AURICULA 



AZALEA 



119 



171. Auricula (X %). 



go through the hottest months much better in boxes than 

 in pots, as they can be kept more evenly moist. For their 

 summer quarters, a wooden frame placed on sifted coal 

 ashes on the north side of a building or wall, or almost 

 any position where they will be sheltered from the sun 

 and still receive plenty of light, should be given them. 

 The frame should be provided with sash, which should 

 be kept over the plants most of the time, giving air in 

 abundance in favorable weather, and during the warmest 

 weather the whole frame 

 should be raised by placing 

 a brick under each corner, 

 so as to allow a good cir- 

 culation of air among the 

 plants. About the second 

 week in September the 

 young plants should be 

 potted, using a compost of 

 two parts good, fibrous 

 loam, one part leaf-mold, 

 and one part well decayed 

 cow or sheep manure, with 

 a little sand added. The 

 frame should be kept a 

 little close for a few days 

 after potting, and from 

 this time care must be 

 taken not to wet the foli- 

 age in watering. The 

 plants may remain in 

 the frame until dan- 

 ger of freezing, when 

 they should be trans- 

 ferred to a cool green- 

 house for the winter. 

 All decaying leaves 

 should be carefully 

 removed, and but lit- 

 tle water will be re- 

 quired during the 

 dull winter months. 



Towards the end of February the plants will show signs 

 of flowering, when they should be given a top-dressing 

 of pulverized sheep manure and placed in a light, airy 

 position, in a temp, of 55. The flowering season lasts 

 about two months, after which the plants should receive 

 their annual potting. All diseased or decayed roots 

 should be cut away, and most of the old soil carefully 

 removed. The propagation of very choice varieties by 

 offsets or division is best done at this time. The pots 

 used in potting should be well drained, and no larger 

 than will just accommodate the plants. The soil best 

 suited is the same as before recommended. After pot- 

 ting they may be placed in their summer quarters. 

 Offsets should be inserted round the edge of 4-inch pots, 

 using very sandy soil, and kept in a moist, shaded posi- 

 tion until rooted. By annually repotting and giving a 

 little extra care during the summer months, a batch of 

 Auriculas will return very satisfactory results, and may 

 be kept in a good, healthy condition for several years. 



EDWARD J. CANNING. 



A VENA (classical name). Graminece. OATS. A genus 

 of annuals or perennials well known from the cultivated 

 oat. Panicles wide open, and loosely flowered, bearing 

 large 2-6-flowered spikelets. A long, twisted, geniculate 

 awn present, except in the cultivated oat. Species, 

 about 50. Widely spread in the temperate regions of the 

 Old and New World. 



fatua, Linn. WILD-OATS. SAND-OATS. Resembles the 

 cultivated oat; can be distinguished by the larger spike- 

 lets and long, brown hairs on the flowering glume. Awn 

 an inch in length. Eu. A very troublesome weed in 

 some parts. Not cult. 



st6rilis, Linn. ANIMATED OATS. Much larger than the 

 cultivated oat : spikelets large, in a drooping panicle ; 

 awn very long and geniculate. Mediterranean region 

 and E. Occasionally cult, for the odd behavior of the 

 "seeds." It is the twisting and untwisting of this awn, 

 when exposed to moisture and dryness, that has given 

 to the grass the name Animated Oats. The untwisting of 

 the awn causes the spikelet to tumble about in various 

 directions, suggestive of independent motion. 



The common oat is Avena sativA, Linn., native of the Old 

 World. Pasture grasses sold as Avenas are A. elatior, which is 

 an Arrhenantherum ; and A. flavescens, which is a Trisetum. 



P. B. KENNEDY. 



AVERRHOA (after Averrhoes, the Arabian physi- 

 cian). Geranidcece. Tropical fruit trees, cult, in India 

 and China, and sometimes grown under glass for orna- 

 ment. Lvs. alternate, odd-pinnate; Ifts. alternate, ovate- 

 acuminate, entire, stalked, sensitive : fls. borne on the 

 naked stems and branches, minute, fragrant, rose-colored 

 to reddish purple, racemose ; calyx red; corolla campanu- 

 late ; petals 5. 



