CONANDRON 



CONSERVATORY 



837 



B.M. 6484. This is one of several groups of rare and 

 widely scattered herbs, of which Ramondia, Haberlea, 

 Wulfenia, Didymocarpus, Shortia and Schizocodon are 

 examples. Conandron is adapted to growing in shady 

 rockeries. Scapes less than 1 ft. high. Little known in 

 cult., but is in the trade. N. TAYLOR, t 



CONE-FLOWER: Rudbeckia. Purple Cone-Flower: Echinacea. 



CONGEA (from an East Indian vernacular name). 

 Verbendcese. A few species of climbing shrubs in Burma 

 and the Malayan peninsula: Ivs. opposite and entire: 

 fls. in peduncled capitate cymes which are combined 

 in large terminal panicles, the bracts at the base of the 

 cyme-peduncles large and often showy; calyx funnel- 

 form, 5-toothed; corolla-tube slender, seldom much 

 exceeding the calyx, usually hairy in the throat, 

 2-lipped, the upper lip of 2 narrow upright lobes and 

 the lower of 3 shorter broader lobes; stamens 4, ex- 

 serted; ovary incompletely 2-celled: fr. a small roundish 

 nearly dry drupe. C. tomentdsa, Roxbg., is grown 

 in India and is said to be suitable for growing in a stove 

 or warm conservatory in Britain: a strong climber, 

 conspicuous for the pink and changing tints of the large 

 elliptic persistent bracts in the loose woody terminal 

 panicles: Ivs. 3 in. long, ovate-acute, soft-hairy beneath: 

 corolla white; calyx hairy. Burma. G.C. III. 54:399. 

 Evergreen: infl. retained for several weeks. Allied to 

 Petrsea volubilis. 



CONIFERS: Arboriculture. 



CONIOGRAMME (Greek, dust-line). Formerly 

 Dictyogramma. Polypodidcese. A few Japanese and 

 Pacific island ferns, with naked sori, which follow the 

 course of the free or reticulated veins. The species are 

 sometimes referred to Gymnogramma. Strong-grow- 

 ing indoor-ferns, useful for specimen plants. 



japonica, Diels. Lvs. simply pinnate or bipinnate 

 at the base, 1^-2 ft. high, the pinna? 6-12 in. long and 

 an inch wide; sori extending from the midrib to the 

 edge. Japan and Formosa. Also known as Gymno- 

 gramma japonica. An interesting fern of rather strong 

 growth, and very distinct in appearance. Grows best 

 in a moderate temperature for example, 55-60 

 and requires an open and well-drained soil of peaty 

 character. R. c. BENEDICT.! 



CONIUM (Greek name). Umbelliferae. Two weedy 

 biennial plants, widely distributed. C. maculdium, 

 Linn., is the poison hemlock, "by which," as Gray 

 writes, "criminals and philosophers were put to death 

 at Athens." It is a rank, much-branched European 

 herb which has run wild in E. N. Amer., and which has 

 been offered in the trade as a border plant. It is bien- 

 nial, rank-smelling, and poisonous, and is scarcely worth 

 cult, although the finely cut dark foliage is highly 

 ornamental. It grows from 2-4 ft. high, and has large 

 umbels of small white fls. See Poisonous Plants. 



In North America the word hemlock is used for the 

 hemlock spruce, Tsuga. 



CONOCEPHALUS (Greek, cone head). One of the 

 liverworts (Marchantiacese), with broad flat forking 

 evergreen thallus, growing on moist banks, like a 

 moss. C. cdnicus, Dumort., is sometimes offered by 

 collectors as a cover for rockeries, but can scarcely be 

 said to be a cultivated plant. 



CONOCLfNIUM: Eupatorium. 



