+ 



OKLAHOMA 



protected from tlie Are. Wild fruit plants are abundant 

 in nearly all parts of the territory, and usually bear 

 moderately well. The plum, persimmon, grape, black- 

 berry and dewberry are most common. With a reason- 

 able amount of cultivation, most orchard fruits do well. 

 Young orchards are beginning to bear in nearly all 

 parts of the territory. These orchards contain only a 

 short list of varieties, but most of these seem well 

 ailapted to the country. Most varieties show a strong 

 tendency to early bearing. The fruit is of good form, 

 size and quality, and promises to become one of the 

 leading crops. See Indian TenUory. O. M. Morris. 



OKKA,or6lTMB0(ffi7>isc(ts eseuUntus). Introduced 

 into United States and West Indies from Africa, and 

 cultivated for its fruit pods, which are used in soups, 

 stews, catsups, etc. In soups and catsup, it gives body 

 to the dish; stewed, it is mucilaginous, and while at 

 first not agreeable to many people, a taste for it is easily 

 acquired. It is also dried and canned for winter use. 

 Sow in spring after the ground is thoroughly warmed, 

 in good vegetable land. Make the rows 3 to 5 feet apart, 

 according to variety, and drop seeds about 2 inches 

 apart in the row; cover 1 or2 inches deep. After plants 

 are six inches high, thin to 1 foot apart for dwarf varie- 

 ties and to about 3 feet for the largest varieties. The 

 seedlings transplant with considerable difficulty, so they 

 need to be started in flower-pots if an extra-early crop 

 is desired. The pods must be gathered before the fiber 

 develops in them: the size will vary with the variety, 

 but if it is too "stringy " to cut with a dull case-knife it 

 is too old. Keep all old pods cut off. The dwarf varie- 

 ties are in greater favor in the South because of their 

 habit of bearing early. A plant, constantly cropped, re- 

 mains in bearing condition until frost kills it, but al- 

 lowed to retain pods it suspends growth until the seeds 

 have matured, when a second growth may take place. 

 Okra will grow for years if not killed by frost or other 

 adverse conditions, i. e., it makes an indeterminate 

 growth like cotton, malva, hibiscus, etc. For shipping, 

 cut the stems (peduncles) an inch or so long as to pre- 

 vent wilting in transit. Pack firmly in vegetable crates. 

 The demand for this vegetable is increasing, especially 

 in New York City. Seed is easily grown and saved. 

 The plant is subject to several diseases to such an ex- 

 tent that it is impracticable to raise a crop on certain 

 pieces of land. Rotation is the best remedy. 



P. H. Rolfs. 

 Okra is a half-hardy annual in the North, originally 

 from Africa, introduced into the United States from the 

 West Indii-''. It is cultivated for its young green pods, 

 which are used in soups, stews and 

 catsups, to impart a thick, viscous 

 consistency, like tapioca or sago. 

 When ripe, the black or brown 

 white -eyed, globular seeds are 

 sometimes roasted and used as a 

 coffee substitute. Okra should be 

 sown in a dry, warm soil, of me- \ 

 dium fertility and texture, afteF~f ^, 

 danger of frost has passed. For an f], 

 early crop the plants may be started o, 

 in a hotbed four weeks earlier than t), 

 sowings in the open ground. Th* 

 seeds should be covered about at 

 inch deep. 1-2 ft. asunder, and ii 

 rows 2-3H ft. apart, according t( 

 the vari.'tv. wlii-tlicr dwarf or tall 



OLIVI 



1125 



OLEA (classical name for Olive). Oleacice. Olive. 

 Between 30 and 40 trees or shrubs of the tropical and 

 warm-temperate parts of the Old World to New Zealand. 

