3180 



SOILS 



SOLANUM 



For the inverted pan method, "The apparatus con- 

 sists," according to W. W. Gilbert, "of a galvanized iron 

 pan, 6 inches deep and 6 by 10 feet in size, which is 

 inverted over the soil to be sterilized and the steam ad- 

 mitted under pressure. The pan is supplied with steam 

 hose connections, has sharp edges, which are forced into 

 the soil on all sides to prevent the escape of steam, and 

 is fitted with handles for moving it from place to place, 

 the weight of the entire pan being not over 400 pounds." 



Remarking on the formaldehyde or formalin drench 

 method, Selby and Humbert say that "Soils to be 

 treated by any method of sterilization should be pre- 

 pared as for use by addition of manure so that the 

 latter is incorporated with the soil before treatment. 

 The soil after spading or plowing is ready for treat- 

 ment, whether by steaming or drenching. For the 

 work of drenching it is rather difficult to make exact 

 estimates as to cost of appliances, as well as labor out- 

 lay, since the appliances are the usual watering devices 

 of greenhouses or coldframes, and the labor will be 

 somewhat variable according to the effectiveness of 

 these devices. The appliances used may be extremely 

 various, though usually some form of sprinkling-can, 

 a force pump with hose and nozzles or application 

 through the overhead Skinner watering system. For 

 outside beds the hose and force pump offer a convenient 

 method. The best strength appears to be three to 

 three and one-half pints or pounds to each fifty gal- 

 lons of drench applied at the rate of seven-eighths to 

 one gallon to the square foot of surface." 



SOLANDRA (named for Daniel C. Solander, a 

 Swedish naturalist and traveler, 1736-1786). Solan- 

 acex. Very tall glabrous woody showy-flowered vines 

 suitable for the warmhouse, and grown in the open in 

 the warmest parts of the United States. 



Leaves entire, leathery, shiny: fls. very large, white; 

 the pedicels solitary and thick; calyx long-tubular, 2-5- 

 cleft at the top; corolla funnelform, the tube cylindrical, 

 the throat oblique and broad-campanulate, lobes 

 broad; stamens 5; ovary 2-celled: berry globose, pulpy. 

 About 4 species, Trop. Amer. 



Solandras are attractive plants and their needs are 

 simple. A warm greenhouse one in which the tem- 

 perature is never allowed to faU below 50 wUl suit 

 them very weU in the eastern states. The plants would 



probably do well 

 outdoors in Florida 

 and the far South. 

 They like plenty of 

 light and sunshine 

 at all seasons of 

 the year, and water 

 should be given 

 freely from early 

 autumn till the 

 latter part of spring, 

 as they make their 

 growth and bloom 

 during that period. 

 In summer, when 

 the wood is ripen- 

 ing, a dry state is 

 preferable for them. 

 The soU that gives 

 the most satisfac- 

 tory results is a 

 good, somewhat 

 sandy loam. It is 

 unwise to disturb 

 the roots of estab- 

 lished plants more 

 frequently than is 

 necessary. The 

 chief point in grow- 

 3627. Solandra grandiflora. ( X K) ing Solandras is to 



obtain short, sturdy branches, for those of rank growth 

 seldom or never develop flowers; for this reason the use 

 of rich soils and strong fertilizers should be avoided 

 always. Propagated by cuttings of firm young shoots 

 taken with a heel and placed in slight bottom heat. 

 S. grandiflora is perhaps the best. The flowers do not 

 last more than four or five days. They are of a pretty 

 greenish white color when they first open and turn 

 slowly to a rich brownish yellow. (Michael Barker.) 



A. Plant about 2 ft. high, with trailing branches. 



longiflora, Tussac (S. laevis, Hook.). Lvs. oblong- 



ovate or obovate, acute; petioles purplish: fls. fragrant; 



corolla usually 1 ft. long, 3 times as long as the calyx, 



contracted at the throat, white or yellowish. B.M. 4345. 



AA. Plant becoming 12-20 ft. high. 



grandiflora, Sw. Fig. 3627. Lvs. obovate-oblong, 

 acute, glabrous, thick: fls. fragrant; corolla twice as 

 long as the calyx, not contracted at the throat, white or 

 somewhat yellowish. B.M. 1874. G.C. III. 21:273. 

 Gn. 53:214. J.H. III. 34:123. 



guttata, Don. Shrub about 12 ft. high, erect, 

 branched: Ivs. alternate, petioled, elliptic-oblong, acute 

 or very short-acuminate, entire, rather glabrous above, 

 paler and copiously pubescent beneath, base broadened, 

 rounded, 3-6 x 2-3 in. : fls. terminal, solitary, fragrant, 

 ochre-yellow, large; calyx tubular, pubescent, 3 in. 

 long; corolla funnelform, 9 in. long, 5-lobed, lobes 

 crenate and undulate, 5 purple-brown ridges at the 

 throat. Mex. B.R. 1551. 



Haftwegii, N. E. Br. Branched shrub: Ivs. alternate, 

 glabrous, elliptical, acute, short-acuminate or obtuse, 

 base acute: fls. solitary, terminal, yellow, 6-8 in. across; 

 calyx 5-angled, unequally 3-4-lobed; corolla glabrous, 

 tube 5-ribbed, ribs green outside, brownish purple 

 inside, lobes 5, more or less crisped and turned back. 

 Mex. G.C. III. 49:383. p. TRACY 



SOLANUM (Latin, solamen, solace or quieting). 

 Solanaceas. NIGHTSHADE. A vast group of temperate 

 and tropical herbs, shrubs and even trees, compara- 

 tively poorly, represented in temperate North America, 

 of various horticultural adaptabilities, comprising orna- 

 mental subjects and also the potato, tomato, eggplant, 

 ground cherry or physalis, red pepper or capsicum; 

 also medicinal plants. 



Leaves alternate: infl. mostly sympodial and there- 

 fore superaxillary or opposite the Ivs.: corolla gamp- 

 petalous and rotate or shallow-campanulate, plaited in 

 the bud, the limb angled or shallow-lobed ; stamens 

 usually 5, inserted on the throat of the coroUa, the 

 anthers narrower or elongated and connivent and 

 mostly opening by an apical pore or slit; ovary usually 

 2-loculed, ripening into a berry which is sometimes 

 inclosed in the persistent calyx; fls. white, purple or 

 yellow. Dunal, the latest monographer (DC. Prodr. 13, 

 pt. 1), in 1852, recognized 901 species, and many species 

 have been discovered since that time, the number now 

 being estimated at about 1,200. Many new species 

 have recently been described by Bitter in various 

 volumes of Fedde, Rep. Nov. Sp. Reg. Veget. The 

 genus finds its greatest extension in Trop. Amer. Of 

 the vast number of species, barely 25 are of much 

 account horticulturally, and half that number will com- 

 prise all the species that are popularly well known. One 

 of these is the potato, Solanum tuberosum, one of the 

 leading food plants of the human race. The genus seems 

 to abound in plants with toxic properties, although its 

 bad reputation in this respect is probably exaggerated. 

 The species are herbs in temperate climates, but in 

 warm countries many of them are shrubby and some 

 are small trees. Many of them are climbers. It is 

 impracticable to distribute the few cult, species into the 

 various botanical groups of a great genus, and the fol- 

 lowing species are therefore assembled mainly on a 