CONOPHALLUS (name refers to the cone-shaped 

 inflorescence). Ardceas. A name proposed by Schott 

 for certain aroids, but now made a section of Amor- 

 phophallus. C. Konjac, Koch., is Amorphophallus 

 Rivieri var. Konjac, Engler. The great tuber is much 

 grown in Japan for the making of flour (see Georgeson, 

 A. G. 13:79). Amorphophallus Rivieri is figured on p. 



276, Vol. I.; also in R.H. 1871, p. 573; and in B.M. 

 6195 (as Proteinophallus Revieri). Konjak is offered 

 by importers of Japanese plants. 



CONSERVATORY. Primarily a glasshouse in which 

 plants that have been brought to perfection usually 

 in other greenhouses are to be placed for display or 

 to be kept in condition. 



The conservatory should be as near the residence as 

 possible; if not an architectural unit of the house, it 

 may be connected by a corridor or pergola. The size 

 of a conservatory depends of course upon the require- 

 ments or taste of the family; some are as small as 6 

 by 10 feet, while others are as large as 35 by 75. The 

 aspect or side of the dwelling best suited to a conserva- 

 tory is on the east, and preferably against a gable, so 

 that sliding snow from the roof of the dwelling will not 

 give trouble. If this is not convenient, the glass roof 

 of the conservatory must be protected with snow- 

 guards. A lean-to house is subject to great fluctuations 

 if placed against the south side. 



Since much attention has been given to the build- 

 ing of conservatories within the past few years, they 

 can now be made attractive in architectural design, 

 and at the same time supply the best possible condi- 

 tions for the well-being of the plants. A curvilinear roof 

 is usually more attractive and is better for the plants 

 than a flat roof, but abundant ventilation must be pro- 

 vided. The roof glass should be ground or, frosted, as 

 plants remain in flower much longer under a subdued 

 light than when exposed to direct sunlight. Even 

 ground glass is not sufficient in summer, some shading 

 being required; roller shades are hard to adjust and not 

 altogether practicable; whitewash applied to the glass 

 outside is unsightly and damages the painted wooden 

 strips in which the glass is laid. The following has been, 

 found to be an excellent shading mixture: Sixteen 

 ounces white lead, thirty-eight ounces turpentine, 

 two ounces linseed oil; apply to the glass outside with 

 an ordinary paint-brush. The advantages of this mix- 

 ture are that it is not unsightly, is easily applied, and 

 wears off as winter comes on. 



The heating of a conservatory is an important mat- 

 ter, since even night temperatures must be maintained 

 as in other greenhouses. This can easily be arranged if 

 the dwelling is heated by hot water, which is the best 

 for any conservatory; but with steam or hot air it is 

 more difficult; if possible when these methods of 

 heating the dwelling are used, a separate small hot- 

 water system should be installed for the conservatory. 

 The temperature at which conservatories are to be 

 kept depends upon the plants grown in them. Palms, 

 ferns, orchids and ornamental-leaved plants generally 

 require a night temperature of about 60. Flowering 



Elants, such as chrysanthemums, azaleas, primulas and 

 ulbs, do better in a temperature of 45 to 50 at night 

 with a rise of 15 to 20 for both classes of plants by 

 day before opening the ventilators, and these, in winter 

 especially, must be opened with caution, admitting 

 the outside air very sparingly. 



The floor of a conservatory may be of tiles and the 

 interior may be arranged with rugs and easy chairs in 

 the center with the plants arranged on tables around 

 the outside or over the heating-pipes. The catalogues 

 of the principal greenhouse builders show some very 

 artistic arrangements, both inside and outside. 



A conservatory is often a part of a commercial green- 

 house establishment, being in effect the display house 

 or room into which interesting and perfected plants 

 are brought for inspection; and in large cities conserv- 

 atories are often attached to florists' stores, not only as 

 a display house but because plants will keep in much 

 better health and condition for a much longer time 

 than in the ordinary conditions of the florist's store; but 

 commonly the word is used as above to designate an 

 adjunct to a home. EDWARD J. CANNING. 



