STILES 



years, to the close of his life, he devoted himself to 

 this journal through vigorous editorial writing and 

 management, and steadily maintained the high char- 

 acter of the most able and influential periodical in 

 American horticultural journalism. His ripe scholar- 

 ship, sound judgment, masterly use of English, and 

 persistent energy, all contributed to the success of this 

 part of his lifework, and his profound, sympathetic 

 understanding of contact with nature as a human and 

 spiritual need, characterized all his activities. For 

 many years he rendered conspicuous service in working 

 for the establishment of small parks easily accessible to 

 the poor, and for the wise conduct of the larger parks 

 and their preservation from invasion and despoilment. 

 His special ability and influence received public recog- 

 nition in 1895, when he was appointed a park commis- 

 sioner of New York city, a position in which he 

 rendered signal and valuable service until the time of 

 his death. William A. Stiles was unmarried. He had 

 a fund of inimitable wit and humor, and was the warm 

 and honored friend of the best men and women in the 

 communities in which he lived. j£_ b_ Coulston. 



STILLlNGIA (after Dr. Benj. Stillingfleet, an Eng- 

 lish botanist). EupliorhiHreu'. About 15 species of 

 herbs or shrubs from North and South America with 

 alternate, stipulate leaves and small, moncecious, apeta- 

 lous flowers in terminal spikes. The genus is closely 

 allied to Sapium. but differs mainly in the fruit, which 

 in Stillingia is of 2-3 dry 1-seeded carpels with no cen- 

 tral axis remaining after dehiscence but with a large, 

 persistent, 3-homed receptacle, while in Sapium the 

 fruit dehisces by splitting down the back of each 

 carpel, leaving a 3-winged central axis to which the seed 

 is for a long time persistent: the large receptacle is 

 also wanting in Sapium. 



sylvitica, Linn. Queen's Delight. A half-hardy 

 perennial herb with a woody root: stems clustered, 

 2-3 ft. high : Ivs. numerous, very short-petioled or sessile, 

 linear-lanceolate to obovate, obtusely serrate: fls. yel- 

 lowish, in terminal spikes. Spring to fall. Southern 

 states. According to Mueller's "Select Extra Tropical 

 Plants," the root is extensively used for its emetic and 

 purgative properties. C. D. Beadle reports that the 

 plant has stood a temperature of —9° at Biltmore, 

 N. C. The plant grows readily from seed, but does not 

 bear transplanting well. 



For S. sebiferum, see Sapium sebiferum. 



F. W. Barclay. 



STtFA (Greek, stipe, tow; in allusion to the plumose 

 awns of one of the original species). Graminea. A 

 large genus of about 100 species, throughout the world 

 except the colder parts. They are particularly charac- 

 teristic of the plains, savannas and steppes. 'The long, 

 sharp-pointed awns of some species are troublesome or 

 even dangerous to stock, especially sheep, on account 

 of their tendency to work through the skin and into 

 the vital organs. Perennial grasses with narrow invo- 

 lute leaves and loose panicles: spikelets 1-fld.; empty 

 glumes membranaceous, longer than the indurated fl.- 

 glume; fl. -glume with a sharp hairy callus below and a 

 stout persistent twisted awn above. At maturity the fl.- 

 glume falls away from the empty glumes. The species 

 here mentioned are cultivated for ornament, including 

 the making of dry bouquets. 



pennita, Linn. Feather Grass. Culms 2-3 ft., in 

 bunches: empty glumes narrowed into awns an inch or 

 more long: fl. -glume % in. or more long; awn a foot or 

 more long, lower portion smooth and twisted, the upper 

 very plumose, giving the panicle a very feathery orna- 

 mental appearance. Steppes of Europe and Siberia. 

 Gn. 9, p. 199. V. 3:247. R.H. 1890, p. 489. 



elegantlssima, Labill. Stems 2-3 feet, erect from a 

 horizontal rhizome : Ivs. narrow and erect: panicle 

 very loose, 6-8 in. long, very plumose: spikelets 4-G 

 lines long; awn 1}4 in. long. Thrives in sandy soil. 

 Australia. 



tenacissima, Linn. Esparto Grass. Culms 2-3 ft., 

 in bunches: Ivs. narrow, smooth, cylindrical, elongated: 

 panicles contracted, 2-cleft: fl. -glume awned between 

 teeth; awn 1-2 in. Spain and North Africa. The Ivs. 



