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'liiis fort fends cut upright ftalks about Iwo feet high, 



which are garnifhed with oblong fpear-fliaped leaves, 

 placed alternately. Towards the upper part of the 

 .llalk the fmall Bell-flowers arc produced, ftanding 

 upright clofe to the ftalk •, fome of thefc flowers are 

 blue, and others white ; they come out in June and 

 July, and the feeds ripen in autumni . . . -■ ' 

 The feventh fort grows naturally upon chalky paf- 

 tures in many parts of England, where the fl:Aiks do 

 not rife many times a foot high, and in other places 

 it grows to double that "height, which has occalioned 

 their being taken for two diftind plants. This hath 

 a perennial root, which fends up feveral round hairy 

 ftalks, which often rife upward of two feec high ; the 

 bottom leaves are broad, and fl:and upon long foot- 

 ftalks, and are flightly fawcd on their edges. Tliofe 

 which are upon the ftalks are long, narrow, have no 

 ■ foot-ftalks, and are placed alternately at confiderable 

 diftances. From the wings of the leaves, towards 

 the upper part of the ftalk, come out long naked 

 foot-ftalks, fupporting two or three bell-fliaped flow- 

 ers, clofely joined together in a head, and the main 

 ftalk is terminated by a large clufter of the fame flow- 

 ers, which are fucceeded by roundifli capfules filled 

 with fmall feeds. This plant is eafdy propagated 

 either by feeds, or parting their roots, and will thrive 

 in any foilor fituation. It flowers in July, and the 

 feeds ripen in autumn. 



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iandj dr it where it grows "Wild among cbrri, fcarccjy 

 rifes to the Height of fix inches. Thefl.alk is fing!c, 

 rarely putting out any branches, unlefs near the root, 

 from whence there are fometimes one or two fliort 

 lateral branches produced. The leaves are roundiflj, 

 and embrace the ftalk at their bafe ; their edges are 

 fharply fawed, and from their bafe comes out a clufc 

 tuft of flowers, furrounded by tlie leaf, as in an env 

 palement. , The flowers are five-cornered, fliapcd 

 like thofe of the Venus Lookin^:^-dafs, but are muLn 







The eighth fort is an annual plant, which rifes with 

 flender ftalks a foot high, branching out, garnilhed 

 with oblong leaves, a little curled on their edges ; 

 from the wings of the leaves come out the flowers, 

 fitting clofe to the ftalks, which are of a beautiful 

 purple, inclining to a Violet-colour, divided into 

 * five fegments, which refemble fo many leaves, and 



.in the evening contraft and fold into a pentagonal 

 figure ; from whence it is by fome titled Viola Pen- 

 tagonia, or five-cornered Violet. The empalement 

 which encompaflfes the flower, is compofed of five, 

 long, narrow, green leaves, which fpread open, and 



.'. are much longer than the petals of the flower ; thefe 

 remain on the top of the prifmatic feed-veflcl, which 

 is filled with fmall angular feeds. If this plant is 

 fown in autumn, it will grow much taller, and flower 

 a month earlier than when the feeds are fown in the 

 fpring. The autumnal plants will flower in May, 

 and the fpring plants in June and July. There is a 



fmaller ; thefe are produced the whole length of the 

 ftalk. The feeds are inclofed in fhort capfules, which 

 are fliaped like thofe of the former forts. It grows in 

 Italy, and alfo in Virginia. If the feeds of this fore 

 are permitted to fcatter, the plants will come up with- 

 out care ; or the feeds may be fown in tlie Ipring, in 

 the fame manner as thofe of the laft forts, and treated 



in the fame way. 



