PIT 



462 



PL A 



it has been justly observed, that " sunk- | door in the back wall, and the passage 

 en pits are inconvenient to ^et at ; there j along the middle, a person can go in at 

 is no pulling their sashes off and on j any time without pushing down the 

 with ease, and ventilation is trouble- sashes, and reaching from the back to 

 some. Then, again, in spite of all that the front, he can water or do anything 



can be done, they will always be damp ; 

 and although this is advantageous for 



else the plants may require. 



' This pit is extremely useful for 



some purposes, it is destructive to raising seeds, or for growing small 



green-house plants in long winters. 

 Upon tlie whole, the inconveniences, 

 are at least as considerable as the ad- 



green-house plants, and keeping such 

 things as verbeneas, petunias, and scar- 

 let pelargoniums, for turning out into 



vantages. We doubt whether sunken j the flower garden during the summer 

 pits can often be recommended in gar- I months ; or by dividing it into two parts 



dens. 



-Gard. Chron. 



by a partition, having a door in it, one 



Under the various titles Melon, Cii- [ half may be used for striking cuttings, 

 cumber. Pine Jipple, ^-c, descripUons of raising seeds, or keeping plants, which 

 pits suitable for their cultivation will J have been newly potted off, and the 

 be found. The following outline is of other filled with well established plants, 

 one for various purposes, strongly re- : requiring more light and air; so that, 

 commended by Mr. R. Fortune, gar-! with a little contrivance, it is astonish- 



dener at the Chiswick Gardens : 

 Fig. 129. 



a, stages and back and front shelf; 

 h, passage along the middle; c, pro- 

 posed tank ; d, proposed ventilators. 



The width of tlie pit is nine feet ; 

 and, as the sketch is drawn from mea- 

 surement, any one may easily ascertain 

 the different proportions. 



The two stages are made of wood, 

 having cross bars, as seen atffl, and up- 

 right bearers on each side of b. The 

 small shelf in front is supported by a 

 bracket, which also supports the hot 

 water pipes ; and the back shelf might! dria. 

 be supported in the same manner, al- 

 though in this instance it is formed out 

 of the thickness of the back wall. The 

 only improvement in its construction, 

 is to have a large tank in some conve- 

 nient place in front, as at c, to receive 

 the rain which falls on the roof; and also 

 some wooden ventilators in the back and 

 front wall at d, which could be opened 

 at those times when it is not prudent to 

 draw down the sashes. By having the 



ing how many things the amateur may 

 do in a small place like this." — Gard. 

 Chron. 



PITCAIRNIA. Seventeen species. 

 Stove herbaceous. Seed and suckers. 

 Moss potsherds. They are really epi- 

 phytal. 



PITCHER-LEAF. Nepenthes phyl- 

 lamphora. 



PITCHER-PLANT. Nepenthes dis- 

 tillatoria. 



PITTOSPORUM. Eighteen species. 

 Green-house evergreen shrubs, except 

 P. tobira, which, matted, will sustain 

 the winter south of Virginia. Ripe cut- 

 tings. Peat and loam. 



PLADERA. Two species. Green- 

 house biennials. Seed, and cultivated 

 like the Balsam. 



PLAGIOLOBIUM. Two species. 

 Green-house evergreen shrubs. Young 

 cuttings. Sandy loam and peat. 



PLASTER OF PARIS. See Gypsum. 



PLANERA. Two species. Hardy 

 deciduous trees. Layers on grafts of 

 the elm. Light loam, near water. 



PLANE TREE. Platanus. 



PLANK PLANT. Bossiaa scoloppn- 



PLANTAIN TREE. Musa. 



PLANTATION. The ornamental 

 distribution of trees is considered under 

 the titles Clump, Wood, ^-c. ; and here 

 will be considered only a few practical 

 details relative to the planting and ma- 

 nagement of trees. 



Selection. — Our guide in this must be 

 the nature of the soil. If chalk is a 

 principal constituent of this, the beech, 

 birch, and ash must be the trees chiefly 



