POL 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



POL 



371 



roots are planted, let the offsets be taken off, as, if left on, 

 they will draw away part of the nourishment from the old 

 root, whereby the flower-stems will be greatly weakened. 

 As these roots commonly arrive in England in the month of 

 February or March, those who are desirous to have these 

 early in flower, should make a moderate hot-bed soon after 

 the roots arrive, which should have good rich earth laid upon 

 the dung, about seven or eight inches deep ; this bed should 

 be covered with a frame, and when the bed is in a proper 

 temperature, the roots should be planted six inches every 

 \vay apart. The upper part of the root ought not to be 

 buried more than one inch in the ground : when the roots 

 are planted, there should be but little water given them until 

 they shoot above ground ; for too much wet will rot them 

 while they are in an inactive state; but afterwards they will 

 require plenty of water, especially in warm seasons. When 

 the flower-stems begin to appear, a large share of air must 

 be admitted, or the stalks will draw up weak, and produce 

 few flowers; for the more air these plants enjoy in good 

 weather, the stronger they will grow, and the more flowers 

 will they produce. At the beginning of May, therefore, the 

 frame m#y be quite taken off the bed, and hoops fastened 

 over it to support a covering of mats, which need not be 

 laid over but in the night, or in very cold weather : so that 

 by enjoying the free open air, t'heir stems will be large ; and 

 .f they are well watered in dry weather, there will be many 

 large flowers on each stem. This first planting requires 

 more care than those which are to follow ; for in order to 

 have a succession of these flowers, the roots should be planted 

 at three different times: first, in the beginning of March; 

 next, in the beginning of April ; and lastly, at the end of 

 April, or the beginning of May : these beds will require a 

 much smaller quantity of dung than the first, especially that 

 bed which is last made ; for if there be but warmth enough 

 to put the roots in motion, it is as much as will be required: 

 and this last bed will need no covering ; for very often those 

 roots which are planted in the full ground at this season, 

 will produce strong flowers in autumn ; but in order to secure 

 their flowering, it is always the best way to plant them on 

 a gentle hot-bed. As to the second bed, that should be 

 arched over with hoops, and covered with mats every night, 

 and in bad weather, otherwise the late frosts, which frequently 

 happen in May, will pinch them. These plants may remain 

 in the beds until the flowers are near expanding, at which 

 time they may be carefully taken up, preserving the earth to 

 their roots, and planted in pots, and then placed in the 

 shade for about a week to recover their removal; after which 

 time the pots may be removed into halls or other apartments, 

 where they will continue in beauty a long time, and their 

 fragrant odour will perfume the air of the rooms where they 

 are placed ; and by having a succession of them, they may 

 be continued from Midsummer to the end of October or mid- 

 dle of November : but as the stems of these plants advance, 

 there should be some sticks put down by each root, to which 

 the stems should be fastened, to prevent their being broken 

 by the wind. It is a common practice with many people 

 to plant these roots in pots, and plunge the pots into a hot- 

 bed ; but there is much more trouble in raising them by this 

 method than by that above directed ; for if the roots are not 

 planted in very small pots, there will be a necessity of mak- 

 ing the beds much larger, in order to contain a quantity ol 

 the roots ; and if they be first planted in small pots, they 

 should be shaken out of them into pots of a larger size when 

 they begin to shoot out their flower-stems, otherwise the 



f'slks will be weak, and produce but few flowers; hence the 

 her method is the best, if performed with care. When the 

 VOL ii. 97. 



roots are strong and properly managed, the stems will rise 

 three or four feet high, and each stem will produce ten or 

 twelve flowers ; and in this the great beauty of the flowers 

 consists, for when there are but a few flowers upon the stalks, 

 they will soon fade away ; so their places must be frequently 

 renewed : for the flowers are produced in spikes coming out 

 alternately upon the stalk, the lower flowers opening first ; 

 and as these decay, those above them open, so that in pro- 

 portion to the number of flowers upon each stalk, they con- 

 tinue in beauty a longer or a shorter time. The sort with 

 double flowers will require a little more care to have the 

 flowers fair ; but this care is chiefly at the time of blowing, 

 for the flowers of this sort will not open if they are exposed 

 to the open air: therefore when the flowers are fully formed, 

 and nearly opening, the pots should be placed in an airy 

 glass-case, or a shelter of glasses should be prepared for 

 them, that the dews and rains may not fall upon them, for 

 that will cause the flowers to rot away before they open ; 

 and the heat of the sun drawn through the glasses will cause 

 their flowers to expand very fairly. With this management, 

 says Mr. Miller, I have had this sort with very double flowers 

 extremely fair, and upwards of twenty upon one stem ; but 

 where this has not been practised, I have rarely seen one of 

 them in any beauty. 



Pallia ; a genus of the class Hexandria, order Monogy- 

 nia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: none. Corolla: six- 

 petalled; petals, the three outer ovate, concave, wider at the 

 tip, blunt; the three inner alternate, with the outer bending 

 in, nerved, very slender. Stamina : filamenta six, capillary, 

 curved in at the tip, inserted into the receptacle ; antheree 

 round, twin. Pistil: germen globular, superior; style fili- 

 form, subulate, incurved ; stigma simple, blunt. Pericarp : 

 berry globular, surrounded by the permanent reflex corolla. 

 Seeds: very many, as far as twenty, angular. ESSENTIAL 

 CHARACTER. Corolla: inferior, six-petalled. Berry .-many- 

 seeded. The only known species is, 



1. Pollia Japonica. Stem angular, erect, jointed, little 

 branched, rough, with villose hairs, two feet high ; branches 

 alternate, short, flowering successively, resembling the stem; 

 leaves on the lower part of the stem approximating, on the 

 upper very remote, alternate, embracing, ensiform ; flowers 

 verticillate, corymbed, snow-white. Jussieu doubts whether 

 this plant be not more nearly allied to the Asparagi than the 

 Jiinci, and whether the fruit be not really a berry. It flowers 

 in September. Native of Japan, near Nagasaki ; and of the 

 island of Java. 



Pollichia ; a genus of the class Monandria, order Mono- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth one-leafed, 

 pitcher-shaped, slightly five-cornered, five-toothed, perma- 

 nent ; its orifice contracted by an elevated, pellucid, reticu- 

 lated ring. Corolla : petals five, alternate with the divisions 

 of the calix, fixed in the ring, small, triangular. Stamina : 

 filamenta one, incurved, proceeding from the orifice of the 

 calix, through a cleft in the ring, opposite to and about the 

 length of its upper segment, which is a little larger than, and 

 somewhat remote from, the rest ; anther roundish, two-lobed, 

 incumbent. Pistil: germen superior, in the bottom of the 

 calix, ovate, smooth ; style filiform, as long as the calix, 

 forked : stigmas two, obtuse, fringed. Pericarp : none, 

 except a thin membrane. Seed: solitary, ovate, filling the 

 cavity of the thickened calix. Receptacle: a scale under 

 each flower, roundish, succulent, often compound; after 

 flowering, gradually enlarging, and at length becoming very 

 juicy, pellucid, white, and shining, obtuse, incurved, sup- 

 porting the fruit on the inside about half way up. ESSEN- 

 TIAL CHARACTER. Calix : one leaf, five-toothed. Corolla- 

 5B 