The thirteenth fort is a native of America, but has 

 been long cultivated in the gardens of the curious, 

 both in England and Holland. This hath many rigid 

 oblong leaves coming out from the root on every 

 fide, which form a fort of head like thofe of Houfc- 

 leek, crenated, having a ftrong rib running on their 

 border longitudinally.' From the center of the plant 

 proceeds the ftalk, which rifes about a foot high, 

 and is thinly garniflied with very narrow ftifF leaves, 

 of a ftiining green. From the wings of the leaves 

 come out tlie foot-ftalks of the flower, which are 

 from two to four inches long, each being terminated 

 by one fpreading bell-ftiaped flowef, whofe empale- 

 ment is fliort, and cut into five acute fegments. The 

 ftyle of this is longer than the petal, and is crowned 

 by a bifid ftigma. There is a v/hite and a blue 

 flower of this fort in the gardens, but in Holland they 

 have it with a double flower. This fort doth not 

 produce feeds in England, fo is only propagated by 

 offsets ; thefe may be taken off from the old plants in 

 Auguft, that they may get good root before the cold 

 weather begins : they muft be planted in fmall pots 

 filled with frefli, light, loamy earth, and placed in 

 the ftiade until they have taken root j then they may 

 be placed with other hardy exotic plants, and in au- 

 tumn they muft be removed into flielter, for in fc- 

 vere winters thefe plants are often deftroyed which 

 are expofed ; though in mild winters they will live in 



the open air. 



July 



variety of this with white flowers, and another with I The fourteenth fort is a native of the Canary Iflands, 

 pale purple. ' ' 



The ninth fort is the common Venus Looking-glafs, 

 which hath been long cultivated in the Englifli gar- 

 dens. Tliis fort feldom rifes more than fix inches 



high, with a ftalk branching from the bottom upward, 

 garniflied with oval leaves, fitting clofe to the ftalks, 

 from the bafe of which the branches are produced, 

 . which are terminated by flowers very like thofe of the 

 former fort. 



The tenth fort grows naturally in thefouth of France 

 and Italy. This is alfo a low annual plant, which 

 feldom rifes fix inches high, but divides into many 

 branches, garniflied with fliort oval leaves, fitting 

 clofe, which are deeply indented on both fides. The 

 flowers are produced at the ends of the branches, 

 which are fliaped like thofe of the other fort laft men- 

 tioned, but they are fmall, their colours lefs beauti- 

 ful, and the leaves of the empalement are broader. 

 The eleventh fort grows naturally in Thrace, but 

 hath been long in the Englifli gardens. This is alfo 

 a low annual plant, which rifes little more than fix 

 inches high ; the ftalks divide by pairs, and frequent- 

 ly there arifes a branch from the middle of the divi- 

 fions i the lower leaves are oblong and obtufe, but 

 . thofe which come out toward the end of the branches 

 are much narrower, and pointed. The flowers come 

 out fingle at the end of the branches, having a long 

 five-leaved empalement, and are larger than thofe of 

 the three laft forts, of a fine blue colour; the feeds 



from whence it was introduced to the gardens in Eu- 

 rope, where it hath been many years cultivated ; and 

 of late years great numbers of the plants have been 

 raifed from feeds which were brought from thence, 

 but the flowers of thefe new-raifed plants are not fo 

 well coloured as thofe of the old ones. 

 This hath a thick flefliy root, which is of an irregular 

 form, fometimes running downward like a Parlhcp, 

 at other times dividin^y into feveral knobs near the 

 top, and when any part of the root is broken, there 

 ifliaes out a n^ilky juice at the wound. There are 

 many ftrong flefliy fibres fent out, which ftrike deep 

 into the ground, and from thefe a numerous quantity 

 of fmall ones. From the head, or crown of the root, 

 arife one, two, three, or more ftalks, in proportion 

 tp the fize of the root ; but that in the center is ge- 

 nerally larger, and rifes higher than the others. Thcfc 

 flalks are very tender, round, and of a pale green ; 

 their joints are far diftant from each other, and when 

 the roots are ftrong, the ftalks will rife ten feet high, 

 fending out feveral fmaller fide branches. At each 

 joint they are garniflied with two, three, or four 

 fpear-fliaped leaves, with a fliarp pointed beard on each 

 fide. Thefe are of a fea-green, and, when ihty firft 

 come out, are covered flightly with an Afn-coluured 

 pounce. From the joints of the ftalk t!ic flowers are 

 produced, which are of .the perfeft bell-fliape, and 

 hang downward ; they are of a flame colour, marked 

 with ftripes of a brownifli red ; tht flower h divided 

 into five parts, at the bottom of each is fituated a 



are like thofe of the eighth fort. 



The twelfth fort is an annual plant, which, in good 1 nedtarium* covered with a white tranfparent fl^in, 



ground, will rife a foot and a half high, but in poor much refcmbling thofe of the Crown Im^-erial, but 



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