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NOVBMBBR 17, 1921 



The Florists' Review 



35 



Flowers at the Burial of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery November H, 



required will depend to some extent on 

 the steam pressure, two to three hours 

 being desirable for ten pounds of pres- 

 sure. 



For sterilizing the soil in solid beds, 

 the pipes, after being drilled as already 

 suggested, should be placed in trenches 

 about ten inches below the surface and 

 two feet apart, and after the soil has 

 been replaced the bed should be covered 

 with canvas. If the beds are more 

 than fifty feet long it will be well to 

 use 1%-inch pipe, and unless twenty- 

 five pounds of steam can be given 100 

 feet will be about a maximum length 

 for that size. The steam should be 

 kept on for two hours after the sur- 

 face at the farther end of the house 

 has become warm. 



Arranged in this way, the pipes can 

 be quickly taken up and transferred to 

 other beds. The thorough sterilization 

 of the soil with steam will not only de- 

 stroy all insects and fungi, as well as 

 their eggs and spores, but will also pre- 

 vent the germination of grass and weed 

 seeds. 



THE BOSE OF JEBICHO. 



What is the rose of Jericho and where 

 can it be obtained? The flower was 

 shown at an exhibition in Chicago in 

 1893. The name affixed to the specimen 

 in the exhibition was in the German 

 language and "rose of Jericho" is the 

 literal translation of the German. The 

 plant itself is of a bulbous character. 

 Any possible information would be much 

 appreciated. S. C. S. — O. 



name of resurrection plants. This par- 

 ticular resurrection plant, though it does 

 not really pass from death to life, has 

 a peculiar habit of rolling up when dry 

 and expanding again when moistened. 

 It retains this sensitiveness to moisture 

 — this hygroscopic property, as botanists 

 call it — for many years. Its leaves are 

 obovate and it bears spikes of tiny white 



The rose of Jericho is one of several 

 species of plants yvhich are included, 

 in common speech, under the general 



flowers in midsummer. It is an annual 

 and reaches a height of six inches. There 

 is no apparent reason for calling it a 

 rose, except that in its rolled-up condi- 

 tion it bears some slight resemblance, 

 in shape only, to a rose that has not 

 fully opened. It can scarcely be said 



to be ornamental or of commercial value, 

 but is a natural curiosity, of special in- 

 terest to botanical students. Its botani- 

 cal name, Anastatica hierochuntica, 

 means "resurrection plant from 

 Jericho. ' ' 



As is partly indicated by the reference 

 to Jericho, in both the botanical and 

 the common name, the plant is a native 

 of the sandy deserts of Syria, Arabia and 

 the African regions immediately south 

 of the Mediterranean sea. It is be- 

 lieved to have been brought to Europe 

 by the crusaders, who regarded it in a 

 somewhat biblical light, thinking it 

 might be "the rolling thing before the 

 whirlwind" mentioned by Isaiah. Soon 

 after flowering, it sheds its leaves and 

 rolls up into a ball of lattice-like forma- 

 tion, enclosing the fruits or seeds. While 

 in this shape it is uprooted by the winds 

 and tossed about until the winter rain 

 or other moisture causes it to ex;pand 

 and drop its seeds, which quickly germi- 

 nate. In greenhouse culture, the seed 

 may be sown in pots in late winter 

 or early spring, in a temperature of 60 

 degrees. The seedlings, when potted, 

 should be placed in a warm house, so 

 that their growth may be hastened as 

 much as possible. 



The name rose of Jericho is also ap- 

 plied, though much less frequently and 

 less properly, to another plant, Odonto- 

 spermum pygmseum or Astericus pyg- 

 msBus, which has the same origin as the 

 first-mentioned plant and has a some- 

 what similar habit of dropping its seeds 

 when exposed to moisture. 



Who can tell where to obtain the seeds 

 of the true rose of Jericho, Anastatica 



