PLANT LICE 





PLASTERING 



weeds. The common, or greats, plantain. 



which gardeners find so troublesome, may be 



recognized in the spring by its rowtte of b: 



light green lea 



which spring from 



the roots. 



the renter of the 



leaf e 



sent up tall, slen- 



d. all sum- 

 mer long, w i t h 

 tiny green flow- 

 '1 ust ra- 

 tion). Thi- 



id by the 

 birds, which ea- 

 gerly fea.-t on the 

 IB and help to 



THE PLANTAIN 

 about. The seeds (o) Fruit . (b) cross sec . 



also fed to tion of fruit ; (c) flower. 



1 "rher well-known species are the 

 rih (jrax*. with narrow leaves and short, thick 

 spikes, and the .sea.s/Wr plantain, the leaves of 

 which are used to allay inflammation. 



There is also a tropical plant of this name, 

 considered by some authorities as a species of 

 banana. The fruit closely resembles the ba- 

 nana, and though not so sweet nor so pleasing 

 in flavor as the latter, it forms one of the chief 

 articles of food in tropical countries. 



PLANT LICE. See APHIDES. 



PLANTS, DISEASES OF. See DISEASE, sub- 

 title Diseases of Plants. 



PLAS'TERING, the process of covering the 

 skeleton of a wall 

 w i t h mortar or 

 other plastic ma- 

 terial to give it a 

 uniform surface, 

 to serve for 

 warmth and as a 

 foundation for 

 decorative feat- 

 ures, as wall pa- 

 per, paint or cal- LATH AND PLASTER 



rhe The laths are one and one- 

 usual lath and nalf inches wide, and should 

 . - , be set at least one-fourth inch 



plaster method apart. In the illustration the 

 for interior \villq "PP^r laths are supposed to 



* have been sawed, to 

 is described be- how th >e plaster is "keyed" 



behind them, 

 low; exterior 



work is ordinarily classed as stucco (which see). 



The wall to be plastered is first covered 



with thin, narrow strips of wood, called laths, 



with spaces between them to allow thr plaster 

 a firm grip, or hold, or in fireproof structures 

 by a netting called metal lath. There are 

 usually three, sometimes only two. coats of 

 plaster. For the first, called the wmtch coat, a 

 mixture of sand and lime, with some hor.-e- 

 hair or long oxhair added to make it hold to- 

 gether, is spread thickly over the laths with a 

 trowel. The intervening spares are carefully 

 filled, and when hardened the plaster is 

 scratched diagonally so that the second coat 

 may have what is railed a good key to cling to. 

 The second, or brown coat, of finer material, 

 usually consists of slacked lime generally with- 

 out hair. This coat is carefully rubbed in with 

 a flat board, and (hen plumbed or leveled. It 

 should not be applied until the first coal is 

 thoroughly dry, 

 or the excess of 

 moisture may 

 cause the lath to 

 swell and bend. 

 The final, or fin- 

 ishing coat, is ap- 

 plied to the sec- METAL LATH 

 ond coat when that also has become perfectly 

 dry; this is only about one-eighth of an inch 

 thick. For moldings or fine work the finish- 

 ing coat is usually of pure lime mixed with 

 plaster of Paris or marble dust. 

 In all plastering, except when the work is to 



A PLASTERER'S TOOLS 



(a) H;i\vk. on which In- holds mortar; (b) 

 trowel, for laying piaster; (c) trowel, for work 

 in corners, etc. ; (d) float, for smoothing and 

 plumbing; (e) comb, used to roughen the scratch 

 coat. 



be of the roughest kind, the selection of suit- 

 able sand and addition of the right proportion 

 of lime and hair are of great importance and 



