511. 



Another 



3 



4 



L A R 



vided leaves. Rhagadiolus akcr. Ca:ra!p. 



Rhagadiolus. 



Lai'sana {Larapfapj^foliis) calyclbus fruftus undique 

 patcnubus, radiis Tubulatis, foliis lyratis. Hort. Uplal. 

 245. Nipplewort with empalements to the fruit fprcading 

 open every v:a)\ awl-f-japed rays., and harp-fiaped leaves, 

 Khagad'^olasXamplanrE tbliis. Tourn. Cor. ^6, Rha- 



gadiclus with a Nipplewort leaf, 



Lapsana iZaeintba) calyclbus fruftus torulofis de- 

 preffis obuilis leiTilibus. Lin. Sp. Plant. 811. Nipple- 

 wort with a deprcffcd knotted empalement which ts obtufe, 

 and fits clofe to the branches. Zacintha five cichorium 

 verrucarium. Tourn. Inft. 476. Zacintha, or warted 



The firft fort is a common weed, which grows by the 

 fide of foot-paths and hedges in moft parts of Eng- 

 land, fo is not permitted to have room in gardens. 

 The feccnd and third forts grow naturally in Portu- 

 ' gal, from whence I have received their ieeds. Thefe 

 are annual plants, of no beauty or ufe, but are pre- 

 ferved in botanic gardens for the fake of variety. . If 

 the feeds of thefe are permitted to fcatter, the plants 

 will come up without trouble, and two or three of 

 them will be enough to leave to keep the forts. 

 The fourth fort grows naturally in Italy -, this is alfo 

 an annual plant, of neither ufe or beauty, but is like 

 the others kept for variety, If the feeds of this fort 

 fcatter in the autumn, the plants will come up better 

 than if fown in the fpring." The plants require no 

 culture, but will thrive like weeds. 

 LARIX. Tourn. Inft. R. H. 586. tab. 353. Pinus. 

 Lin. Gen. Plant. ^56, The Larch-tree 5 in French, 



' Mclefe, ^ ■ ■' " ■ ... 



The Characters are, ^ ■ ,:..'. 



// hath male and female flowers growing fepar ate on the 



fame tree, "The r.tale flowers are difpofed in afcalykatkin ; 



thefe have no petals hut a great number of fiamina which 



are conneEled in a column below .^ hut are feparateS at their 



point Sy dnd are termn^ed hy~'cre£l fummits. ^he female 



flower s^ are difpofed in' a conical Jhape., having no petals ; 



' thefe are placed by pairs under each fcale^ having a fmall 



\ germen., fupporti7ig an awl-fhaped flyle^ crowned by ^fingle 



""fiigma. The germen afterward becomes a nut 'with amem- 



■': braneous wing.^ inclofedinthefcalesoflhecones. 





This genus of plants is ranged in the ninth feftion of 

 Linnaeus's twenty-firft- clafs, in titled Monoecia Mo- 

 nodelphia, the fame tree having male "and lernale 



■ flowers in different partsV and the ftamina of the male 

 flowers are united in one clufter/VDr. Linnasus has 



. joined this genus, and the Abies of Tournefort, to the 

 genus of Pinus, which, according to his fyftem, may 

 very well be brought together ; but as Tournefort and 

 all former botanifts have feparated them by the fprm 

 of their leaves, thofe of the Abies coming out fingle 

 from the 'branches, thofe of the Pine coming out by 



or five out of each fheath, and thofe of 



'^ ' ^-^j-^ . 



: two, 



■ this genus arifing in clufters in the bottom, but are 

 - fpread above like a painter's pencil ; fo thefe djftincftions 

 being pretty generally known by gardeners, I have 

 ^ ' cKbfen to contitiue them' under their formerTeparate 

 ' ; titles to prevent confufidn: , ;g2^S'5 - 

 ' '**' The Species arep"' 'r:'.'^ ^^..™.^..^u?4^:t :. ""*:: 



I. Larix {Decidua) foliis deciduis, corns ovatis obtufis. 

 ^'^' Larch-tree with deciduous leaves^ and' oval obtufe- cones. 

 "^fcarix folio deciduo, conifefaT~J. B. i.^HS^.Com- 



"'■ mon Cone-bearinz Larch-tree, -^ ^, *V^ T' 'T "!! . ,"t. ' 



2* Larix (C^/;;^^j) fplns deciduisV conis jnucronatis 



5" fquamfs acutis. Larcb-tree with deciduohr leaves, and 





-*«'***-.T 



'pointed cones having acute fcalesStt-. 



3. LajEiix {Cedrus) foliis acutis perennantibusV colors ob- 



.' tufis, Lcirch-tree with acute evergreen lea^veS andcbtufe 



-". cones:r' Cedrus conifera, foliis laricis. C B. P. aqo, 



■ ' Cone-hearing Cedar with a Larch-tree leaf or the Cedar of 

 LebMus: :::'■: K^-' -■^----'-^--y, '^^^-^*: '--P 



J^ The firft fort, grows naturally upon the" Alps 'and 

 Apennines, and of late years has been very much 

 propagated in England. This tree is of quick growth, 

 and wiirpife to the height of fifty feet; the branches 

 are (lender, a|id their ends generally hang downward. 



