Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-08-22
NEW FRUITS OF THE EARrH.
Gala Lily Burbs for the abls-Goossbsrriss
That Grow on Treea.

That Grow on Trses-
A NEW VEGETABLE Is ABOUT 10 BE
"A introduced to the people Of the United
States through the Department of Agriculture
1t Is nothing more nor less than the root Of the
Gala lily, which resembles somewhat in appear
ance the ordinary Irish tuber, with the addition
OF a few whiskers that have nothing to do with
the case or with the qualities Of the article a.
an esculent However. IL is more elongated
and, when cut, the interior 10 . trifie more
viscid. But section Of II is 90 potato-like tina,
you would not be likely to distinguish any Diff
ference. In cooking it has first to be boiled, in
order to destroy certain acrid properties, after
which il may be fried, roasted, baked, or what
not, according to taste.
Farmers in Florida have begun 10 raise these
Gala roots for market The plants grow read
lily in swamps. and thickly that the Yield OF q
single flooded acre is enormous. They repro
duce themselves by the multiplication Of their
bulbs underground. SO that the grower has
simply to dig up the otfshoots and leave the
parents to propagate anew. For centuries the
Egyptians have cultivated a similar crop dur
Ing the seasons of the Nile overflow. and at the
present time calla lily bulbs are acommon vege-
table in Japanese markets. So prolific and
paiatable are they that their PROPAGATION in
many parts Of the United States. where condi-
tlons are favorable, may reasonably be looked
forward to as an agricultural industry Of the
future.
DISCOVERING NEW FRcITs.
The Department of Agriculture il continually
engaged in trying to discover and encourage
the cultivation of new and desirable varieties
OF fruits. Lately it has come across o sort of
giant sooseberry that grows on trees, and
within the last few days along-sought prize has
been obtained from Benton Hsrbor, Mich,
81 TRULY N.
berry. The picking Of this latter delectabls
fruit has hitherto been interfered with to some
extent by the spikes with which nature pro-
tects the branches. but in future. thanks to the
expected efforts OF enlightened agriculturists.
people Will be able to go blackberrying with
out danger OF pricking their fingers.
GRATING OF NUTS.
Experiments are at present being tried for
the first time in the grating Of pecan trees.
Accidental seedlings in Texas and New Mexico
have developed nuts of this kind as far superior
to the ordinary ones marketed as the shelbark
Is better than pig NIT. Furthermore, il has
been demonstrated that these improved va
rieties can readily be perpetuatcd and even
bettered by grating. Only little cultivation
is necessary to produce pccans five or six
times the size Of the usual specimens and with
shei!s so papery as to be easily broken
between the forefinger and thumb.
iHE STAR writer saw good-sized paste
once
OF the United States pomologist Yesterday, and
ate few TO make sure of their delicious
quality. 1t is the same way with chestnuts,
which grow TO the size Of a horse chestnut in
some parts of the United States. They. too,
are being grated, with view to securing the
perpetuatlon of their size and edible qualities.
In certain Illinois valley hickory nuts used to
grow as wide rs the palm OF ones hand, and
efforts are being made to obtain a surviving
piant from which to propagate these wonders.
What wonderful thing the process called
grating is How curious 10 see plums and
cherrles growing on peach tree; or, not less
marvellous pears depending from branch of
an apple tree! Cut nick ont of one Of the
limbs OF an orange tree and insert q slip from
a lemon tree, freshly taken. Lo 1t grows, and
that branch produces lemons while the others
are laden. in season, with oranges In accom-
plishing these marvcls, however, YOU must obev
the laws OF family in trees: you cannot success.
fully graft stone fruits on those which bear
seeds. and the citrus kind, such as the orange
and lemon, will only go together.
THE VITAL ORGANS.
The object sought by the skilled gardener.
when he makes graft. is to bring into contact
the vital parts of the slip and the tree on which
the graft is made. Now. the vital organ Of a
tree is its under skin. The heart Of the wood
has nothing to do with it's life. which will often
bevigorous when the inner trunk is all eaten away
and hollow. But beneath the bark is a layer OF
soft, cellular tissue, which gives birth to the
fiber of the wood on the inside and to the fiber
Of the bark on the outside. During the winter
this layer becomes thin nd non-productive, but
when spring comes its cells multiply and
multiply. forming more wood inside and
forcing the bark outward. thus adding to
the diameter of the tree until after q few CEN
turtles, perhaps. it becomes a monarch of the
forest. Such is the way in which the oak. the
elm and most other trees native to these lati-
tudes are developed; but the palm and its kind
grow after the manner of corn stalks, which il
very different.