« 



c 



The Species arc, s 



T. Cerastium [Repens) folus lancoLitis, pediiftculis ra- 



mofis, caplulis iubrotundis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 439. 



Ceraftiuni with fpear-JJjapcd leaves^ hran.hing foot-Jtalks^ 



and romdijh capfiiks. Myofotis incana repcns. Tourn. 



Inll. R. H. 245. HocJ-y creephg Moufe-eary by fome 



called Sea Pink. 

 %. Cerastium [Tcmentofum) foliis oblongis, tomentofis, 



pcdunculis ramofis, capfulis globofis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 



440. Cercijiimn with oblong woolly leaves^ bra7tching foot- 



Jlalks, a7:d globtdar capftilesl Myofotis tomentofa, li- 



narins folio anguftiore. Tourn. Inlt. R. H. 245. 



JFcolly Moufc-mr with a narrow "Toad-flax leaf, 



3. Cerastium {Dichotcmum) foliis lanceolatis, caule 

 dichotomo ramofiffiiTK), capfulis creftis. Prod. Ley d. 

 450. Ceraftium with fpcar-flj aped leaves^ a voy branching 

 Jlalk divided_ in forks^ find upright capfules. Myofotis 



Hifpanica fegetuin. ' Tourn. Inll. R. il. 545. Spanijh 



Corn Moufe-ear^ or Horned Chickweed, . . 



4. Cerastium (Pentandrum) fioribus pentandriis, pe- 

 talis intcgris. Lin. Sp. Plant. 438. Ceraftium with 



f.owcrs having five ft 

 Cerastium {Per folia turn) foliis connatis. Jlort. Cliff. 

 173. Ceraftium whofe leaves are joined, Myofotis Orien- 



rfoUated Mcnfe-car with a Lychnis leaf 



Eaft 



The firfl fort grows naturally in France and Italy, 

 and was formerly cultivatec!' in tlie Englifli gardens 

 under the title of Sea Pink ; one of the ufcs made 

 of it was to plant has an edging to keep up the earth 

 of borders ; but this" was before the Dwarf Box was 

 brought to England, fince which all thofc plants 

 which. were formerly applied for this purpofe have 

 been neglected. This plant was by no means fit for 

 this ufe, becaufe its creeping branches would fpread 

 into the walks where they put out roots into the 

 gravel ^ fo that unlefs they are frequently cut off, 

 they cannot be kept -withm compafs. 

 This fends out many weak ftalks which trail upon 

 the ground, and pvitout roots at their joints, where- 

 by it propagates very fall ; the leaves are placed by 

 pairs oppofite, which are about two inches long, and 

 little more than half an inch broad, very hoary j 

 thofe next the root are much fmaller than the upper ; 

 the flowers come out from the fide of the ftalks upon 

 flender foot-ftalks, which branch out into feveral 

 fmaller, each fupporting a white flower, compofed of 

 live petals, which arc fplit at tlie top. The whole 

 flower has the appearance of^Chickweed flowers, but 

 are larger ; it flowers in May. 



It propagates too faft by its creeping roots and trail- 

 ing branches, when it is admitted into gardens, fo 

 may be planted in any foil or fituation \ and is very 

 proper to be planted between ftones on the fide of 

 grottos, where it will fpread, and thrive without 

 care. . 



The feeds of the fecond fort I received from Iftria, 

 where it naturally grows \ this is by Parkinfon titled 

 lioary narrow-leaved Pink. The leaves of this fort 

 are narrower than thofe of the former, and are much 

 whiter \ the ftalks grow more ereft, and the feed-vef- 

 fels are rounder, in which their chief difference con- 



:\uguft. 



fifts. This is a trailing plant, and propagates by 

 fending out roots at the joints, in the iame manner 

 as the former, and is equally hardy. It flov/ers in 

 May and June, and the feeds ripen in 

 The tliird fort is annual; this grows naturally on 

 arable land in Spain, from whence the feeds were 

 fent to England, where it is allowed a place in bo- 

 tanic gardens for the fake of variety, but hath not 

 much beauty ; this hath branching ftalks, which 

 grow about fix inches high, dividing by pairs in forks, 

 ' the flowers coming out in the middle of the divifions, 

 which are fiiaped like thofe of Chick weed •, the whole 

 plant has a clammy moifture, which fticks to the 

 fingers of thoie who handle it. This flowers in May, 

 and the feeds ripen in July. If the lecds are fown in 

 autumn, they will fucceed better than in the fpring ; 



or if tliey are permitted to fall, the plants will rife 

 v/ithout care. 



