Plant Bugs 



( 211 ) 



Platanus 



is sometimes applied to Sliisa ge'.erally, while the 

 Plantain Tree of Mauritius is M. rosiicea. (For 

 Plantain Lily, see FUXKIA.) 



PLANT BUGS. 



Insects belonging to Heteroptera, a sub-order of 

 Hemiptera. They are allied to the Aphides, Grape 

 Lice, and Scale Insects, which are placed in sub- 

 order Homoptera. There is this difference between 

 these two sub-families : the Homoptera comprise a 

 number of destructive insects, while the members of 

 Heteroptera, or true Plant Bugs, do comparatively 

 little damage. Many of the species are more or 

 less parasitic. The bind wings are membranous in 

 texture, and folded under the front wings. The 

 latter have the tips membranous, but leathery in 

 the lower half. Where plant bugs are destructive, 

 kerosene emulsion (see INSECTICIDES) should be 

 used. 



PLANTING. 



Most deciduous trees and shrubs may be'planted 

 as soon as their leaves have fallen ; in fact, where 

 they have only to be transplanted from one situa- 

 tion to another in the same garden it is not neces- 

 sary to wait until the leaves are all off. The end 

 of October is the best time for planting operations, 

 providing the weather be fine, for the soil is still 

 warm, and there is usually enough moisture in the 

 soil to favour the production of fibrous roots 

 Thus plants have a chance to establish themselves 

 to some extent before winter sets in. 



Planting may be done from the end of October, 

 weather permitting, until the end of March, for 

 deciduous subjects. December and early January 

 form the worst portion of the planting season, as 

 the temperature of the soil is low. If the planting 

 cannot be done in autumn it will be well to wait 

 until the end of January ; later if possible. Ever- 

 greens should be planted much later in the spring. 

 Hollies transplant best in April and early May, just, 

 when new growth is starting ; or in September. It 

 is very necessary to see that the roots are covered 

 with a ball of soil. Bamboos are best planted in 

 May. 



Fruit trees should not be handled much after 

 the buds swell freely, as the buds are knocked off, 

 and the young growtli also receives a severe check.' 



Planting must not be conducted when the soil is 

 wet and sticky. The holes should be at least 2' 

 wider than the diameter of the balls they are to 

 receive. Many trees have been killed by the per- 

 nicious practice of digging deep and narrow holes 

 in heavy soils. These pits act as water traps. A 

 year or two under such conditions is enough to kill 

 the plants. It will be well to break up the soil at 

 the bottom of the hole, and when filling in to 

 break up the sides of the hole, so as to make sure 

 that a water trap has not been formed. Late- 

 planted trees and evergreens in growth should 

 always be watered in. 



The soil should be made firm, the roots havino- 

 been spread or.t in the hole at their natural level, 

 the bruised or broken parts having been neatly cut 

 out and covered with soil gradually, not dumped 

 in as a mass, and then what staking is required 

 should be done. In driving the stakes, take care 

 not to injure any of the principal roots ; it is a 

 capital plan to insert the stakes before the hole is 

 filled. A 2" mulching of decayed dung may be 

 spread round the tree to a distance equal to the 

 spread of the roots. 



PLASHING. 



If neglected for pruning, Thorn and other hedges 

 have a tendency to become bare and gappy at the 

 base. This may be remedied, to some extent, by 

 the operation known as plashing. Some of 'the 

 smaller growths are cut halfway through at the 

 base, bent down, and twined in and out amongst 

 upright stakes standing at 3' intervals. These 

 stakes may be either living or dead living when 

 strong, upright growths in the hedge are made use 

 of, and headed back to the required height. The 

 effect of plashing is to strengthen the hedge, for 

 the shoots grow freely and the wounds soon heal. 

 Plashing finds its greatest development in rurai 

 districts where copses and preserves are enclosed 

 with the usual ditch, bank, and hedge. 



PLASMODIOPHORA 



CLUB-ROOT). 



(fee CABBAGE 



PLATANUS. (PLANE TREE.) 



Description. A small genus (prd. Platanacesc) 

 of the first importance to planters. As park trees 

 Planes are well known and appreciated, but as 

 subjects for town planting they are of even more 

 value, possessing great smoke-resisting qualities 

 The Plane will grow in almost any soil, and, 

 although it suffers in periods of drought from 

 attacks of red spider and premature falling of the 

 leaves, it is not so great a sufferer as the Lime. It 

 is naturally of symmetrical habit, and by a little 

 cutting annually can be kept within bounds for 

 many years. Its peculiar habit of shedding its 

 bark, and the curious, pendent, burr-like fruits 

 which hang on all the winter, are attractive in 

 themselves. Orientalis, the Oriental Plane, exhibits 

 a considerable range in the cutting of the leaf, and 

 there are many beautiful varieties. The London 

 Plane, acerifolia, formerly regarded as a variety of 

 orientalis, is the form most commonly planted in 

 London and other cities, and it possesses smoke- 

 resisting qualities in the highest degree. 



Propagation. By seeds and layers. The former 

 should be gathered in autumn, kept through the 

 winter, and sown in spring, in a moist and shadv 

 place, in drills 1' apart. The hard fruits will 

 require to be broken. Layers are rather more 

 expeditious. A shift every two years until the 

 plants are six or seven years old will be needed to 

 encourage the production of fibrous roots. 



Soil. Deep, rich, rather loose soil that of 

 alluvial origin is excellent. The roots should 

 have free access to water. 

 Principal Species and Varieties : 

 [NOTE. The synonymy here is that of the Kern 

 Uand-Ligt.'] 



acerifolia, Ivs. Maple wh., vigorous (si/n. 

 shaped, Ap.. yel., occidental Suttneri). 

 flowers grn., peduncles occidentelis, 70' to 80', 

 bearing more than one My., gru., fruits ripe 

 fruit. (Many .>//*., in Oct. and Nov., lv. 



including algeriensis, five-angled, not deeply 



calitprnica, integrifolia, lobed (x>/n, vulgaris, 



and intermedia of gar- var. angulosa). Button 



dens, and occidentalis Wood, Western Plane, 

 of Watson, orientalis - argentoo - variegatis, 

 acerifoli.-i and vulgaris grn., golden, one of the 



acerifoUa.) London best variegated vars. 

 Plane. . orientalis, 60' to 80', Ap., 



-Suttneri, Ivs. deeply flowers grn., yel., fruits 



cut, pale grn., nrarhled br., ripe in Oct., Ivs. 



Platantliera (see Hdbenaria). 



