Encyclopaedia of Gardening 97 



Dame's Rocket. See Hesperis. 



Damping-off. A phrase used by gardeners to describe the collapse 

 of seedlings at the surface of the soil. It is directly caused by a 

 fungus, but indirectly by too much moisture and insufficient air. 

 See Watering. 



Damson. See Fruit. 



Dandelion. This plant is a nuisance on lawns, and should 'be 

 kept under by vigorous spudding out. It is useful as a salad. See 

 Kitchen Garden. 



Daphne (daph-ne, after the nymph Daphne. Ord. Thymelaea- 

 ceae). Pretty dwarf shrubs with fragrant flowers, which are borne 

 in late winter and early spring. Some are evergreen and others 

 deciduous. Blagayana is a spring-blooming trailer with sweet 

 white flowers, suitable for the rock garden. Cneorum is also an 

 evergreen trailer, and produces its fragrant pink flowers in spring 

 (see the Botanical Magazine, t. 913); there is a large-flowered variety 

 called grandiflorum, and also one with variegated leaves. Mezereum 

 (the Mezereon) is a great favourite, although not evergreen; its 

 pinkish flowers come in late winter before the leaves, and are deli- 

 ciously perfumed; there are white and other varieties, including a 

 late summer bloomer. Odora (syn. indica) is evergreen, and its 

 purple flowers are very sweet; it should be grown in a greenhouse; 

 Mazelli, white or blush, is probably a variety of it ; it blooms earlier, 

 and is also sweet. They do well in peat, but a liberal addition of 

 loam should be made for Mezereum. The trailers are propagated 

 by layering in autumn, the others by cuttings under a bell-glass in 

 autumn, in sandy peat. In nurseries grafting on to D. Laureola, 

 the Spurge Laurel, is practised. 



Darlingtonia californica (darlingto-nia, after Dr. Darlington. 

 Ord. Sarraceniaceae) . An interesting half-hardy plant suitable for 

 outdoor culture in a peaty bed in mild districts, but otherwise need- 

 ing glass shelter. It loves moisture. The green, yellow, and red 

 flowers are produced in spring. It may be propagated by division 

 when it starts growing. See the Botanical Magazine, t. 5920. 



Date Palm, Phoenix dactylifera. 



Datura, Thorn Apple -(datu-ra, from the Arabic Tatorali. Ord. 

 Solanaceae) . Although poisonous plants, these are worth attention 

 for their beautiful flowers. Fastuosa is an annual, growing about 

 2 ft. high and producing blue and white flowers in summer; there 

 are several varieties, including a double. Suaveolens is a beautiful 

 greenhouse shrub, with large white fragrant flowers in August; it is 

 sometimes called Knightii, and it is also grown as Brugmansia 

 suaveolens. Meteloides (syn. Wrightii) is a greenhouse shrub with 

 white flowers in early summer. Stramonium, which grows 2 ft. 

 high and produces white flowers in August, is the Thorn Apple, the 

 large, spiny fruit of which is familiar in autumn; it is a British 

 plant. The annuals are raised from seed in spring, the shrubs by 

 cuttings under a bell-glass in spring or summer, with bottom heat. 

 Sandy loam suits. 



G 



