PAMPAS-GRASS 



PANCRATIUM 



2447 



ever sent east from California, and was the beginning 

 of the present pampas industry. The writer's planta- 

 tion was increased each year until 1889, when it com- 

 prised about 5,000 hills. There were a number of other 

 extensive plantations in the neighborhood of Santa 

 Barbara. The crop of 1889 was estimated at 1,000,000 

 plumes. The demand has been good, but the prices have 

 never been so high as at the beginning of the industry. 

 The first prices were $200 for 1,000 plumes. The de- 

 crease in price was gradual until 1886, when sales were 

 slow at $30 for 1,000 plumes. Some of the growers did 

 not harvest their crops that year, and destroyed their 

 plants. In the fall of 1887 plumes were in demand at 

 $40 the 1,000, and in 1888 they were scarce at $50 and 

 $60 the 1,000. The following spring there was an 

 increase in acreage. Since then the industry has had 

 its ups and downs, and the price has ruled low for sev- 

 eral years, the present prices being $9 to $10 for first- 

 class,' and $5 to $6 for second size. 



Pampas-grass should be put on the best valley land, 

 and set 10 by 16 feet apart. Before planting, the ground 

 should be deeply plowed and put in first-class condition. 

 In selecting stock, divide only female plants that pro- 

 duce the finest white plumes. Young hills produce the 

 best plants. From old hills the best plants are obtained 

 around the outside, those in the center of the stool 

 being mostly worthless unless planted hi large clumps. 

 Some plumes will be produced the first year after plant- 

 ing. They will not be first-class, but are worth saving. 

 The second year, if well grown, they should produce 80 

 to 150 plumes to the hill. Not all plantations will yield 

 this much. The third and fourth years there will not be 

 much change in the yield. As a plant gets older the 

 plumes are larger but the yield is less. After 8 to 10 

 years a quantity of dead matter will have accumulated, 

 and the hills should be trimmed or burned. 



The appearance of the plumes is a signal for great 

 activity among those who have large fields. The grass 

 should be so trimmed early in September, before the 

 plumes appear, that each hill will be easy of access. 

 Young plants ripen their plumes two or three weeks 

 earlier than old ones, and some varieties are earlier 

 than others. It requires exercise of judgment to pick 

 the plumes at the proper tune. They are generally 

 ready when they are exposed from the husk a few inches 

 and have a fluffy look. It is well to try a few at this 

 stage, and if they cure well at the stem end when dry 

 they are all right, but if they do not become fluffy 

 at the stem end they have been picked too young. If 

 the plume looks dark and seedy at the top when cured, 

 it was too old when picked. Some varieties, especially 

 those producing very long plumes, should be allowed 

 to remain somewhat longer on the plant than those of 

 the short-plumed varieties. By trying a few of each 

 variety, the time of ripening can soon be ascertained. 

 Some varieties are pulled from the husk in the field; 

 others have to be hauled to husking benches, where 

 the husk or sheath is removed. Some planters husk 

 them like corn: others use a knife set in such a way as 

 to split the husk without injuring the plume. When the 

 husk has been split, a quick jerk or strike on the table 

 will extract the plume. The plumes are then taken to 

 the drying ground and evenly spread in long rows. This 

 ground should be made smooth and free from any trash 

 that is liable to adhere to the plumes. Clean stubble 

 ground is the best. The plumes are left on the ground 

 three days and two nights to cure, and are turned and 

 shaken once each day. They are next packed away as 

 broadly and smoothly as possible on shelves in a dry 

 building, where they should lie ten days or two weeks, 

 or until the stems are thoroughly dried, at which tune 

 they are ready for market. They are packed in two 

 grades: the first class, having plumes 26 inches long 

 and over, clear of stem (sometimes as long as 45 inches), 

 is packed in cases that hold three-quarters of a ton 

 and contain 3,000 plumes; second-class stock is packed 



in cases of the same size, the plumes being 17 to 26 

 inches long clear of stem, and 6,000 in each case. If 

 shipping by express, the writer uses bales of about 

 2,000 plumes, covered with canvas or burlap and some 

 light strips of wood at the corners. If the plumes are 

 packed smoothly and evenly they will withstand heavy 

 pressure. Careful all-round cultivation is necessary to 

 produce good plumes. 



The best market at present is London, the next Ham- 

 burg. Berlin, Denmark, New York and Philadelphia 

 take a few. Pampas plumes are colored in London. In 

 America the pure white plumes give the best satis- 

 faction. JOSEPH SEXTON. 



PANAX (old Greek name, meaning att healing or a 

 panacea). Araliacex. A genus of seven or eight species 

 of hardy perennials none of which is of cultural import- 

 ance except P. quinquefolium, Linn., the GINSENG, 

 which see (Vol. III). They have aromatic roots, digi- 

 tately compound leaves and greenish white flowers in 

 a terminal umbel. They are all natives of the North 

 Temperate Zone, mostly in Asia and North American. 

 For an account of the tender plants heretofore included 

 in this genus, see Polyscias. 



The genus as now defined is distinguished by the 

 thickish roots or tubers from which arise erect simple 



short sts. bearing 1 

 whorl of 3 digitate 

 Ivs. which have 3 

 or 5 Ifts.: umbels 

 terminal and soli- 

 tary, simple, bear- 

 ing small white or 

 greenish p o 1 y g a- 

 mous fls.; calyx ob- 

 scurely 5 -toothed; 

 petals 5, spreading; 

 stamens 5, alter- 

 nating with petals; 

 styles 2 or 3 :fr. a 2- 

 or 3 - seeded little 

 drupe. Two species 

 are native in the 

 eastern U. S. and 

 Canada. P. quin- 

 quefolium, Linn. 

 (Ginseng quinque- 

 fblium, Wood. 

 Ardlia quinqutfolia, 

 Decne. & Planch.). 

 GINSENG, growing in rich woods Que. to Minn, and 

 south to Ala. : about 1 ft. high from a more or less branch- 

 ing thick root: Ifts. usually 5, stalked, the basal pair 

 much smaller than the others, all ovate or obovate, 

 dentate, acuminate: peduncle an inch or two long, 

 bearing a 6-20-fld. umbel; styles usually 2: fr. bright 

 red. P. trifolium, Linn. (Ginseng trifolium, Wood. 

 Aralia trifolia, Decne. & Planch.), GROUND'- NUT 

 (Fig. 2740), native in moist mostly low or flat woods, 

 Nova Scotia to Iowa and Ga. : delicate little plant about 

 6 in. high, with a deep globular blackish tuber or root 

 about H m - diam. : Ifts. mostly 3, sessile, oval to oblance- 

 olate, obtuse, serrate: peduncles an inch or two long, 

 bearing a few whitish often monoecious fls.; styles 

 usually 3: fr. 3-angled or 2-sided, yellowish. An attrac- 

 tive but not showy early spring bloomer, suitable for 

 colonizing in moist shady places. L. ]j. B. 



PANCRATIUM (Greek, all-powerful; referring to sup- 

 posed medicinal value). Amaryllidacex. Attractive 

 summer- and winter-flowering bulbs, bloomed inside or 

 some of them grown outside in mild climates with 

 protection. 



Very like Hymenocallis, being the Old World repre- 

 sentatives of this group, differing botanically in having 

 many superposed ovules in each cell rather than (as in 



2740. Panax trifolium. 



