POLIAXTHE3 



POLLEN 



2733 



as to size, carried to curing-houses, and by some placed 

 on shelves to dry or cure out. The bulbs must be stirred 

 or have their position changed every few days to pre- 

 vent mold and rot. This stirring wears or breaks off the 

 roots and tops of a good percentage of the bulbs, making 

 a less sightly bulb, though not injuring its flowering 

 property. The better and more modern way is to 

 gather them by the roots in bunches of about ten, tie 

 them together with a small cord and hang them upon 

 frames, walls, and overhead of house and allow them 

 to cure without disturbing them during the process of 

 drying. While this would seem a rather expensive way, 

 it really costs but a few cents a thousand, being done by 

 small negro children at nominal wages. In recent years, 

 artificial heat of 80 to 100 by means of furnace and 

 flues similar to those used in tobacco-barns has been 

 introduced, to hasten curing. Four to eight weeks are 

 required properly to cure the bulbs for shipping, so 

 that the first shipments begin to move about Decem- 

 ber 1 to 10. Before shipment the bulbs are again sorted 

 in order to get out any undersized bulbs that may have 

 been overlooked; they are also counted and packed in 

 paper-lined barrels, holding from 700 to 1,300, the 

 number varying with size of bulbs and size of barrels. 

 About 200 barrels, or 150,000 to 175,000 bulbs, con- 

 stitute a carload. The bulk of the exports go through 

 New York dealers. A few are exported direct. 



The variety mostly grown is Dwarf Pearl. This sends 

 up a flowering stem about 15 inches long, the blossom 

 being double. The Tall Double is similar except that 

 the flowering stem is longer, about 24 inches or over. 

 The White or Orange Flower has a long stem, with the 

 blossom single or resembling the blossom of an orange 

 tree. The Albino, a freak from the Pearl, is a dwarf 

 single or orange-flowered variety, but its tendency in 

 other latitudes is to go back to the double type, and 

 consequently is likely to disappoint the grower who 

 expects a single blossom. The foliage of all the above is 

 a rich green. The variegated-leaved variety has a 

 beautiful stripe of golden or silver hue on the outer edge 

 of the foliage. The blossom is single and the habit is 

 dwarf. The tuberose is treated as an annual and has to 

 be replaced each season. 



A "number one" bulb (referring to size) is not less 

 than 4 inches in circumference and measures up to 6 

 inches and over. ''Mammoth" bulbs are 6 to 8 inches in 

 circumference; only a very small part of the crop will 

 attain such measurement. A "number two" bulb is less 

 than 4 inches and over 3 inches in circumference, and 

 while in the South these will bloom as well as the larger 

 bulbs they are not much sought by the northern dealers. 

 The tuberose is a rather slow grower; hence in the 

 North, where the frosts are much earlier than in the 

 South, it is likely to get caught before its spike of 

 bloom matures. To succeed in getting flowers in the 

 North they should be started in pots under glass or in 

 rooms free of frost in April and transplanted to open 

 ground in early June. The soil should be deeply pul- 

 verized. Choose a sandy loam if possible, and fertilize 

 with manure containing a good percentage of potash. 

 Keep the earth about the plant thoroughly stirred and 

 do not let the plant suffer for moisture. 



H. E. NEWBURT. 



W. R. NEWBURY.t 



POLIOTHtRSIS (Greek, polios, white or grayish 

 white and thyrsos; referring to the grayish white color 

 of the inflorescence). Flacourtiacex. A deciduous tree 

 allied to Idesia and differing chiefly in the valvate 

 sepals, the 3 styles and in the capsular fr. Fls. monoe- 

 cious, apetalous, with ovate to lanceolate valvate 

 sepals; stamina te fls. with many free short stamens and 

 a minute rudimentary ovary; pistillate fls. with a 

 superior ovary, 3 reflexed styles 2-parted at the apex: 

 fr. a caps, dehiscent into 3-4 valves; seeds many, 

 winged. Similar in habit to Idesia, but Ivs. longer, 



purplish when unfolding; it is apparently of the same 

 hardiness, as it has proved hardy in favorable localities 

 at the Arnold Arboretum. Its cult, and prop, is the 

 same as Idesia. The only species is P. sinensis, Oliver. 

 Slender tree, to 40 ft.: young branchlets pubescent: Ivs. 

 long-petioled, ovate to ovate-oblong, acuminate, 5- 

 nerved at the base, dentate, pubescent below or nearly 

 glabrous, 37 in. long: fls. in loose terminal panicles 

 4-8 in. long, greenish white, J4~H m - across; sepals 

 ovate to lanceolate, whitish tomentose outside: caps. 

 %in. long, ovate-oblong. Cent. China. July. H.I. 

 19:1885. ALFRED REHDER. 



POLLEN, POLLINATION. Pollen is the fecunda- 

 ting material contained in the anther, usually in the 

 form of many very small grains. In many orchids it is 

 in the form of masses of cohering parts or grains, 

 termed pollinia. Pollen represents the male or fertiliz- 

 ing phase of reproduction in seed plants. Forms of 

 pollen are shown in Figs. 3094-3097. 



All gymnosperms (conifers, and the like) and angio- 

 sperms (true flowering or ovary-bearing plants) normally 

 reproduce by means of seeds. For the fertilization of 

 the ovule, in order that seed may result, the interven- 

 tion of the pollen is necessary. The "dust of the flower" 

 is therefore of far more interest to the horticulturist 

 than this old popular name would imply. Studies in 

 hybridization and self-sterility have long made evi- 

 dent the practical importance of a knowledge of pol- 

 len. Every plant provides for the production of this 

 material, and usually in definite pollen-bearing parts 

 termed stamens. The stamens are organs of the flower, 

 and as essential as the carpels. The pollen is produced 

 in definite sacs or compartments of the anther, compris- 

 ing the tip of the stamens; and V7nen the pollen is 

 ripe, or mature, the fine grains are set free in quantity 

 by the rupture of the inclosing sacs. The abundance of 

 pollen produced may suggest wasteful management of 

 the plant's resources, but a liberal supply of this sub- 

 stance is necessary. Although it requires but a single 

 one of the small grains to fertilize a single ovule and 

 produce a seed, pollen-grains are produced often a 

 thousandfold more abundantly than ovules. The best 

 offspring are usually produced, when cross-fertilization 

 occurs, and in the transfer of pollen from plant to plant it 

 is only a small part which can reach its 

 destination. There are manj r chances 

 and such great losses that abundance 

 of pollen is a necessary provision. 



3094. Pollen-grains 

 of Primula obcoaica 

 (below) and Salvia. 

 (Magnified) 



3095. Pollen- 3096. Oddly marked 



grains of pollen-grain of Schaue- 



Browallia. ria flavicoma. 



(Magnified) (Magnified) 



In general, flowers are pollinated by the wind and by 

 insects; that is, pollen is transported by these two 

 agencies. Flowers principally dependent upon the wind 

 for pollination are termed anemophilous, while those 

 visited by insects are designated entomophilous. These 

 distinguishing terms may also be applied to the pollen 

 itself. Anemophilous pollen is of a more or less spherical 

 form, readily yielding to the wind, and correlated with 

 this is a dry and inadherent outer surface. Such is the 

 case, for example, in the various families to which the 

 oak, willow, grasses, and pine belong, all of which 

 plants are devoid of any stock of brilliant color or rich 

 odors that might attract bug, moth, butterfly, or bee. 



