1516 



RHODE ISLAND 



RHODODENDRON 



2103. Original tree of Rhode Island Greening apple, 

 as it looked in 1900. 



Pears are found growing in abundance all over the 

 state, nearly every village lot having a few trees of the 

 more popular varieties. There are several small com- 

 mercial orchards, the princijial varieties produced being 

 the Bartlett, Bosc, Clupp, Lawrence and Sheldon. 



Strawberries are produced in abundance in those 

 towns bordering upon the eastern shore of Narragausett 

 Bay, where they are the principal horticultural crop. 

 The majority of the growers use the wide matted row. 

 Some, however, use a very narrow row, or the hill sys- 

 tem. This is a profitable crop to grow, as, according to 

 the 189.5 State Census, the average price received was 

 9'^-i cents per quart. 



Currants, gooseberries and raspberries are grown in 

 limited quantities, mostly for home consumption. The 

 demand for these fruits is always greater than the sup- 

 ply, so that the prices obtained are always remunerative. 



In Providence and Washington counties considerable 

 attention is given to the growing of cranberries. Upon 

 many farms are found wild bogs, to which the only 

 care given is an occasional cutting of the wild growth 

 to prevent its encroachment upon the bog. These bogs 

 are usually found upon lowlands which are naturally 

 overflowed by streams during the winter months. The 

 most profitable bogs, however, are those which are care- 

 fully cared for and have a water sup^ily which may be 

 controlled at will, thus often preventing dann^ge from 

 late spring and early fall frosts. 



At the present time excellent opportunities are of- 

 fered for the growing of all kinds of fruits, to those 

 persons who are willing to invest their capital and con- 

 duct the work upon a practical and scientific basis, as 

 there are a number of markets which are never sup- 

 plied with home-grown fruit in sufficient quantities. 

 While it is true that fruit-growing, as an industry, is 

 not largely developed within the state, yet it is a 

 pleasant fact to note that excellent horticultural results 

 are obtained by the amateur. Numerous home gardens, 

 of small area, about many of the homes in the cities 

 and larger villages of the state are beautiful and attrac- 

 tive with their artistic flower beds, varied shrubs, and 

 fine fruit trees. q -^ Ao \m^ 



RHODE ISLAND BENT GRASS. Agro,sfts otnhia. 



RHODOCHITON (Greek, rtv? cloal; : alluding to the 

 large rosy red calyx). Scrophuhn-iaren . A genus of a 

 single species, a free-f3owering, graceful vine from 

 Mexico. Lvs. cordate, acuminate, sparsely and acutely 

 dentate: fls. solitary, pendulous, axillary, long-pedun- 

 cled ; calyx conspicuous, large, membranous, broad 

 bell-shaped, 5-cleft; corolla-tube cylindrical, the throat 

 not personate, 5-lobed; lobes oblong, nearly equal; 

 capsule dehiscent by irregular perforations. 



volubile, Zucc. Purple Bell.s. A vine with habit of 

 Maurandia, to which it is allied, but more vigorous and 



having curious, distinct purplish red fls. over 2 in. 

 long on red peduncles : lvs. about 3 in. long. B.M. 33(J7. 

 B.R. 21:1755. I.H. 42:31. -Blooms the tirst season from 

 seed and may be treated as a tender annual. 



F. W. Bakclay. 



KHODODfiNDRON (Greek, rJiodon and deudroti, rose- 

 tree; alluding to the beautiful flowers and the habit; 

 the Rhododendron of the ancient writers is Nerium). 