6 



diftinguifli them. 



R 



h 



The fourth fort is very like the third in itsvhoh* 



appearance, and differs from it, in having but fi\c 



ftamina in the flower, whereas the other hath ten. 



.This v/as difcovered by Mr. Lcefiing, a pupil of 



Dr. Linnceus's, in Spain, from whence he fent the ft ctl^ 



to Upfal, part of which were fent me by the Doftor. 



The fifth fort was difcovered by Dr. Tournefort in 



the Levant, from whence he lent the feeds to the 



royal garden at Paris, where they fucceedcd, an.! 



have been fince communicated to moft of the curious 



botanic gardens in Europe. This is an annual plant, 



which riles with an upright ftalk a foot high ; the 



lower leaves of this plant have much refemblance to 



thofe of the Lychnis, which is called Lobel's Catchfly, 



fo that when the plants are young, it is not cafy to 



■ The ftalks are garniflied wirh 



leaves of the fame fliape, but fmaller, placed by 



pairs, and embrace the ftalks at their bafe. The 



flowxrs come out at the top of the ftalks, and alfo 



' from the wings of the leaves, on the upper part of 



the ftalks, which are white, and fliaped like tliofe of 



Chickweed. They appear in May and June, and are 



fucceeded by beaked capfules, containing many 



roundifli feeds. 



If the feeds of this fort are fown in autumn, they wiil 



more certainly grow than thofe w4iich are fown m tl-.e 



fpring i or if the feeds are permitted to fcatter^ thic 



plants will come up and live through the winter, and 



will require no other care but to keep them clean 

 from weeds. • - : ■ 



There are many other fpecies of this genus than are 

 here enumerated, which are weeds in many parts of 

 England, fo are never cultivated in gardens, therefore 

 not worthy of notice here. 

 C E R A S U S \y,iox<jo^^ Gr, fo called according to Scr- 

 vius, from Cerafus, a city of Pontus, which Lucullus 

 having deftroyed, he carried the Cherry-tree from 

 thence to Rome, and called it Cerafus, after the name 

 of the city •, but others will have it that the city took 

 its name from the abundance of thofe trees which 



- 1 _*' 



grew there.] The Cherry-tree. - , 

 The botanical charafters of this genus, according to 

 the fyftem of Linnseus, are the fame with thole of 

 Prunus; therefore he has joined the Apricot Cherry, 

 Laurel, and Bird Cherry together, making them only 

 fpecies of the lame genus \ but thofe who admit of 

 the fruit, as a charader to determine the genus, muft 

 feparate the Cherry from the others, becaufe they 

 differ greatly in the fiiapc of their ftones ; but there 

 is a more effential difference in nature between them, 

 which is, that the Cherry will not grow upon a 

 Plumb-ftock, by budding or grafting, nor will the 

 Plumb take upon a Cherry-ftock ; and yet we know 

 of no trees of the fame genus which do not unite with 

 each other, by budding or grafting. 

 Hov/ever, as the joining fo many genera into one, 

 would occafion great confufion among gardeners-, 

 who cultivate thefe trees for fale, therefore if there 

 were no other motive than that, it v/ould be a fuf- 

 ficient excufe for not clofely following tliat fyftem in 

 this work, which is defigned for the inftruftion of 

 thofe who have not made botany their ftudy ; fo I 

 fhall refer the reader to the article Prunus, under 

 w^hich the botanical characters will be inferred, and 

 proceed to the fpecies. 



I fliall firft enumerate the forts which are fpccifically 

 different from each other, and then mention the va- 

 rieties of thefe fruits, which are cultivated in the 

 Englifli gardens*, many of which fecm to differ fo el- 

 fentially from each other, tliat they may be allowed 

 as fpecific differences i but as I have not had an o;v 



I 



portunity of trying the various forts fi-om feeds, 

 fee if they alter, fo I chofe to infert thern only as \-a- 



rieties, till further obfervation may better fettle ihcu' 

 boundaries. 



The Species are, 

 Cerasus {Vulgaris) foliis ovato-lanceolatis, fcnv.ti'^. 

 The com?non^ cr Kcntifh Cherry. Cerafus fativa rotuncia 

 rubra & acida. C. B. P. 449. Manured Cherry r.iih 

 rounds red, acid f mi t, 



2. CiiRASVs 



