PLA 



[ 645 ] 



PLA. 



riant; but in gardening for ornamental 

 plants, the more healthy and vigorous we 

 can grow them the more ornamental they 

 will be, unless, indeed, they are rather 

 tender for our climate. In that case shal- 

 low planting on a solid or unloosed bot- 

 tom suits them best, as they cannot grow 

 too strong, and the wood will therefore 

 ripen better. The shrub being taken up 

 with long, bare roots, and a host of small 

 fibres, and a considerable ball of soil at- 

 tached close up to the bole or bottom of 

 the plant, place this ball in the middle of 

 the prepared pit, and fill in the loose soil 

 under the strong roots, so that they may 

 lie in their natural position; and in doing 

 it, if the small fibres are pressed down 

 too much, loosen them back again, and 

 fill in any cavities under the bole or main 

 roots. When the roots, great and small, 

 each of them branching out in straight 

 lines, are as regular as they can be 

 placed, some of the lower ones will be 

 out of sight, but the majority are still 

 in view. Over those put a little better 

 soil, thus : take a spadeful, and throw it 

 past the stem of the plant on the roots 

 on the opposite side to you, so that the 

 soil runs along in the same direction as 

 the roots. If you throw it on the roots 

 next to you, it will run against their direc- 

 tion and turn back their small points, 

 which would be nearly as bad as the old 

 way of shaking the plant up and down 

 at this stage. When all the roots are 

 covered an inch or two, the watering-pot 

 must come, with a large rose to it, and 

 you must water all over the surface 

 heartily, even if it is a rainy day. This 

 watering is to do the business of the old 

 shaking settle the finer particles of the 

 soil about the roots. The rest of the soil, 

 to the depth of four or five inches, may 

 be thrown on anyhow, if the lumps are 

 broken small, so that the surface is pretty 

 smooth, and formed into a shallow basin 

 to hold the future waterings. A stout 

 stake, or stakes, according to the size of 

 the plant, should be driven down before 

 the earth is put over the roots, to keep 

 the plant from wind-waving. When large, 

 bushy evergreens are to be removed, their 

 branches must be tied up towards the 

 stem by passing a rope or strong cord 

 round them before commencing at the 

 roots. 



PLASHING is a mode of repairing or 

 modifying a hedge by bending down a 

 portion of the shoots, cutting them half 



through near the ground to render th em 

 more pliable, and twisting them amon g 

 the upright stems, so as to render the 

 whole more effective as a fence, and, at 

 the same time, preserve all the branches 

 alive. For this purpose, the branches to 

 be plashed, or bent down, must not be 

 cut more than half through, in order 

 that a sufficient portion of sap may rise 

 up from the root to keep alive the tipper 

 part of the branches. Where hedges 

 are properly formed and kept, they can 

 very seldom require to be thus maimed. 



PLASTER OF PARIS. See G-Y'PSUM. 



PLATANTHE'RA. (From platys, broad, 

 and anthera, an anther. Nat. ord., Orchids 

 [Orchidacese]. Linn., 2Q-Gynandria 1- 

 Monandria.) 



Chiefly hardy orchids. Seeds, chiefly sown as 

 soon as ripe, in loose, mossy, peaty soil ; peat 

 and loam, with a little chalk ; hardy ones kept as 

 alpines, in a frame, defended from heavy rains 

 and from severe frosts, and the atmosphere round 

 them moist, by watering the ground or moss on 

 which they stand. Several require the protec- 

 tion of a warm greenhouse. Hahena'ria bifo'lict 

 &ndfla'va have been added to this genus. 

 P. cilia'ris (hair-fringed). Yellow, June. N. 

 Amer. 1796. 



crista'ta (crested). Yellow. September. N. 



Amer. 1806. 



dilata'ta (spread). 1$. White. September. 



Canada. 1823. 

 ^wz6ria'fa((fringed).Purple.June.Canada.l789. 



herbi'ola (small-herb). Green. June, N. 



Amer. 1789. 



holope'tala (all-petaled). White. May. Ca- 



nada. 1820. 



Hooke'ri (Hooker's). Green. June. N. 



Amer. 1822. 



hyperbn'rea (northern). Green. June. N. 



Amer. 1805. 



inci'sa (cut). Pale yellow. June. N. Amer. 1826. 



psycho' des (butterfly-like). Yellow. June. 



N. Amer. 1826. 



Susa'nncB (Susanna). Green, white. E. Ind. 



1834. Stove. 



PLA'TANUS. Plane-tree. (From platys, 

 broad ; the wide-spreading head of the 

 trees. Nat. ord., Planes [Platanacese], 

 Linn., 21-Moncecia 9-Polyandria.) 



Hardy deciduous trees, flowering in April. 

 Seeds in the autumn, and preserved until spring; 

 cuttings, also, in spring and autumn, but chiefly 

 and most quickly by layers in autumn and spring ; 

 deep, mellow loam. 

 P. accident a 1 lis (western). 70. NAmer. 1636. 



au'rea variega'ta (golden-variegated- 



leaved). 70. 1846. 



integrifo'lia (entire-leaved). 70. 1845. 



heterophy'lla (various-leaved). America. 



1842. 



orienta'lis (eastern). 50. Levant. 1548. 



acerifo'lia (maple-leaved). 70. Levant. 



cunea'ta (wedge-/eaued). 20. Levant. 



1739- 



Hispa'nica (Spanish). 70. Spain. 



lacinia'ta (cut-leaved). 70. 1 845. 



monstro'sa (monstrous). 70 1845. 



