An Encyclopedia of Horticulture. 



261 



Canker — continued. 

 cleansing, and a smearing of quicklime, made into a wa?h, 

 often proves successful. Strong tobacco water will destroy 

 insects, and a weak solution of sulphuric acid is also fatal 

 to lichens and mosses, which should never be allowed to 

 obtain a footing. The chief preventatives, therefore, are : 

 Planting in well-drained soO ; avoiding the use of any 

 rank manure, to cause excessive growth ; changing the 

 old, or adding new, soil to injured trees : careful pruning, 

 and the encouragement of early growth in spring, and 

 subsequent well ripening in autumn. 



CANNA (derivation uncertain ; according to some, trom 

 cana, the Celtic name for cane, or reed). Indian Shot. 

 Oed. Scitamine(B. A large genus of stove herbaceous peren- 

 nials, very extensively employed in sub-tropical and other 

 methods of summer gardening. Flowers spathaceous ; 

 anther attached to the edge of the petal-like filament. 

 Leaves very ornamental. Few plants are more easily 



Canna — continued. 

 a capital mixture for them. The plants must be kept in 

 a growing temperature of 60deg. or so, during their earlier 

 stages, and shifted as required into larger pots. Under 

 proper management, the roots will fill 6in. pots by the 

 middle or end of May. They ought not to be planted 

 out till the end of May or the first week in June. Should 

 fairly rich soil and a sheltered place be selected for them, 

 they will not only grow, but flower freely during the late 

 summer and autumn months. Cannas are also very effec- 

 tive indoors, either for greenhouse or room decoration. 

 For these purposes they may be grown on in 8in., lOin., or 

 even 12in., pots, with rich soil, and placed either in a stove, 

 intermediate house, warm or cool conservatory, window, or 

 room. Liberal supplies of manure water will be of very 

 great benefit. Propagation is also effected by means of 

 divisions ; they form a root-stock very like some of the 

 commoner and more free-growing Irises, each portion of 



Fig. 359. Canna indica, showing Habit, Flowera, and Leaves. 



grown, or more quickly propagated. Seeds of many of 

 the finer sorts may be bought cheaply from respectable 

 seedsmen. These should be sown in heat, in February or 

 March. A warm house or cucumber pit is the best place 

 for sowing the seeds, which are very hard. If soaked in 

 tepid water tor twenty-four hours, germination will bo 

 materially stimulated. A mixture of sand and leaf mould 

 is best for them, and a covering of IJin. or '2in. of 

 earth is not excessive. They should be sown thinly, in 

 pans. As Cannas are gross, and have somewhat brittle 

 roots in a young state, it is a good plan to sow the seed 

 singly in small pots. This method preserves all the roots 

 intact, and prevents any check in potting off or dividing 

 the plants out of seed pans or boxes. When this is not 

 done, the plants must be potted off singly, as soon as they 

 have formed two leaves, Sin. pots being used for the first 

 shift. The soil can hardly be too rich and porous. Equal 

 parts rotted dung, loam, and sand, with a little peat, form 



which, with bud and roots attached, may be converted 

 into an independent plant. The best mode of procedure 

 is to divide the rootstock in early spring, when the pieces 

 may be placed in 4in. pots at once ; and, if plunged in a 

 bottom heat of 60deg. or so, they will quickly resume root 

 action and grow rapidly. They may also be propagated 

 by division without bottom heat. Those who grow large 

 quantities seldom put their plants in pots at aU. Stored 

 in pots or boxes for the winter, they are divided and 

 placed singly in similar positions in the spring, and trans- 

 ferred from such vessels into the open air. The best open 

 site for Cannas is in a sheltered spot, with a good depth 

 of rich soil, and plenty of moisture. In such a position, 

 their noble leaves are not so much injured by rough 

 winds. After flowering, or at the end of the season, they 

 may be lifted and stored away in boxes, or in pots of 

 earth, in dry, frost-proof sheds, or under greenhouse stages 

 during winter. In warm, sheltered situations, with dry 



