G ti 



H E 



; 



/ ' 



It 



^'liere tne'y are clefigned to remain, arid not tfanf- 

 planted, they will thrive, and endure the froft in win- 

 ter much better than thole which are removed ; fo 

 that upon ruins or rubbilh the feeds of thefe plants 

 may be fown, where they will thrive and fcontinue 

 much longer than in good^land ^ and in fuch places, 

 if they are properly difpofed, they will be very orna- 

 mental, and their flowers having a ftrong odour, will 

 perfume the air to a confiderable diftance. 

 The Stock Gilliflowers are diftinguifhed from the 

 Wall-flowers by their hoary leaves* Thefe agree with 

 i each other in their botanical chlrafters, fo are gene- 

 rally included in the fame genus j but the gardeners 

 remove them to a confiderable diftance, and treat 

 them very differently; yet there is fo great affinity 

 betweeil them, as that they may be treated in the 

 fame manner, and both will grow equally upon old 

 walls or ruins ; but as they have been feparated by 

 moft of the writers on gardening, I have, in compli- 

 ance with that cuftom, ranged then) accordingly. 

 The fifth fort is now generally known by the appel- 

 lation of ten Weeks Stock, but it is what was for- 

 merly titled Annual Stock Gilliflower, which of late 

 has been applied to another fpecies, which is biennial. 

 This rifes with a round fmooth ftalk about two feet 

 high, dividing into feveral branches upward, garnifti- 

 ed with fpear-fhaped hoary leaves, which are rounded 

 at their ends, and placed without order, fometimes 

 being almoft: oppofite, and o;ljers alternate, and fre- 

 quently three or four together of unequal fizes ; at 

 the ends of the branches the flowers are produced in 

 loofe fpikes, which are placed alternate ; the empale- 

 mcnt of the flower is large, eredt, and flightly cut 

 into feveral acute parts at the top •, the petals are 

 Jarge ^nd heart-fliaped, fpreading open in form of a 

 crofs,; the pods are long, cylindrical, and have a 

 longitudinal furrow on one fide, which opens in two 

 cells, which are filled with flat roundifli feeds, having 

 . a thin border. It flowers in July and Auguft, and 

 the feeds ripen in Odtober. 



Of this fort there are the red, the purple, the white, 

 and fl:riped, with fingle flowers, and the fame colours 

 with double flowers ; thefe are very great ornaments 

 in the borders of the flower-garden in the autumn, 

 Vv'lien there is a fcarcity of other flowers ; and if the 

 feeds are fown at two or three different times, the flow- 

 ers may be continued in fucceflion near three months. 

 The firft fowing fhould be about the middle of Fe- 

 bruary, upon a very flender hot-bed, jufl: to bring up 

 the plants, which mud be guarded againft froft ; and 

 when they are fit to remove, they fliould be tranf- 

 planted into the nurferybeds, at about three or four 

 inches diftance, obferving to water and fliade them 

 till they have taken root, and afterv/ard to keep them 

 clean from weeds ; in thefe beds they may remain 

 five or fix weeks to get ftrength, and may then be 

 planted into the borders of the flower-garden, where 

 they are to remain : if thefe are tranfplanted when 

 there is rain, they will foon take root, after which 

 they will require no farther care. From thefe early 

 plants good feeds may be expefted, therefore fome 

 of the fineft plants of each colour fliould be preferv- 

 ed, and marked for feeds, which, when ripe, fliould 

 be carefully cut before the froft pinches it, and the 

 ftalks tied up in fmall bundles, and hung up in a dry 

 room till the pods are well dried, when the feeds may 

 be rubbed out and preferved for ufe. 

 The fixtli fort is a biennial plant, though when the 

 feeds are fown early in the fpring, the plants often 

 - flower the following autumn •, but thefe plants which 

 are fo forward, are often killed in winter ; therefore 

 it is much better to fow them in May, that the plants 

 * may not grow too rank the firft leafon ; they will 

 •live through the winter, and produce large fpikes 

 of flowers the fecond year. 



