HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



397 



SCA 



Scape. A stem rising from the crown of a ! 

 root, and bearing nothing but flowers. 



Scion. A cutting intended for a graft. 



Secretion. Any organic but unorganized 

 substance produced in the interior of j 

 plants. 



Secund. All the flowers or leaves, or other 

 organs, turned toward the same side. 



Seed Dritt. This is the implement used in 

 sowing field crops of Onions, Carrots, | 

 Turnips, etc. It can be adjusted so as to | 

 sow all sizes of seeds. To use the seed 

 drill successfully, the ground must be 

 soft and smooth. It is never safe to use 

 it in harsh clayey or stony soils. By its 

 use only about one-fourth the quantity 

 of seed is required than when sown by j 

 hand; and the plants coming up in less 

 numbers, they are easier thinned out. It ; 

 is rarely used in small gardens. 



Sedges. A tribe of marsh plants. 



Semi. As a prefix denotes half. 



Seminal. Belonging to the seed. 



Senarious. Arranged in six together of the j 

 same kind. 



Sepals. The divisions of the calyx. 



Sepaloid. Resembling a sepal. 



Septum. The partition that divides the in- 

 terior of the fruit. 



Sessile. Sitting close upon the body that 

 supports it, without any sensible stalk. 



Seta. A bristle of any kind ; a bristle tip- 

 ped with a gland; a slender prickle. 



Shading. A great many plants are invigor- 

 ated by a moderate amount of shade from 

 the intensity of the sun's rays during the 

 summer months, requiring more or less, 

 according to their nature, those whose 

 native habitat is shady woods requiring 

 more than those that grow partly or 

 fully exposed to sunlight. Such plants 

 as Dracaenas, Ferns, Palms, Fuchsias, 

 Camellias, Orchids, and the greater part 



SIL 



of cultivated tropical plants, when grown 

 under glass, are benefited by a light shade, 

 even in the winter months, and a heavier 

 one as the hot weather advances. Such 

 plants as Roses, when grown under glass, 

 only require a very slight shading during 

 the summer months, (say June, July, and 

 August,) which requires to be removed 

 when the fall months begin. A simple 

 and cheap shading, which we have found 

 excellent in every respect, is Naphtha 

 mixed with a little white lead, so as to 

 give it the color of thin milk. It is 

 syringed over the outside of the glass, 

 and costs only about twentv-five cents 

 for every 1,000 square feet of surface. 

 This shading modifies the intensity of the 

 sun's rays without much lessening the 

 light; and though it adheres tenaciously 

 to the glass, it is easily rubbed off in fall, 

 particularly after the first frost. Shading 

 is sometimes necessary with such plants 

 as are set but of doors in summer, and 

 for this purpose a light framework is 

 constructed and covered on the top with 

 portable screens, made of common lath, 

 or strips of that width, which are nailed 

 to light frames. A convenient size is 

 four by six feet. They are sometimes 

 tacked on to the framework, but are bet- 

 ter portable, as in dull weather the plants 

 are better without additional shade. 



Sheath. A part which is rolled round a 

 stem or other body, as the lower part of 

 the leaf that surrounds the stem. 



Shoot. Any fresh branch, more especially 

 one given off immediately from the up- 

 per extremity of the root. 



Shrub. A woody plant wluch does not. form 

 a true trunk like a tree, but has several 

 stems rising from the roots. 



Silique. The long taper pod of Cruciferw. 



Silky. When hairs are glossy, like silk. 



