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When their flowers are quite decayed, and the tops 

 of their leaves begin to change their colour, you mud 

 carefully raife the roots out of the ground with a nar- 

 row fpadc, or fomc other handy inllrument j this is 

 what the Dutch gardeners term lifting of them : in the 

 doin^ of this, the inftrument mufl be carefully thruft 



one 



down bv the fide of the root, being careful not to 

 bruife or injure it, as alfo to put it below the bottom 

 of the root ^ then by the forcing of this inftrument on 

 fide, the fibres of the root are raifed and feparatcd 

 from the ground. The defign of this is, to prevent 

 their receiving any more nourifamenc from the ground-, 

 for by imbibing too much moifture at this feafon, tlic 

 roots frequently rot after they are taken up : about a 

 fortnight after this operation the roots fliould be en- 

 tirely taken out of the ground, and then carried to 

 beds fituatcd where the morning fun only fliines up- 

 on them 'y the earth of the beds fhould be loofe and 

 railed into a Ibarp ridge, laying the roots into it 

 in a horizontal pofition, with their leaves hanging 

 out, by which means a great part of the moifture 

 contained in their thick fucculent ftalks and leaves 



which, if it were permitted to 



would caufe them to rot 



» 



will evaporate 



return back to the roots, 



and decay after they are taken up, which has been 



the general defedt of moft of the Hyacinths in 



England. 



In this pofition the roots ftiould remain until the green 

 leaves are entirely decayed, which perhaps may be in 

 three weeks time. This is what the Dutch gardeners 

 term the ripening of their roots, becaufe by this me- 

 thod the roots become firm, and the outer cover is 

 fmooth, and of a bright purple colour ^ whereas thofe 

 roots which are permitted to remain undifturbed, till 

 the leaves and ftalks are quite decayed, will be large, 

 fpongy, and their outer coats will be of a pale colour •, 

 for the ftcms of many of thefe flowers are very large, 

 • and contain a great quantity of moifture, which, if 

 fuflfered to return into the roots, will infallibly caufe 

 .many of them toperilh. After they are fo ripened, 

 you muft take them out of the ground, and wipe 

 ;them clean with a foft woollen cloth; taking off all 

 the decayed parts of the leaves and fibres, putting 

 them into open boxes where they may lie fingly, and 

 be expofed to the air, but they muft be preferved 

 carefully from moifture; nor fhould they- be fuffered 

 .to remain where the fun may Ihine upon them ; in 

 .this manner they may be preferved out of the ground 

 until September, which is the ieafon for planting 

 tftem' again, at which time you muft feparate all 

 the ftrong flowering roots, planting thern in beds 

 by themfelves, that " they may make an equal ap- 

 pearance in their flowers v but the offsets ind frtialle^ 

 roots fhould be planted in another feparate bed for 

 one year, in which time they will acquire fVrength, 

 and by the fucceeding year will be as ftrong as the 

 older roots; 



1* ^'T --\ . 





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-The fingle and femi-double flb^ei-s fhould be planted 

 alfo in a bed by themfelves, where' they ffiSuld' be 

 -carefully, pieltered (as was directed before) from the 

 froft, until the flowers are blown ; at which time their 

 covering fhould be entirely removed, and they fufFered 

 to receive the open air, but the flower-ftalks fhould 

 .be.fupported with fticks^j which, though the weatKer 

 may foon deface the beaut^ of the flbweft; feft^is ab- 

 folutely necefTary to promote their feeding j /and 

 when the feeds are quite ripe, you muft cut off the 

 vefTels and preferve them, with the feeds therein, 

 :«Dtil the feafon for fowing it. ' But you muft ob- 

 f^rve, that after thefe flowers have produced' feeds, 

 they feldom flower fo well again, at leaft not in two 

 years after > fo that the beft method to obtain good 

 feeds, is, to plant new roots every year for that 

 purpofe; Although thefe roots are, by moft perfons, 

 taken up every year, yet if the beds are well pre- 

 pared for them, they may remain two years in the 

 ground unremoved^ and the roots will iricreafe more 

 toefccond year than the firft, though the" flowers are 

 more liable to degenerate"; therefore thofe who cul- 

 tivate: thefe. for fale/take up their roots annually when 



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they are large and faleable ; but the offsets and fmall 

 roots, they ufually leave two years in the crround. 

