216 



HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



SPA 



Suatalanthus. From spalnlos, delicate, and <m- 

 thos, a. flower. Linn. Monadelphia-Triandria. Nat. 



A very rare and beautiful Cape bulb, allied to 

 Trichonema. There is but one species known, 

 and that is rare in its own country. The flow- 

 ers are red, with a yellow and black star in th< 



duced in 1825. 



Spathoglottis. From sjxtthe, a spathe, and glottis, 

 a tongue. Linn. Gynandria-Jfonandria. Nat. 

 Ord. OrchidacecK. 



A small genus of Asiatic terrestrial Orchids, 

 allied to BMia. They have generally yellow 

 flowers, and are not of special interest in the 

 Orchid House. 



Spatter Dock. See Nuphar. 

 Spear Grass. See Poa. 

 Spearmint. See Mentha viridis. 

 Spearwort. See Ranunculus. 

 Specularia. From the ancient name Speculum 

 Veneris, or Venus's Looking-Glass. Linn. Pen- 

 tandria-Monogynia. Nat. Ord. Campanulacece. 



A small genus of hardy annuals, formerly in- 

 cluded in Campanula. S. speculum is a distinct 

 and pretty species, with purplish-lilac flowers, 

 varying to rose-colored and white. They are 

 among the many old garden favorites now rarely 

 met, though deserving a place in the border. 

 They grow readily from seed, and a succession 

 of sowings will keep up a continuance of bloom 

 during the whole summer. One of the species, 

 S. perfoliata, is a native of this country; the 

 others are from Central and Southern Europe. 

 Speedwell. See Veronica. 



Sphagnum. A name given by Pliny for some 

 Idnd of moss. Linn. Cryptogamia-Pentagynia. 

 Nat. Ord. Bryacece. 



The species belonging to this genus are found 

 in bogs or swamps ut all seasons. S. palustre 

 is a white-leaved species. The Gray Bog Moss 

 is S. obiusifdium. It is an excellent material for 

 packing plants in, being extremely retentive of 

 moisture, and yet contains so much astringency 

 as to check decay. It is also used for potting 

 Orchidaceous and some other plants. This 

 material has been long used in the packing 

 of plants by both florists and nurserymen, 

 and in various other operations connected with 

 Horticulture; but it was only in 1880 that we 

 began to use it extensively as a mulch, to be 

 placed on the top of the soil of plants in pots, 

 and in beds planted out, a description of which 

 we published in the October number of the 

 "Gardener's Monthly" of that year, and which 

 we here give at length. 



Moss Mulching. For want of a better name we 

 have given this to a practice that we have recent- 

 ly introduced into our green-house department. 

 Some time about the first of January of this year 

 one of our young men suggested mulching with 

 Moss (Sphagnum) a lot of Roses, grown in seven- 

 inch pots, that had become somewhat exhausted 

 by being forced for flowers for the holidays. Be- 

 lieving the idea to be a good one, we at once had a 

 lot of nearly three thousand plants so mulched, 

 mixing, however, with the Moss a good portion of 

 bone dust, perhaps one part weight of bone dust 

 to thirty parts of Moss. In two weeks the effect 

 began to be easily perceived on all the Roses 

 that had been so mulched, and without shifting 

 they were carried through until May with the 

 most satisfactory results, many of the plants 



SPH 



having by that time attained a height of four and 

 five feet; and though they had bloomed profusely 

 during a period of nearly six months, they were 

 in the most perfect health and vigor. Believing 

 that if this system proved so satisfactory in a 

 plant refusing such careful handling as the Rose, 

 that doubtless it would do well with many other 

 plants, we at once, almost without exception, 

 adopted the Moss and bone mulch on nearly 

 every plant cultivated, whether planted out in 

 borders or grown in pots, and the result, with- 

 out a single exception, has been in the highest 

 degree satisfactory. Among the plants so treated 

 are Azaleas, Begonias, Caladiums, Carnations, 

 Crotons, Dracaenas, Eucharis, Gloxinias, Palms, 

 Pandanus, Poinsettias, Primulas, Roses, hot- 

 house Grape Vines, and hundreds of other gen- 

 era. All plants are mulched as soon as we can 

 reach them, from three-inch pots upward. In 

 strong-growing plants the roots can be seen, 

 striking upward into the mulch in four or five 

 days after it is put on, and in nearly all cases 

 within two weeks. One great advantage is, that 

 by this system plants can be grown as large and 

 fine in a four-inch pot as in a six-inch pot with- 

 out the mulch, for the reason that the plant is 

 now fed by the Moss and bone from the surface 

 of the pot, the best feeding point, as most cul- 

 tivators of experience well know. Another 

 advantage of the mulching system is its great 

 saving of labor, for it just takes about one-fourth 

 of the time to mulch the surface of a pot as it 

 does to shift it. Another, its saving of watering: 

 the Moss acts as a sponge, retaining and giv- 

 ing out the moisture to the plant just as it is 

 wanted. Another, that it crowds down all 

 weeds, and does away with the necessity of stir- 

 ring the soil in the pots or borders. Another 

 and most important advantage to us who are 

 shippers is, that it lightens the weight of our 

 goods by one-half; that is, we get as large a 

 plant with half the weight of soil. For ama- 

 teurs who grow plants in rooms, or small con- 

 servatories, who have not the conveniences at 

 hand to shift their plants when their condition 

 demands it, this Moss mulching will be of great 

 advantage, not only in keeping plants in good 

 growing condition for many months longer with- 

 out re-potting, but also in the great advantage it 

 has in counteracting the dry atmosphere usual- 

 ly found in rooms or small conservatories. In 

 my practice of thirty years I have never seen a 

 method of culture that I believe to be of such 

 importance ; hundreds who have visited us this 

 season have been equally impressed with its 

 value, for the "proof of the pudding" is most 

 apparent in its results. We have used already 

 over twenty team loads of Moss, and about one 

 ton of bone dust, but never before have we made 

 an investment that has been so satisfactory. If 

 any think we are too sanguine in this matter, 

 we cordially invite them to come and examine. 

 It may be that this Moss and bone mulching is 

 nothing new in the culture of plants, as it is an 

 idea, from its simplicity, that may very likely 

 before have occurred to others, and may have 

 been long ago practiced ; but it is new with us 

 and new to us, and if any one has before done 

 so and withheld the knowledge from the pub- 

 lic, more shame to him, if the result with him 

 has been as gratifying as it has been to us. 

 In our uses of Sphagnum we found another 

 method of using it, the value of which will be 

 apparent to those who have had experience in 

 raising seeds under glass. Our method is as 



