PLANTING. 



220 



PLEASURE-GROUND. 



The same remark will apply to Ar- 

 borvitae, Junipers, Arbutus, Rhodo- 

 dendrons, Box, Phillyreas, and even 

 the common Laurel. 



The best season for transplanting 

 all deciduous trees and shrubs is the 

 autumn ; because the plant has time 

 to produce some fibres, and accommo- 

 date itself to its new soil and situation 

 during the winter, so as to be pre- 

 pared to grow freely the following 

 spring. Evergreens may also be 

 transplanted in autumn, or at any 

 time in open moist weather during 

 autumn, winter, or early spring. In 

 dry or frosty weather it is always 

 dangerous to remove them ; because 

 the sap in an evergreen is more or 

 less in motion at every season of the 

 year, and the plant is never so com- 

 pletely dormant as in the case of 

 deciduous trees. Formerly it was 

 thought that the best season for re- 

 moving evergreens was in the latter 

 part of summer, shortly after they 

 had completed their year's growth ; 

 but this doctrine was only acted upon 

 in the time of Miller and before, 

 when there were comparatively few 

 species of evergreens in British gar- 

 dens, and it has been recently found 

 by Mr. M'Nab, (see his Treatise on 

 Transplanting Evergreens^) that 

 evergreens may be transplanted with 

 much greater safety in mild weather 

 in autumn or winter, than at any 

 other period of the year. Herba- 

 ceous plants may in general be trans- 

 planted at any season when they are 

 not in flower or coming into flower ; 

 but the safest time for perennials is in 

 autumn, after they have ripened their 

 seeds and are going into a dormant 

 state. Biennial and annual plants are 

 best transplanted when quite young, 

 or after they have obtained their 

 second or third pair of leaves; and 

 seedlings in general may be treated in 

 a similar manner. In all cases of 

 planting, (excepting with Cacti and 



other succulents,) the plants should 

 be watered as soon as they are fixed in 

 their new situations ; and when prac- 

 ticable, they should be shaded for a 

 few days from the heat of the sun. 



Platyste x mon. — Ranunculacece. 

 — One of the Californian annuals, 

 with cream-coloured flowers and 

 woolly glaucous leaves. For the cul- 

 ture, see Californian Annuals. 



Platysti'gma. — Papaveracece. — 

 A very curious little plant with the 

 petals alternately white and yellow. 

 For the culture, see Californian 

 Annuals. 



Pleasure-Ground is that portion of 

 a country residence which is devoted 

 to ornamental purposes, in contradis- 

 tinction to those parts which are ex- 

 clusively devoted to utility or profit, 

 such as the kitchen-garden, the farm, 

 and the park. In former times, 

 when the geometrical style of laying 

 out grounds prevailed, a pleasure- 

 ground consisted of terrace-walks, a 

 bowling-green, a labyrinth, a bosquet, 

 a small wood, a shady walk commonly 

 of nut-trees, but sometimes a shady 

 avenue, with ponds of water, fountains, 

 statues, &c. In modern times the 

 pleasure-ground consists chiefly of a 

 lawn of smoothly-shaven turf, inter- 

 spersed with beds of flowers, groups 

 of shrubs, scattered trees, and, accord- 

 ing to circumstances, with a part or 

 the whole of the scenes and objects 

 which belong to a pleasure-ground in 

 the ancient style. The main portion of 

 the pleasure-ground is always placed 

 on that side of the house to which the 

 drawing-room windows open, and it 

 extends in front and to the right and 

 left more or less, according to the 

 extent of the place ; the park, or that 

 part devoted exclusively to pasture 

 and scattered trees, being always on 

 the entrance front. There is no 

 limit to the extent either of the plea- 

 sure-ground or the park, and no ne- 

 cessary connexion between the size of 



