PIPINGS. 



23^ 



PITS. 



PiLEWORT. — See Fica'ria. | 



Pimele'a. — Thymeldcea. — Aus- | 

 tralian slirubs, wliicli require a 

 richer soil than most other plants 

 from that counti-y. They should be 

 grown in a greenhouse in England, 

 in a soil composed of sandy peat and 

 loam, mixed with vegetable mould, 

 or part of an old hotbed. They 

 should have plenty of light, and 

 they should be kept regularly wa- 

 tered. They are propagated by 

 cuttings, 



.Pimpernel. — See Anaga'llis. 



Pink. — See Dia'nthus. 



Pipings. — Cuttings of Pinks and 

 Carnations are called pipings, be- 



ne. 40. — PIPING OF A carnation. 



cause these plants have tubular 

 stems, and when separated at a 

 joint, the parts are pulled asunder, 

 instead of being cut. This is done 

 in autumn, by taking a shoot that 

 has nearly done growing, in one 

 hand, and pulling the upper part of 

 it off just above a pair of leaves, so 

 as to separate it at the socket formed 

 by the axils of the leaves, leaving 



the part pulled off with a tubular 

 or pipe-like termination. Some 

 florists then cut off the tips 

 of the leaves, but others leave 

 them entire, as sho-\vn in fig. 40, 

 and in both cases the pipings must 

 be struck in sand with a hand-glass 

 fixed firmly over them. It may be 

 here observed, that the herbage of 

 Pinks and Carnations is called the 

 grass ; and that when a plant is in, 

 a vigorous state of growth, it is said 

 to have the grass fine. 



Pipta'ntht'S. — Leguminbsce. — A 

 handsome half-hardy tree, with 

 large yellow pea-flowers. It will 

 grow in any common soil, but it 

 requires a slight protection during 

 winter. 



Pista'cia . — Terehinthacece. — 

 The Pistachia Nut-tree. — Very 

 handsome trees, which abound in 

 turpentine in their native country, 

 but which produce very little in 

 England. 



Pits are structures either sunk 

 in the ground, or raised above it 

 with brick walls on all sides, and 

 with a glass cover. For the purpose 

 of preserving plants from the frost, 

 they do not require flues, beds of 

 tan or dung, or any other artificial 

 mode of heating ; but they do re- 

 quire artificial heat when they are 

 employed for preserving greenhouse 

 plants, for growing hothouse plants, 

 or for forcing hardy herbaceous 

 flowers or shrubs into premature 

 bloom. They are also used as a 

 substitute for hotbeds in bringing 

 forward tender annuals, and in 

 raising seeds. For all these pur- 

 poses some mode of artificial heating 

 is required ; and this may either be 

 accomplished by smoke flues, the 

 circulation of hot water in pipes of 

 iron or earthenware, or by the intro- 

 duction of beds or fermenting mate- 

 rials, such as tan or dung. The 

 most convenient mode of heating is 



