40 



THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 



C. Esculentum. 



Caladium esculentum is an impcr-* 

 tant plant with the florist and it en- 

 ters largely into his spring business. 

 Every one knows this caladium, and 

 some of our customers know it by the 

 descriptive and artistic name of "Ele- 

 phant's Ears." 



They are multiplied by the small 

 tubers that are always found on the 

 large ones, but at the low cost of a 

 tuber the size of a base ball (and that 

 is amply large enough) it will never 

 pay a florist to grow his own bulbs. 

 You cannot begin to raise them as 



three inches deep in which the bottom 

 half is sifted decayed manure and the 

 top half sand, pushing the bulb down 

 till its top is little above the rim of 

 flat, and the bulbs almost touching. 

 Give them a watering and place the 

 flats on the hot water pipes. You will 

 save two or three weeks by this meth- 

 od over starting them in the pots on 

 a cold bench and will save much 

 valuable space. We plant them in 

 the flats in time so they will be ready 

 to pot off just after Easter when the 

 pressure for space has been relieved. 

 When taken out of the flats they 

 have made a growth of five or six 



Calamus Ciliaris. 



cheaply as you can buy them from 

 the man who grows an acre. If you 

 have any plants on your own place 

 and wish to save them, cut the stalk 

 off a foot above the ground after the 

 first frost, dig up, shake off all the 

 soil and lay them on the ground under 

 a rose-house bench. I have found the 

 temperature and humidity of a rose 

 house just right providing the ground 

 is dry. 



When we receive the bulbs in the 

 spring we cut out all the eyes and 

 small tubers because we don't want 

 them, and we cut off the remains of 

 the old tuber close up to the new 

 sound one. We put them in flats 



inches and are a mass of roots. They 

 are then potted into 5-inch pots, or 

 extra strong ones into 6-inch. You 

 do not want them too large when bed- 

 ded out, as the wind breaks them, nor 

 too late or your customers will be 

 disappointed; about eighteen inches 

 high, with three leaves, will do. Any 

 kind of rich soil will do for them in 

 pots, with water ad libitum, and a 

 light, dry house. When you are grow- 

 ing your caladiums all houses are 

 much alike as to temperature. 



To make the best effect in any posi- 

 tion out of doors the ground should 

 be dug deep, with plenty of manure 

 worked in. Here is a plant that the 



coachman can water to his heart's 

 content. I mentioned a bulb the size 

 of a base ball, but that is the largest 

 useful size. Tubers that are 1% to 

 2 inches in diameter are large enough 

 to make fine plants for summer use. 



We hear that the tubers of this cala- 

 dium are cooked and eaten in the 

 south. Its name implies that it is edi- 

 ble, and its other name is Colocasia 

 esculentum. 



CALAMUS 



The rattan palms, or calamus, in- 

 clude twenty or more species of slen- 

 der growing and very graceful palms 

 that are found in a wild state in vari- 

 ous portions of the tropics, chiefly in 

 India or the East Indies. 



Some of the species become climbers 

 in their native country, and are said to 

 attain a length of stem of 200 to 300 

 feet, and to trail over the tops of for- 

 est trees in Java and Borneo, but the 

 subject of our illustration is one of 

 the smaller growing species, and not 

 likely to outgrow its accommodations 

 for a period of several years at least. 



Calamus ciliaris is a particularly 

 graceful palm in a young state, having 

 a slender, reed-like stem, and finely 

 divided pinnate leaves. The leaves of 

 this species are light green, the pin- 

 nae narrow and arranged very closely 

 on the stem, and the foliage is rather 

 soft to the touch, owing to its being 

 covered with short, hair-like bristles. 

 . C. ciliaris is essentially a warm 

 house palm, flourishing in a tempera- 

 ture of 70 to 75 degrees, with abun- 

 dant moisture, its tropical jungle habi- 

 tat giving us some idea as to its cul- 

 tural wants. 



The leaves of this species being rath- 

 er thin in texture, it is liable to at- 

 tacks of red spider unless freely 

 syringed and watered, but, when well- 

 grown is very attractive, and while 

 not adapted for all trade purposes is 

 a valuable and effective plant for spe- 

 cial occasions. 



C. ciliaris suckers freely around the 

 base, and by careful handling these 

 suckers may be removed and estab- 

 lished, but it is necessary to keep 

 them rather close and warm for a time 

 in order to encourage the new roots, 

 and also to be careful that they are 

 not allowed to get too dry. 



W. H. T. 



CALANTHE. 



See Orchids. 



CALCEOLARIA. 



There are few more attractive and 

 showy greenhouse flowers than the cal- 

 ceolaria, and although useless as a cut 

 flower it is of great value as a green- 

 house decorative plant, or as a window 

 plant, lasting fully as long as a cine- 

 raria and many other of our popular 

 flowers. There are several species, 

 both of the herbaceous and shrubby 

 sections, nearly all from the west coast 

 of South America and at a good eleva- 

 tion, for calceolarias dislike great 

 heat at any time of their growth. 



Little attention is paid to the spe- 