 £]rici)cetr,. Highly ornamental evergreen shrubs or 

 trees, with alternate petioled, entire lvs. and terminal 

 clusters of large, showy fls., varying in all shades of 

 purple, scarlet, pink orange, yellow and white. None 

 of the evergreen shrubs suitable for cultivation in 

 colder climates are more effective in bloom than the 

 Rhododendrons. The large clusters of showy flowers 

 often nearly cover the entire plant, while the handsome 

 foliage is attractive at every season (Fig. 2104). 



ffarditiess of the Various /S'^ecies. — Although mostof 

 the species are hardy only in warm temperate regions, 

 there are many which are hardy at least as far north as 

 Massachusetts. They are It', niaximirm, Oatawbiense, 

 Caiica.'^iciim , brorj/yca rpiim , Melte-niich i, ^tuirnoici, 

 mn':ro)U(?ali(iti , iJahnrlriim, Lappfmicuvi , ferrughieu)!! , 

 hirsnfum, pu-nctafum, and probably also chryHanthiivi , 

 PrzewaJski, canipatniJal inn, CaUfoniiciaii, Ungerni, and 

 Ciirpaticiini. Somewhat more tender are 2?. Pontintm, 

 viri'irm, Hodgsoxl, Thomsonl, Anthopogon. South of 

 Philadelphia such species as^. chv)iuhari)ium, g}anc}(m, 

 cUidfutn, FortHuei, lepidotictn, CoJlefiaintm, and the 

 Yunnan species, as M. decorum, irroratuw and raceino- 

 sum are probably hardy; a.]i^o If. a rhorein)/ , harbotiir/i , 

 Falconeri, Keysi, tritlorum and Wrighfi in very shel- 

 tered positions. Species like ii*. DaJhovsicf, Edge- 

 wortlii, Griffithianum , formosnni , Maddeni, JViittalli 

 and penduJujn stand only a few degrees of frost. The 

 Javanese species, as H. Java')/ i cum, jaswiniflorum, 

 Brookeanum and LobJ>l grow and bloom continually 

 and stand no frost at all. 



Variation in ffe'glif. — Mo^t of the species are shrubby; 

 a few only, and these mostly Himalayan species, grow 

 into small or medium-sized trees, attaining 60 ft. in the 

 case of i?. harbainm , 40 ft. in JR. grande and arboreiim, 

 30 ft. in Falconeri and n\a3-imurii . A number of north- 

 ern and alpine species always remain dwarf, as R. fer- 

 ritgiventn, liirsuium . I^apponicwm, vtrgaUim , lepido 

 film, racewosum , and others. A few Himalayan and 

 Malayan species are often epiphytal and grow on 

 branches of large trees like orchids; e.g., R. DaJ- 

 }iou:<iw, pendulum , Nuffalli and most cif the Malayan 

 species. 



Their Place in Ornamental Planting. — Hhododen- 

 drons are equally effective and desirable for single 

 specimens on the lawn or when massed in large groups, 

 and are especially showy when backed by the dark 

 green foliage of conifers, which at the same time afford 

 a most advantageous shelter. The dwarf species, which 

 are mostly small-leaved and flower at a different time, 

 should not be grouped with the large-leaved ones, as they 

 do not harmonize with them; however, they are exceed- 

 ingly charming plants for rockeries or in groups with 

 other smaller evergreens. It is certainly true that the 

 Rhododendrons have not yet received the attention they 

 deserve. They are still far from being as popular as 

 they are in England. The beautiful Himalayan species 

 and their numerous hybrids especially are still almost 

 unknown in this country, although without doubt they 

 could be grown as well outdoors in the middle and 

 southern Atlantic States as they are in England, if the 

 right situation were selected. Formerly it was con- 

 sidered impossilile to grow the beautiful hardy hybrids 

 in the New England states, but now it has been shown 

 by such splendid collections as those of Mr. H. H. 

 Hunnewell at Wellesley, Mass. (see A. F. 13:24-31 and 

 Gng. 5:375-377), that, even in a trying climate, they can 

 be grown to perfection if the right situations are se- 

 lected and the right way of cultivation is followed. 



Outdoor Cultivation. — The selection of a suitable 

 situation is of foremost importance. If possible the 

 beds should be sheltered against drying winds and the 

 burning sun by tall conifers, but the shelter should be 

 always light and natural, as too much shelter by dense 

 hedges or walls close to the plants is worse than no 

 shelter at all, Any open, w^ell-drained soil which doea 



