they reach the flowering stage. A moist, buoy- 

 ant atmosphere must be maintained, especially during the 

 spring and summer months, and a minimum temperature 

 of SS° to 60° Fahr. Shade them from all strong sunlight, 

 and never allow them to suffer from dryness at the roots. 

 An important factor in the raising and growing of orchid 

 seedlings is cleanliness. — The Garden. 



