OTe ee 
386 
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_ cheap food, and of rendering hens prolific. 
| produce per acre will widely vary according to 
ee 
~_—- 
SUN-FLOWER. 
balls of earth round their roots, and planted in 
their final situation, and there watered till they 
become completely established. But the plant 
is eminently suited for important economical pur- 
poses, and may, in some instances, be profitably 
cultivated in the field. The stems form good 
fuel, and yield a considerable quantity of potash ; 
and, when not wanted for these purposes, they 
may be either burned for manure-ashes or rotted 
in the dung-heap. The leaves, in either a green 
or a dried state, are said by some French writers 
to be excellent food for cows, and to be greedily 
eaten by them. In Portugal, the seeds are made 
into bread and into a kind of meal; in America, 
they are roasted, and used as a substitute for 
coffee ; in all countries, they are highly relished 
by birds, both great and small, both wild and do- 
mestic; in various countries, they are esteemed 
for the expression of an oil, which is well adapted 
for burning in lamps, and is nearly as good as 
that of the olive for domestic purposes and for 
making soap; and in Great Britain and Ireland, 
they might be remuneratingly produced for the 
| sake both of yielding the oil and of feeding poul- 
try,—and they are said to possess the peculiar 
recommendations for this latter purpose of being 
The 
soil, situation, and culture, but has been found 
to average about 50 bushels of seed,—equal to 
50 gallons of oil and about 1,500 lbs. of oil-cake ; 
and the stems of the crop, if burnt for alkali, will 
yield about 10 per cent. of potash, while the leaves 
may be dried and pulverized and mixed with 
bran for fodder. The crop, however, has a very 
scourging effect on land, and particularly robs it 
of potash, and is peculiarly unsuitable for going 
before potatoes in a rotation. The soil most 
suitable is light, friable, and richly alkaline; and: 
does admirably well to be manured with fresh 
sea-weed; and if loamy or clayey, may be advan- 
| tageously prepared by commixations of shell sand, 
limestone gravel, or any other opening, calcareous 
substance; and, in any case, must be well tilled 
and finely pulverized. The situation most suit- 
able is a moderately shady one, with sufficient 
exposure to enjoy free and constant circulation 
of the air. 
season, in the latter part of January,—in a wet 
_ season, about the middle of February,—in any 
season, in the latter part of February or at any 
time in March,—and in circumstances where the 
earliest possible crop is desired, in moderately 
dry weather, in October.. The manner of sowing 
and of transplanting may be very varied; but 
the following has been particularly recommended: 
—‘“ Tet drills be drawn with a hoe or otherwise, 
about an inch deep, and about 18 inches asun- 
der; sow the seed therein thinly, and cover it 
over an inch thick; or it may be sown by dib- 
bling in, which is the better plan. When the 
fourth leaf of the young plants has sprouted, and 
the fifth is ready to sprout, let them all but one 
The sowing may be done, in a dry | 
SUN-ROSE. 
be removed from each place and planted else- 
where, in rows 12 or 18 inches apart, and at a 
distance of 10 inches in the row. Water the 
plants as they are put down if the weather be 
dry, and dry weather is essential to the success 
of the crop. Especial care should be directed to 
remove all weeds for about a month or 6 weeks, 
and occasionally to mould up the earth around 
each plant.” When the heads are quite or nearly 
ripe, the plants should be cut down at about an 
inch from the ground, and removed to a shed or 
some other place of complete shelter from rain, — 
and there left till they become dry; and either 
then or afterwards, they may be freed from the 
seed; but they must not, in any case, be left on 
the ground, as they have a great capacity for mois- 
ture, and would be very likely to attract it and 
to become filled with insects, 
The dwarf Indian sunflower, Helianthus indi- 
cus, possesses similar properties to the common 
annual sunflower, and may be cultivated for the 
same purposes, and ina similar way. It is also 
an annual, and blooms throughout the same 
period; but it is less branched, and smaller in 
all its parts, and has only about half the height, 
and is of a lighter yellow colour in its flowers. 
It was introduced from Egypt in 1785.—The 
tube-formed sunflower, Helianthus tubeformis, is | 
an annual of rather less height than the common 
sunflower, and blooms during a much shorter 
period. 
ceding, and carries red-coloured flowers from 
September till November. 
rooted sunflowers vary in height from 2 to 10 
feet ; and all have yellow flowers, and are na- 
tives of North America. 
SUN-ROSE, — botanically Helianthemum. A 
genus of ornamental plants of the cistus family. 
They are very nearly allied to the true cistuses 
in botanical characters, and closely resemble 
them in eminent adaptation to the covering of | 
rock-work. The great majority have a golden | 
or sun-like colour of flowers, varying from pale 
yellow to copper-colour ; and they derive from 
this circumstance both the popular name sun- 
rose and the botanical name helianthemum or 
‘sunflower.’ Seven species grow wild in Britain, 
and considerably upwards of one hundred have 
been introduced from other countries. 
dozen are hardy annuals; a few are hardy herba- 
ceous perennials ; a large number are hardy, ever- 
green, trailing or procumbent undershrubs; a few 
are hardy, evergreen, erect undershrubs; and most 
of the remainder are frame, evergreen, erect under- 
shrubs and shrubs. The annual and herbaceous 
kinds are propagated from seeds, and the ligne- 
ous kinds from cuttings. The great majority of 
the species, of whatever kind, love a soil of sandy 
peat, and bloom in June and July.—One sub- 
genus comprises about sixteen erect, evergreen 
It was introduced from Mexico in 1799. | 
—The showy sunflower, Helianthus speciosus, is | 
an annual of about the same height as the pre- | 
It was introduced | 
from Mexico in 1883.—The perennial fibrous- | 
About a | 
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