Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-03-14

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wood cuttings. layers. suckers or by
! division of older plants. Occasion
ally this plant is increased by seeds,
| which are minute and should be
pressed into the surface of soil in
| suitable flats or boxes in the autumn.
Trouble with Palm Leaves.
| My palm seems to be diseased; the
foliage is dead or brownish and
curled up. What is the trouble with
it? MRS. J. S.
Newark.
Your palm has probably been ne
| elected. The ends of the foliage fire.
| quently turn brown if the roots of
| the palm have become badly dried
out. Palms must never be allowed
| to become dry at the root. Keep
| your palm out of the direct sunlight
and in moderately warm room. The
| soil in the pot should be kept just
moist to the touch and have ample
| drainage. Sponge the foliage occa-
| sionally with lukewarm water.
Amarynis Lilies.
Please give me some information
about the Amaryllis lily. Does it
grow here? c. c. l.
Newark.
! This lily has been growing in this
country for some time but it is now
! imported in large quantities from
Japan. 1t does not require particu-
| lar soil, and planted out anywhere
without protection, 1t will be found
| to be perfectly hardy and develop
beautiful flowers of lavender tinted,
pink, fragrant and exceedingly beau
tiful. The foliage grows early in the
spring and dies down in the summer,
after which the flowers appear In
August. 1t being just as natural for
these bulbs to flower as to grow, the
writer is inclined to think that IL
would be better to throw away the
bulb which has not yet lowered for
several seasons. as a new bulb can be
/ had for twenty-five cents or less.
Reviving GeranIums.
My geraniums have been In the cell
lar all winter in dirt. | did not water
them. I do not believe they were
nipped by the frost, but they seem
to be lifeless and dried out. What
shall do to revive them? c. H. C.
! Newark.
Give them good soaking with
Iukewarm water at once, and as soon
as the danger from frost is past,
take the plants outside and shake
/ all the dirt out of the roots. Remove
the dead ones and pot them in a
! good. loamy garden soil, and set
them in a partially shady place. Do
not oyerwater them, and after they
start to sprout, trim the plant to a
substantial, stocky shape and let
them alone.
AEaleas After FIowerinE.
| We have several new azaleas that
are coming into flower for Easter.
! How should they be treated after the
| flowers have faded, so as to save the
plants. MRS. w. H.
Newark.
After the flowers of your azaleas
have begun to wilt remove the
plants to slightly warm place, out
of the direct sun, and keep them care
fully watered After the last frosts,
| set them outside near the shrubbery
and let them grow.
! Growing the Acacia.
! Is it possible to grow the acacia In
this section? Please tell me some
thing about this tree, which | have
been told is a beautiful one.
South Orange. l.. F. r.
No. the acacia would not grow here
on account of the severe cold in win
] ter. All told there are about $50
/ species of acacias, 300 of which are
! Australian species and the rest scat
tered over the world. principally in
Asia, America and Africa. Australian
acacias were introduced into Cali
fornia at about the same time the
eucalypts were, and like the latter
! have thriVed there. Like the eu-
calypts, too, they are not resistent to
| frost.
With so many specimens of acacias
there is naturally no form and no
rate of growth common to the whole
group. Some acacias are mere her
baceous plants; some are towering
trees; most are shrubs, and some, in
fact, are vines or climbers. The larg-
est acacia grows more than 100 feet
| high, with a trunk clear of branches
/ for fifty to sixty feet and a dame
4 ter of from two to four feet.
Those which are most used for COM
mercial products, and particularly for
tannin, do not need to attain large
size or great age before the products
are merchantable.
Many kinds are well adapted to the
reclamation of drifting sand dunes
This has been demonstrated on the
California sea coast, clear down to
/ the ocean beach, directly exposed to
heavy gales and dense salt fogs. In
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, for
example, they have been chiefly in
strumental in making a magnificent
| park out of waste of drifting sand.
| At the present time the commercial
value of acacias seems to be for tam
! bark, although the tanbark species
have important by-products. All Of
| the leading tanbaTk acaclas come
from Australia, where they are gem
| orally known as wattles, from the
| fact that they We're originally used
for weaving and waiting the walls
/ Of huts. Actual tannln contents of
the three principal tanbark acacias,
as shown by analyses at the Uni
versity Of California, are from "a to
As per cent. Oak and chestnut, the
woods principally used In this coun-
try, yield from eight to thirteen per
cent. of tannin.
Acacia timber is beautiful in grain
and durable in contact with the
ground. Even the smaller species
have a value for tool handles, fnrni-
tre and various other useful and or
| namental objects. Some Of the best
species yield a hard, heavy, close
grain, tough timber comparable to
walnut and rosewood.
In addition to tannin and timber
many of the acacias produce valuable
| by-products. The widely known gum
arabic is derived principally from the
Arabic acacia, though, also, from q
number of Asiatic and African desert
species. Clutch. an astringent gum in
constant demand, is another acacia
/ product. Many other kinds of gums
are yielded by different species. The
flowers of stili another species. known
as cassie, yield q perfume, the manu-
| facture of which at Grasse, France,
the centre OF the perfume industry is
| very profitable. A full grown tree
! yields about 300 pounds of flowers.
Cassie growing utilizes poor soils, in
capable of bearing grain or fruit
crops.
So far, acasias have been planted
in the United States simply as orna-
ments, and the information secured