PALMS AND CYCADS. 



609 



sown, a bed is prepared for them in a warm pit 

 and the seeds are sown thickly on this. As the 

 seedlings come up they are carefully drawn out 

 of the bed and potted singly. 



Plants intended for use in decoration when 

 small, should be grown in small pots. If potted 

 finnly in good yellow loam, and fed with a con- 

 centrated manure such as guano or Clay's or 

 Davies' fertilizers, they make healthy growth 

 when kept in pots which would otherwise be 

 too small for them. They may be repotted into 

 a size larger pot when the roots are so crowded 

 as to lift the soil above the rim of the pot. This 

 treatment may be continued when the plants 

 are large. Growers of Palms for market obtain 

 large specimens in pots which appear absurdly 

 small by keeping the plants in small pots and 

 feeding them liberally. Manures in which 

 nitrate of soda is a principle are excellent for 

 producing rich green foliage. 



If the plants are to be employed in the de- 

 coration of halls, staircases, or wherever the 

 conditions are more or less trying, they should 

 be prepared for this by exposure to plenty of 

 light and air for a few weeks. Their treatment 

 generally should be less liberal when once they 

 have attained the desired size. Where con- 

 venient the plants should be changed from the 

 decorating service to the greenhouse often 

 enough to prevent permanent injury. In dry 

 rooms the pots containing the plants should 

 stand in saucers containing water. 



All the tropical species may be grown in a 

 moist warm house, and although they will bear 

 exposure to bright sunshine, they are happy 

 when shaded along with the other plants usually 

 grown with them in tropical houses. Many 

 Palms will endure a much lower temperature 

 than they ever experience in nature ; even dis- 

 tinctly tropical species wintering safely in houses 

 in which the temperature falls to 55° or even 

 50°. They all like plenty of water at the roots, 

 a daily soaking being not too much for them in 

 summer when they are growing freely. The 

 most suitable soil for them is a good yellow 

 loam, although some of the finer-rooted species, 

 such as Calamus ciliaris, Cocos Weddelliana, and 

 Thrinax Morrisii prefer a mixture of loam and 

 leaf-mould, or loam and peat. 



Whilst pot or tub-culture for Palms is as a rule 

 most convenient, they may be grown as well or 

 better when planted out in beds in lofty houses, 

 such as conservatories. For this purpose those 

 species should be selected which are not likely 

 to grow too large, or which can easily be re- 

 placed should their removal on this account be 

 vol. I. 



necessary. In the list which follows, the letter 

 G- indicates those species which may be grown 

 in a conservatory, where the minimum temper- 

 ature in winter is not below 45°. For further 

 directions see under The Conservatory, p. 525, and 

 for Palms suitable for the open air in summer, 

 see under The Sub-tropical Garden, p. 641. 



Insect Pests. — All Palms are liable to the 

 attacks of such plant-pests as mealy-bug, scale, 

 thrips, and red-spider, and although they do 

 not suffer in health unless badly infested, the 

 leaves are soon disfigured. Where there are 

 not many plants, periodical washing with strong 

 soapy water will keep them clean. For large 

 collections a weekly syringing with a solution 

 of paraffin or quassia-chips, or soft soap and 

 sulphur, serves as a preventive and does not 

 hurt the plants. If the stems or old leaves are 

 badly infested with scale, they may be painted 

 over with a strong cream-like mixture of soft 

 soap, sulphur, and warm water, which should 

 be allowed to remain on a week or so; when 

 washed off it will bring away with it all the 

 insects with which it has been in contact. 



Acantho phoenix (Areca). — A small tropical genus, 

 found only in Mauritius and Bourbon. Mature examples 

 have smooth stems 60 feet high, and pinnate leaves 6 to 

 12 feet long. Young plants have arched pinnate leaves 

 clothed on both sides with long spines which are needle- 

 like on the sheathing base of the leaf -stalk; the under 

 side of the pinnae is silvery. They require stove treat- 

 ment. A. crinita (Herbstii), A. rubra. 



Archontophcenix. — Two well-known garden Palms 

 are placed in this genus by botanists, namely, Ptycko- 

 sperma Alexandres and Seaforthia elegans. They are 

 largely grown from seeds annually imported from Aus- 

 tralia, their native country, and also from other countries 

 where they have become naturalized. Full-grown speci- 

 mens have stems 60 feet high, and large, stout, pinnate 

 leaves. The seeds are pea-like with a mace-like covering. 

 A. Cunningharnii {Seaforthia elegans), leaves green on 

 both sides; A. Alexandra;, leaves glaucous beneath. G. 



Arenga. — Large trees with enormous pinnate leaves, 

 the pinnae with jagged ends, glaucous beneath, the leaf- 

 stalk split at the base into numerous long black fibres, 

 the strongest of which are used as arrows for blow-pipes. 

 A. saccliarifera yields the sugar known in India as "jag- 

 gery". Young plants are graceful and sufficiently sturdy 

 to bear rough treatment. They require a stove tempera- 

 ture. A. Bonnetti, A. saccharifcra, A. Wightii, 



Astrocaryum. — Stems of mature plants 20 to 40 feet 

 high, with stout, flat, dark-brown spines in spiral rings; 

 leaves arching, pinnate, very spiny, glaucous beneath. 

 When young they are elegant and ornamental, notwith- 

 standing their spines. Plants 10 feet high will flower 

 annually, their large, boat-shaped sheaths being remark- 

 able. All natives of tropical South America. A . aculcatum, 

 A. Mexicanum, A. rostratum. 



Attalea. — Comprises about twenty species, all South 

 American, with tall, ringed stems, and large, spineless, 

 pinnate leaves. A. Cohune, the " Cohune Nut ", develops 

 noble leaves 20 feet long before it has formed a stem. 



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