THE RHAPIS PALMS. 



261 



4, "Is it probable that we shall yet find better fun- 

 gicides than any now known ?" 



We have now in our laboratory more than a hundred 

 preparations, many possessing valuable fungicidal prop- 

 erties. Some of these are perfectly harmless, are almost 

 as cheap as water and fully as easy to apply. A few 

 more years will reveal some wonderful improvements in 

 the direction of fungicides. 



5. "Can we combine the ammoniacal solution with 

 Paris green and other arsenical insecticides ?" 



It will be observed that Paris green may be 

 ■one of two compounds: (i) Schweinfurt's green, or (2) 

 Scheele's green. The first a simple neutral arsenite of 

 copper, the latter an aceto-arsenite, both of which are 

 soluble in ammonium hydroxyde. According to Fremy, 

 JSfo. 2 is formed by mixing ammoniacal solution of copper 

 with arsenic acid, hence it is probable that the compound 

 is soluble in an excess of the ammonia, and the danger is 



in applying a solution containing a soluble arsenite. 

 According to Van Slyke, London purple is a mixture 

 of the arsenite and arsenate of calcium, and arsenite 

 and arsenate of rosaniline. All four of these com- 

 pounds are soluble immediately in water and become 

 more so on standing in contact with large quantities of 

 water. They are also, according to Kilgore, very soluble 

 in ammonia, hence the addition of London purple to the 

 ammoniacal copper carbonate would give you a solution 

 containing arsenic in a soluble form, which is known to 

 be very corrosive in its action upon the foliage. 



B. F. Galloway. 



[We are probably somewhat surer of our ground in regard to 

 insecticides, and the only precaution to be given is to add a little 

 lime to the solutions, and water enough to make them harmless to 

 the foliage. Don't put Paris green on peach trees, especially not 

 without lime. For plum trees use 250 gallons of water, and for 

 apple trees 200 gallons of water to each pound of poison, in order 

 to obtain the proper strength.— Ed. A. G. 



THE RHAPIS PALMS. 



THE genus rhapis among palms belongs to the 

 slender-growing class of that valuable family 

 of decorative plants. In habit all the species 

 are free and graceful, the leaves being 

 fan-shaped, and they are at once among the 

 -very finest plants we have for the conser- 

 vatory, the window-garden, and for summer 

 bedding in the subtropical garden. Ilot only 

 are they among the most ornamental of 

 plants, but to this quality may be added a not 

 less important one — that they are capable 

 of withstanding, unharmed, a considerable 

 amount of rough treatment. 



The most generally grown species is R. 

 flabelliformis, of which it affords us pleasure 

 to present a fine engraving of a specimen - 

 growing in Horticultural Hall, Fairmount 

 Park, Philadelphia. This elegant slender- ' 

 growing plant, which forms a beautiful ob- 

 ject for the window or for the decoration of> - ' 

 apartments generally, is equally at home in ^ 

 the stovehouse or greenhouse. The stems are 

 slender, the leaves flabellate, upon short -^'^^ 

 footstalks, and of a dark green color. The / ■■' 

 leaves are very persistent, so that a plant with 

 a stem of six feet may be frequently seen with ' • ' 

 perfect leaves down to the bottom. Walking- 

 canes are imported from its native regions in 

 ■China and Japan, under the name of ground- 

 rattans. There is a beautiful variegated va- 

 riety of the foregoing known in the catalogues 

 as R. flabelliformis variegata. It is char- 

 acterized by broad longitudinal bands of 

 -white and yellow, which give the leaves a strik- 

 ingly handsome character. It is quite rare 

 in cultivation. Another species with larger leaves than 

 the first named, but resembling it in other respects, is 



R. humilis. A peculiarity of this is that the segments 

 are more pendent, rendering it a beautiful ornament. It 

 is a native of Japan. 



The rhapises are of easy culture. For soil they pre- 

 fer loam and peat in equal parts, with a little sand. They 



Rhapis flabellifora\is 



sucker somewhat freely, and may be increased 

 way, and also by seeds when such are obtainable. 



