C E R 



L 



^rhe bcft feafori for this work is in June, or tlie be- 

 ginning of July, that they may have time to root 

 before winter j towards the middle of Auguft you 

 muft begin to give them air by degrees, to harden 

 them againft winter, but they fliould not be wholly 

 expofcd to the open air or fun ; at the end of Sep- 

 tember they muft be removed into the ftove, or 

 ^grecn-houfe, where they are to abide the winter, 

 during which feafon you muft be very careful not to 

 let them have much water; and always obferve to 

 place the young plants, for the firft winter, in a little 

 warmer fituation than the older plants, as being fome- 



what tenderer. " ,: <.n - ' ; : , 

 Thefe plants fhould always have a dry. fituation in 

 winter, for as they imbibe the greateft part of their 

 nourilhment from the circumambient air, fo if this 

 be too replete with moift particles, it will occafion 



their rotting ; therefore they ihould not be expofed 

 abroad, not even in the midlt of fummer, unlefs they 

 are under Ihelter -, for great rains, which often happen 

 at that feafon, are very injurious to them; the firft 

 eight forts Ihould be therefore placed fo as to enjoy 

 a free air in the fummer, but, at the fame time, 

 fcreened from rains and great dews -, It will therefore 

 be much the better method to fet them in an open 

 ■ glafs ftove, where the windows may be fet open in 

 ood weather, and fliut in cold or wet. The other 

 bur forts muft not be expofed too much to the open 

 air, even in the hotteft feafon, efpecially if you de- 

 fign to have them flower; and in winter they 

 Ihould be kept very warm, and have no water given 

 them. ■ --iJi'. 



»- ■ -yj t 



i > 



•i 



When you have once cut off the tops of any of thefe 

 plants, in" order ,|;q, Ihcfeafe them, the lower parts 

 will piit/orth frcih Ihoots from their angles, which, 

 when grown to be eight or nine inches long, may alfo 



- */be taken off to make frefh plants; and, by this means, 

 the old plants will continually afford a fupply, fo that 

 you never need cut off above one plant of a fort, 

 which you ftiould preferve for a breeder. 



*- Thefe plants being fucculent, they will bear to be a 

 long time out of the ground; therefore whoever hath 

 a mind to get any of them from the Weft Indies, 

 need give no other inftrudtions to their friends, but 

 to cut them off, and let them lie two or three days 

 to dry ; then put them up in a box with dry hay, or 

 ftraw, to keep them from wounding each other with 



. their fpines, and if they are two or three months on 

 their paffage,' they will keep very well, provided no 

 wet get to them. ■ ■ .. . 



CERINTHE. Lin. Gen. Plant. 171. Tourn. Inft. 

 R. II. 79. tab. 16. Honeywortj in French, Me- 



- Unct. - . . , ■*■,,.- 



The Characters are, :.- 



It hath an oblong permanent empalement, cut into Jive 



equal parts. The flower hath one petals having a thick 



Jhort tube^ which fwells up'ward much thicker^ and at the 



brim is quinquefid ; the chaps are naked and pervious ; 



: it hath jive floor t ft ^ina^ terminated by pointed upright 



: flummits. In the bottom are fttuated four germen^ flip- 



., porting a flender ftyle the length of the ftamina^ crowned 



r by an ohtiife ftigma ; two of the germen afterward he- 



i comes fo many fecdsy which are hard^ fniooth^ plain on 



. one ftdcy but convex on the other ^ and are inclofed in the 



empalement, - '. 



■ This genus of plants is ranged in the firft feftion of 

 ; Linnaeus's fifth clafs, intitled Pentandria Monogynia, 

 : the flower having five ftamina and one ftyle. 

 The Species are, ► ; ■ 



I. Cerinthe {Major) foliis ovato-oblongis, afperis, 

 •, amplexicaulibus, corollis obtufiufculis, patulis. Ho- 

 • neywort with ovdU chlong, rough leaves^ embracing the 

 :_ftalky andfpreading blunt petals. Cerinthe quorundam 

 major, fpinofo folio, flavo flore. J. B. 3. 602. 

 ; Greater Honeyzvort with a prickly leaf^ and a yellow 

 . flo^Lver. ... 



Cerinthe {Glabris) foliis oblongo-ovatis, glabris, 

 amplexicaulibus, corollis obtufiufculis, patulis. Honey- 

 wort with oblong., ovaly fmooth leaves., embracing the 

 Jlalks, and a fpreading blunt petal. Ccnnthc flore rubro 



2. 



