The record-union., 1896-12-04

This is the surest way to get the plant
established, although if the seed be
scattered on the surface of the alkali
soil before a rain ii terminates readily
when the heat is adequate. When the
plant once gets hold on the soil it
covers the ground very thickly from
self-sown seeds, which are produced in
| abundance. We send seed at five cents
per packet, postpaid
Modiola Modiola decumbens).-Th
plant. which is a native of Chile, has
been observed growing freely on alkali
lands in Kern County; sheep and COWS
eat it in preference to alfalfa, and i'm
prove In flow of milk. It is almost as
rich in f1esh-forming ingredients as al
falfa; in this respect it is superior to the
salt bushes. The plant may be valua-
BILE on dry and waste places, even when
very alkaline; but it must be introduced
with caution, because 1T has a habit Of
roofing from it's PROSTATE stems, and
therefore will be very difficult to eradi-
cate. In this respect it is very different
from the salt bushes. To those who de-
sire to try the modiola in places which
are waste and remote from cultivated
lands, we will send small packets Of seed
at two cents each.
CANAIGRE (Rurnex hymenosepalus).
Although large plantations of this
tannin-yielding root have been made,
and the seed and roots are handled by
the trade for those who want them in
considerable quantities, we receive so
many requests from those who desire to
test the plant on a small scale in diff
ferent localities that we continue the
distribution another year. Bulletin 1O5
and Report 1S94-95 of this station treat
of this plant and its culture in detail,
and copies will be mailed to all appli-
cants. The plant is commonly grown
from cuttings of the small roots, but
grows readily from seed which is scat
tered when the ground is moist, and
slightly covered. We send seed for five
cents per packet, or roots for twenty
hve cents per package, postpaid.
GREEN FEED FOR POULTRY AND
STOCK.
Jersey Kale.-Reports from those who
nave grown this plant from our seed
are SO emphatic in praise of it as a
summer and fall green feed for poultry.
that we desire to bring it to the atten-
ton OF all. 1t requires moist land, but
where even a small area of ground can
| be irrigated from we'll or other small
water supply, the weight of green
growth is probably greater than can be
secured with any other plant with the
same amount of water 1t withstands
both cold and heat better than any
other cultivated member of the cabbage
Iamliy, and the old stems bear good
crops OF leaves for several years where
the ground does not freeze in winter.
Ihe leaves are often twenty-eight
inches in length and eighteen inches in
breadth, and when plucked from the
stem are quickly replaced Ry saving
seed the grower can soon secure a very
large area, if found suited to his uses.
Plants should be grown and set out like
cabbages. Seed, three cents per pack
age, postpaid
Jerusalem Artichokes CHelianthus
Tuberosus)-This old plant is still in
such request by California growers that
we olfer tuberS from our garden to
others who may desire to experiment
with 1T. Planting and cultivation should
De the same as with potatoes except
|that single tuber is enough to a hill
We have two varieties-White French
and Red Brazilian. The former is high
iy esteemed by some as a table vegeta-
bic, either boiled or used in soups or
| salads. The red variety is perhaps su-
perior for stock purposes. We can fur
nish both sorts if desired at ten cents
per package of each, by mail
ALGERIAN WHEATS.
We have grown during the last year
an interesting collection of Algerian
wheats from seed received from Jardin
Botanique, Mustafa, Algiers. These
wheats are all of the Mediterranean
type--very tall and strong, bearded
wheats with a large, hard, glutinous
and therefore dark colored kernel.
They will not yield acceptable milling
wheat of the California type, but for
feeding uses and for resistance to Hes
sian fly and rust they are worthy of
local trial We offer the following: i.
Bellionni; g Kahla: 3 Bill pelissia He
mecy; 4. Aicha Abudda; ;. Nave; 3.
Boyhar; l. 3. Zodonni; .. Tag Ghorab;
9. Hamra; 10. Guemgormer Rakhma;
II. Bid: - B. Mohamed de Bochia;
13. Neb-el-Bel; A. Ouchda mawe; 10.
Hedeba; 16. c. Adjini.
We will send seed of as many kinds
as the applicant may desire at fifteen
cents for one pound of each kind Sc
lected, postpaid.
FOR THE GARDEN.
Roselle (Hibiscus subdariffa) This
interesting plant, resembling in its
growth okra or gumbo, is a native OF
tropical Asia and Africa, and has been
Jictr a1 through semi trOD-
ical countries, where it has been found
to possess considerable resistance to
drought and to yield very acceptable
food products. The stems also contain
a silky fiber of which some use is made
in India For the seed we are indebted
to A. Neustadt of San Francisco, who
imported it from Queensland. The plant
made very satisfactory growth at our
Southern California station, near Po-
mona, and J. w. Mills, foreman, fur
nishes the following note Of it's local
growth and uses:
1.-The plant is very ornamental, the
dark stems and pods showing through
the rather scant dark green foliage. The
flowers are of a yellowish white with
q dark red center, two inches across and
lasting only an hour or so during fair
weather. The juice extracted from the
feshy calyces or husks is used with
water to make an acidulous cooling
drink, but is of most value in jellymak-
ing. The mucilaginous properties of the
Juice render the setting of the jelly GER
tain with reasonable amount of cook
ing The dark cherry color of the husk
is very much more vivid when the pod is