318 



CINCHONA 



CINERARIA 



richer in alkaloids than the original. In this way, by 

 taking successive strips of bark in different years, the 

 tree yields a continuous supply of bark. 



WM. FAWCETT. 



Cinchonas are sometimes seen in collections of eco- 

 nomic plants, but only one of them seems to be regu- 

 larly in the trade at this time. This is C. officinalis, 

 var. Gondaminea, which Franceschi says is "probably 

 the least delicate and most easily grown of all Cinchonas." 



L. H. B. 



CINERARIA (ash-colored, from the Latin, referring 

 to the gray foliage ) . Composite^. Herbs or under-shrubs, 

 closely allied to Senecio, from which they are separated 

 chiefly by technical characters of the akene. The genus 

 is variously understood by different authors. As limited 

 by Bentham & Hooker, it comprises about 25 South 

 African species, and the common garden Cineraria be- 

 comes a Senecio. The Cineraria of the florists (Fig. 

 472) is now much modified by cultivation. There are 

 two views of its origin, one holding that it is a direct 

 development of C. cruenta, Mass., the other that it is a 

 hybrid, into which C. cruenta, C. Heritieri, C. populi- 

 folia, and perhaps others, have probably blended. These 

 are all natives of the Canary Islands. The writer is in- 

 clined to believe that it is a direct evolution from C. 

 cruenta. This species is figured in B. M. 406. For the 

 more important literature of the recent discussion re- 

 specting the origin of the garden Cineraria, see Nature, 

 51:461, 605 ; 52:3,29, 5^,78, 103, 128 ; 55:341. G.C. III. 

 3:654 and 657; 17:588, 655, 742; 18:89, 186. 



See Senecio for Cineraria acanthifolia, C. candidis- 

 sima, and C. maritima. To the garden or florist's Cine- 

 raria (C. cruenta) belong the horticultural names C. 

 hijbrida, C.grandiflora, C, Kewensis, (7. nana, and the 

 like. There are full-double forms (see R. H. 1874, p. 47; 

 1886, p. 41. F. 8.22:2347-8. I.H.32:556). L. H. B. 



The single hybrid Cinerarias are among the most use- 

 ful and beautiful of all greenhouse flowering plants. 

 The ease with which they can be raised, the little heat 

 required, together with their free-blooming qualities, 

 brilliant and various-colored flowers, which last for a 

 considerable time in blossom, make them popular with 

 most people possessing even only a small 

 greenhouse. Though they are herbaceous in 

 character and may be propagated by cuttings 

 or division of the roots, the single varieties 

 are best treated as annuals, raising 

 them from seed each year and 

 throwing away the plants after flow- 

 ering. Though anyone may save 

 one's own seed, the Cineraria, like 

 most hybrids, will deteriorate both 

 in size and quality of the flower 

 after one or two generations un- 

 lays they are hybridized ; therefore, unless 

 one cares to hybridize his own plants, it is 

 best to purchase fresh seed from some re- 

 liable firm who obtain their stock from hy- 

 bridists. For florists' use, or where a suc- 

 cession of these flowers is required, two 

 sowings of seed should be made ; the first about the 

 middle of August, and the second a month later. The 

 seed should be sown in pans or shallow boxes one foot 

 square ; these should be well drained, and the soil 

 should consist of one part fine loam, one part leaf- 

 mold, and one part clean, sharp silver sand. The sur- 

 face should be made very fine and pressed down evenly. 

 The seed should then be sown evenly and rather thinly, 

 and covered with sand about the eighth part of an 

 inch. This will in a great measure prevent the seedlings 

 from what gardeners term "damping-off," which they are 

 very apt to do if the atmospheric conditions become at 

 all stagnant. The seed-pans or boxes should be care- 

 fully watered with a fine rose and then placed in some 

 cool, shaded place, such as a frame placed on sifted coal 

 ashes on the north side of a wall or building, where they 

 will germinate in about a week or ten days. As soon as 

 large enough to conveniently handle, the seedlings 

 should be potted into thumb-pots and grown on as 

 rapidly as possible, shifting on into larger size pots as 

 often as required, never allowing them to become the 



least pot-bound, or suffer in any way during the season 

 of growth. The soil should consist of half leaf-mold 

 and half fine fibrous loam, with a good sprinkling of sil- 

 ver sand, until the final shift into their flowering pots, 

 when the soil should be three parts fibrous loam and 

 one part well-decayed cow -manure or pulverized sheep- 

 manure. About the first of October the plants should 

 all be removed to the greenhouse, where the atmosphere 

 should be kept cool and moist, but not stagnant. If a 

 rainy spell should set in, a little artificial heat should 

 be given to cause a circulation of the atmosphere, and 

 as the fall advances the temperature should be kept 

 about 45 at night, with a rise of ten degrees by day. 

 Liquid stimulants should not be given until the flower 

 buds begin to appear, when they are greatly benefited by 

 an occasional watering of clear, liquid cow- or sheep- 

 manure water. Cinerarias are very subject to the 

 attacks of green-fly. To keep these in check, the house 

 in which they are grown should be fumigated with to- 

 bacco about once in ten days, or tobacco stems placed 

 among the plants if fumigating is objectionable. 



Double-flowered varieties of Cineraria are not com- 

 monly grown, neither are they as beautiful as the single 

 varieties. They may be propagated by seed or by cut- 

 tings, the latter being the best method, as a large per- 

 centage of seedlings are sure to turn out single, which 

 will be inferior in size of flower as compared with the 

 best single varieties. Double-flowering varieties must 

 be propagated each year to obtain the best results. As 

 soon as the plants have finished blossoming, the flower 

 stalks should be cut away to induce the plants to make 



472. The florists' Cineraria C. cruenta. 



fresh growth, which, as soon as large enough for cut- 

 tings, should be taken off and inserted in an ordinary 

 propagating bed, where they will soon root, after which 

 they should be potted and shifted on as often as re- 

 quired, growing them during the hottest months in as 



