AND GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



173 



GOU 



interesting, G. Domingensis, is a common 

 creeper in the We&t Indies and Brazil. In 

 Jamaica it is called Chaw Stick, on account of 

 its thin, flexible stems being chewed as an 

 agreeable stomachic, and tooth brushes are 

 also made by cutting pieces of Chaw Stick to 

 a convenient length and fraying out the ends ; 

 and a tooth powder is prepared by pulveriz- 

 ing the dried stems. It is said to possess 

 febrifugal properties ; and on account of its 

 pleasant bitter taste is commonly used for 

 flavoring different cooling beverages. 

 Gout-weed. Common name for j^gopodium 

 podograria. 



Gourd. The genus of Cucurbita. 

 Bitter. CitruUus Colocynthis. 

 Bottle. Lagenaria vulgaris. 

 Dish-Eag, or Washing. Luffa cylindrica, and 



L. acutangula. 

 Oiange. Cucurbita aurantia. 

 Scarlet-fruited. Coccinea indica. 

 Snake. Trichosanthes anguina. 

 Wax or White. Benincasa (Cucurbita) ceri- 

 fera. 



Gove'nia. Named after J. R. Gowen, a distin- 

 guisliod horticulturist and hybridizer of 

 plants. Nat. Ord. Orchidacew. 



A small genus of interesting terrestrial 

 Orchids Irom Mexico. The flowers are borne 

 on spikes from one and a half to two feet 

 high, in the same manner as the Bletia. The 

 colors are mostlj' shades of yellow, beautifully 

 marked with crimson. Propagation and cul- 

 ture the same as for Bletia. 



Govran. Bellis perennis or Daisy. 



Gracilis. Slender, applied to the parts which 

 are long and narrow. 



Graft Hybrids. This is the term used by 

 Mr. Chas. Darwin, in his work, "Plants and 

 Animals under Domestication," to describe 

 what he believes to be an amalgamation of 

 the stock and the graft, so that there is a 

 seeming blending of the individualities in 

 some few cases which he cites. This theory 

 of Mr. Darwin's is by no means universally 

 accepted, and it is to be regretted that it 

 should have been propounded with such a 

 sparse array of examples in illustrating such 

 a novel theory. 



Grafting. This differs only from budding 

 (which see), inasmuch as the operation is 

 usually performed on deciduous plants when 

 in a partially dormant condition, and that 

 larger portions of the shoots are taken. Tlie 

 different forms of grafting ai"e known as 

 "wedge," "whip," 'side" grafting, etc. 

 Wedge grafting consists in sawing off the 

 stock to be grafted, and shaping the "cion" 

 or " graft" like a wedge, splitting the sawed 

 off stock an inch or two, and inserting the 

 wedge-shaped graft, being careful to let the 

 bark of the graft join the bark of the stock. 

 If the stock is more than an inch in diameter 

 a graft should be placed on each side. The 

 whip graft is used for small stocks, which are 

 of the thickness of the cions to be grafted. 

 The stock and cion are cut with a similar 

 slope, an inch or more in length ; to best keep 

 them in place before being covered with wax 

 or wax cloth, it is well to cut what is called a 

 "tongue" in the center of each, so that, 

 when placed together, the cion will keep in 

 place, the tongues being interlocked. The 



GEA 



whip system is that mostly used in root graft- 

 ing Roses, Apples, Clematis, etc. After the 

 cion has been attached to the stock by any of 

 the methods of grafting, it is covered over 

 either with a mixture of adhesive clay and 

 cow dung or grafting was, so as to keep it in 

 position until it starts to grow. 



Grafting wax can be purchased in most 

 seed stores, but when wanted in quantity it is 

 made according to the following formula : 

 four pounds resin, three pounds bees-wax, 

 and two pounds of tallow. This, heated and 

 mixed, will give the grafting wax of the shops. 

 A convenient way to use the grafting wax is 

 to dip in it thin calico or muslin cloth, which 

 can be torn into strips readily, and wrapped 

 around the graft so as to exclude the air. 



Grains of Paradise. See Amomum. 



Gram or Chick Pea. See Cicer. 



Gramina'ceae. A natural order of annual or 

 perennial herbaceous plants, with round, 

 usually hollow-jointed stems; narrow alter- 

 nate leaves, having a split sheath, and often 

 a ligule at the summit, and flowers arranged 

 in spikes or panicles, perfect or imperfect. 

 The flowers are composed of a series of leaves 

 or bracts, the outer called glumes, enclosing 

 one or moi'e flowers. Grasses are widely dis- 

 tributed over the world, forming about one- 

 twenty-second of all known plants. " They 

 contain in their herbage, and especiallj^ in 

 their seeds, nutritious principles, which 

 entitle them to the first rank among plants 

 useful to man, and whi«h are of the greatest 

 importance in an economic and political point 

 of view. The Cerealia are : Wheat, Triticum 

 sativum; Rye, Secale cereale; Barley, Hordeum 

 vulgare, H.distichum, etc. ; Oats, Avena saliva, 

 all cultivated by the Caucasian race in the 

 northern and temperate regions. Eice, Oryza 

 sativa, and Millet, Panicum miliaceum, origin- 

 ated among the Asiatic races. The Sugar- 

 cane, Saccharum officinarum is in all probability 

 a native of tropical Asia ; it has been culti- 

 vated from very ancient times in the East 

 Indies. A considerable number of GraminacecB 

 are medicinal, viz., Triticum repe.ns, T. glau- 

 cum, T. junceum, Cynodon Dactylon, Andro- 

 pogon bicornif, Arundo Donax, Calamagrostis," 

 etc. (Decaisne and Le Maout). 



The grain ^5 of Coix Lachrymce are used as 

 beads under the name of Job's Tears. The 

 Tussack grass of the Falkland Islands, is 

 Dactylis ccEspitosa. Some grasses, as Calama- 

 grostis (Ammuphila) arenaria, and others, are 

 useful in binding the loose sand on the sea- 

 shore. Darnel grass, LoUum fcmulentum, has 

 reputed poisonous qualities, and some think 

 that it is the Tares of Scripture. This order 

 also furnishes numerous ornamental garden 

 plants, some of the most striking of wiiich 

 are Arundinariafalcata. and A. metahe, Arundo 

 Donax (the Provence Cane), Bambiisa Arundi- 

 nacecB, Panicum plicatum variegatum, Zea 

 Japonica variegata, etc. There are about 300 

 genei-a of grasses, and 4,000 species. 

 Gramma'nthes. From gramma, Avriting, and 

 anthos, a flower ; marks like V being on tlie 

 corolla. Nat. Ord. Crassulacece. 



Succulent herbaceous plants, natives of the 

 Cape of Good Hope. Seeds sown in the 

 green-house in January will make very showy 

 and interesting plants for rock-work during 

 summer. The flowers closely resemble those 



