Salmea 



Salts 



SALMEA. 



Stove shrubs (prd. Composite), rarely seen in 

 cultivation. Propagation, by cuttings in summer. 

 Loamy soil. 



Principal Species : 

 Eupatoria, 5', Ap., wh. hirsuta, 6', Aug., yel. 



(;/. graiidiceps and 



scandeus) . 



SALPICHROA. 



A genus of stove or greenhouse shrubs, sub- 

 shrubs, or herbs (prd. Solanaceae). Propagation, by 

 cuttings or seeds in spring, in a mixture of sandy 

 loam and leaf mould. Soil, rich, fibrous loam and 

 sand. 



Principal Species : 



glandulosa. 2', Jy., grh., yel. 



SALPIGLOSSIS. 



Description. A genus of annual, biennial, and 

 occasionally perennial herbs (prd. Solanacere), very 

 ornamental and of considerable merit. The species 

 most commonly used in gardens are sinuata and 

 linearis ; they are of service either for outdoor 

 borders or for growing in pots for the conservatory. 



Propagation. By seeds, sown in gentle heat in 

 autumn or spring, the seedlings being pricked out 

 into pans or boxes as soon as large enough to 

 handle. For growing in pots, a few seeds may be 

 sown in a 6" pot, and the seedlings thinned down 

 to six, and left otherwise undisturbed. 



Soil. For outdoor culture, any ordinary garden 

 soil ; for indoors, fibrous loam, leaf mould, and 

 rotted manure. 



Other Cultural Points. When growing in borders, 

 a space of 1' should be left between the plants, 

 especially when the soil is rich. Copious water- 

 ings must be given in dry weather. When for pot 

 culture, a cool, airy house, and a position near 

 the glass, should be provided. Liquid manure will 

 be found necessary when the pots become filled 

 with roots. The flowering period may be prolonged 

 by growing in batches, sowing the seeds at intervals 

 of a month. More flowers are also produced by 

 removing the old blooms as they fade. 



Principal Species and Variety : 

 linearis, 1', Aug., hlf-hdy. sinuata, 2', sum., hdy. 



per., pur., yel. (syn. ami., many beautiful 



Petunia intermedia). vars. (nyns. variabilis 



- grandiflora, large, aud picta). 



various colours. 



SALSAFY OP SALSIFY. 



The common name for Tragopogon porrifolium 

 (ord. Composite), a hardy biennial with a thick, 

 white, Carrot-like root, long, Grass-like leaves, and 

 purple flowers. It is cultivated in gardens for the 

 sake of its roots, which are used as a vegetable. 

 Seeds should be sown in March or April, in drills 

 1' apart, in ground which has been previously 

 trenched 1^' or 2' deep. When the seedlings are 

 large enough to handle they should be thinned to 

 6" apart. The ground throughout the summer 

 should be well cultivated by hoeing and keeping it 

 clear of weeds. The roots will be ready for lifting 

 in early autumn, and may be stored in a similar 

 way to Carrots. 



Sallow (sec Salix). 



Salloir, Thorn (net Hippopltae). 



Salmon Berry (sen llitttis spectabilif). 



fialpwhlenna (see Jileehnum and Lomarria} 



Salpixantha (see Geissomeria). 



SALSOLA. (ALICANT SODA. SALTWORT.) 

 These hardy herbs and shrubs (prd. Chenopodi- 

 acea?) have no garden value, but the ashes of 

 several species, notably the British Kali and the 

 American Soda, were at one time used for soap 

 and glass making. With the ashes of the Sali- 

 cornia they were known as Barilla. See also 

 SALICORXIA. 



SALTS. 



The word salt was at one time used only to 

 describe the common table salt (chloride of 

 sodium), but the chemist has given it a far more 

 comprehensive range of late years. It is now 

 applied to those chemical compounds formed by 

 acids with alkalies. The section of mineral acids 

 is probably the most important to the gardener, 

 for it includes sulphurous, sulphuric, nitrous, nitric, 

 muriatic, and carbonic acids, and these are fre- 

 quently component parts of the chemical manures 

 which have so large a vogue with the scientific 

 gardener. 



The salts are named according to the acids 

 which they contain. Thus all those compounds 

 which have their acid portion represented by 

 sulphuric acid are called sulphates ; those with 

 nitric acid, nitrates ; with carbonic acid, carbon- 

 ates ; and with phosphoric acid, phosphates. 

 Occasionally an adjectival ending is given to 

 the word expressing the base of the salt, and 

 the compound is known thus, as, for instance, in 

 the expression " ammoniacal salts." 



Where the acids are not fully oxygenated, as in 

 sulphuiw.'s and phosphorous acids, the correspond- 

 ing salts take the ending " ite " instead of " ate,'' 

 e.g. sulphite of lime, instead of sulphate of lime. 

 Again, when a salt contains an excess of acid the 

 prefix " super " is attached, e.g. superphosphate of 

 lime. When there is not enough of the acid 

 present to thoroughly saturate the base, " sub " is 

 affixed, e.g. sub-borate of soda. 



Chloride of sodium occurs in varying quantities 

 in the ash of plants, but experiments have fully 

 demonstrated that although present it is not an 

 essential to any plant. Salt is frequently used as 

 a manure, and has been found to suit Beetroot, 

 Asparagus, and other seaside plants, while when 

 applied to Mangold Wurzels an increased weight of 

 crop has resulted. On light, hungry soils it is of 

 the most service, but it would be a mistake to 

 apply it to heavy, clayey soils. It reduces nitro- 

 genous substances already in the soil, as well as 

 those contained in chemical and organic manures, 

 into a condition available for plant food. Common 

 salt is occasionally used as a weed killer for gravel 

 paths, but its use is not to be recommended, as it 

 makes the paths damp. Salts of iron are occa- 

 sionally recommended by manurial experts, but 

 their application must be carried out with the 

 greatest caution. It is true that iron is needed by 

 the plant to perfect the formation of chlorophyll, 

 but iron is present in sufficient quantities in most 

 soils. A slight excess is injurious. 



Phosphate of potash supplies both potash and 

 phosphoric acid, and is a very valuable manure, 

 although not a forcing one, as is the case with the 

 specially concentrated nitrogenous fertilisers. Un- 

 fortunately it is at present rather expensive. 



It should be remembered, when applying these 

 saline compounds, that they all have a great 

 affinity for water. If, then, they are present in 

 quantity in close proximity to the delicate root 

 hairs of plants, and there be not abundance of 



