THE ECONOMIC HOUSE 67 
specimens shown here are grown in the propagating houses from cut- 
tings and are brought in here after they have attained a good size. 
Sugar cane is never seen growing wild. It was under cultivation when 
Alexander the Great invaded Hindustan, and is today cultivated in 
every tropical or subtropical land, where it can be assured freedom from 
winds and plenty of rain. The cane lives for about 7 years, and a 
plantation is harvested for 7 years, and then replanted. The cane 
is cut just after it blooms, is carried to factories, is ground up and 
heated almost to the boiling point, with a little lime added. The 
impurities are then removed, and the remainder evaporated by heat 
to a thick syrup. After this it passes through many processes, whose 
end products are crude sugar and New Orleans molasses. The sugar 
is later refined in great refineries. The great sugar producing centers 
are now Java, Porto Rico, Hawaii, and Cuba. A fair amount is pro- 
duced in Louisiana, and other Gulf States. 
Sacred Tulsi, an unidentified plant from India, was brought back by a 
returning traveller who knew it only as ‘Sacred Tulsi.” The plant 
has never bloomed nor fruited in the conservatory, and no one has 
ever been able to get any clew as to its identity. 
Sapindus Mukcrossi, or SOAPBERRY TREE, belongs to the Sapindaceae, 
the family to which the common horse-chestnut belongs. The tree 
is a native of tropical Asia. The ornamental berries contain a high 
percentage of saponin, and a fully grown tree may yield from 60 to 
120 pounds of berries a year. The fruit was used as a cleansing agent 
in oriental countries before the introduction of soap and is still preferred 
in those countries for washing the hair and for cleansing delicate fabrics 
such as silk and cashmere shawls. 
Sapindus Saponaria, or SOAPBERRY, is a related species that is a native 
of Florida and tropical America. The early explorers wrote of it as 
bearing “‘sope berries like a musket ball that washeth as white as 
sope. 
Sapium sebiferum (Stillingia sebifera), or CHINESE TALLOW TREE, is 
a member of the Euphorbiaceae, or Spurge family. It is a native of 
China, but is cultivated in many tropical lands. It is a small tree, 
with poisonous sap, grown for the waxy covering of the seed, which 
is used for candles, soap, and cloth-dressing; and for its timber value. 
Sansevieria, or BowstriNG Hemp, belongs to the Liliaceae, or Lily 
family. The plants are grown for their ornamental foliage and lovely 
flowers, but are of economic value for their fiber. The collection 
includes 4 species, from India and Africa. 
Schinus dependens, is a member of the Anacardiaceae, the family to 
which sumac belongs. The schinus is a small tree native to South 
America. It bears berries which are used medicinally in Argentina. 
Schinus Molle, or PEPPER TREE, or PERUVIAN Mastic-TREE, is a re- 
lated species from tropical America. The tree is evergreen and reaches 
a height of 50 feet. It bears beautiful rose-colored berries, the size of 
peppercorns, whence the name pepper tree. It is much valued in Cali- 
fornia as an avenue tree, Los Angeles in particular having wonderful 
