1536 



RICHARDIA 



RICINUS 



or thereabouts — and about as big as marbles. Mr. Tailby 

 now has bushels of them, and some as large as turnips, 

 — anyway, four inches in diameter. Tailby 's experience 

 is interesting and it may be valuable to the reader. 

 He came near losing his whole stock by cutting out the 

 eyes, with the object of getting separate plants. There 

 had been no sign of natural division, nor has there 

 since; though Mr. Tailby is still of the opinion that by 

 proper manipulation they may be increased by division, 

 as we now do potatoes, but the wounds must be given 

 time to heal over. The roots are kept over in a cellar 

 at a temperature of 45° F., or thereabouts, until April, 

 when they will show signs of starting. They should be 

 potted then, but kept rather dry until the roots develop. 

 The pots will be fairly well filled with roots before 

 much growth shows, and we can keep them under 

 benches in a cool house, or even in the cellar, for two 

 weeks after potting. With the roots well started, they 

 come along quickly, coming into bloom in 10-12 weeks. 

 A good bright, intermediate house suits them best, and 

 some liquid fertilizer will help them when the flower- 

 stems appear. The blooms last a long time, opening 

 greenish yellow, turning to pure orange-yellow, and 

 finally green when aging. Seeds are formed plenti- 

 fully; and by these, though slow, is yet the surest and 

 quickest method of propagation. During the ripening 



period of seeds, they 

 must have the very best 

 attention. They usually 

 do not become thor- 

 oughly ripened until 

 August. Pot-grown 

 plants are better stored 

 in pots. The whole 

 culture is easy when we 

 know it. 



Seeds germinate 

 quickly. Those sown in 

 November come up 

 strong, but the plantlets 

 are diflicult to liandle and 

 liable to go off when very 

 young. It is the safest 

 way to let them stay in 

 the seed -boxes, ripen 

 there, and plant them 

 farther apart next sea- 

 son. This is what we 

 have been doing and we 

 cannot complain of the 

 results. Tailby has sown 

 seeds outdoors with very 

 gratifying results. Al- 

 most a year is gained in this way, as the roots (or bulbs) 

 are considerably larger than box-grown seedlings. Older 

 roots held over until settled weather, and, planted like 

 potatoes, bloomed freelj' all summer, making fine roots; 

 they were green when cut by frost in October, but 

 hardly ripening seeds. To do this takes a longer sea- 

 son, and the plants must be started indoors. 



T. D. Hatfield. 

 The Richardia in California.— In considering the 

 Calla in California, it is necessary to treat it under 

 two general heads: first, as an ornament; and second, 

 as an article of commerce. The popular and growing 

 demand for Calla bulbs (or tubers) speaks much for 

 the plant as an ornamental. Many, indeed, are the 

 uses to which it is put. It is, perhaps, most commonly 

 used as a belt along fences, and not infrequently as a 

 hedge between two properties ; or nearly as often is 

 found along one side of a house in a long, narrow bed. 

 For effective planting it is much in demand for group- 

 ing around hydrants and unsightly objects in damp 

 places, at watersides; sometimes as a border around a 

 fish or lily pond, oftentimes growing in bunches or masses 

 in the water itself; or massed on a slope near water; 

 mixed with other tropical vegetation; or as a border to 

 tropical jungles; and very effective, indeed, is it in the 

 lower tiers of basins around a largo fountain with 

 Myriophyllum hanging down from the base of the 

 Callas. For all of tliese purposes the foliage is of even 

 more importance than the flowers. As it grows luxu- 

 riantly here in almost any location, it is very seldom 



2130. Richardia Africana, 

 Little Gem {X Jg). 



seen as a pot-plant either in the dwelling or on sale at 

 the nurseries. In the most favored places only is it en- 

 tirely secure from the frost, though the damage to it from 

 this source is not serious in or around Los Angeles. 

 Though doing fairly well in the full sun, our summer 

 climate is too dry for it to attain its greatest beauty 

 and luxuriance wholly without protection, and it may 

 therefore only be seen in perfection when grown in par- 

 tial shade. A good supply of water and manure is also 

 an important factor in its proper development. 



The spathe is subject to many variations in form, both 

 in size and shape, some being long, rather narrow, and 

 pointed, ending in a decidedly recurved awn, while oth- 

 ers are nearly circular, with the sharp point almost want- 

 ing and standing upright the same as the balance of 

 spathe. It frequently happens that the spathe is double 

 and even triple, sometimes in its entirety but often only 

 partially so. In the latter case it often assumes some 

 very strange forms. The spadix is not so variable and 

 seldom departs from the type, though an occasional 

 double or abnormal spadix is found. Other species or 

 varieties than S. Africana are found, but sparsely in 

 California gardens, the most common ones being the 

 spotted-leaved and the dwarf form known as the Little 

 Gem. 



Commercially, the growing of the bulbs for eastern 

 and foreign markets is a sure source of revenue, and is 

 carried on extensively throughout southern California. 

 The local market for the so-called flowers is of course 

 limited, but if grown in a practically frostless belt, the 

 blooms will more than pay for the cultivation of the 

 winter field, as in that season of the year flowers of all 

 kinds are scarce. The average retail price for good 

 blooms in midwinter is 50 cents per dozen; the whole- 

 sale price about $1 per 100. Bulbs at retail cost about 

 one-half, or even less, what they do in the East. Our 

 commercial growers get at present (January, 1901), $25 

 to $60 per 1,000, according to size, the market calling 

 for tubers IK to 334 inches in diameter. Larger sizes 

 are quoted as "fancy" and command extra prices. 

 Though they can be grown in almost any soil with some 

 success, a free, cool, blackish loam is best, and they do 

 not thrive in a hot, gravelly or stony soil. The lands 

 near the coast, where swept by the cooling sea breeze, 

 are productive of the best results, both in bloom and 

 tuber. Land containing sufficient alkali to prevent the 

 growth of many common crops will produce good 

 Callas if other requirements are present. In field plant- 

 ing it is much better to put in small bulbs about 4 inches 

 apart than to sow the offsets promiscuously in the row; 

 when the sets are thus sown, they should be taken 

 up the following year and the small bulbs properly 

 planted. Offsets sown as above and left 4-G years (the 

 usual time for a good crop) have never produced satis- 

 factory results. No pest seriously attacks foliage or 

 bloom, but in dry years more especiallj', the common 

 sow-bug eats into the tubers very seriously and receives 

 considerable assistance from millipedes. Both these 

 pests are quite a nuisance to the California nurseryman 

 and gardener. The much-photographed "Acres of Callas 

 in Bloom," so familiar to visitors and much used to 

 illustrate articles on California, fancy stationery, etc., 

 was grown by Capt. M. E. Walker, of Los Angeles, to 

 whom the writer is indebted for many of the leading 

 facts in this article regarding the 

 culture of the Calla for the gene- 

 ral market. 



Ernest Braunton. 



RICINTJS (Latin name, from 

 the resemblance of the seeds to 

 certain insects). E%iphorhiAce(v. 

 Herbaceous or becoming tree- 

 like in the tropics, glabrovis: Ivs. 

 large, alternate, peltate, palmate- 

 ly 7- to many-lobed, the lobes 

 serrate, monoecious: fls. without 

 petals or disk, in terminal and ap- 

 parently lateral racemes, largo 

 for the order: the upper short- 

 pedicolled or sessile and stami- 

 nate; calyx 3-5-partcd, valvate; 

 stamens many, erect in the bud. 



2131. 

 Fruit of Castor Bean, 

 showing the seeds 

 inside. 



Natiural size. 



