704 



GYNERIUM 



GYNURA 



The growing of Pampas plumes for profit in Califor- 

 nia has been carried on for over 25 years. Pampas 

 Grass was introduced into the United States about 1848. 

 In the northern states it is frequently planted on the 

 lawn in summer, and upon the approach of cold weather 

 transferred in a tub to a cellar for winter protection. 

 In California, a hill will sometimes attain a height of 

 20 ft., a diameter as great, and a weight of 2, 000 pounds. 

 Such plants would be quite inconvenient for our north- 

 ern friends to handle in the cellar. 



Plants are easily produced from seed, but as the sex 

 and variety are very uncertain, stock is usually increased 

 by dividing the female plants, the plumes of which are 

 much more beautiful than those of the male. The grow- 

 ing of Pampas Grass on a commercial scale dates from 

 1874, when the difference in sex was discovered. 



In 1872 the writer sowed seed which in two years gave 

 several hundred plume-bearing plants. Even then the 

 variations in color and fineness were very marked. 



In 1874, it was found that by pulling the immature 

 plumes from the sheaths and exposing them to the hot 

 sun the male plumes would hang heavily like oats, 

 while the female plumes would become fluffy, and light 

 and airy. In November, 1874, samples of the female 

 plumes were sent to Peter Henderson & Co., New York. 

 Three hundred were ordered at once, and the following 

 day instructions were received to double the order and 

 send by express. This was the first lot of good plumes 

 ever sent east from California, and was the beginning 

 of the present Pampas industry. The writer's planta- 

 tion was increased each year until 1889, when it com- 

 prised about 5,000 hills. There were a number of other 

 extensive plantations in the neighborhood of Santa 

 Barbara. The crop of 1889 was estimated at 1,000,000 

 plumes. The demand has been good, but the prices have 

 never been as high as at the beginning of the industry. 

 The first prices were $200 per 1,000 plumes. The de- 

 crease in price was gradual until 1886, when sales were 

 slow at $30 per 1,000 plumes. Some of the growers did 

 not harvest their crops that year, and destroyed their 

 plants. In the fall of 1887 plumes were in demand at $40 

 per 1,000, and in 1888 they were scarce at $50 and $60 

 per ] ,000. The following spring there was an increase 

 in acreage. Since then the industry has had its ups and 

 downs, and the price has ruled low for several years, 

 the present prices being $13.50 and $14 for first-class, 

 and $8 to $9 for second size. 



Pampas Grass should be put on the best valley land, 

 and set 10 by 16 feet apart. Before planting, the ground 

 should be deeply plowed and put in first-class condition. 

 In selecting stock, divide only female plants that pro- 

 duce the finest white plumes. Young hills produce the 

 best plants. From old hills the best plants are obtained 

 around the outside, those in the center of the stool being 

 mostly worthless unless planted in large clumps. Some 

 plumes will be produced the first year after planting. 

 They will not be first-class, but are worth saving. The 

 second year, if well grown, they should produce 80 to 

 150 plumes to the hill. Not all plantations will yield 

 this much. The third and fourth years there will not be 

 much change in the yield. As a plant gets older the 

 plumes are larger but the yield is less. After 8 or 10 

 years a quantity of dead matter will have accumulated, 

 and the hills should be trimmed or burned. 



The appearance of the plumes is a signal for great 

 activity among those who have large fields. The grass 

 should be so trimmed early in September, before 

 the plumes appear, that each hill will be easy 

 of access. Young plants ripen their plumes two 

 or three weeks earlier than old ones, and some 

 varieties are earlier than others. It requires ex- 

 ercise of judgment to pick the plumes at the 

 proper time. They are generally ready when they 

 are exposed from the husk a few inches and have 

 a fluffy look. It is well to try a few at this stage, >x - 

 and if they cure well at the stem end when dry V 

 they are all right, but if they do not become fluffy 

 at the stem end they have been picked too young. 

 If the plume looks dark and seedy at the top 

 when cured, it was too old when picked. Some 

 varieties, especially those producing very long 

 plumes, should be allowed to remain somewhat 

 longer on the plant than those of the short-plumed 



varieties. By trying a few of each variety, the time of 

 ripening can soon be ascertained. Some varieties are 

 pulled from the husk in the field; others have to be 

 hauled to husking benches, where the husk or sheath is 

 removed. Some planters husk them like corn : others 

 use a knife set in such a way as to split the husk with- 

 out injuring the plume. When the husk has been split, 

 a quick jerk or strike on the table will extract the 

 plume. The plumes are then taken to the drying ground 

 and evenly spread in long rows. This ground should be 

 made smooth and free from any trash that is liable to 

 adhere to the plumes. Clean stubble ground is the best. 

 The plumes are left on the ground three days and two 

 nights to cure, and are turned and shaken once each 

 day. They are next packed away as broadly and smoothly 

 as possible on shelves in a dry building, where they 

 should lie ten days or two weeks, or until the stems are 

 thoroughly dried, at which time they are ready for 

 market. They are packed in two grades : the first-class, 

 having plumes 26 inches long and over, clear of stem 

 (sometimes as long as 45 inches), is packed in cases that 

 measure three-quarters of a ton and contain 3,000 plumes; 

 second class stock is packed in cases of the same size, 

 the plumes being 17 to 26 inches long clear of stem, and 

 6,000 in each case. If shipping by express, the writer 

 uses bales of about 2,000 plumes, covered with canvas or 

 burlap and some light strips of wood at the corners. If 

 the plumes are packed smoothly and evenly they will 

 withstand heavy pressure. Careful all-round cultivation 

 is necessary to produce good plumes. About three-quar- 

 ters of a million plumes are grown at Santa Barbara at 

 the present time. 



The best market at present is London, the next Ham- 

 burg. Berlin, Denmark, New York and Philadelphia 

 take a few. Pampas plumes are colored in London. In 

 America the pure white plumes give the best satisfaction, i 



JOSEPH SEXTON. 



GYNtTRA (name refers to the tailed stigmas). Com- 

 pdsitve. Twenty or more herbs (rarely somewhat 

 shrubby) of tropical Asia, Africa and Australia. Lvs. i 

 alternate, entire or lobed, numerous; heads discoid, the 

 florets commonly all fertile, not very showy. The Gy- 

 nuras are attractive glasshouse herbs, usually requiring 

 a moderately high temperature. Genus allied to Senecio 

 and Cineraria. 



aurantiaca, DC. VELVET PLANT. Stout and branchy, 

 2-3 ft., with almost succulent steins, densely clothed . 

 with violet or purple hairs: Ivs. large and soft, ovate, ; 

 jagged-toothed, hairy, short petioled or the upper ones v 

 clasping, overlaid with iridescent purple: heads in a 8 

 terminal cluster, yellow or orange. Java. I.H. 28 :436. - 

 One of the handsomest of recent foliage plants. In 

 winter it may be grown in the conservatory or warm- 

 house, but in the summer it may be bedded out in a j 

 warm and protected place. It grows rapidly, and makes 

 a most satisfactory display of colored leafage. It is 

 readily propagated by cuttings in the house, as gerani- 

 ums are. 



Other species, but not known to be in the Amer. trade, are: 

 G. auriculata, Cass. (G. ovalis, DC. Cacalia ovalis, Ker.). 



