PELARGONIUM. 
496 
placing them in the (hade till they have taken new root; 
after which they may be removed into a (heltered fitua¬ 
tion, and treated in the fame manner as the feedling 
plants. The 17th, 19th, 20th, and 34th, forts, have more 
fucculent (talks than the others; the cuttings, therefore, 
of thefe, (hould be planted in pots filled with light kit¬ 
chen-garden earth, and plunged into a very moderate 
hot-bed, where they {hould be (haded from the fun in the 
heat of the day, and have but little water ; for thefe are 
very apt to rot with much moifture. When thefe are 
well rooted, they may be feparated and planted in pots 
filled with the fame fort of earth, and placed in the (hade 
till they have taken new root; then they may be removed 
into a (heltered fituation, where they may remain till au¬ 
tumn. Thefe four forts (hould be fparingly watered, but 
efpecially in the winter, for they are apt to take a moul- 
dinefs with moifture, or in a damp air: they will thrive 
much better in an airy glafs-cafe than in a green-houfe, 
becaufe in the former they will have more fun and air 
than in the latter. But all the other (lirubby forts are 
proper furniture for the green-houfe, where they will only 
require protection from froft, but (hould have a large 
(hare of free air when the weather is mild : they will re¬ 
quire water every week, in mild weather once or twice, 
but it (liould not be given them in too great plenty, ef¬ 
pecially in frofty weather. Thefe plants (hould be hard¬ 
ened in the fpring gradually, and towards the middle or 
end of May they may be taken out of the green-houfe, 
and at firft placed under the (heiter of trees, where they 
may remain a fortnight or three weeks to harden; then 
(hould be removed into a fituation where they may be 
defended from ftrong winds, and enjoy the morning fun 
till eleven o’clock, where they will thrive better than in 
a warmer fituation. 
As thefe (lirubby forts grow pretty faft, they foon fill 
the pots with their roots; and, if they (land long unre- 
moved in fummer, they frequently put out their roots 
through the holes at the bottom of the pots into the 
ground, and then the plants will grow vigoroufly. 
But, when they are fuffered to grow long in this man¬ 
ner, it will be difficult to remove them ; for, if their roots 
are torn oft', all the younger branches will decay, and 
many times the plants are killed. Therefore the pots 
fhould be moved once in a fortnight or three weeks in 
the fummer months, and the roots which may be then 
pudiing through the holes in the pots cut off, to prevent 
their ftriking into the ground. Thefe plants will alfo 
require to be new potted at lead twice in the fummer: 
the firft time (hould be after they have been three weeks 
or a month out of the green-houfe; the fecond (hould be 
towards the end of Auguft, or the beginning of Septem¬ 
ber, that the plants may have time toeftablifh their new 
roots before they are removed into the green-houfe. 
When new potted, all the roots on the outfide of the 
balls of earth (hould be carefully pared off, and as much 
of the old earth drawn away from the roots as can be 
done with fafety to the plants ; then, if they require it, 
they (liould be put into pots a fize larger than thofe out 
of which they were taken, putting a quantity of frefli 
earth into the bottom of the pot, then place the plants 
upon that, being careful the ball about the roots of the 
plant is not fo high as the rim of the pot, but that fome 
room may be left to contain the water which may be 
given to the plants. Then the cavity all round the ball 
Should be filled up with frefii earth, which (liould be 
gently preffed down, and the bottom of the pot beaten 
upon the ground, to fettle down the earth; then the 
plant (liould be well watered, and the Item fattened to a 
rail, to prevent the wind from difplacing the roots before 
they are fixed in the new earth. 
