E 



which have their refpeclivc good qualities ; and all of 

 them, when they are in their extremes, require art to 

 render thern ufct'ul and beneficial in the production 

 and growth of plants. 



A li^ht, fandy, or loofe earth, requires a proper li- 

 eatu^e, and fhould have a conipofl of a heavier na- 

 ture • and thofe that are heavy, clayey, and cloddy, 

 Ihouid have a compoft of a more liery fprightly na- 

 ture, that will infinuate icfelf into the heavy, lumpy, 

 indio-elled clods, which would otherwlfe very much 





- t 



^bftrufl the bufinefs of vegetation. 

 A good earth fhould be of a blackifli colour, fat, 

 pliant, or eafy to be digged •, it iliould be neither cold 

 nor lieht; it ought to have no ill fmell or tafte, and 

 it fhould be of the fame quality three or four feet deep 

 for trees, which, if they have not that depth, will 

 languifh and decay after they have been planted fix 

 years. But this depth is not required for fruit-trees, 

 which will thrive very well if they have two feet and 

 a half of good earth, and generally produce the moft 

 generous fruits, when their roots fpread near the fur- 

 iace of the earth. 



In order to know whether the earth has any ill fmell 

 or tafte, they dired to lay a handful of it to foak in 

 water for feven or eight hours, and afterwards to 

 flrain it, and tafle and fmell it, by which the tafle or 

 fmell will eafily be perceived. 



EARWIGS. 



Thefe are very troublefome vermin in a garden, efpe- 

 cially where Carnations are preferved ; for they are 

 fo fond of thefe flowers, that if care is not taken to 



+ 



prevent them, they will entirely deftroy them, by eat- 

 ing off the fweet part at the bottom of the petals or 

 leaves.. To prevent which, moft people have ftands 

 crefted, which have a bafon of earth or lead round 

 each fupparter, which is conftantly kept filled with 

 water. See the article Carnation. 

 Others hang the hollow claws of crabs and lobfters 



^ upon fticks in divers parts of the garden, into v/hich 



•thefe vermin get ; and by often fearching them, you 

 will deftroy them without much trouble, which will 

 beef great fervice to your wall fruit, for thefe are 



. great deftroyers of all foft fruits. 



EBENUS. Lin. Gen. Nov. Barba Jovis. Tourn. 



- Inft. R. H. tab. 419. Ebony. 

 ., The Characters are. 



The ^palement of the flower is of one leaf which is di- 

 vided into five acute fegments at the top j the flo'xer is 

 of the butterfly kind •, the vexillum is ohtufe and reflexed y 

 the wings are egml in length with the vexillum ; they are 

 broad and roundifh ; the keel is fhorter and turns upwards. 

 It hath tenjiamina^ nine joined^ flanding together^ and 

 the other feparate^ terminated hy Jingle fummits. In the 

 .bottom is fttuated an oblong germen^ fupporting a riftng 

 ftyle^ crowned by a fingle ftigma.- -; The germen afterward 



■ becomes an oblong fwelling pod^ opening with two valves^ 

 and^ inclofing three or four kidney-fhaped feeds.- This is 

 diftinguifhed from Trifolium, bjr the brafte^e which 

 are fituated between the flowers on the fpike. ■ 

 This genus of plants is ranged in tW third feftion 

 of Linn^us's Seventeenth clafs, intitled Diadelphia 



Decandria, the flowers having ten flamina in two 

 bodies. . ' - -^v ■; 



» % > 



We know but one Species of this genus, viz. . 

 BENus. Lin. Sp. Plant. 764. Ebony. ■ Barba Jovis 

 lagopoides, Cretica, frutefcens, incana, flore fpi- 

 cato purpureo amplo. Breyn. Prod. 2. Shrubby Hares- 

 joot Jupiter's Beard of Crete with hoary leaves^ and a 

 Ij^ge purple flower growing in fpikes. 

 Phis plant grows naturally in Crete, and in fome of 

 uie iflands of the Archipelago •, it rifes with a fhrubby 

 ftalk three or jour feet high, which puts out feveral 

 hue branches, garnifhed with hoary leaves at each 

 joint, which are compofed of five narrow fpear-fhaped 

 lobes which join at their tails to the foot-iialk, 

 and fpread out like the finders of a hand. The 

 branches are terminated by thTck fpikes of large pur-' 

 Pie flowers, which arc of the butterfly or Pea-bloom 

 Kind ; the fpikes are from two to three inches long, 

 Jo make a fine appearance, efpecially when the plants 



E 



arc fliong. and have many fpikes of flov/ers on them. 

 It flowers in June and July, and in vcr^- Warm fealbn. 

 will lonietinics perfect their fc-ds in Kn^dand. 

