1536 



s big as marbles. Mr. Tailby 

 lid sonic as larffp as turnips, 

 ;iiiii-ii r. 'l';iiil.y's experience 



l.e \:ilinil,le to tlie reader. 

 lol,. Mork bv .■mtii;:,'ollt the 

 til, L'M-ii:, rale plants. There 

 rill .livi-ion, nor has there 

 ; siill oi' ilie opinion that by 

 i,i\' lie iiHTeaseil by division, 



tl.e w.iiiii.N must be given 

 ..'. :m. 1 . ;,: ,,.,.■,■ iu a cellar 



.!■ I'm - ::..,! . .l-ll April, 



I : ■ i iildbe 



.11 ulkd liiili loot., before 

 we c:iii keep them under 

 r even in the cellar, for two 

 . the roots well started, they 

 >; into bloom in 10-12 weeks. 



had been no si-i, ,, 

 since; though Mr. la 

 proper raanipiilaiini 

 as we now do puiaim 



at a lei. ■■'■■' I I 



potteil 111. M, i-Ht i.i || 



The poi. «ill be la 

 much growth shows 

 benches in a cool ho 

 weeks after potting, 

 come along quickly, ( 

 A good bright, intermediate house suits them best, and 

 some liquid fertilizer will help them when the flower- 

 stems appear. The blooms last a long time, opening 

 greenish yellow, turning to pure orange-yellow, and 

 finally green when aging. Seeds are formed plenti- 

 fully; and by these, though slow, is yet the surest and 

 quickest method of propagation. During the ripening 

 period of seeds, they 

 must have the very best 

 attention They usually 

 do not become thor- 

 oughly ripened until 

 August Pot grown 

 plants are better stored 

 in pots The whole 

 culture IS easy when we 

 know It 



the st-ed ln\es ripen 

 there ind plant them 

 farther apart next sea- 

 son This IS what we 

 have been doing and we 

 cannot complain of the 

 results Tailby has sown 

 seeds outdoors with very 

 gratifying lesults. Al- 

 most a year is gained in this way, as the roots (or bulbs) 

 are considerably larger than box-grown seedlings. Older 

 roots held over until settled weather, and, planted like 

 potatoes, bloomed freely all summer, making fine roots ; 

 they were green when cut by frost in October, but 

 hardly ripening seeds. To do this takes a longer sea- 

 son, and the plants must be started indoors. 



T. D. Hatfield. 

 The Bichardia in California. -In considering the 

 Calla in California, it is necessary to treat it under 

 two general heads: first, as an ornament; and second, 

 as an article of commerce. The popular and growing 

 demand for Calla bulbs (or tubers) speaks much for 

 the plant as an ornamental. Many, indeed, are the 

 uses to which it is put It is, perhaps, most commonly 

 used as a belt along fences, and not infrequently as a 

 hedgi liitwim two jnoperties, or nearly as often is 

 foiiii.l 1 t a house in a long, narrow bed. 



Toi it IS much in demand for group- 



ing ind unsightly objects in damp 



pi I sometimes as a border around a 



tish I nines growingmbunchesormasses 



in tl I massed on a slope near water; 



mi\ 1 I 1' al vegetation; or as a border to 



troi 1 I \ I ry effective, indeed, is it in the 



lowi 1 t 1 It us aiound a large fountain with 

 Myrioiihjlluin baii.,'ing down from the base of the 

 Callas. For all of these purposes the foliage is of even 

 more importance than the flowers. As it grows luxu- 

 riantly here in almost any location, it is very seldom 



RICINUS 



seen as a pot-plant either in the dwelling or on sale at 

 the nurseries. In the most favored places only is it en- 

 tirely secure from the frost, though t lie .1 airi^i to it f lorn 

 this source is not serious in or amiiiMl iai-. An^'eles. 

 Though doing fairly well in the full -un. oni -ninnier 

 climate is too dry for it to attain iis _i. iii -t heauty 

 and luxuriance ^\holl_\ \\it!iout juoi. i iiou, ,\ui\ it may 

 therefore only be -., , n lu jn i h i i mu « le u ltowu in ]mr- 

 tial shade. A good su|i|,l\ ol wat.i ami uianure is also 

 an important factor iii its proi,, i- .1. m i.i| ment. 



