424 



HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS 



SOY 



She wrote me a woeful story last week, saying 

 that, though the Roses had arrived seemingly 

 all right, they had all died but one, and what 

 was very singular, she said, the one that lived 

 was the one that Mr. Jones had stepped on, 

 and which she had thought sure was crushed 

 to death, for Mr. Jones weighs two hundred 

 pounds. Now, though I do not advise any 

 gentleman of two hundred pounds putting 

 his brogan on the top of a tender Rose plant 

 as a practice conducive to its healtli, yet, if 

 Mrs. Jones could have allowed her weighty 

 lord to press the soil against the root of each 

 of her dozen Roses, I much doubt if she 

 would now have to mourn their loss. 



It has often been a wonder to many of us, 

 who have been workers in the soil for a gene- 

 ration, how some of the simplest methods of 

 culture have not been practiced until we were 

 nearly done with life's work. 



There are few of us but have had such ex- 

 perience ; personally, I must say that I never 

 pass through a year but I am confounded to 

 find that some operation can not only be 

 quicker done but better done than we have 

 been in the habit of doing it. 



These improvements loom up from various 

 causes, but mainly from "suggestions thrown 

 out by our employees in charge of special de- 

 partments, a system which we do all in our 

 power to encourage. 



As a proof of the value of such Improve- 

 ments which have led to simplifying our oper- 

 ations, I will state the fact, that though my 

 area of green-house surface is now more than 

 double that which it was in 1870, and the land 

 used in our florist's business one-third more, 

 yet the number of hands employed is less novv 

 than in 1870, and yet, at the same time, the 

 quality of our stock is infinitely better now 

 than then. 



Whether it is the higher price of labor in 

 this country, that forces us into labor-saving 

 expedients, or the interchange of opinions 

 from the rjreater number of nationalities cen- 

 treing here, that gives us broader views of 

 culture, I am not prepared to state; but th t 

 America is now selling nearly all the products 

 of the green-house, garden, nui-sery, and farm, 

 lower than is done in Europe, admits of no 

 question ; and if my homely suggestions in 

 this matter of firming the soil around newly- 

 planted seeds or plants will in any degree 

 assist us in still holding to the front, I shall 

 be gratified. 



Soymi'dia febrifuga. The Rohuna of Hin- 

 dostan is the only species of a genus of 

 Meliacem, peculiar to the East Indies. It 

 forms a tall tree with wood resembling 

 mahogany, and a very bitter astringent bark. 

 On the Coi-omandel coast of India, it is known 

 as the Red-wood Tree. 



Spadix. A succulent spike bearing many ses- 

 sile, closely placed flowers ; a spike inclosed 

 in a spathe. 



Spanish Bayonet or Spanish Dagger. A popu- 

 lar name for Yucca aloifolia, and other species. 



Spanish Blue-Bell, or Squill. Scilla Hispanica. 



Spanish Broom. See Spartium junceum. 



Spanish Chestnut. Castanea sativa. 



Spanish Lily. See Hymenocallis. 



Spanish Oak. Quercus falcata. 



Spanish Oyster Plant. See Scolymus Hispanicus. 



SPA 



Spara'xis. From sparossa, to tear; alluding to 

 the lacerated spathes. Nat. Ord. Iridacem. 



This genus is fast rising in the estimation 

 of both the florist and the gardener. Varie- 

 ties, very pleasing in color, are annually 

 raised in Europe. It is a dwarf, bulbous fam- 

 ily of plants from the Cape of Good Hope, pro- 

 ducing flowers, many of them exceeding two 

 inches across, exceedingly rich and beauti- 

 ful in their coloring, being blotched, spotted, 

 flaked and varied with pure white, yellow, 

 orange, red, purple and violet, in almost 

 every possible manner. They are more com- 

 pact and dwarf than the Ixia, few of them 

 attaining a greater height than six to twelve 

 inches, and they succeed best planted in a 

 frame where they can have a slight protection 

 during winter. They succeed well also grown 

 in pots in a cool green-liouse. The bulbs 

 should be potted in September, and kept 

 under a bench until they begin to grow, when 

 they should be given light and water. Three 

 or four bulbs may be put into a five-inch pot 

 with good effect. They were first introduced 

 in 1811, and are rapidly increased by offsets or 

 by seeds. 



Sparga'nium. Bur Reed. From sparganon, a 

 fillet ; because of the ribbon-like leaves. Nat. 

 Ord. Typhacem. 



A genus of marsh plants, of which the Bur 

 Reed is typical, found in almost every part of 

 the world. The root of S. ramosum and of 

 S. simplex \\?i9, formerly used medicinally under 

 the name of Radix sparganii, and was sup- 

 posed to cure snake bites. The stem has 

 been used for making paper. 



Sparma'nnia. In honor of Dr. A. Sparmann, a 

 Swedish botanist, who accompanied Captain 

 Cook in his second voyage around the world. 

 Nat. Ord. Tiliac&e. 



8. Africana, African Hemp, the only de- 

 scribed species of this genus, is a very beauti- 

 ful, evergreen, green-house shrub, introduced 

 into Europe from the Cape of Good Hope in 

 1790. It is a shrub from six to twelve feet 

 high, with long-stalked, heart-shaped leaves, 

 and clothed with soft, downy and pretty 

 white flowers in umbels. S. A. flore-pleno, is 

 a handsome double flowered variety. They 

 are old favorites in the green-house, and are 

 propagated by cuttings. 



Sparrow Grass. A corruption of Asparagus. 



Sparrows. Of late years the Sparrow has be- 

 come a bone of contention with farmers and 

 gardeners, many contending that they were 

 more harmful than useful, driving away by 

 their numbers and pugnacity the many insec- 

 tivorous birds, as the Robin, Oriole, etc., 

 which must feed on insects or starve, and even 

 urging a war of extermination against them. 

 In England strenuous efforts have for many 

 years been made to limit their number by 

 shooting the birds, removing the eggs and 

 nests where accessible, and even, in souie sec- 

 tions, by putting a price on their heads. Be 

 this as it may, many of us can remember the 

 disgusting Measuring-worm that festooned 

 the shade trees in New York, Brooklyn, and 

 other cities, some twenty-five years ago. These 

 decreased in proportion as the Sparrows in- 

 creased, and the trees in our parks and streets 

 are now almost clear of their ravages. The 

 same is true of the Rose Slug. Before the 

 Sparrow got so plentiful in our neighborhood 