Carambdla, Linn. CARAMBOLA. Height 15-20 ft. : Ifts. 

 4-5 pairs : tts. rosy purple : fr. varying in size from a 

 hen's egg to a large orange, ovate, acutely 5-angled, yel- 

 low, fragrant, the pulp acid. The half -grown fr. used as 

 pickles ; the ripe fr. for preserves. Said to produce 3 

 crops a year. P.M. 15:231. Cult, sparingly in S. Calif. 



A. Bilimbi, Linn. CUCUMBER TREE. BILIMBI. Height 8-15 

 ft.: Ifts. 5-10 pairs : fls. red, in longer racemes than the above : 

 fr. smaller than the Carambola, cucumber-shaped, smooth, 

 green rind, and acid pulp. Extensively cult, in S. Amer. P.M. 

 15:231. 



AVOCADO, ALLIGATOR PEAR. See Persea. 



AZALEA (from Greek azaleas, dry : Linnaeus be- 

 lieved them to grow in dry locations). Ericaceae. 

 Shrubs : Ivs. deciduous or persistent, alternate, more 

 or less nairy and ciliate, rarely glabrous and never lepi- 

 dote or scurfy : fls. in terminal umbellate racemes, 

 rarely lateral; corolla 5-lobed, funnel-form, campanulate 

 or rotate ; stamens 5-10 ; ovary 5-celled, hairy or se- 

 tose, with or without glands : fr. a loculicidal capsule 

 (Fig. 172), with numerous minute seeds. This genus is 

 often united with Rhododendron, which is easier to dis- 

 tinguish by its Ivs. and general habit than by its fls. In 

 Rhododendron, the Ivs. are coriaceous, generally per- 

 sistent, usually revolute at the margin, glabrous or to- 

 mentose beneath, often lepidote, not ciliate, or ciliate 

 and lepidote : stamens usually 10 : ovary glabrous, 

 glandular, lepidote or tomentose, never setose, some- 

 times more than 5-celled. The glabrous species of 

 Azalea have 5 stamens and deciduous Ivs. There are 35 

 species in Asia (especially E. Asia) and N. Amer. Con- 

 sult Maximowicz, Rhododendrese Asiae Orientalis, St. 

 Petersburg, 1870. The Azaleas belong to our most orna- 

 mental and beautiful flowering shrubs, and are often 

 completely covered with large showy fls. of brilliant and 

 various colors. They grow best in peaty or sandy soil 

 containing no limestone, and prefer somewhat moist and 

 half-shaded situations. In regard to the culture, they 

 may be divided into two groups : Hardy deciduous 

 Azaleas, and Indian Azaleas. 



HARDY DECIDUOUS AZALEAS. These include the spe- 

 cies of the sections Euazalea and Rhodora, and the hy- 

 brids known as Ghent Azaleas. They are hardy, but in 

 the N. and in exposed situations a protection with brush, 

 hay or mats should be given during the winter, to pre- 

 vent the flower-buds from sudden changes of tempera- 

 ture. They are usually increased by seeds sown in early 

 spring in frames or pans, in sandy peat, without cover- 

 ing, and kept moist and shady. When the seedlings ap- 

 pear they should have air and a daily syringing. In au- 

 tumn they are transplanted into boxes or frames, in 

 sandy, peaty soil. The seeds germinate very readily 

 sown in cut sphagnum, but ought to be pricked into 

 boxes as soon as they can be handled. The second year 

 the seedlings should be planted out in beds, sufficiently 

 wide apart to allow a growth of two years. Long upright 

 branches should be shortened, to secure well-branched 

 plants. The named varieties are grafted on any of the 

 common species, usually by veneer-grafting in autumn 

 in the greenhouse, on potted stock. They may also be 

 increased by cuttings of mature wood 2-3 in. long, taken 

 with a heel late in summer, and placed in sand under 

 glass. Layers usually require 2 years to root sufficiently ; 

 they are made in spring, and the buried part enclosed in 

 moss. Azaleas are easy to transplant, either in early 

 spring or in early autumn, when the year's growth 

 has ripened. If desired, they may be planted for deco- 

 rative purposes in early spring, in beds, without injuring 

 the abundance or brilliancy of the flower, and after- 



