SOIL 



SOLANUM 



1G7 



lu VK'^^ti'^r^ piauts, experienced gar.k-ner.-^ make pot- 

 tiu.c; mixtures or add ii variety of matt-rials to the soil 

 to suit the requirements of dilferent phuits. For youny; 

 seedlinirs or for freshly r.iotiMi cuttiTll,^'^, the eoniposr 

 should be of a liirht and povus nature, but as phint.^ 

 increase in size and viyor a heavier and richer mixture 



2335. Solandra ffrandiflora (X 1-5). 



is usually given, that is. if plants are to be grown on as 

 specimens; but the proportion of nutrient substances 

 used in a potting mixture should bf determined by the 

 vigor of the plants. It i-^ always bettrr to use tLio little 

 plant-food than too niucli : it' too muidi is u-;ed it uften 

 becomes available faster than the routs (>f plants can 

 absorb it. and hence causes organic acids to form inthr* 

 soils which are fatal to the mots of most plants. Many 

 amateur plant - growers in their over-anxiety to irrow 

 tine plants make this fatal mistake. 



In most gardens tlie greenhouse s]i;t<-e i^ limited, ami 

 a gardener canni:)t ahv;iy~. devid^ip his plants to their 

 fullest capacity or he ha> ru n-dui-e his variety anil 

 numbers. For instance, we used to grow fancy pelargo- 

 niums three and four feet in diameter, but we frmnd we 

 either had to grow smaller specimens or reducf the va- 

 riety of our collectii'ns. This. then, derermines in thn 

 mind of an experienced Lrardener the cinnpositi<in >>t his 

 potting mixtures. Hi> aim should l)e to grow the finest 

 possible specimens in tlie smalle-^t ]:iossil)Ie pots and 

 space, and all the cultural <letails t,'iven by the writer 

 in rhi-^ Cyclopedia have lieen with tliis idea in mind. 



Edwakt^ J. Can'NIXG. 



SOJA. Consult .SV;^ B"'tr> and Gl/trhn'. 



SOLANDKA (after Daniel C Solander, a Swedish 

 naturalist and traveler. 17.36-1786 ) . Soland<:€(p. A ge- 

 nus of about 4 species of woody vines native to tropical 

 America, with simple, entire, shining leaves and large, 

 white, solitary, datura-like flowers: calyx long-tubular, 

 --.i-cleft ; corolla funnel-shaped ; tuVie cylindrical; 

 throat obliqueiy and widely bell-shaped; lobes broad, 

 imbricated : stamens .5, inserted ow the corolia-tube : 

 berry glolmsr^, pulpy. 



A. Phint hyrnii'hhj 12-20 ft. liiffh. 



grandiflora, Sw. Fis:. 2?>?'). Lvs. obov^re - oblong, 

 acute, glabrous, thickr^d-. frairrant: i-ornHa twicn as 

 long as thr- calvx, not ci.ntracted at the tlir^'at. white ur 

 somewhat vell<'wi>b. B.3I. bs74. It.C. Ill, ■J1;27l!. ^tu. 



53:nr.i. .f.pi, IIP :\-^-AZ\. 



AA. Pl.nif ahn„t 2 ft. Jii'jh, ivilh tniillmj l>nnir],r^. 

 longiflora, Tussac iN. J7ir'ix. Hnck.i. Lvs. nlih.rii^'- 

 ovati' or obovate, acute; i)etiolcs purplish; Us. iragraut; 

 corolla usually ] ft. Ionu^ threr times as long as the 

 calyx, contracred at the throat, white or somewhat v^l- 

 lowish. B.M. 4343. -Cult, in 8. Calif. 



^'^- guttata. D. Don. has bright yeUow fls. Avith strr-aks of pu,-- 

 ■r and mor.- slimier tlian X. ;//a/(- 

 :ire coiispicuou.sly frintied. .Mex, 

 F. W. Bakclav. 



]ili' in tlie thro;it and is 



<tiflnni ;nul lla- lu) 



B.K. iS:i:,:,L 



Solandras are attractive plants and tlieir needs art- 

 simple. A warm greenhouse — one in whii-h the tem- 

 perature is never allowed to fall below 50^ — will suit 

 them very well in the eastern states. The plants would 

 probably do well outdoors in Florida and the far South. 

 They like plenty of light and sunshine at all seasons of 

 the year, and water should be given freely from early 

 autnnm till tlie latter part of spring, as they make their 

 growth and bloom during that period. In summer, 

 when the wood is ripening, a dry state is preferable for 

 them. The soil that gives the most satisfactory results 

 is a good, somewhat sandy loam. It is unwise to dis- 

 turli the roots of established plants more frequently 

 than is necessary. The chief point in growing Solan- 

 dras is to obtain short, sturdy branches, for those of 

 rank growth seldom or never develop flowers; for this 

 reason the use of rich soils and strong fertilizers should 

 be avoided always. Propagated by cuttings of hrm 

 young shoots taken with a lieel and plar'ed in'slight I'Ot- 

 torn heat. 



^oldudni 'jrandiflora is perhaps the best of the ge- 

 nus, The flowers do not last more than four or five 

 days. They are of a pretty greenish white color when 

 they first open and turn slovdy to a rich l.irownish yel- 



low 



Michael Bakker. 



SOLANUM (Latin. soJaniiu, solace or quieting). 

 XiiiHTSHAOE. Soianum, giving name to the family 

 kSolundceU', is a vast genus of temperate and troi)ical 

 herbs, shrubs and even trees, but is comparatively poorly 

 represented in temperate North America. Dunal, the 

 latest monographer |DC. Prodr. P.:. ]<x. li. in Ib.Vi, rec- 

 ognized 901 species, and many species have Ijeen de- 

 scribed since that time. The genus finds its greatest 

 extension in tropical America. Cf the vast number of 

 species, barely 2.5 are of much account h'jrticulturally, 

 and half that number will comprise all the species that 

 are popularly well known. One of these is the P<.ilaio, 

 S'>t'r)iiitt( f itberos if m. on(^ of the leading food plants (.it' 

 the human race. The genus seems to abound in jdants 

 with toxic properties, although its bad reputation in this 

 respect is probably exaggerated. 



As a gentis, Soianum is not easily separaTeil fr<ini 

 other genera, but some of its mt^st designative char- 

 acters are as follows : Lvs. alternate : inflorescenee 

 mostly sympodial and therefore sii)»rr;ixillary or oiqio- 



2336. Tuber of Potato— Soianum tuberosum 



site the lvs.: i-orrilla gamopetalons and rotate or slial- 

 low-campanulate. plaited in the bnd, the limb angled 

 or shallow-lobeil : starnens usually .5. inserted on the 

 throat of the corolla, the anthers narrower or elongated 

 and connjvent and mostly opening: by an apieal ]M)ri-' r>r 

 slir : ovary usually 2docti"led. ripening into a 1 terry whirh 

 is siinnetimes inclosed in the persistent ralyx. The fls. 



