854 



KALMIA 



KANSAS 



decorative, contraatiDg well with the red and yellowish 

 branches. The species is also easily forced and makes 

 a very handsome pot-plant. The other species are 

 pretty border plants for evergreen shrubberies. The 

 Kalmias thrive well in a sandy, peaty or loamy soil, 

 but dislike clay and liniestone. They grrow almost as 

 well in swamps as in drier locations and prefer partly 

 shaded situations, but tlirive also well in suuuy places, 

 provided there be sufficient moisture. They re(juire gen- 

 erally almost the same treatment as the hardy Rhodo- 

 dendron, but are less particular about soil and position. 

 Transplanting, if carefully done either early in fall or in 

 spring, is not difficult; a mulching the first season after 

 planting will be of much advantage to keep the roots 

 from drying in summer and from frost in winter. Prop, 

 usually by seeds sown in sandy, peaty soil in pans or 

 boxes in early spring and kept in a cool frame or green- 

 house. The seedlings should be pricked off as soon as 

 they can be handled, and after they are again established 

 gradually hardened otf and the following year trans- 

 planted in frames or beds outdoors. Vars. of A', lafi- 

 foiia are usually increased by side-grafting on seedlings 

 in the greenhouse or by layers, since it grows less 

 readily from cuttings, while the other species may be 

 X)rop. by cuttings of balf-ripened wood umler glass. 

 Six species in N. Amer. and Cuba, allied to Rhododen- 

 dron : tis. in terminal or lateral corymbs or umbels, 

 rarely solitary; calyx 5-parted; corolla saucer-shaped 

 or broadly companulate, 5-iobed; stamens 10, with slen- 

 der filaments, the anthers held back in little pouches of 

 the corolla, springing up suddenly and discharging the 

 pollen if touched: ovary 5-celleil, superior; capsulf 





1205. Kalmia latifolia {X\) . 



u:lol>nlar, parting into ."i valves, witii numerous minute 

 si.'eds. The Ivs. of the Kulmias are said to be poisonous 

 to animals, especially those of K. fnii/nsilfolia. The 

 fiower of Kalmia is one of those proposed as a national 

 (lower emblem, especially on a(;count of the exquisite 

 symmetrical beauty of the singln flower. It is a purely 

 American genus, but unfortunately it is popularly known 

 only in the eastern stales. 



A. Fls. in umbels or corifmbs. 



B. JJvs. everg-reen. 



c. Branch-lets terete: Ivs. pale green beneath. 



latiEdlia, I^inn. Mountain or American Laurel. 

 Calico Bush. Fig. 120.". Shrub, 4-10 ft. high, rarely tree 

 to 30 ft., with dense, round-topped head: Ivs. petioled, 

 alternate or irregularly whorled, oblong or elliptic-lan- 

 ceolate, acute at both ends, dark green above, yellowish 

 green below^ 3— i in. long : fls. in large, terminal com- 

 pound corymbs on viscid peduncles; corolla rose-colored 

 to white.with purple markings within, about ^4 in. across. 

 May, June. ISTew Brunswick to Fla., west to Ohio and 

 Tennessee. B.M. 175. Em. 443. S.S. 5:2.30-237. A.F 

 13:32. Gng. 3:1; 7:289. Gn.22:.343; 27, p. 549 & 33, p. 

 007. — Var. ^Iba, Hort. Fls. almost white. Var. mon- 

 stnidsa, Mouillef. (var. poli/petaia, Arb. Kew.). Corolla 

 divided into 5 narrow petals. G. F. 3:453. Var. myrti- 

 f61ia, Rand (var. ndna or m^nor, Hort.). Lvs. small, 

 1-2 in. long, deep green, of slow growth, forming a low, 

 dense bush. Var. rubra, C. Koch {yar. Pavdrti, Andr6). 

 Fls. deep pink. R.H. 188«:540. 



angiistifdlia, Linn. Sheep-Laurel. Lambkill. 

 WiOKY. Shrub, to 3 ft.: Ivs. usually in pairs or 3's, 

 petioled, usually oblong, obtuse, light green above, pale 

 beneath, 1-2 >^ in. long: corymb lateral, many-fid., com- 

 pound or simple : fls. K-K in. across, purple or crim- 

 son. June, July. From Newfoundland and Hudson bay 

 to Ga. B.M. 331. Em. 445. — There are vars. with light 

 purple fts., var. rdsea, Hort.; with crimson fis., var. ru- 

 bra, Hort, ; with ovate or oval lvs., var. ov^ta, Fursh, and 

 of dwarf habit, var. n^tna, Hort. 



cc. Bravchlets 2-edged : lvs. gJavcous-ivhite beneath, 



all opposite or in 5".s. 

 poIiSdlia, Wangh. (K. gJaitca, Ait.). Low, straggling 

 shrub, to 2 ft. : lvs. almost sessile, oval to linear-oblong, 

 obtuse, revolute at the margins, %-l% in. long: fls, in 

 simple terminal umbels, slender-pedicelled, >e-?4 in. 

 across, rose-colored or purplish. May, June. Newfound- 

 land to Fa. and in the Rocky Mts. "f rom Sitka to Calif. 

 B.M. 177. L.B.C. 10:1508. Em. 441. G.W.F.A. 18.- 

 Var. micropliylla is the alpine form of the Rocky Mts. 

 growing only a few inches high and with very small lvs., 

 % in. or less long. Var. rosmarinifdlia has narrow, 

 oblong-linear, strongly revolute lvs. 



BB. Lvs. deciduous, alternate, 

 cune&.ta, Michs. Erect shrub, with slender, strag:gling 

 stems, to 3 ft.: lvs. petioled, cuneate, obovate-oblong, 

 acute or obtuse, pubescent beneath when young, '/i-lY^ 

 in. long: fls. slender-pedicelled, in few-Qd. lateral um- 

 bels, creamv white with a red band within, K-iM in. 

 across. June. N. C. and S. C. G.F. 8:435. 



AA. Fls. solitary, axillari/ : plant hirsute. 

 Mrsuta, Walt, Low shrub, with many erect or ascend- 

 ing stems, to 1 ft. : lvs. almost sessile, oblong to lanceo- 

 late, 1^-% in. long: fls. slender-pedicelled, ^2 in. across, 

 rose-purple ; sepals oblong-lanceolate, hirsute, longer 

 Ihan the capsule. June. S.Va.toFla. B.M. 138. h.B.G. 

 ^ 1 ■ If ■'^8. Alfred Rehdee. 



KALOPANAX. See Araiithopahas. 



KANSAS, HORTICULTURE IN. Fig. 1200. In 1854, 

 when Congress passed a law opening this territory for 

 settlement, it was considered as part of the great 

 American desert, and it was almost universally thought 

 to be fit only for grazing purposes. As to fruit-grow- 

 ing, such a possibility was not considered. This im- 

 pression did much to retard tree-planting. Another 

 great drawback was the fact that every settler planting 

 fruit trees must have the favorite varieties of his former 

 home grown. This resulted in the planting of over 

 2.000 kinds of apples alone. Few of these could be made 

 to succeed, and, in time, so many failed that the impres- 

 sion was deepened that Kansas could not grow fruit. 

 But amid these losses occasionally a man would succeed 

 with some variety, and his success was heralded over 

 the state until eventually the worthless kinds were 

 w(-eded out and the rn;id to success was perceived. 

 l'i"-'-ntu>^l> Mii^ people could plant trees with some as- 