This is commonly called the Queen's Stock Gilli- 

 ■fipwcr by the gardeners, and differs greatly from the 

 ether forts, though many of the late botanifts have 

 fuppofed they were only feminal variations ; but from 



near forty years experience in the culture of thefe 



jplants, I can iaffirni, that the fpecies liere enumerat- 

 ed, do not alter from one to the other, though they 

 . frequently vary in the colour of their flowers. 

 It rifes with a ftrong ftalk, which is almoft fluubby, 

 a foot high or more, having oblong, fpear-fliaped, 

 hoary leaves^ which are frequently waved on their 

 . edgesj and turn downward at the extremity ; from 

 the ftalk is fent out many lateral branches, which arc 

 garniftied with the fame fliaped, leaves, butfmaller; 

 thefe fide branches are each terminated by a loofe 

 fpike of flowers, each having an oblong woolly em- 

 palement, and confift of four large roundifli petals, 

 which are indented at the end. Thefe ufually ap- 

 pear in May and June, but the fame plants frequently 

 continue flowering moft part of the fummer. The 

 feeds ripen in autumn, and the plants generally pe- 

 rifti foon after -, but when any of them grow in 

 dry rubbifli, they will laft two or three years and 

 become flirubby ; but thofe with fingle flowers, are not 

 worth prefervins after they have perfefted their feeds, 

 The flowers or this fort vary in their colour ; fome 

 are of a pale red, others are of a bright red, and fome 

 are curioufly variegated, but thofe of the bright red 

 are generally molt efteemed. There is always a 

 great number of double flowers produced, if the feeds 

 . are well chofen, frequently three parts in four of the 

 plants will be double ; and as the plants divide into 

 many branches, they make a fine appearance during 

 their continuance in flower. 



The fevcnth fort is known by the title of Brompton 

 Stock Gilliflower, I fuppofe from its having been 

 there firft cultivated in England. This rifes with an 

 upright, ftrong, undivided ftalk, to the height of 

 two feet or more, garniflied with long hoary leaves, 

 which are reflexed, and waved on their edges, and at 

 the top form a large head ; out of the center of thefe 

 arifes the flower-ftalk, which, when the plants are 

 ftrong, is frequently a foot and a half long, putting 

 out two or three ftiort branches toward the bottom ; 

 the flowers of this kind have longer petals than any 

 of the other forts, and are formed into a pyramidal 

 fpike ; but thofe with fingle flowers are loofely dif- 

 ^pofed, becaufe the flowers having but few petals, do 

 not fill the fpike, as thofe do which are double -, for 

 thefe often have fo many petals, as to render each 

 flower as large and full as fmall Rofes: and when 

 they are of a bright red, make a pretty appearance, 

 being excelled by none of the flowery tribe -, but the 

 plants of this fort produce but one fpike, in which it 

 differs from all the other kinds, and being conftant in 

 this particular, I think is fufiicient to eftablifli a dif- 

 tinft fpecies. This fort is generally biennial, though 

 many times the plants are preferved longer; but 

 they are always ftronger the firft year of their flower- 

 ing, than they will be after ; fo that the feeds are 

 fown every fpring, to continue a fucceflion of fiovver- 



ing plants. 



The 



eighth fortMs the White Stock Gilliflower, 

 which is of longer duration than either of the other 

 forts. I have frequently had thefe plants live three or 

 four years, which have become flirubby -, their ftalks 

 have been three feet high, and branched out on every 

 fide, fo as to appear like ftirubs ; thefe fcldom fend 

 out fiower-ftalks from the center of the plant, but it 

 is the fide branches which produce the flowers, and 

 thefe fide branches divide into feveral other, which is 

 not common to the other forts. There are always 

 many double flowers rife from feeds of this fort, when 

 they are well chofen ; fome years I have fcarce had 

 enough fingle flowers to preferve the kind. The va- 

 rieties of this are few, fometimes a few of the plants 

 will produce pale flefli-coloured flowers, and nov/ and 

 then fome have been purple ; and as that fort of Stock 

 GiUiflower, which is titled the Twickenham Purple, 

 will fometimes come with flowers variegated with 

 white, I have been inclinable to think rhefe two 

 may be varieties of each other; and the rather, be- 

 caufe the plants agree with each other in their exter- 

 nal habit ; for neither of thefe put out their flower- 



ftems from the center of the plants, but always on 



their 



»H „. 