Thefe are garnifhed with, long narrow leaves, which 



pe 



L A R 



arife in cluflers from one point, and fpread ope:i abore 

 like the hairs of a painter's brulh -, they arc of a li(rl.r 

 green, and fall away in autumn like ciIv.t dL^c!duou:i 

 trees. In the month of April the male Howi^rs ap- 

 ar, which are difpofed in form of fmaii conss ■ tac 

 female flowers are collefted into oval obct-fe conies 

 which in fome fpc^cies have bri^ikc purple tops, and in 

 others they are white : thefe dilicrenccs are acciden- 

 tal, for I have found the feeds taken from cirhcr of 

 thefe varieties, will produce plants of both fort:,; chc^ 

 cones are about one incli long, obtufe at tlieir points, 

 and the fcales lie over each other, and are finooth-, 

 under each icale there is generally lodged twu feeds 



which have wings. 



-» - 



E < 



There are two other varieties of this tree, one of which 

 is a native of America, and the other of Siberia •, the 

 latter requires a colder climate than England, for they 

 are very apt to die in fummer here, efpecially if they 

 are planted on a dry foil. The cones of diis ibrt which 

 have been brought to England, fccm to be in general 

 larger than thofe of the common kind-, but there is. 

 fo little difference between the trees in their charac- 

 teriftic notes, as not to be diftinguiflied as different 

 -fpecies, though by the growth of the trees there is a 

 remarkable difference. 



The cones of the fecond fort were fent from China, 



to the Right Hon. the Earl of Northumberland, who 



was fo good as to communicate fome of the feeds to 



me, which were fown in the Chelfea garden, where 



they fucceeded, as they alfo did in his LordiTiip's 



garden at Stanwick. The cones of this lort were 



much larger than thofe of the common fort, and ended 



in acute points ; the fcales were prominent like thole. 



. of the Scotch Pine, and had fo little refemuiance to 



.;. thpfeof the Larch, as that every one who faw them, 



y_ imagined thev were a fort of Pine ; they were titled^ 



^, Fir 20od tbkeep up banks. As thefe plants make 



But^ tittle progrels the firft year, fo they v;ere weak, 



- and in the autumn calling off .their leaves, ^ they 



were fuppofed to be dead, and moft of the plants 



'^ were thereby loft ; but' thofe which efcaped, after- 



rwardi {hot their branches out horizontally, fpreading 



'.. clofe to the ground, and by their prefent appearance, 



Ifeem to be a Ihrub which never will rife upri'Wit. I'his 



\ fort is fo hardy, as to thrive in the open air v/ithout 



. any protection. / ..,;.., .... 



The common Larch is now very plenty in mpft of the 



nurferies in England, and of late years there has been 



^ ; great numbers of the trees planted ; but thofe \vhic(i 



have been planted in the worft foil and in bad fitua- 



tions, have thriven the belt; for where trees of eqiir^l 



, fize have been planted in good garden earth at tj^.e 



. fame time, the others on the cold ftiff land, ho^ve 



.. in twelve years been twice the height of thofe planted 



in good ground; which is an encouragement to plant 



thefe trees, fince they will thrive in the moft expofed 



; fituations, provided they are planted in clumps.near 



. /each other, and not fino-le trees ; nor fliould the plants 



i which are planted in very operi expofed placj?s be 



■ .taken from warm nurferies, but rather raifed as near 



to the fpbt wTiere they are to remain as pofTible; nor 



fliHbuld.the plants be more than three or four years 



.,grqwth,>yhen pjantefi, whe/e they are defigned to grow 



Clarge i for thouorh trees of greater fize will remove 



very well, and grow feveral years as well as 11 they 



'had riot been tranfplanted ; yet after twenty or thirty 



,-■ , years growth they will frequently faiJ„vvhere the ycung 



' 'planted trees have continued very vigorous, ---x-i 



> Thefe trees are raifed from feeds, which moft years 



, npen welim England ; the cones fliould be gathered 



-v about 'the en J'of November, and kept in a dry place 



. till the fpnng, *wlien"tHey Ihduld be fpread on a cloth 



and expofed to the fun, or laid before a^ fire, which 



• will caufe the fcales of the cones to open and emit 



'..', their feeds. ■ 'Thefe feeds ftiould be fown on a border 



V* •* **. 



■ expoied to the ealt, where the morning fun only comes 

 on it ; or if they are fown on a bed more expofed to 

 the fun, they ftiould be fcreened with mats from the 



ii 



„. * s. 





' , 



* , 



fun in the^ middle of the day ; for when the plants nr 

 \^» appear above ground, they are very inipatienc of heat •, 



-^ > 



r. 



■a 



IS 







► *** 