1725 



spirtea, Trin. Porcupine Grass. Culms 2-3 ft., in 

 bunches: panicles contracted; empty glumes broad, 

 nerved, about IX in., tapering to a slender point: fl.- 

 glume nearly 1 in. ; awn usually about 6 in. long, the 

 lower half erect, pubescent and strongly twisted, the 

 upper half bent, to one side, rough. Illinois to Cali- 



capill&ta, Linn. Similar to <S'. spartea: flowers more 



numerous but smaller in every way: fl. -glume about >^ 



in. long; lower part of awn only minutely pubescent, 



and the upper or bent portion sinuous. Plains, Europe. 



A. S. Hitchcock. 



ST. JOHN'S WOBT. Hypericin. 



STOSiA (after D. Stoba-us, a Swedish patron of 

 LinnsBus). Compdsitie. This genus is included by 

 Bentham and Hooker under Berkheya. About 70 spe- 

 cies of South African herbs or somewhat shrubby 

 plants, commonly with aspect of thi.stles as to the foli- 

 age. Lvs. usually decurrent, dentate, pinnatifid or pin- 

 natisect, the lobes dentate and spiny: heads small to 

 large, solitary or somewhat corymbose; rays usually 

 yellow. 



purptirea, DC. (Berkhhja purpurea, Benth. & Hook.). 

 A half-hardy, probably biennial plant 2-3 ft. high: 

 lower lvs. about 1 ft. long, irregularly lobed, spiny on 

 the margins, cottony beneath, dark green above: stem- 

 Ivs. smaller, long-decurrent : fl. -heads 3 in. across, pur- 

 ple to white, resembling a single dahlia. G.C. 1872:1261. 

 —To be recommended for growing with half-hardy al- 

 pines. It can be wintered in a coldframe. Prop', by 

 seed and division. p ^ Barclay. 



STOCKS (for botany, see Matthiola. Fig. 2401; also 

 compare Figs. 424, 1377 and 2402) are divided into 

 two groups. Summer and Winter Stocks. The former 

 are annuals and therefore bloom in the first summer; 

 the latter are biennials and bloom in the second year, 

 or, if sown very early, late in the fall or the winter of 

 the first year. Pall or intermediate Stocks are between 

 these two groups; they bloom profusely in the autumn. 



The seed of the Summer Stocks, or, as they are com- 

 monly called, "Ten Weeks' Stocks," is sown from the 

 end of February until April, mostly in a lukewarm hot- 

 bed, which must be sunny and well aired. Good clean 

 garden soil, well mixed with sand and free of manure, 

 is the proper soil for sowing the seed in. The seed will 

 germinate in 6-10 days, the light-seeded sorts germinat- 

 ing quicker than the dark-seeded kinds. Air must be 

 admitted as soon as the seeds have sprouted, a great 

 deal in warm weather and less when the weather is raw, 

 until finally the sash can be entirely removed during the 

 day. If the seedlings need water it should be given in 

 the morning, so that they are dry at night. If the sun 

 is hot the seedlings must be shaded. If the seed is to 

 be raised from pot-grown plants a good, well-matured, 

 sandy garden soil should be used which contains an 

 admixture of well-rotted sod or the soil taken from 

 river bottoms. The pots are about 6 inches high, with 

 a diameter of 7 inches. When they show their fourth 

 leaf the seedlings are planted firmly into these pots 

 with a dibber, pots being well filled with the above 

 soil; care should be taken that the roots are inserted 

 vertically. From 6 to 8 plants are put into such a pot. 

 These pots are then placed on sunny stages, usually 

 protected by tilt-roofs. The development of the plants 

 depends now principally on careful watering, which is 

 done mostly with watering pots and at the beginning 

 with a fine spray attached to the spout of the watering 

 pot. After a crust has formed on the top of the soil, 

 the spray is discontinued and the pots are watered with 

 the pipe of the can. This watering is done atnight dur- 

 ing warm weather and in the morning when the weather 

 is cold. Very little watering is done in continuously 

 cloudy or rainy weather. The watering of the Stocks is 

 the most particular and important part in the cultiva- 

 tion in pots, for if due care is not exerciseil a white 

 maggot will make its appearance while the plants are 

 in bud and destroy the roots. The common flea-beetle 



