and in all other cases, suflicient 
drainage must be provided ; and if 
the walls and floor are built and 
laid hollow, the entrance of moist- 
ure and the escape of heat will be 
prevented. In general, pits which 
are heated by tan or dung have the 
material placed in the beds inside : 
but in some cases it is placed 
around the pit, in what are called 
linings between two feet and three 
feet inside, and as high as the walls 
of the pit outside, so that the heat 
penetrates through the wall to the 
dung or soil within ; and to facili- 
tate this, the lower parts of the walls 
are built with open brickwork. Pits 
of this kind are called Macphail’s 
pits, and are admirably adapted for 
growing hothouse plants, and for 
every description of forcing. 
Prrear’rntaA. — Bromelidcee. — 
Handsome herbaceous stove plants, 
with pineapple-like leaves, and very 
singular scarlet or pinkish flowers. 
They should all be grown in sandy 
peat and rich loam. 
Pircner Piantr.—See Nepe'n- 
THES and SARRACE'NIA. 
Prirro'sporum. — Pittosporee. — 
Handsome evergreen bushy shrubs, 
which require a slight protection 
during winter. P. Tobira is a na- 
tive of China, which has been 
known to live out of doors for se- 
veral years in a sheltered situation, 
but which should be protected from 
very severe frosts. It should be 
grown in a rich light soil; and it 
is propagated by cuttings, which 
should be struck in sand under a 
hand-glass. Most of the species 
have terminal tufts of white fragrant 
flowers, and broadish, shining, dark 
green leaves; and they are all very 
ornamental. 
Pxiantain Tree.—See Mo'sa. 
Priantr Cases—See Grass Cases. 
Puantine is the operation of in- 
serting plants in the suil, either in 
the free ground or in pots. The 
* 
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+ 7 4 
% nee i mere 
PLANTING. 322 PLANTING. « 
least seven feet in depth. In this, | simplest ee of planting is that 
which consists in removing small 
seedling plants, or such as have 
been struck from cuttings or layers; 
and this is commonly performed by 
making a round hole with a dibber, 
and putting in the root of the plant 
to the same depth as it had been 
covered with earth ‘before, and 
making it fast by thrusting the dib- 
ber into the firm earth beside the 
hole, and pressing it to the root. 
In this operation the great art is to 
make the root fast at its lower ex- 
tremity. Thus, m planting com- 
mon seedlings of annuals, or even 
cabbage-plants, if the earth be 
pressed close to the root at the up- 
per part, and not at the extreme 
points, the success will hardly be 
complete; and in tender plants, or 
in a dry season, a failure will be the 
result. In planting plants of a 
larger size, a small pit should be 
opened by the spade or the trowel ; 
the bottom of the pit having been 
formed into a cone or small hill, the 
plant should be placed in the centre, 
and the roots spread out equally 
over it on every side. ‘The roots 
are then to be covered with soil 
gently pressed over them ; and the 
operation must be finished by wa- 
tering so as to consolidate the soil 
equally, without making it firmer 
on one part of the roots than another. 
If the soil should have been pre- 
viously dug, trenched, or loosened 
to the depth of a foot, or probably 
two feet or three feet, the pit should 
not be made so deep as to throw 
the neck or collar of the plant be- 
low, or even on a level with the 
surface, when the soil is consolidat- 
ed by watering. On the contrary, 
it must be left of such a height 
above it, as that when the soil is 
finally consolidated by its own — 
gravity, influenced by the weather, 
the neck shall still be above the 
general surface of the ground, and 
the plant stand on a small hillock 
“3 
wn 
