Dracontium 



( 310 ) 



Drepanocarpus 



DRACONTIUM. 



Curious stove plants (ord. Aroidese), with thick, 

 fleshy rhizomes and much hooded spathes, and 

 exhaling a very strong and disagreeable odour. 

 The stems of the leaves are usually much mottled 

 and barred,' generally with some shade of purple or 

 brown. The plants answer to the same cultural 

 treatment as , Amorphophallus, but they are of 

 little horticultural value. 



Principal Species : 

 to 0', pur., 



wh. (fiJH". 



asperura, 

 mottled 



datum and Amorpho- 

 phallus nivosus). 

 Carder! , 3'. 



gigas, 10", spathe bluish 



br. 

 polypliyllum, 2', Dec. 



Other Species : 



elatum (sec nsperum). 

 feecuudum, 4' to 5', Mch. ; 



spathe br. without, 



lurid pur. within. 



DRACOPHYLLUM. 



Greenhouse hard-wooded plants (ord. Epacrideae) 

 of rather straggling habit, but considerable 

 beauty. They "may be propagated by tips of 

 the young shoots, taken whenever they can be 

 had, dibbled into pure sand, placed in a gentle 

 heat, and covered with a bell-glass. The glass 

 should be removed every day, and wiped dry, or 

 many of the cuttings will damp. Afterwards, firm 

 potting in rather small pots is desirable. Occa- 

 sional pinching is necessary. For soil,' a mixture 

 of two-thirds of sandy peat and one-third of finely 

 chopped loam, with a few small pieces of charcoal, 

 is suitable. The most useful species is gracile. 

 This, on account of the great length of its fine, 

 whip-like branches, is often trained to pyramid or 

 balloon shapes. The untrained plants furnish cut 

 flowers in plenty. After flowering, the plants 

 should be cut back rather hard, and kept closer 

 than usual to favour fresh growth. Plenty of 

 water must be given at all times. 

 Principal Species : 



gracile, 2', Je.. Jy., wh. . 

 fragrant, especially iu 

 the evening (see figure). 

 DRACUNCULUS. 



Singular half-hardy plants (ord. Aroidens) re- 

 sembling the Arum. They are tuberous-rooted, 

 and require a rather rich, but not heavy, soil. 

 Propagated by division of the rhizomes. 



Principal Species : 

 creticus (sec vulgaris). 

 vulgaris, 1A', .To., pur. br. 



DRAINAGE. 



Unproductive soils have been made fertile, 

 and many others have had their productiveness 

 increased, by drainage. Drainage prevents stagnant 

 water, and the chemicnl action it sets up, which is 

 so injurious to most vegetation ; by carrying off 

 superfluous water it dries and simultaneously 

 warms the soil, enabling seeds to be earlier sown 

 and the produce to be sooner gathered : it also 

 ensures aeration of the soil, which not only means 

 increased fertility, but greater ease in working 

 Open ditches were probably the earliest forms of 

 drains, and these still have a place on large farms 

 and fens. The general practice now is to cut 



capitatum, 11' to'2',sum., 

 wh. 



(>/. Arum 

 culus). 



Dracun- 



drains or trenches in the direction of the greatest 

 fall of the land, and others of smaller dimensions 

 to conduct the water to them. The depth varies 

 with the condition of the land from 2' !)" to 4' (>", 

 and in boggy land as deep as 7'. In the smaller 

 channels cylindrical drain tiles 2" in diameter and 

 15" long are placed end to end, and no collars are 

 now considered necessary ; over the tiles a layer of 

 broken stones may be laid, and over these inverted 

 turves to prevent the fine soil from clogging the 

 drains. The distance the drains are apart must 

 vary with the amount of water to be conducted 

 from the land; 15' to IS' is a generally suitable 

 interval. A drain may be made with stones alone, 

 placing the largest at the bottom ; faggots will 



flracopsis (xer Rudbeclcia). 

 Dragon, Green (Arisrema Dracontiwm). 

 Dragon Tree (see Dracirna flnim). 

 Dragon's Head (sec Dracoccpltaluni), 



DllACOPHYLI.rM GUACILE. 



also serve the purpose, but for permanencs and 

 effectiveness nothing surpasses drain tiles, 

 free growth of moss and " Horsetails " (Equisetum) 

 generally indicates badly drained land. 



DRAIOEA. 



A small gemis of Australian plants (ord. Orcliid- 

 ace:e) that will grow in a rool house in a mixture 

 of peat, loam, and sand. The best known species, 

 elastica, produces a spike H' high surmounted 

 by a mottled flower, which in shape and poise 

 resembles an insect in flight. 



DRAWN. 



Plants become drawn when placed so closely 

 together as to be deprived of light and air from all 

 sides ; they then elongate unduly in search of 

 these essentials. The condition is favoured by 

 injudicious ventilation. 



DREPANOCARPUS. 



A genus (ord. LeguminortE) consisting of several 

 species, lunatus, which grows 10' high and produces. 



