PEU 



[670] 



PSI 



ing bead, no farther supply of wood is 

 wanted than some occasional shoots now 

 and then to supply the place of any worn- 

 out or dead branch. The above-men- 

 tioned spurs or fruit-buds are short, ro- 

 bust shoots of from about half an inch 

 to one or two inches long, arising na- 

 turally, first towards the extreme parts 

 of the branches of two or three years 

 old, and as the branch increases in 

 length, the number of fruit-buds increase 

 accordingly. 



In pruning, always cut quite close, both 

 in the summer and winter- pruning. In 

 the summer- pruning, if attended to early, 

 while the shoots are quite young and 

 tender, they may be readily rubbed off 

 quite close with the thumb ; but when the 

 shoots become older and woody, as they 

 will not readily break, it must be done 

 with a knife, cutting them as close as 

 possible; and all winter-pruning must 

 always be performed with a knife. 



Summer-pruning is a most necessary 

 operation. Young shoots require thin- 

 ning to preserve the beauty of the trees 

 and encourage the fruit ; and the sooner 

 it is performed the better. It is, there- 

 fore, advisable to begin this work in May, 

 or early in June, removing all superfluous 

 growths and ill-placed shoots, which may 

 be done with considerably more expedi- 

 tion and exactness than when the trees 

 have shot a considerable length. Where, 

 however, a tree is inclined to luxuriancy, 

 it is proper to retain as many of the re- 

 gular shoots as can be commodiously 

 trained in with any regularity, in order 

 to divide and exhaust the too abundant 

 sap. It will be necessary to review the 

 trees occasionally, in order to reform 

 such branches or shoots as may have 

 started from their places, or taken a 

 wrong direction; and according as any 

 fresh irregular shoots produced after the 

 general dressing may be displaced, or 

 as the already trained ones advance in 

 length, or project from the wall or espa- 

 lier, they should be trained in close. 



In the winter-pruning, a general regu- 

 lation must be observed, both of the mo- 

 ther branches, and the supply of young 

 wood laid in the preceding summer ; and 

 the proper time for this work is any time 

 in open weather, from the fall of the leaf 

 in November, until March; but the 

 sooner the better. In performing this 

 work, it is proper to unnail or loosen a 

 chief part of the branches, particularly of 



peaches, nectarines, apricots, vines, and 

 other trees requiring an annual supply of 

 young wood. 



PEU'NUS. Plum. (From^rune, a plum. 

 Nat. ord., Almondworts [Drupacese]. 

 Linn., 12-Icosandria 1-Monogynia.) 



Hardy deciduous trees, white-flowered, and 

 blooming in April. Seeds for varieties and stocks, 

 suckers for grafting: and budding ; deep, loamy 

 soil, if calcareous all the better. For the culti- 

 vated Plum, the Muscle and St. Julian stocks are 

 generally used. When dwarfs are desired, the 

 Myrobalan Plum is preferred. To obtain stocks 

 in trreat plenty, the long shoots from the stools of 

 last year's growth are laid down in the spring 

 their full length, and covered with soil; almost 

 every bud sends up a shoot, and roots are formed 

 nearly contemporaneously. In autumn, the shoot 

 laid down is cut off, and then cut into as many 

 pieces as there are young shoots and roots, See 

 PLUM. 

 P. ca'ndicans (whitish). 15. 1820. 



Coccomi'lla (Coccomilla). 20. Calabria. 1824. 



divarica'ta (spreading). 10. Caucasus. 1820. 



dome'stica (domestic. Plum). 20. England. 



armenioi'des (apricot-like. Drap d'Or). 20. 



flo're-ple'no (double-flowered). 20. 



fo'lils variegn'tis (variegated-leaved). 20. 



heterophy'lla (variable-leaved). 20. 1846. 



Myroba'lana (Myrobalan). 20. 



pefndula (drooping). 1838. 



Turone'nsis (Turin. Premier Swiss). 20. 



Turin. 



insiti'tia (grafted). 20. Britain. 



flo 1 re-pie 1 no (double-flowered). 20. 



fru'ctu lu'tea a'lba (yellowish -white- 

 fruited). 20. 



fru'ctu ni'gro (black-fruited). 20. 



fru'ctu ru'bro (red-fruited). 20. 



mari'tima (sea). 4. N. Amer. 1800. 



Mu'me (Mume). 2. Japan. 1841. 



pubs'scens (downy). 1818. 



spino'sn (spiny. Sloe-tree')' 15. Britain. 

 fto're-ple'no (double-flowered). 10. Ta- 



rascon. 

 foliis variega'tis (variegated-leaved) . 10. 



Britain. 



macroca'rpa (large-fruited). 10. Britain. 



microca'rpa (small-fruited). 10. Britain. 



ova'ta (egg-fruited). 10. Britain. 



PSEUDO-BULB. By this term is de- 

 scribed the fleshy stem of the orchids ; 

 and the term is applicable as it resembles 

 a bulb more than a stem. 



PSI'DIUM. Guava. (The Greek name 

 once applied to the Pomegranate. Nat. 

 ord., Myrtleblooms [Myrtaceae]. Linn., 

 12-Icosandria \-Monogynia. Allied to 

 Myrtus.) 



Stove, white-flowered evergreens. Cuttings of 

 young shoots, getting a little firm at their base, 

 in sand, under a bell-glass, and in bottom-heat ; 

 sandy, fibry loam and peat, with the addition of 

 leaf-mould and a little dried cow-dung, provided 

 the drainage is good and plentiful. Winter temp., 

 48 to 58; summer, 60 to 85. But several, such 

 as Cattleya'num, will not only live, but produce 

 their fruit in a greenhouse. The best Guavas we 

 have seen were produced on the back of a vinery, 

 from which the frost was little more than excluded 

 in winter. See GOAVA, 