 Lvs. evergreen and thick, opposite, usually entire, and 

 often rusty-tomentose beneath : lis. small, usually im- 

 perfect, wliite or whitish, in forking panicles orfascicles, 

 the short calyx 4-toothed (corolla sometimes none), the 

 short-tubed corolla with 4 valvate lobes, the stamens 2: 

 ovary 2-loculed, bearing a short style and capitate 

 stigma: tr. an oblong or ovoid drupe. The best known 

 species is 0. Eoropsea, Linn, (see Olive). It is a small 

 tree, rarely exceeding 20 or 25 ft. in height, and bearing 

 small lanceolate lvs. and axillary forking racemes of 

 yellowish white fragrant fls. It is probably native to the 

 Mediterranean region. It has been in cultivation from 

 the earliest times. 0. chrysophylla, Lam., from tropical 

 Africa, has been introduced by F. Franceschi, Santa 

 Barbara. It is a small tree, noteworthy because of the 

 golden color of the under surface of the lvs. The drupe 

 is large and blackish: lvs. lanceolate, acute, entire, 

 shining above. For O. fragranSy illieifolia, Aqnifol- 

 ium, and for garden treatment of the true Oleas, see 

 Osmanthvs. l_ h_ q 



OLEANDER. See Nerittm Oleander. 



OLEABIA (derivatio 

 HiiHxtii in New Zealai 

 rounded form, with vt i 

 with deep green fnlin 

 small white flowers. 11 

 is confined to Austr;ili: 



our common idea of 

 The heads are about 



uury si,i:iii 

 flattish bra 

 vary from 

 4-C yellow 



.f ail uirli across, and look 

 i-t;ilial wliitr Hower. They 

 ed clusters of a dozen or i 

 ' 5 in number, and the disk 

 This rare plant is said to 

 i.s ottVn-(l in Ameri. 



^ an ordi- 

 are borne in 

 o. The rays 

 is reduced to 

 be hardy in 



eastern England. 



Olearia is a genu- ..| «:> ..r m.^iv -,...,,-, -hinKs, 

 S3metimes arboresia n ^.i : , . ■ i . li- 



ingherbs: lvs. alteni.i: ,,:,| . , , i, ,,1 



or 1-nerved, entire or urn Ian : mao- lar^r. iiiini or 



small, solitary, corynibijse ur (liuiK-li-il : laj^ uliiii- or 

 blue: disk yellow or rarely purplish blue. For generic 

 characters, see Flora Australiensis 3:463, where the 

 genus is split into 5 sections. 



Ha&stii, Hook. Lvs. Yt-l in. long, elliptic or ovate- 

 oblong, obtuse, short- petioled, very leathery, dark 

 green above, white, but not shiny below. B.M. 6592. 

 G.C. III. 20:533. Gn. 38, p. 149. F. 1874, p. 198. w.M. 



OLEASTER. Popular name of Elmagmis hortensis. 



OLERICULTURE. See Vegetable Gardening. 



Dwarf Density Okra. 

 .\ small variety valu- 

 able for the North. 



In the South Okra is vei y 

 North it is almost unknown 

 (Fig. 1520) succeed. 



OLD-MAN- AND-WOMAN, 



M-rally culTivated; in the 

 I "Tily til.- .hvarf varieties 

 M. G. Kains. 

 for the Southernwood, 

 for the Rosemary, Mos- 



or common Houseleek. 



lished on a rather large scale. 



The history of the Olive is of peculiar interest, not 

 alone because it is .so closely interwoven with the eco- 

 nomics of the ancients, as well as with the daily life of 

 the oeoDle in Asia :Miii..r an.l in s.„itl,. rii Knn.iir. l,ut 



OLD MAN CACTUS. Piloeereiis senilis. 



OLD MAN'S BEARD. In Europe, Cicma^js Vitalba: 

 in America our common Wild Clematis. C. Virginiana ; 

 also Saxifraga sarmenfosa : rarely the Fringe Tree, 

 Chionanthus. 



because of the vicissiin<!i - ^f r:ilii\ai i^n, tlif .liliKiiltK-s 



bilities for the cul'tun' mI tin- Irmi .a,iiii,i,raially. H..- 

 tanically, the Olive is k.i..wM .h> OI.,i E„,,.,,.u, («l,i,;h 

 see), belonging to the natural family Oleaic.-r. Olea 

 is a genus of trees and shrubs "having opposite, ever- 

 green, leathery lvs., which are generally entire, smooth. 

 and minutely scaly; small fls. in compound axillary ra- 

 cemes, or in thyrsi at the end of the twigs ; a small 

 4-toothed calyx, a 4-cleft corolla, 2 stamens, a 2-cleft 

 stigma: the fr. a drupe." It is a native of Syria and 

 other Asiatic countries, and has for many centuries be- 

 come naturalized in the south of Europe. 



In the Mission San Diego, in the far southern part of 

 California, were planted the first Olives, according to 



