632 
GNAPHALIUM ORIENTALE. ( Asteraceae . ) 34819. Plants 
of immortelle from Toulon, France. Presented by Mr. P. M. 
Mansfield, consular agent. "In growing immortelles the 
choice of soil is very important. Rocky or sandy soils, 
with southern exposure, are best adapted for this purpose. 
In rich, deep, cold soils, the immortelle is killed by the 
first frosts. After the soil has been broken and well 
prepared, the ground is laid out in rows 16 to 20 inches 
apart; in these rows the young plants are set out at a 
distance of 12 to 14 inches from each other. Care should 
be taken to heap up the soil about the roots. These early 
plants should be watered by means of a sprinkler. If it 
should rain after the planting, sprinkling would be un- 
necessary. It would be advisable during the first four or 
five days to protect these young plants from the hot rays 
of the sun. When they have begun to grow, they should be 
exposed to the full rays of the sun, and during the winter 
protected from the cold, for the immortelle is very sensi- 
tive to frost. It is for this reason that the immortelle 
is cultivated at Ollioules and Bandol only in soils well 
exposed to the sun and upon the southern slopes. Culti- 
vation of the immortelle is exceedingly simle. It con- 
sists in spading lightly the ground about the plant and 
applying a suitable fertilizer. The ground should be 
spaded whenever weeds spring up around the plants. As for 
fertilizer, it consists of oil-cakes and stable manure, 
which is placed about the roots of the young plants when 
they have attained a certain development. The fertilizer 
should be renewed in this region every year in October or 
November. The immortelle commences to yield after the 
second year, and continues to bloom even more than twenty 
years. In this region the flower is gathered in June or 
July. At the moment the flowers commence to open and show 
a small red point in the center and are of a beautiful 
golden yellow, they should be gathered. When the flowers 
have arrived at this degree of maturity, they should be 
immediately gathered, for they open very rapidly and lose 
their commercial value. After flowers have been gathered, 
they are exposed to the sun for drying. When dry, they 
are made into bouquets and hung up in dry rooms, out of 
reach of mice." (Mansfield.) For distribution later. 
GREVILLEA BANKSII. (Proteaceae . ) 34872. Seeds from 
Australia. Presented by Mr. James Pink, Wellington Point, 
near Brisbane, Queensland. "One of the most beautiful 
shrubs of Australia, evergreen, with red flowers and 
reaching a height of from 12 to 20 feet." (Pink.) For 
distribution later. 
