POLIANTHES 
The fertilizer is thoroughly mixed with the soil by run- 
ning a plow with point only in the furrow. Into this the 
sets or "seed," as they are called, are carefully placed 
upright by hand and covered with plow. Usually the 
bulblets are rather slow in starting off, and just as they 
begin to break through, the soil, which has become 
bulb of polianthes tuberosa. 
1387 
hardened or crusted, is raked or broken up. This assists 
the plant in getting up and also destroys any growth 
of grass which may have started. Cultivation is done 
chiefly with a cotton plow, using the sweeps to put 
earth to the plant and destroying any grass in the rows. 
Tillage is required every two weeks until August: an 
occasional hoeing between plants by hand is necessary 
in order to loosen the soil and destroy weeds and grass 
not reached by the plow. The crop is matured and 
gathered between Oct. 15 and Nov. 15. The tops by 
this time have reached a length of 18 or 20 in.; these 
are cut off at the ground with a sharp weeding hoe and 
the bulbs are plowed out very much as potatoes are. 
Women then lift out and shake off the earth, and the 
offsets are removed by hand. These sets are the seed- 
stock for next season. The bulbs are graded as to size, 
carried to curing houses, and by some placed on shelves 
to dry or cure out. The bulbs must be stirred or have 
their position changed every few days to prevent mold 
and rot. This stirring wears or breaks off the roots and 
tops of a good percentage of the bulbs, making a less 
sightly bulb, though not injuring its flowering property. 
The better and more modern way is to gather them by 
the roots in bunches of about 10, "tie them together with 
a small cord and hang them upon frames, walls and 
overhead of house and allow them to cure without dis- 
turbing them during the process of drying. While this 
would seem a rather expensive way, it really costs but 
a few cents per thousand, being done by small negro 
children at nominal wages. In recent years artificial 
heat of 80°-100° by means of furnace and flues similar 
to those used in tobacco barns has been introduced, to 
hasten curing. Four to eight weeks are required to 
properly cure the bulbs for shipping, so that the first 
shipments begin to move about Dec. 1 to 10. Before 
shipment the bulbs are again sorted in order to get out 
any undersized bulbs that may have been overlooked; 
they are also counted and packed in paper-lined barrels, 
holding from 700 to 1,300, the number varying with size 
of bulbs and size of barrels. About 200 bbls., or 150,000 
to 175,000 bulbs, constitute a car-load. The bulk of the 
exports go through New York dealers, several of whom 
handle half a million or more each. A few are exported 
being double. The Tall Double is similar, except that 
the flowering stem is longer, about 24 inches or over. 
The White or Orange Flower has a long stem, with the 
blossom single or resembling the blossom of an orange 
tree. The Albino, a freak from the Pearl, is a dwarf 
single or orange-flowered variety, but its tendency in 
other latitudes is to go back to the double type, and con- 
sequently is likely to disappoint the grower who expects 
a single blossom. The foliage of all the above is a rich 
green. The variegated-leaved variety has a beautiful 
stripe of golden or silver hue on the outer edge of the 
foliage. The blossom is single and the habit is dwarf. 
The Tuberose is treated as an annual and has to be re- 
placed each season. 
A "number one" bulb (referring to size) is not less 
than 4 inches in circumference and measures up to (> 
inches and over; "mammoth" bulbs are 6 to 8 inches in 
circumference. Only a very small part of the crop will 
attain such measurement. A "number two" bulb is less 
than 4 in. and over 3 in. in circumference, and while in 
the south these will bloom as well as the larger bulbs- 
they are not much sought by the northern dealers. 
The Tuberose is a rather slow grower; hence in the 
North, where the frosts are much earlier than South, 
it is likely to get caught before its spike of bloom 
matures. To succeed in getting flowers in the North 
they should be started in pots under glass or in rooms 
free of frost in April and transplanted to open ground 
in early June. The soil should be deeply pulverized. 
Select a sandy loam if possible, and fertilize with 
manure containing a good percentage of potash. Keep 
the earth about the plant thoroughly stirred and do not 
let the plant suffer for moisture. h.e. newbury. pollen 
POLLEN. All gymnosperms (conifers, etc. ) and angio- 
sperms (true flowering plants) normally reproduce by 
means of seeds. For the fertilization of the ovule, in 
order that seed may result, the intervention of the pol- 
len is necessary. The "dust of the flower" is therefore 
of far more interest to the horticulturist than this old 
popular name would imply. Studies in hybridization 
and self-sterility have long made evident the practical 
importance of a knowledge of pollen. Every plant pro- 
vides for the production of this substance, and usually 
in definite pollen-bearing leaves termed stamens. The 
stamens are organs of the flower, and as essential as 
the carpels. The pollen is produced in definite sacs 
or compartments of the anther, located usually at the 
tip of the stamen; and when the pollen is ripe, or ma- 
ture, the fine grains are set free in quantity by the rup- 
ture of the inclosing sacs. The abundance of pollen 
produced may suggest wasteful management of the 
plant's resources; but a liberal supply of this substance 
is necessary. Although it requires but a single one of 
the small grains to fertilize a single ovule and produce 
a seed, pollen-grains are produced often a thousandfold 
more abundantly than ovules. The best offspring are 
produced when cross -fertilization occurs, and in the 
transfer of pollen from plant to plant it is only a 
small part which can reach its proper destination. 
There are many chances and such great losses that 
abundance of pollen is a necessary provision. 
In general, flowers are pollinated by the wind and by 
insects; that is, pollen is transported by these two 
agencies. Flowers principally dependent upon the wind 
for pollination are termed anemophilous, while those 
visited by insects are designated entomophilous. These 
distinguishing terms may also be applied to the pollen 
itself. Anemophilous pollen is of a more or less spheri- 
cal form, readily yielding to the wind, and correlated 
with this is a dry and inadherent outer surface. Such 
is the case, for example, in the various families to 
which the oak, willow, grasses, pine, etc., belong, all of 
which plants are devoid of any stock of brilliant color 
or rich odors that might attract bug, moth, butterfly, or 
bee. The pollen of the pine has even developed bladders, 
so as to be borne more lightly upon the wind. On the 
other hand, those plants largely dependent upon the 
visits of insects for pollination may have the pollen- 
grains provided with some kind of spines, ridges, 
furrows, or viscid coatings that they may the more 
readily adhere to hairy limbs or other surfaces of the 
insect which may come in contact with them. Here, 
