AND GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



75 



CAT 



tropical portions of South America. The 

 flowers of this genus are remarkable for sin- 

 gularity of form, and some are very beautiful, 

 and have a delicious fragrance. The same 

 plant not unfrequently produces what would 

 seemingly appear to be totally different 

 flowers, it has a decided propensity to 

 ' ' sport. ' ' The singular shape of their flowers, 

 and other marked characteristics, entitle 

 them a place in every collection. When at 

 rest they should be kept cool and dry ; in a 

 growing state, they require strong heat and 

 copious waterings. Increased by division. 



Cat-brier. See Smilax. 

 Catchfly. See Silene. 



Lobels'. See Silene armeria. 

 Ca'techu Tree. Acacia (Mimosa) Catechu. 

 Caterpillars. Scorpiurus vermiculatus. 

 Catkin. A deciduous spike, consisting of uni- 

 sexual apetalous flowers. The flowers of the 



Willow, Hazel, etc., are Catkins. 

 Cat-Mint and Catnip. See Nepeta. 

 Cat-Tail. One of the popular names of Pearl 



Millet ; also applied to Equisetum, Hippuris, 



and a few other plants. 

 Cat-Tail Flag. See Typha. 

 Cat's Tail Grass. One of the common names 



of the genus Phleum, Timothy or Herd's 



Grass. 



Cattle-poison Plant. W. Australia. Several 

 species of Gastrolobiums. 



Cattle'ya. Named after Mr. Cattley, a dis- 

 tinguished patron of botany. Nat. Ord. 

 OrchidacecB. 



What the Rose and Carnation are among 

 garden plants, the Cattleya is among Orchids, 

 pre-eminently beautiful. Not a species but 

 possesses claims of the strongest nature on 

 the culturist's attention, either for its delicate 

 loveliness or the rich and vivid coloring of its 

 large and handsome flowers. They are na- 

 tives of the temperate parts of South America, 

 and in cultivation are found to succeed in a 

 lower temperature than is necessary for the 

 majority of plants of the same order. They 

 will grow either on cork, blocks of wood, or 

 in pots of sphagnum, carefully drained and 

 moderately watered at all times ; indeed, the 

 damp atmosphere of the house is nearly suffi- 

 cient for them through the winter ; and if 

 about fifty degrees of heat is steadily main- 

 tained through this period, with an increase 

 of about ten degrees in summer, the plants 

 will be found to grow vigorously, and conse- 

 quently flower in perfection. The colors of 

 the flowers run through all the shades of 

 white, rose, rosy-lilac, crimson and carmine, 

 nor is even yellow absent. Where all are 

 beautiful it is scarcely necessary to select. The 

 following, however, should be in every col- 

 lection. C. citrina, crispa, Harrisonice, inter- 

 media, labiata, Loddigesii. Percivilleana, Skin- 

 neri, Mossice and Triance, with their numerous 

 varieties, and many others. All the Cattleyas 

 are increased by division. See Orchids. 



Caudate. Tailed ; having a process like a tail. 



Caudex. The axis of a plant, consisting of the 

 stem and root. Applied also to the trunk of 

 Palms and Tree Ferns. Caudex repens is a 

 creeping stem, or what is now called a 

 rhizome. Caudex descendens is the root. 



CED 

 Caulescent. Acquiring a stem. 



Cauliflower. Brassica oleracea cauliflora. The 

 Cauliflower is the most delicate and delicious 

 of the genus Brassica. Its early history is 

 entirely unknown, but it is supposed to have 

 originated in Italy. It is mentioned by 

 Gerarde in 1597, as then very rare in England, 

 and it was not brought to any degree of per- 

 fection, or grown for the market, until about 

 1700. From that period until the present, 

 there has been a slow, but marked and steady 

 improvement in the size and quality of this 

 vegetable. To the English and Dutch gar- 

 deners we are chiefly indebted for the per- 

 fection the Cauliflower has attained. Heads 

 of immense size are now grown for the market ; 

 it being by no means uncommon to see a head 

 perfectly sound and smooth, fully ten inches 

 in diameter, and, contrary to the usual rule, 

 size is not obtained at the expense of quality, 

 the larger, if differing at all, being more 

 tender and delicious. The varieties of the 

 Cauliflower are numerous. In this work we 

 cannot point out the best, as locality and se- 

 lection cause variations more marked than 

 even the varieties. The most popular in the 

 United States at this time are Snowball and 

 Erfurt for early, and Algiers for late. For 

 the perfection of the Cauliflower a deep, rich, 

 loamy soil is required, a low, moist situation 

 being preferable ; it will not succeed in dry 

 ground. Where irrigation can be employed, 

 the greatest benefits will be derived ; in fact, 

 a large crop will be secured with irrigation, 

 when without it the result would be total fail- 

 ure. Culture nearly the same as for cabbage, 

 which see. 



Caulophy'llum. The generic name of the plant 

 commonly known as Blue Cohosh, sometimes 

 called Pappoose-root. 



Cayenne Pepper. See Capsicum. 



Ceano'thus. Red Root, New Jersey Tea. An 

 obscure name in Theophrastus, probably mis- 

 spelled. Nat. Ord. Rhamnacece. 



A genus of low-growing shrubs, one of the 

 most conspicuous and best known being C. 

 Americanus, a species common in dry wood- 

 lands. This shrub attained considerable 

 notoriety during the American Revolution, on 

 account of its leaves being dried and used as 

 a substitute for tea, a practice not yet wholly 

 discontinued. The roots are used in dyeing 

 wool of a Nankeen or cinnamon color. There 

 are species from Mexico and South America, 

 that have lately been introduced into the 

 green-house, and regarded with favor. Their 

 season of flowering is too short to warrant 

 very general cultivation. 



Cecro'pia. Snake wood. A genus of orna- 

 mental, evergreen, soft-wooded, milky trees, 

 natives of South America, and belonging to 

 the Nat. Ord. Urticacece. 



C. peltata, the Trumpet Tree of the West 

 Indies and South America, so called be- 

 cause its hollow branches are used for musi- 

 cal instruments, is the only species of 

 interest. 



Cedar. See Juniperus. 

 Barbadoes and Bermuda. Juniperus Bermu* 



diana. 



Red Californian. Libocedrus decurreus. 

 Red Virginian. See Juniperus. 