The spathe is subjei't to many \aiiaiiiiiis m foim.both 

 in size and shape, some being loiif;, lailn i iiauow . and 

 pointed, ending in a decidedly recur\ I il jwu.wliiN oth- 

 ers are nearly circular, with the sbaip pi nut almo-t want- 

 ing and standing ujiriirlit the same i- tlie L il mre of 

 spathe. ItfrequentU liajiiii n- iliai i le -|iiilii i- .louble 



and even triple, soiiii i Mil. - 11! II ni 1 i.i ti.iiouly 



partially so. In llu liiiiri i-. u nliiii i-- i- s,,me 



very strange forms. Tlie sped ^ i n-i .i.xaiiiM. and 

 seldom departs from the u ]■< i!i iu_li m iii isional 

 double or abnormal spadix i- Innm! i)iliii -in .|.sor 

 varieties than J?. .4/'r/c((Hf/ .11- t.-unil, I 111 -jiii-tlyin 



California gardens, the most com ii on. s i,, mg tlie 



spotted-leaved and the dwarf torm known as the Little 

 Gem. 



Commercially the growing of the ) uU s for eastern 

 and foreign markets is a sure source t i ei enue and is 

 carried on extensively thr It 1 ( f 1 1 ii 



The local market for th i e 



limited but if grown m 1 e 



blooms will more than ] 1 e 



winter field as in tl t 11 



kinds are scai t „ o 1 



blooms m midw the wl ole 



sale price about I st al cut 



one-half or evei i tl Eist Our 



commercial grown „et it i re nt I u u m IJOl) $25 

 to $60 per 1 000 according to size the lu irket calling 

 for tubers 1^ to 3M inches in diimeter Larger sizes 

 are quoted as fancy and command extra prices 

 Though they can be grown m almost any scil with some 

 success, a free, cool, blackish loam is best, and they do 

 not thrive in a hot, gravelly or stony soil. The lands 

 near the coast, where swept by the cooling sea breeze, 

 are productive of the best results, both in bloom and 

 tuber. Land containing sufficient alkali to prevent the 

 growth of many common crops will produce good 

 Callas if other requirements are present. In field plant- 

 ing it is much better to put in small bulbs about 4 inches 

 apart than to sow the offsets promiscuously in the row; 

 when the sets are thus sown, they should be taken 

 up the following year and the small bulbs properly 

 planted. Offsets sown as above and left 4-6 years (the 

 usual time for a good crop) have never produced satis- 

 factorv results. No pest seriously attacks foliage or 

 bloom", but in dry years more especially, the common 

 sow-bug eats into the tubers very seriously and receives 

 considerable assistance from millipedes. Both these 

 pests are quite a nuisance to the California nurseryman 

 and gardener. The much-photographed "Acres of Callas 

 in Bloom," so familiar to visitors and much used to 

 illustrate articles on California, fancy stationery, etc., 

 was grown bv Cai't. M. E. Walker, of Los Angeles, to 

 whom the wi'it.i- is imlebted for many of the leading 

 facts in this art ill., n-arding the 



ral marke 



tin- (/alia tor the gene 

 Ernest Bbal-nton. 



EIClHUS (Latin name, from 

 the resemblance of the seeds to 

 certain insects). Euphorbiclcecc. 

 Herbaceous or becoming tree- 

 like in the tropics, glabrous: Ivs. 

 large, alternate, peltate, palmate- 

 ly 7- to many-lobed, the lobes 

 serrate, monoecious: fls. without 

 petals or disk, in terminal and ap- 

 parently lateral racemes, large 

 for the order: the upper short- 

 pedicelled or sessile and stami- 

 nate; calyx 3-5-parted, valvate; 

 stamens many, erect in the bud. 



2131. 



Fruit of Castor Bean, 



showine the seeds 



Natural size. 



