184 



HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OP PLANTS. 



QUI 



word choiros, a pig; because those animals feed 

 on the acorns. Linn. Moncecia-Polyandria. Nat. 

 On! i''/i'>d'it'enr. 



An extensive genus of well-known trees, com- 

 prisinf about one hundred and fifty species, 

 chiefly confined to the northern regions of the 

 globe being rarely met in the Southern Hemi- 

 sphere. Ihey are mostly trees of large size; a 

 few only may be considered shrubs. A num- 

 ber of the species are evergreen, one of the most 

 valuable of the class being Q. virens, or Live 

 Oak, which grows from Virginia southward, and 

 the value of the timber increases, because of its 

 quality, the further south it is found. Q. alba, 

 White Oak, Q. castanea, Chestnut Oak, and Q. 

 tinctoria, furnish the most valuable timber for 

 the mechanic arts. Q. macrocarpa, the Over-cup 

 White Oak, and Q. coccinea, the Scarlet Oak, are 

 the most beautiful for shade trees. Q. ilwfolia 

 is the common Scrub Oak, that rarely attains a 

 height of eight feet. Q. wfectoria, a native of 

 the Levant, is a very common species, the 

 branches of which are liable tobe stung by insects, 

 causing the formation of the Gall Nuts of com- 

 merce. All the species are invaluable for tim- 

 ber or fuel, excepting the low-growing kinds. 

 The bark of the species contains large quanti- 

 ties of tannin, which . gives it a value exceeding 

 that of the timber. Q. suber, Cork Oak, a na- 

 tive of Southern Europe and Northern Africa, 

 furnishes the Cork of commerce. The outer 

 layers of bark in this tree increase annually, and 



RAF 



after eight or nine years fall off; but for com- 

 mercial purposes they are removed one or two 

 years previously. The bark of the tree is re- 

 moved by incisions round the top and bottom 

 of the tree, and by a long one connecting these 

 two, which allows the bark to be stripped off. 

 This is effected when the bark is most firmly at- 

 tached to the wood, in order that the innermost 

 layers of bark may not be injured, nor the health 

 of the tree impaired, more than is necessary. 

 The trees furnish a crop of bark once in eight or 

 nine years. 



Quince. See Cydonia. 



duisqualis. From quis, who, and qualis, what 

 kind ; referring to the fact that when the genus 

 was named it was uncertain to what class or or- 

 der it belonged. Linn. Dectindria-Monogynia. 

 Nat. Ord. ConibretacecK. 



A genus of plants indigenous to tropical and 

 sub-tropical Asia and Africa, and consisting of 

 climbing shrubs, with opposite, rarely alternate 

 leaves, and axillary or terminal spikes of flow- 

 ers. These are very fine plants for the hot- 

 house or a warm green-house, and are great fa- 

 vorites with those who grow them. Q. Indica, 

 Q. glabra, and Q. Sinensis are among the best, 

 bearing brilliant red, orange red, and rose-col- 

 ored flowers. Propagated from cuttings of 

 young wood. First introduced into England in 

 1815. 



Quitch or Quick Grass. The common name for 

 an intolerable pest. See Triticum. 



R 



Radish. The well-known esculent root of Ra- 

 phanus salivas, which see. The common 

 garden Radish is a hardy annual, entirely un- 

 known in its native state. It is usually cred- 

 ited to China. It has long been held in iiigh 

 esteem, and before the Christie n era, a. volume 

 was written on this plant alone. The ancient 

 Greeks, in offering their oblations to Apollo, 

 presented Turnips in lead, Beets in silver, 

 and Radishes in vessels of beaten gold. Pliny 

 observes that Radishes grow best in saline 

 soils, or when they are watered with salt water; 

 and hence, he says, the Radishes of Egypt are 

 better than any in the world, on account of their 

 being supplied with niter; modern experience, 

 however, does not allow us to endorse this. He 

 gives some account of the kinds grown at Rome 

 in his day, one of which he describes as being 

 so clear and transparent that one might see 

 through the roots. The Radish was introduced 

 into England during the sixteenth century. 

 Four kinds were cultivated by Gerarde in the 

 latter part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. 

 Since that time, many new varieties have been 

 introduced and disseminated by European 

 seedsmen and gardeners. The seed is exten- 

 sively grown in France and Germany, and to 

 those countries we are indebted for our supply 

 more than to any other. For a seed crop, the 

 plants are taken from a seed bed and trans- 

 planted when quite small, an operation that can 

 only be carried on profitably where labor is 

 very cheap. When ripe, the plants are cut to 

 the ground and stacked, and allowed to remain 



SOB year before being threshed. If this care is 

 not observed, and the seed threshed out soon 

 after ripening, it will invariably become heated 

 and spoiled, and this is the chief cause of failure 

 in the germination of the seed. The seed re- 

 tains its vitality a number of years. The varieties 

 of Radish now most prized are: French Break- 

 fast, Early Round Dark Red, Early Scarlet Tur- 

 nip, Wood's Early Frame, White-tipped Scarlet 

 Turnip, and for winter the Rose Chinese. Rad- 

 ishes are largely grown in the Southern States 

 to be shipped north, as it is a vegetable probably 

 more than any other grown that is appreciated 

 for its earliness. Immense quantities are raised 

 under glass in green-houses, hot-beds, and cold 

 frames in the vicinity of all large cities. It is 

 estimated that upward of twenty acres are raised 

 under glass in the vicinity of New York. A 

 light, rather sandy soil, well enriched with short 

 stable manure, suits them best. Under glass the 

 temperature should not exceed 60 at night, with 

 ten to fifteen degrees higher during the day. 

 The variety most used for forcing is the Dark Red 

 Round. 



Raffia. See Raphia. 



Rafflesia. Patma-wort. Named after Sir Stam- 

 ford Raffles, who discovered the plant in the in- 

 terior of Sumatra, where it is called ambun- 

 ambun. Nat. Orel. Rqfflesiacecv. 



A wonderful order of plants, parasitical, and 

 in general appearance resembling some species 

 of Fungi, but, according to the authority of the 

 celebrated English botanist, Robert Brown, it 

 is a true flower, having stamens in one plant 