 There arc fomc perfons who let their Kyacinrh roots 

 remain three or four years unrcmovcd, by which rhcy 

 have a much greater increafe of roots, than when 

 they arc annually taken up •, but the roots bv this 

 great mcrcafe are frequently degenerated, fo as to pro- 

 duce fingle flowers-, therefore I fliould advife the 

 taking up of the roots every year, efpecially thofe of 

 the moft valuable kinds, which is the moft certain 

 method to preferve them in their grcateft perfeftion 

 though the increafe may not be fo great ; and if thefe 

 roots are planted a fortnight or three weeks earlier 

 in the autumn than is before directed, it will cau{< 



them to produce ftronger flov/ers ; and thofe roots 

 which are annually removed, will be rounder and 

 firmer than fuch as ftand two years unremoved. 

 For the other forts of Hyacinth, fee Muscari and 

 Ornithogalum. 



HYACINTHUS TUBEROSUS. See Cri- 



NUM and POLYANTHES. 



HYDRANGEA. Gron. Flor. Virg. 50. Lin. Gen* 



Plant.- 492. We have no Englifli title for this genus. " 

 The Characters are, 



'l^he flower hath a fmall permanent empakment of one leaf ^ 

 indented in five parts^ and five roundifh petals which 

 are equals and larger than the empakment. It hath ten 



fi 



i by roundifh fummits. Under the fewer is fit 

 'dijh germen, fupporting two fhort ftyles fa; 



by permanent ohtufe ftigmas. The g 



to 



viz. 



apart^ 



afterward turns to a roundifh capfule 

 horned ftigmas^ divided tranfverfly into two cells, filled 

 with fmall angular feeds. ■ . . . 



This genus of plants is ranged in the fecohd' fet^idh bf 

 Linnseus's tenth clafs, intitled Decahdria Dygyi^l'a, 

 which includes the plants whofe flowers have ten fta- 

 mina and two ftyles. " 



We have but one 

 YDRANGEA {Arborcfc 



This plant grows naturally in North America, from 

 whence it has been brought within a few years 

 paft to Europe, and is now preferved in gardens for 

 the fake of variety more than its beauty. It hath a 

 fpreading fibrous root, from which is fent up many 

 fbft, pithy, ligneous ftalks, which rife about three feet 

 high, garniftied at each joint with two oblong heart- 

 ftiaped leaves placed oppofite, ftanding upon foot- 

 ftalks about one inch long ; the leaves are three ipches - 

 long, and two broa J near their bale, lawed ohtheif * 

 edges, and have many vems running from the mid- 

 rib upward to their Borders VtKey-afe of a liglit greieri. 



and fall away in the autuhiitTjiie flowers are pro- 

 duced at the top of the ftalks, in form o^a corymbus; 

 they arc white!, XQmpofecJ of five petaTs, with ten fta-* 

 mina furrounding the ftyle. Thefe appear toward tfic 



f July and in Auguft. 





-> 



feeds 



-This is' eafily propagated bf 

 the beft time for this is the latter end of Oftober, 



, which is alfo the beft time to tranfplant them : the 

 plants ftiould have' a nioift foil, for they grow na- 

 turally in marfliy' plates'; they require no other cul- 



i 



V 1 



ture but to keep them clear from Weeds, arid dig the 

 erdUnd' between tKehi , The roots are 



and if in very fevere froft the ftalks are 



t - 



-a 



fc' ^ ' 



killed, they will put out new ones the following 



fpring;^ 

 HYDRASTIS. See Wa 



H Y D R O C O T Y L E, [of i^l waf ef, arid xoru'x., a 



cavify ; becaufe this plant ha§ a cavity in the leaves 

 : Vhich contains water, '^l^id'-tHe plant grows in marlhes;} 



Water Navelwort, 



This plant grows in great plenty in moift places irx 



moft parts of England, and is never cultivated for ufe, 



fo I fliallpafs it over with only naming it. 



HYDROLAPATHUM. SeeRuMi^. 



HYDROPHYLLON. Lin. Gen Plant. 187. 

 Hydrophyllon; TourH. Inft. R. H. 81. tab. 16. Wa- 

 ter Leaf. 



1U 



