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PATERSONIA. 3 
12 
PEGS. 
PassirLo‘ra.—Passifl’ree—The 
Passion Flower. The common Pas- 
sion Flower, Passifiora ce@riiea, is 
a very ornamental climber, which 
will live in the open air in the cli- 
mate of London, flowering abun- 
dantly, and ripening fruit every year. 
It rejuires a good and somewhat 
loamy soil; and where the soil is 
light and sandy, a pit two feet deep 
and two feet square should be dug 
out and filled with a mixture of 
loam and peat. This pit may ap- 
pear large for a plant with such 
a slender root and stem as the Pas- 
sion but it will not thrive 
unless plenty of room be allowed 
for its roots, and, on this account, 
only the dwarf species can be grown 
ina pot. ‘There are several kinds 
of Passion Flower which require a 
greenhouse, and some very splendid 
ones that cannot be grown without 
a stove. Of the latter, the most 
beautiful is P. Loudéni, the flowers 
of which are of a most brilliant 
crimson. Nearly all the kinds ripen 
seed freely, and the fruit, which is 
a kind of berry, is eatable, but in- 
sipid. All the kinds hybridize free- 
ly, and thus many new kinds may 
be raised. Some of these hybrids 
are very beautiful, particularly those 
raised from P. racemosa ; and some 
of those raised between the stove 
kinds and P. cerulea are nearly 
hardy. ‘They are all easily propa- 
gated by cuttings, which should be 
made of the young shoots, and 
struck in sand, in heat, under a bell- 
glass. 
PAssION FLOWER.—See PassIFLo‘ra. 
Parerso'nra.-—Iride@.—-A fibrous- 
rooted genus of very beautiful plants, 
natives of New Holland. They 
should be grown in sandy loam and 
peat, and increased by dividing the 
root or by seeds. They require a 
little protection during winter, and, 
on this account, they are generally 
grown in pots, and kept in a frame 
or greenhouse. 
Pa‘via. — Hippocastandcee, ot 
Ai sculécee—The American Horse- 
chestnut, or Buckeye. ‘These plants 
differ from the common Horse-chest- 
nut in their fruit, which isin asmooth 
husk, while that of the Horse-chest- 
nut isin a rough husk. They de- 
rive their American name of Buck- 
eye from the large brown spot on 
the side of the seed, the botanical 
name of which isthehilum. Seve- 
ral of the Pavias are shrubs, and 
one of them, P. rubra, is almost 
prostrate. ‘They are all very hand- 
some, particularly the dark red and 
yellow-flowered kinds, and P. mac- 
rostachys, which has long feathery 
white flowers. They will grow best 
in loamy soil; and they are all prop- 
agated either by seeds or layers, or 
by grafting or budding them on the 
common Horse-chestnut. 
Peat Boe consists entirely of 
vegetable matter decayed by being 
saturated with moisture, but which 
requires to be decomposed or mixed 
with some earthy matter to render 
it fit for vegetation. As it is the 
tannin which abounds in the liquid 
part of peat bog, which prevents 
the decomposition of the vegetable 
fibre it contains, it is only necessary 
to drain it of its superabundant 
moisture to convert it into peat 
earth; in which state it is used in 
gardening for the growth of large 
American. plants, such as Rhodo- 
dendrons, &c., in the open ground. 
Heath-mould is peat mixed natural- 
ly or artificially with a large pro- 
portion of fine white sand; and, in 
this state, it is used in greenhouses 
for growing Heaths, and other Cape 
and Australian shrubs with fine 
hair-like roots, in pots. When green- 
house shrubs are directed to be grown 
in peat, it is always understood to 
mean a mixture of peat and silver ae 
sand, and not black peat alone. i 
Prcs.—Pieces of forked stick 
(see fig. 41) used for keeping down 
plants that are wanted to cover a 
eo 
