AND GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



331 



PLA 



tree should be planted deeper than it formerly 

 grew, as its roots are stifled for the want of 

 air, or starved by the poverty of the soil at the 

 depth where they are placed. It is much the 

 better and more natural process, to plant 

 the tree so that it shall, when the whole 

 is complete, appear just as deep as before, but 

 standing on a little mound two or three 

 inches higher than the ground round about. 

 This, when the mound settles, will leave it 

 nearly on a level with the previous surface. 



Plant Protectors. This term is applicable to 

 anything which acts, if only temporarily, to 

 preserve plants from injury. Bast-mats, straw 

 mats, hand lights, bell glasses, small movable 

 frames, covered either with glass or water- 

 proof protecting cloth, or waterproof fibre, 

 may all be termed appliances for this purpose. 

 This protecting cloth, while being no cheaper 

 than ordinary grades of cotton cloth, has the 

 advantage in being so prepared that it is mil- 

 dew-proof, and will last from five to ten years, 

 according to the care given it. It is made in 

 yard widths and can be shaped for use accord- 

 ing to circumsta.nces. Probablj' the simplest 

 plan is to tack it to a light frame three by 

 six feet and use it just as sashes are used. 

 Such "sashes," made of protecting cloth, 

 would cost not more than twenty cents each, 

 while glass sashes cost (to say nothing of ex- 

 pense in freighting) $2 each. Besides, in the 

 hands of inexperienced cultivators, the pro- 

 tecting cloth is safest, for, if this covering is 

 left on in the daytime when the sun is shining 

 there is comparatively little rise of tempera- 

 ture underneath it, while it is well known 

 that if ventilation of frames covered by glass 

 sashes is not carefully attended to, the crop 

 beneath may be quickly ruined by the sun's 

 rays acting on the glass and raising the tem- 

 perature. It can also be procured on galvan- 

 ized iron folding frames, and is invaluable for 

 the early forwarding of plants, protecting from 

 frosts, insects, etc. It is also useful for cover- 

 ing hot-bed frames in spring, in lieu of glass, 

 after excessive freezing weather is over, and 

 also for throwing over bedding plants at night, 

 in fall, when there is danger of frost. By this 

 means beds of Coleus, Achyranthes, and other 

 plants may be retained in their beauty for 

 weeks, after similar plants have been 

 blackened and destroyed in unprotected beds 

 by one night's untimely frost. It is admirably 

 adapted for the temporaiy green-houses, or 

 structures now so much used to protect and 

 flower Chrysanthemums in the fall. 



Plants in Rooms — Are they Injurious to 

 Health? The question whether plants may 

 be safely grown in living rooms is now settled 

 by scientific men who show that, whatever 

 deleterious gases may be given out by plants 

 at night, they are so minute in quantity that 

 no injury is ever done by their presence in the 

 rooms and by being inhaled. Though we were 

 glad to see the question disposed of by such 

 authority, experience had already shown that 

 no bad effects ever resulted from living in 

 apartments where plants were grown. Our 

 green-houses are one mass of foliage, and I 

 much doubt if any healthier class of men can 

 be found than those engaged in the care of 

 plants. But timid persons may say that 

 the deleterious gases are given out only at 

 night, while our green-house operators are 



PLA 



only employed in daylight. This is only true 

 in part. Our watchmen and men engaged in 

 attending to fires at night make the warm 

 green-houses their sitting-room and their 

 sleeping-room, and I have yet to hear of the 

 first instance where the slightest injury 

 resulted from this practice. Many of our 

 medical practitioners run in old ruts. Some 

 Solomon among them probably gave out this 

 dogma a centurj' ago ; it was made the con- 

 venient scapegoat of some other cause of 

 sickness, and the rank and file have followed 

 in his train. A belief in this error often 

 consigns to the cellar, or to the cold winds of 

 winter, the treasured floral pets of a house- 

 hold. 



Plants for Shady Places. There are few plants 

 that will flower in places from which sunshine 

 is entirely' excluded. Some plants will grow 

 well enough, developing shoots and leaves, 

 but^^oifers of nearly all kinds must have some 

 sunshine. Of those that do well and flower 

 when planted out in the open ground where 

 sunlight only comes for two or three hours 

 during the day, may be named the following : 

 Calceolarias, Fuchsias, Lobelias, Herbaceous 

 Phloxes, Pansies, Forget-me-nots, Lily of the 

 Valley, and other herbaceous plants and 

 shrubs whose native habitat is shady woods. 

 A better effect, however, is produced in such 

 situations by ornamental-leaved plants, such 

 as Coleuses of all kinds. Amaranths, Achy- 

 ranthes, Caladiums, Cannas, and other plants 

 with highly-colored or ornamental leaves. 

 "With these may be combined the different 

 styles of white or gray-leaved plants, such as 

 C'entaureas, Cinerarias, and Gnaphaliums, 

 plants known under the general popular term 

 of " Dusty Millers." This is just the situation 

 also for many of the hardier Palms, Ficus, 

 Crotons, or other exotic plants during the 

 summer months, to recuperate from the 

 effects of the winter's confinement in the 

 house or conservatory. For a shady door- 

 yard in the city, nothing can surpass the 

 white and blue Periwinkle {Vinea minor) or 

 Creeping Charlie (Lysi/nachia nummulnria) for 

 a groundwork, relieved with clumps or groups 

 of our various native or hardy Ferns, Plaiutain 

 Lilies the variegated Calla, or plants of a like 

 nature. 



Plant Stove. The name generally given to a 

 structure devoted to the cultivation of those 

 plants that require a high temperature to 

 grow them to perfection. As many of the 

 inhabitants of the Plant Stove are grown for 

 their beautifully colored foliage as well as for 

 flowers, a structure that admits all the side 

 light possible is requisite, thus securing to 

 the plants a brighter coloring as well as a 

 shorter jointed growth, and a more healthy 

 development. Ventilation should be so ar- 

 ranged that the air cannot, on entering, come 

 in direct contact with the plants ; for prevent- 

 ing this, it is better to place side ventilators 

 in the walls near the pipes, and to only use 

 others situated near the top when there is 

 comparatively little difference between the 

 internal and external temperatures. A slight 

 shading is necessary during the summer 

 months, which is best applied as described 

 under "Shading." As plenty of water and a 

 moist atmosphere are necessary to their 

 proper cultivation, the plants must therefore 