^. 



R 



purpurafcentt. C. B. P. 258. HoneywM with a pur, 

 pliflj rcdflower. ' . . ' 

 3. Cerinthe {Alincr) foliis amplcxicaulibiis, integris, 

 frudibus geminis, corollis acutis, claufis. Lin. Sp, 

 Plant. 137. Honey wort with entire leaves^ emb'rad^d- 

 .tkeftalk^ a double fruit., and a pcinted clofed petal. Ce- 

 rinthe minor. C. B. P. 258. Smaller Honey wcrt. 

 The firft fort grows naturally in Germany and Italy, 

 This is an annual plant, which rifes with finooth 



- branching ftalks a foot and a half high, garniflied 

 with oval, oblong, prickly leaves, which are of a 

 fea-green, fpotted with white, and embrace the ftalks 

 with their bafe ; the flowers are produced at the end 



. of the branches, ftanding between the fmall leaves, 

 : which embrace the ftalks ; thefe are long, tubulous, 

 and blunt at the top, where the tube is greatly en- 

 larged; they are yellow, and have a mellous liquor 

 in their tubes, with which the bees are much de- 



■ lighted; and an herbaceous empalement, cut into 

 five parts, which afterward inclofes the feeds ; thefe 

 flowers have each four embryos, or germen, but only 

 two of them are fruitful The top of the ftalks are 

 refiexed backward, fomewhatlike thofe of Turnfole. 

 It flowers in June and July, and the feeds ripen In 

 Auguft and September. If the feeds are not taken 

 as loon as they change black, they drop out of the 

 empalement in a fliort time ; fo unlefs they are care- 

 fully gathered up, they will vegetate with the firll 

 moift weather. 



■ r 



The fecond fort is like the firft, but the leaves arc 

 larger, and fmooth, having no prickles on them. 

 The flowers of this arc of a purplifh red colour, ^ and 

 the plants grow larger. This grows in Italy, and the 

 fouth of France ; it is alfo an annual plant. 

 The thircj^fort grows naturally on the Alps, and 

 other mountainous places ; this hath flenderer ftalks 

 than either of the former, which rife two feet high, 

 and clofer garniftied with leaves than either of the 

 others ; thefe embrace the ft.alks with their bafe, and 

 are of a bluer green colour. . The flowers are fmall, 



- their upper part is deeply cut into five fegments, 

 but the mouth of the tube is clofely fhut up; the em- 

 palement is large, and clofely furrounds the flower. 



^.The flowers are yellow, and appear at the fam^e time 

 with the other forts. If the feeds of this are per- 

 mitted to fcatter, the plants will come up in autumn, 

 and thefe will grow much taller, and flower earlier 

 than thofe which are fown In the Ipring ; this hath 

 been fuppofed a perennial plant by many, but froni 

 many years obfervation, I could never find thefe 

 plants continue after they had flowered and perfected 

 their feeds. ^ ■ , ■ 



i_ 



J ■ 



' ■ 



The fpecies of this plant are propagated by feeds, 

 which ftiould be fown foon after they are ripe ; for, 

 if they are kept till fpring, the growing qu.^lity of 

 them is often loft; or atleaft they lie fome months in 

 the ground before they grow; the plantsare hardy, and 

 if the feeds are fown in a warm fituation, they will 

 endure the winter's cold very well whhout fnelter; 

 thefe autumnal plants are alfo much furer to produce 

 ripe feeds than thofe which are fov/n in the fpring, 

 which are generally late in tlie feafon befr.^e taey 

 flower; and confequently if the autumn fl-ijuld not 

 prove veiy warm, their feeds would not be per- 



fefted. ; 



The plants make a pretty variety for larg^: borders in 

 gardens, where, if they are fufiered to drop their 

 fteds, the plants will arife without, any farther carc; 

 fo that when a perfon is once furniflied with the Ic- 

 veral varieties, he need be at no more trouble tnan 

 to allow each of them a rcfj-jcftive place where it nuiy 

 remain, and fow itfelf ; and v;ith this culture, tlicrc 

 is a greater certainty of preferving the forts than m 

 any other management ; nor will rhcy perhaps be en- 

 tirely loft in this way, if ic fnould ha;)pen tliat the 

 feafon fliould prevent their ripening feed (as ic fonie- 

 timcs proves ;) for when great quantities of the leeds 

 have fcattered upon the ground, feme of them v.'iil 

 be buried fo deep, in ftirring the earth, as not to 



grow the firft year; which, upon being turned up 



to 



*^ 



