854 



KALMIA 



KANSAS 



decorative, contrasting well with the red and yellowish 

 branches. The species is also easily forced and makes 

 a very handsome pot-plant. The other species are 

 pretty border plants for evergreen shrubberies. The 

 Kalmias thrive well in a sandy, peaty or loamy .soil, 

 but dislilce clay and limestone. They grow almost as 

 well in swamps as in drier locations and prefer partly 

 shaded situations, but thrive also well in sunny places, 

 provided there be sufSoieut moisture. They rerjuire gen- 

 erally almost the same treatment as the hardy Rhodo- 

 dendron, but are less particular about soil and position. 

 Transplanting, if carefully done either early in fall or in 

 spring, is not difficult; a mulching the first season after 

 planting will be of much advantage to keep the roots 

 from drying in summer and from frost in winter. Prop, 

 usually by seeds sown in sandy, peaty soil in pans or 

 boxes in early spring and kept in a cool frame or green- 

 house. The seedlings should be pricked oil as soon as 

 they can be handled, and after they are again established 

 gradually hardened off and the following year trans- 

 planted in frames or beds outdoors. V'ars. of A', liiti- 

 folia are usually increased by side-grafting on seedlings 

 in the greenhouse or by layers, since it grows less 

 readily from cuttings, while the other species may be 

 prop, by cuttings of half-ripened wood under glass. 

 Six species in N. Amer. and Cuba, allied to Rhododen- 

 dron : fls. in terminal or lateral corymbs or umbels, 

 rarely solitary; calyx 5-parted; corolla saucer-shaped 

 or broadly companulate, 5-lobed; stamens 10, with slen- 

 der filaments, the anthers held back in little pouches of 

 the corolla, springing up suddenly aud discharging the 

 pollen it touched : ovary 5-celled, superior ; capsule 



/, 







>i^ W^/4,- 





1205. Kalmia latifolia (X!^). 



globular, parting into 5 valves, with numerous minute 

 seeds. The Ivs. of the Kalmias are said to be poisonous 

 to animals, especially those of IC. antiustifoJiii. The 

 flower of Kalmia is one of those proposed as a national 

 flower emblem, especially on account of the exquisite 

 symmetrical beauty of the single flower. It is a purely 

 American genus, but unfortunately it is popularly known 

 only in the eastern states. 



A. Fls. in umbels or corymbs. 



B. ii'5. evergreen. 



c. Branch lets terete: Ivs. pale green beneath. 



latifdlia, Linn. Mountain or American Laurel. 

 Calico Bush. Fig. 1205. Shrub, 4-lU tt. high, rarely tree 

 to 30 ft., with dense, round-topped head: Ivs. petioled 

 alternate or irregularly whorled, oblong or elliptic-Ian 

 ceolate, acute at both ends, dark green above, yellowish 

 green below, 3-4 in. long : fls. in larg^, terminal com- 

 pound corymbs on viscid peduncles ; corolla rose-colored 

 to white, with purple markings within, about % in. across 

 May, June. New Brunswick to Fla., west to Ohio and 

 Tennessee. B.M. 175. Em. 443. S.S. 5:236-237. A.F, 

 13:32. Gng. 3:1; 7:289. Gn. 22:343; 27, p. 549 & 33, p 

 607. -Var. Alba, Hort. Pis. almost white. Var. mon 

 strubsa, Mouillef. (v.ir. pnli/petahi, Arh. Kew.). Corolla 

 divided into 5 narrow petals. G.F. 3:453. Var. myrti 

 fblia, Rand (var. ndtia or inhior, Hort.). Lvs. small 

 1-2 in. long, deep green, of slow growth, forming a low 

 dense bush. Var. rAbra, C. Koch (var. Pavdrti, Andr^) 

 Fls. deep pink. R.H. 1888:."M0. 



angustifdlia, Linn. Sheep-Laurel. Lambkill, 

 WicKY. Shrub, to 3 ft.: Ivs. usually in pairs or 3 

 petioled, usually oblong, obtuse, light green above, pale 

 beneath, 1-2^2 in. long: corymb lateral, many-fld., com 

 pound or simple : fls, %-% in. across, purple or crim 

 son. June, July. From Newfoundland and Hudson bay 

 toGa. B M. 331. Em. 445. -There are vars. with light 

 purple fls., var. rdsea, Hort.; with crimson fls., var. ril- 

 bra, Hort.; with ovate or oval lvs., var. ov&ta, Pursh, and 

 of dwarf habit, var. n&na, Hort. 



cc. Branchlets S-edged: Irs. glaucous-ivhite beneath, 



all opposite or in 3^s. 

 polifdlia, Wangh. (K. glaiica. Ait.). Low, straggling 

 shrub, to 2 ft. : lvs. almost sessile, oval to linear-oblong, 

 obtuse, revolute at the margins, K-13^ in. long: fls. in 

 simple terminal umbels, slender-pedicelled, /a-^-i in. 

 across, rose-colored or purplish. May, June. Newfound- 

 land to Pa. and in the Rocky Mts. from Sitka to Calif. 

 B.M. 177. L.B.C. 16:1508. Em. 441. G.W.P.A. 18.- 

 Var. microph^Ua is the alpine form of the Rocky Mts. 

 growingonly a few inches high and with very small lvs., 

 K in. or less long. Var. rosmarinifdlia has narrow, 

 oblong-Iinear. strongly revolute Ivs. 



BB. JjVS. deciduous, alternate. 

 cune&ta, Michx. Erect shrub, with slender, straggling 

 stems, to 3 ft.: lvs. petioled, cuneate, obovate-oblong, 

 acute or obtuse, pubescent beneath when j'oung, %-\% 

 in. long: fls. slender-pedicelled, in few-Bd. lateral um- 

 bels, creamy white with a red band within, i4-% in. 

 across. June. N. C. and S. C. G.F. 8:435. 



AA. Fls. solitary, axillary : plant hirsute. 

 hjrsilta, Walt. Low shrub, with many erect or ascend- 

 ing stems, to 1 ft. : lvs. almost sessile, oblong to lanceo- 

 late. ^4-^2 in. long: fls. slender-pedicelled, ?o in. across, 

 rose-purple ; sepals oblong-lanceolate, hirsute, longer 

 than the capsule. June. S.Va.toFia. B.M. 138. L.B.C. 

 11:1058. Alfred Rehder. 



KALOPANAX. See J,;n,lh„panajr. 



KANSAS, HORTICULTURE IN. Fig. 1206. In 18,54, 

 when Congress passed a law opening this territory for 

 settlement, it was considered as part of the great 

 American desert, and it was almost universally thought 

 to be fit only for grazing purposes. As to fruit-grow- 

 ing, such a possibility was not considered. This im- 

 pression did much to retard tree-planting. Another 

 great drawback was the fact th,at every settler planting 

 fruit trees must have the favorite varieties of his former 

 home grown. This resulted in the planting of over 

 2,000 kinds of apples alone. Few of these could be made 

 to succeed, and, in time, so many failed that the impres- 

 sion was deepened that Kansas could not grow fruit. 

 But amid these losses occasionally a man would succeed 

 with some variety, and his success was heralded over 

 the state until eventually the worthless kinds were 

 weeded out and the road to success was perceived. 

 Eventually the people could plant trees with some as- 



