F I L 



F I R 



nrray 



leaves arc of a lucid green, and the under fide is of a 



or fca-grecn colour, they are of a thick fub- 

 itance, and very fmooth ■, this grows naturally in 

 India, from whence it was brought to the gardens in 

 Holland. 



The tenth fort grows naturally in the Weft-Indies, 

 where it rifes twenty feet hlgli, fending out many fide 

 branches, which are covered with a white bark, and 

 garnifiied with oblong heart-fnaped leaves, ending 

 i:; acute points ; they are about tliree inches long, and 

 one inch and a half bread, near the bafe , of a lucid 

 green on their upper fide, but of a pale green on 

 their under, {landing upon very long foot-ftaiks. The 

 fruit comes out from the fide of the branches, toward 

 their ends •, they arc about the fize of large gray Peas, 

 and of a deep purple colour, fitting clofe to the 

 branches ^ thefe are not eatable. 

 The eleventh fort grows naturally at La Vera Cruz, 

 from whence it was fent me by the late Dr. Houftoun ^ 

 this rifes with many (hrubby ftalks to the height of 

 twelve or fourteen feet, and divides into many fmaller 

 branches, which are garnifhed with oval ftifF leaves, 

 which are obtufe ^ they are four inches long, and three 

 broad, of a light green, and ftand upon very fhort 

 foot-ftalks, which are joined to a cup, in which the 

 fruit fits ; this is globular, and the fize of a middling 

 nutmeg, of a deep yellow, when ripe, but is not eat- 

 able. 



The fecond fort, I believe, is not in England at pre- 

 fent; I raifed two or three of thefe plants from feeds 

 in the year 1736, which were deftroyed by the fevere 

 froft in 174O5 fince which time I have not been able 

 to procure any of the feeds. The other forts are pre- 

 ferved in feveral curious gardens ; they are eafily pro- 

 pagated by cuttings during the fummer feafon. When 

 the cuttings are taken from the plants, they fliould be 

 laid in a dry fiiady place for two or three days, that 

 the wounds may be healed over, otherwife.they are apt 

 to rot i for all thefe plants abound with a milky juice, 

 which flows out whenever they are wounded^ for which 

 - reafon, the cuttings fhould have their wounded part 

 healed over and hardened before they are planted ; 

 after which they fliould be planted in pots filled with 

 fandy light earth, and plunged into a moderate hot- 

 bed, where they fliould be fliadcd from the fun, and 

 two or three times a week gently refreflied with wa- 

 ter, if the' feafon is warm-, but they muft not have too 

 much moifture, for that will infallibly deft:roy them. 

 When the cuttings have taken root fufficient totranf- 

 plant, they Ihould be each planted into a feparate fmall 

 pot filled with light undunged earth, and plunged into 

 the hot-bed again, being careful to fliade them until 

 they have taken frefh root; then they fliould have a 

 large fliare of free air admitted to them at all times 

 when the weather is favourable, to prevent their draw- 

 ing up weak, and to give them fl:rength before the 

 cold comes on. In autumn the pots fliould be re- 

 moved into the fl:ove, and plunged into' the tan-bed, 

 where they fliould confl:antly remain, arid mufl: be 

 treated in the fame manner as other tender plants from 

 the fame countries ; for although two or three of the 

 forts may be treated in a hardier manner, yet they will 

 not make much progrefs. ' ■ 



FICUS INDICA. SeeOpuNTiA. 



F I L A G O. There are feveral fpecies of this genus, 

 fome of which grow naturally upon barren land in 

 moft parts of England. They are called by fomeCot- 

 tonweed, by others Cudweed, their leaves being white, 

 and, when broken, have cottony threads: Thefe 

 . have been ranged under the genus of Gnaphalium by 

 mofl: botanifts, and one of the fpecies which is ufed in 

 medicine, fl:ands in the lift of fimples by that appel- 

 lation. As thefe plants are not cultivated in gardens, 

 I ftiall not trouble the reader with a farther account 

 them. 



FILBERT. SeeCoRYLus. 



FILIPENDULA. 



See SpiRyTiA. 



^TREiVI [i. e. the fon be- 



thofe 



ge 



or tnoie plants which fend forth fide branches f 

 flowers, which advance above the middle. 

