m IK 



condition, the prices reeei\ed are usually 40 per cent 

 greater than those of the home market. The best re- 

 sults are obtained when the Pears are packed and 

 shipped direct from the on-liard. 



With fruit of superior (|iKility, b.-ttcr steamer facili- 

 ties, and more careful lianaiinu', :i l,iri.'e quantity of 

 American Pears can be i.x|".rt..il, f..r foreign markets 

 are steadily demanding and lereiving increased sup- 

 plies. Geokge T. Powell. 



PEAK. Alligator P., Persea gratissim 

 Persea (/riitissima. Balsam P., .Womorrficn C 

 Garlic P., C'riit<rv<i (lyimnilra. Prickly P., Op, 



Avocado P. , 



PEAEL BUSH, Ka 



Pearl Weed i 



below. Near the top the Peat i 

 and porous : lower down it tends to be bla 

 and without indication of its votrftahlp 

 varies from 1 or '_' p'-r c, nt in n.wly for 



20, or even 30 p.-i ni ni tli- ol,l. r I', n 



monly used for fu-i t^y iho Iri-ii |ii;t-.i 

 never in Araer 

 more for its porous 



nher- 



and for 



PECAN 



irntain but a small percentage of organic or vegetable 

 m itti 1 P( at n the jtlier h m I is spoken of as an 

 I lit I I I 11 geU of vegetable 



I i ] It IS formed either 



I I 1 t I I limatic conditions. 



II t \ I I li I 1 t M t I I r the influence of 

 w Iter IS trund in shiii^s ir tht plates from which 

 water cannot pass a\sd> readil) Aquatic plants and 

 mosses flourish, and at the end of the growing season 

 they die down; vegetation is renewed the following 

 season, and so on until the layers of decaying vegeta- 

 tion rise above the surface of the water, when fenis and 

 plants of a more ligneous character generally establish 

 themselves and give firmness to the surface. 



That which is dominated by climatic conditions, as 

 on the silicious sands of some parts of England, and on 

 the heathy sands in the north of Germany, is composed 

 principally of the roots of heaths, mosses, and other 

 ci-vi.to^Mn'is whirl, <;r,-w among the heaths. It forms a 



str:'l:iiM of .,■,),:, I liii^'lit h, M,ok™ of a. a Tory fil^rons 



FEAT is a kind of soil formed by the partial decay of 

 plants in the swamps of the temperate zone. It is a 

 standard potting material in greenhouse work for cer- 

 tain classes of plants, as ferns, orchids, heaths, rhodo- 

 dendrons and other ericaceous plants, woody plants from 

 Australia and the Cape of Good Hope, and many other 

 choice and diflicult subjects. American gardeners com- 

 plain that they are handicapped in growing such plants 

 because American Peat is poorer than European, the 

 lack of fiber being chiefly deplored. 



The Peat bogs of England are often 5 or 6 feet deep, and 

 some of the Irish ones are said to be as deep as 40 feet. 

 They have been forming ever since the glacial period, 

 but are now on the decline, owing largely to natural 

 causes. Peat bogs represent the decay of many kinds 

 of aquatic and marsh plants, but chiefly sphagnum 

 (which see). This moss grows upward and decays 

 ■ .. ^ . ■ ^,^0^^^ fibrous, light 



rk, heavy, dense 

 irigin. The ash 

 lowh forniod Peat to 10, 

 old, r 1'. ;ii. Peat is com- 

 -h |ii a- iiitiy, but almost 



•-holding properties than 

 for its plant-food. If dried, it may be used as 

 sorbent for liquid manure, "not so much for it.s 

 ent value," says Roberts ( in his " Fertility of th- ' 

 "as for conserving the nitrogen in the manurt 

 improving the condition of the stables." 



The transformation of Peat bogs into arable land is 

 rarely a pressing problem in America. It is usually too 

 costly for a new country. The notion, however, is ver>' 

 common that Peat lands are extraordinarily rich in 

 plant-food. Nevertheless, according to Roberts, swamp 

 muck and Peat are not richer in plant-food than the / 

 good soils, with the exception of the nitrogen in the— | — 

 Peat, which, without doubt, is far less available than it | ,,^, 

 is in good soils. (American Peat contains about .07 per 

 cent nitrogen, .21 per cent phosphoric acid, and .13 per 

 cent potash. ) Peat lands differ from good, arable soil 

 in being cold, sour, and too wet. To reclaim them one 

 must drain off the superfluous water and apply lime 

 freely to destroy the harmful organic acids. Sometimes 

 sand or clay may be added to improve the texture. 

 Tillage opens the 'soil to air, warms it, makes it uncon- 

 genial for nitrites, and congenial for nitrates. It takes 

 time to reclaim Peat lands. Thoroughly decayed Peat 

 is muck. W. M. 



Peat is chiefly composed of vegetable matter in what 

 might be termed a state of suspended or partial decay. 

 The soil which covers the greater portion of the earth's 

 surface has been made by the disintegration of rocks 

 and stones, through the agency of frost, water, and the 

 atmosphere, and is composed mostly of sand and clay, 

 these differing in proportions according to locality. 

 Such soils are spoken of as inorganic soils, since they 



broken ii 

 readily m 



the ideal niuturial in which 

 other genera of the family 

 the hot summers of th 

 cannot be grown to tl 

 England. !■• :ii ■.. iii' I 



■ fern-root, bog Peat, and 

 for orchids." The fiber is 

 is the ideal material for 



, and 



thi! 

 in not ha 



cas, epacris, ai 

 though owing to 

 y these last-named plants 

 lu- iierfection which they attain in 

 I I- f und in swamps is abundant 

 - from the European product 

 I \ liber. Though not of much 

 :i I MM^. etc., it is useful in potting 

 nni; iieds for planting rhododen- 

 other larger-growing plants of the 

 useful in mixing soils for vases 

 in exposed positions outdoors dur- 



Peat in orchid cultuiv. oi.v. Amrriran L'ar.l.n.'r> n-, 

 kalmia-root and fcrTi-i-o.,t, .-|iorially tlio lattor. wliic-l 

 mav generally be foun.l in c|iiantity ui...u tlii- vmfa.o o 

 the' Peat which has risen above the water. When choic 

 can be had the roots of the more slender-growing fern 

 are preferable to the larger and stronger -gro 

 species, since the roots are correspondingly finer. 

 Edw.\kd J. Canni> 



ng 



PEA-TREE. 



also Sesbi. 



PECAN (fficdria Pectin, Britt. C&rya olivaformis, 

 Nutt.). Of the 10 or more species of hickory, the Pe- 

 can is the most important from the horticultural stand- 

 point. Possessing, as it does, the desirable qualities of 

 rapid growth, reasonable precocity and productiveness, 

 and producing a nut with thin shell, good cracking 

 quality, full kernel and delicate flavor, it may well rank 

 first among our native nuts in value and cultural im- 

 portance. Its probable cultural value has long been 

 recognized, but only within the last twenty-five or 

 thirty years has there been systematic planting of the 

 trees in orchard form with a view to deriving profit 

 from the sale of the crops of nuts. By far the larger 

 part of the commercial product of Pecans is still ob- 

 tained from the wild trees of Texas, Louisiana and Mis- 

 sissippi. 



The species is indigenous on lowlands and river bot- 

 toms thronu'liniit most of the valley of the Mississippi 

 ami its jar'.-.r triliutaries. It is found as far north as 

 l)av.n|ioit. Iowa, in the main valley, Covington, Ky., in 

 that ,.f ih. ( ihi... and Terre Haute, Ind., in that of the 



