Stove and Greenhouse Plants and Flowers 191 



ever, there can be little mistake about C. insigne, C. Leeanum, C. Charles- 

 worthii, C. Fairrieanum, C. Spicerianum, C. villosum, C. barbatum, C. 

 Laivrenceanum, C. niveum, and C. callosum. [c. H. c.] 



Palms. Of the four or five hundred species of Palms known in 

 cultivation but very few have attracted the attention of the market 

 grower. Although nearly all kinds are ornamental in foliage and graceful 

 in habit, most of them lack the main features required by commercial 

 gardeners namely, rapidity of growth and easiness of propagation. Some 

 ornamental Palms, although grown easily and quickly enough, are still 

 too scarce to make it worth while devoting a large space to their culture. 

 Others, again, may be obtainable 

 in quantity, but unfortunately 

 it takes so long to bring them 

 to saleable size that the grower 

 cannot afford to keep the space 

 they would occupy so long under 

 one particular crop. The mar- 

 ket grower, therefore, looking 

 at Palm growing purely from a 

 commercial standpoint, confines 

 himself to those species which 

 will sell readily at a reasonable 

 price, and can be produced in 

 a comparatively short time. 



The trade in Palm seeds is 

 enormous, and millions are im- 

 ported annually into the British 

 Islands alone of the most popular 

 kinds, such as the Kentias, Cocos 

 Weddelliana, (7. flexuosa, Livis- 

 tona chinensis, Seaforthia ele- 



gans, Corypha australis, &c. On the Continent also a very extensive 

 trade is done in Palms. 



All market Palms, and indeed most Palms, are raised from imported 

 seeds. These are generally sown, in shallow pots or pans or wooden 

 boxes, in rich sandy soil of a loamy nature, and are placed in warm 

 moist houses to ensure rapid germination. Before sowing, some growers 

 steep the seeds in tanks of water, and it is often noticed that large 

 numbers of seeds float on the surface of the water. These are considered 

 to be old seeds, that have lost a good deal of substance and perhaps 

 vitality, whilst those that sink to the bottom are heavier and fresher, 

 and more likely to give better germinating results. 



When the seedlings have made two or three leaves they are potted 

 up singly into 3-in. pots in a rich gritty loam with a little leaf mould 

 or well-decayed manure added. They are still grown on in heat and 

 moisture, and in due course many find their way into 3-in. or 5-in. pots. 



Fig. 291. Cocos Weddelliana 



