194 



Some of the variations among these daylilies of the species H. 

 fulva are certain to be of value in culture and in the breeding for 

 new horticultural types. Already in the breeding work at The 

 New York Botanical Garden the plants with pink and red color- 

 ings in the flowers have been used in selective breeding and seed- 

 lings obtained that are of sprightly and pleasing shades of bright 

 red. 



A. B. Stout. 



THE COCONUT-PALM— COCOS NUCIFERA* 

 Later Planting and Intensive Cultivation in Florida 



After the activities described in the preceding paragraphs had 

 subsided, a second period of interest in the coconut was ushered 

 in by the developments inaugurated and carried on by Commo- 

 dore W. J. Matheson on Key Biscayne and other places in south- 

 ern Florida. The following description of the activities at Key 

 Biscayne have been furnished by the Honorable Hugh M. Mathe- 

 son, who is in charge of the planation. 



" The soil of Key Biscayne is generally a loose, calcareous 

 sand, with a small amount of humus, giving it a slightly dark 

 color. The fresh-water table stands, on an average, about three 

 feet below the surface of the ground. Just above this water table 

 is calcareous marl or hardpan. Before exposing this hardpan to 

 the air, it can easily be penetrated by roots and cut with a spade. 

 When exposed to the air, it becomes quite hard and makes an ex- 

 cellent road-dressing. The best results obtained in planting coco- 

 nuts occurred where the water table did not exceed two feet 

 below the surface of the ground. The fresh-water table fluctu- 

 ates with tide, both daily and seasonal, and also with the seasonal 

 rains. 



" The native growth found on the Key was practically all saw- 

 palmettos of enormous size, mixed with other growth, such as 

 sea-grapes, cabbage-trees, and poison-wood. The best results in 

 coconut planting were produced on rather low land thickly cov- 

 ered with large saw-palmettos. The soil seems to have been 

 poorer where the proportion of native growth was small, the scat- 

 tered saw-palmettos being heavily mixed with sea-grape and 

 poison-wood. 



"Continued and concluded from lour. N. Y. Bot. Gard. 30: 1 53—161 . 

 Jl 1929. 