 FILIX, Fern. ^ There are great varieties of th" 

 plant in the different parts of the world, but partir ' 

 larly in America, as may be ken in the Natural H '' 

 tory of Jamaica, publifhed by Sir Hans'Sloane, Bart" 

 and in Plumicr's American Ferns : but as they 

 plants which are feldom propagated in gardens I 

 fhall pals them over in this place. ' 



FILM, that woody flan which fcparates tlie feeds in 

 . the pods ot plants. 



FIMBRIATED [of Fimbria, Lat. a fringe] a 

 term relating to the leaves of plants when they are 

 jagged on the edges, having, as it were, a frin 

 about them ; thefe are often called furbelowed leaves 



FIRE. However foreign, at the firft view, this article 

 may feem to our prefent purpofe, yet I am of opinion 

 that a tolerable acquaintance with its nature, as far 

 as it can be attained, and its effefts, will contribute 

 no fmall afliftance in forwarding the work of vec^eta- 

 tion. And though the theory of fire is indeed philo- 

 fophical, yet the confideration of its effefts, and how 

 it operates on vegetables, will be of no fmall ufe in 

 the culture of them. 



That which beft defines and diftinguiflies fire from 

 every thing elfe, is its heating ; and fo it may be de- 

 fined, Whatfoever warms or heats bodies. 

 Heat is fomething, the prefence of which is beft per- 

 ceived by the dilatation of the air or fpirit in the 

 thermometer. So then, fii'e is a body, and a body in 

 motion too. The motion of it is proved by its ex- 

 panding the air, and that it is a body by experiment. 

 Pure mercury, being inclofed in a phial with a long 

 neck, and kept in a gentle heat for the fpace of a 

 year, will be reduced into a folid, and the weight al- 

 fo will be increafed confiderably ; which increale can- 

 not proceed from any thing elfe but the acceflion of 

 fire. ' ' . ^ . 



The nature of fire is fo obfcure and wonderful, that 

 it was held by many of the ancients as a deity; and 

 feveral authors of prime note have taken great pains 

 to difcover the myftery of it, without having been able 

 to explain many of the principal effeds thereof The 

 learned Herman Boerhaave has ufed no lefs induftry 

 in making a new fet of experiments, in order to come 

 to a clearer knowledge of them ; and having laid 

 down anew doftrine of fire. In a courfe of public lec- 

 tures, I ftiall briefly take notice of fuch of them as I 

 apprehend may be of ufe. 



" Fire (fays he) in effeft, appears to be the general 

 , " inftrument of all the motion in the univerfe. The 

 conftant tenor of a great number of experiments 



(C 



*' leaves no room to doubt, but that, if there were no 

 " fire, all things would inftantly become fixed and 

 " immoveable. Of this there are inftances every win- 

 ter; for while froft prevails, the water, which be- 

 fore was fluid, by a mere privation of heat, becomes 

 folid, i. e. hardens into ice, and fo remains till dif- 

 folved again by fire. Thus, were a man entirely 

 deftitute of heat, he would immediately freeze into 

 a ftatue ; and thus the air itfelf, which is found in 

 continual motion, being always either expanding 

 or condenfing, would, upon the abfence of fire, con- 

 tradl itfelf, and cohere into a firm rigid mafs ^ fo 

 " alfo animals and vegetables, all oils, falts, &c. 

 would, upon the like occafion, immediately con- 



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geal. 



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fore the father] an exprefiion which botanifts apply 

 to plants, whofe flower comes out before their leaves • 



Although this doftrine of fire, here laid down by 

 Boerhaave, feems new and extraordinary, at leaft tq 

 thofe who have been ufed to confider fire in the light 

 that it has been fet in by the Lord Bacon, Mr. Boyle, 

 and Sir Ifaac Newton ; and though we ought to pay 

 great veneration to thofe illuftrious authors, yet, in 

 the judgment of themfelves, we ftiould be in excu- 

 fable, if we fhould abfolutely acquiefce in what they 

 have done, and ftiut the door againft farther and bet- 

 ter information. 



It may reafonably be fuppofed, that Dr. Boerhaave 

 has had an opportunity of going beyond them ; in that, 



befides all the experiments and obfervations that they 



. have 