The compoft in which thefe plants thrive beft (where 
there is not a conveniency of getting fome good kitchen- 
garden earth) is frefti hazel-loam from a pafture, niixed 
with a fourth or fifth part of rotten dung; if the earth 
is inclinable to bind, then a mixture of rotten tan is pre¬ 
ferable to dung ; but, if it is light and warm, then a mix¬ 
ture of neat’s-dung is beft : this compoft (hould be mix¬ 
ed three or four months before it is ufed, and (liould be 
turned over three or four times, that the parts may be 
well mixed and incorporated ; but, where a quantity of 
good kitchen-garden earth can be had, which has been 
well worked, and is clean from the roots of bad weeds, 
there will need no compofition, for in that they will 
thrive full as well as in any mixture which can be made 
for them, efpecially if the earth has lain in a heap for 
fome time, and has been two or three times turned over 
to break the clods, and make it fine : thefe plants (hould 
not be planted in very rich earth, for that will caufe 
them to grow very luxuriant, but they will not flower fo 
well as in a poorer foil. 
The (lirubby forts muft be looked over frequently dur¬ 
ing the winter, whilft they are in the green-houfe, to pick 
off all decayed leaves from them, which, if left on, will 
not only render the plants unfightly, but by their falling 
off, will make a litter among the other plants; and, if they 
are fuffered to rot in the houfe, they will often occafion a 
foul nafty damp air, which will be very prejudicial to all 
the plants; therefore, to avoid this, they (hould be con- 
ftantly picked off every week; and during the fummer 
feafon they will require to be picked every fortnight or 
three weeks to keep them clean from dead leaves; for, 
as the branches advance, and new leaves are produced on 
their top, the under ones as conftantly decay; and, if left 
on till they drop off, will render the plants very unfightly. 
The fpecies of the two firft divifions are generally in- 
creafed by parting the roots in Auguft. Every tuber 
will grow, if it has a bud or eye to it. They may be 
planted in the fame fort of earth as was before directed ; 
and, if the pots are plunged into an old tan-bed, under a 
good frame in winter, the plants will thrive better than 
in a green-houfe : the glades may be drawn off every 
day in mild weather ; and, if in fevere froft the glaffes are 
well covered, it is all the (heiter they require: they 
(liould have little wet in winter, and therefore the glaffes 
(hould be kept over them in heavy rains, or in mild wea¬ 
ther raifed only at the top. They may alfo be propagat¬ 
ed by feeds. 
PELAS'GIANS, in ancient geography, the mod an¬ 
cient people of Greece, according to Thucydides, Strabo, 
and Herodotus. The laft author fays, that the whole 
country, which in his time was called Hellos, was in a 
former period denominated Pelafgia. Thefe people, as 
fome fay, were denominated Pelafgi, becaufe they were 
an unfettled wandering people, who often changed their 
habitations. Others, among whom we may reckon He- 
fiod, take them to have been Autochthones, which was the 
defignation given to the natives of the country, or rather 
to all whofe original was unknown. They firft inhabited 
Argolis in Peloponnefus, which from them received the 
name of Pelafgia; and, about 1383 years before the Chrif- 
tian era, they paffed into Asmonia, and were afterwards 
difperfed in feveral parts of Greece. Some of them fixed 
their habitation in Epirus, others in Crete, others in 
Italy, and others in Lefbos. From thefe different changes 
of fituation in the Pelafgians, all the Greeks are ir.difcri- 
minately called Pelafgians, and their country Pelafgia, 
though, more properly fpeaking, it (hould be confined to 
Theflaly, Epirus, and Peloponnefus, in Greece. Some of 
the Pelafgians, that had been driven from Attica, fettled 
in Lemnos, where fome time after they carried fome 
Athenian women, whom they had feized in an expedi¬ 
tion on the coaft of Attica. They raifed fome children 
by thefe captive females, but they afterwards deftroyed 
them with their mothers, through jealoufy, becaufe they 
differed in manners as well as language from them. 
This horrid murder was attended by a dreadful peftilence, 
and they were ordered, to expiate their crime, to do 
whatever the Athenians commanded them. This was to 
deliver their pofleftions into their hands. The Pelafgians 
then eftablifhed themfelves, according to Herodotus, in 
the 