 This is propagated by feeds, which Oiould be Town 

 m the LUicumn, for thole whicli are (o\\n in the fprimr 

 often fail i they mufl: be fov/n in pots, ^nd placed un^ 

 der a frame in the winter, where th^ry niay be pro- 

 teded from frolt. In the fpiing thcplants will come 

 up, which fliould be kept clean froni w^'ed?, and re- 

 freflied now and then with water. Wlicn thefe have 

 acquired flrcngth enough to be removed, they fhould 

 be each planted in a feparate fmaU pot filled with 

 light earth, and plunged into a moderate hot-bedjuft 

 to promote their taking new root • then they fhould 

 be gradually inured to bear the open air, into which 

 they fiiould be removed the latter end of May, pla- 

 cing them in a fliekered fituatlon, \vher^ they may re- 

 main till autumn, when they mufl be removed into 

 fnelter ; for thefe plants will not live in the open air 

 through the winter, nor fl^.ould the/ be too tenderly 

 treated, lefl they draw up weak. I h^y^ found them 

 flicceed beft when placed in an airy glaf^-caf- without 

 fire in winter, where they will hav<^ n^^re fun and 

 air than in a green-houfe. During th^ winter fea- 

 fon, the plants muft be fparingly w^itert^d, but in the* 

 fummer they will require to be often ref^efhed. The 

 other management is the fame as for other of the har- 

 dier exotic plants, among which this ^vill make a 



. fine variety. 



EBULUS. 



See Sambucus. 



ECHINATE- SEEDS . [of echinus, Lat. a 

 hedge-hog,] fuph feeds of plants 3s ar^ prickly and 



rough. 



* » 



M 



See Cactus. 



ECHINOPHORA. Lin. Gen. plant. 2g2. Tourn. 

 Inft. R, H. 6^6, tab. 423. [of 'E;)^ry^, a hedge-hog, 

 and ^gpw, Gr, to bear.] Prickly Parfntp. ' - 

 ■ The Characters are, ^ '' 



It hath an umbellated flower ; the gen^*^at umhel is com- 

 pofed of many fmaller^ the intermediate being thefljorteft •, 

 the involucrum of the general umbel cpJs i}i acute thorns % 

 thofe of the rays are turbinated,, of one i^af^ cut into fix 

 unequal parts ^ with acute foinis\ the Pert ^^-ntlnum is di- 



'Ou 



five parts^ and ft 



is uniform ; the flowers ha^ve five ^ 

 fpread open ; they have each five fl^ 



7 



nated by roundifh fummits. Under the perlmthium is fitu- 

 ated an oblong germen within the empdem^^t^ fupporting 

 two flyles^ crowned by Jingle ftigmas j the germen after- 

 ward turns to two feeds ^ which are i^clofid in the hard 

 empalement. ■ .:y/vf- '^i<-'^s: -^.t,^; '-^■^-' -j '-% /v-}^'^!:' 



This genus of plants is 'ranged in the fc'cond fedlion 

 of Linnaeus's fifth clafs^intitled pentandria Digynia, 

 the flower having five ftamina and cwoftyles. 



The Species are. 



'_--,, 



--\ 



- ^ 



p - 



,/. 



tegerrimis. Lin. Sp. Plant! 344. prickly-headed Parf 



Tourn. Infl; 6^6. 



2rfmp^ whofe 

 Echinophora 



"f -headed Parf- 



t- ' 



nep^ witb awl-fhapea prtckiy tea 

 Echinophora maritima fpinofa. 

 Prickly maritime Parfnep. \ : '- 



. Echinophora {Tenmfolia) foliofis iti 

 Lin. Sp. Plant. 344. Prickly-headed 

 fmall leaves are cut^ but have no thof^s. 

 paftinacae folio, Tourn, Infl, 6s^^ P^ic 

 nep witb a Carrot leaf 

 Thefe plants grow naturally on the borders of the 

 Mediterranean fea \ they are preferv<ed in the gardens 

 of botany for the fake of variety ; they have both 



' perennial roots, which creep in the ground ; the firfl 

 hath branching ftalks, growing five orfix inches high, 

 which are garnifhed with fhort thick leaves, that ter- 

 minate in two or three iharp thorns ; they are placed 

 by pairs oppofite : the flowers grow in an umbel, 

 fitting upon a naked foot-flalk, which ^Hfes from the 

 fide of thefl:alki they are white, anj under the um- 

 bel is fituated an involucrum, compofed of feveral 

 leaves, which terminate in fliarp fpin^'s. It flowers 

 in June, but feldom ripens feeds in this country. . 

 The fecond fort rifes near a foot ^nd a half high 5 

 from the principal flalk are fent ou^ t\vo fide branches 



at; 



