M 



M Y 



tlicr of tiic former forts, as do alia the leaves, from 

 whence it is called by the gardeners upright Myrtle. 

 The fiowers of this I'ort are not large, and the petals 

 are marked v/ith purple at their points, while they re- 

 main clofed 5 the berries are fmall, oval, and of a pur- 

 ple colour. There is a variety of this with white ber- 

 ries, in which it only differs from this ; and I believe 

 the Nutmeg Myrtle is only a variety of this, for I have 

 raifed fevcral of the plants from feed, many of which 

 were fo like the Italian Myrtle, as not to be diftin- 

 guiftedfrom it.^ , . 



The fixth fort is commonly called the Box-leaved 

 Myrtle , the leaves cf this are oval, fmall, and fit 

 clofe on the branches ; they arc of a lucid green, end- 

 ing in obtufe points ; the branches are weak, and fre- 

 quently hang downv/ard, w^en they are permitted to 

 grow without fliortening, and have a grayifii bark. 

 The flowers are fmall, and come late in the fummer, 

 the berries are fmall and round. '- ; 



Lofemaiy -leaved My- 

 • tie, and by fom.e it is called the Thyrne-leaved Myrtle. 

 ' The branches of this grow pretty 'cre6l; the leaves 

 ' 'are placed clofe on the branches j tKey are fmall, nar- 

 row, and end in acute^pomfe jJtKey are of a' lucid 

 'green, and have a fragrant o^oui" when Sruifed. The 

 ilowers of this are fmall, and cdrn^ lite in the f'^nfAn 

 and are butfeldom fucceeded by berries here.'" 



■ There are (omc other varieties of thefe Myrtles, 

 ' which are propagated in the"gardensf6r fale j But as 

 " tficTr difference has been bccafioned by culture, To it 



■ would be multiplying their titles to/little purpofc. 

 '-.Thofe which are here enumerated I believe to be 



afdn, 



pots under a common hot-bed frame, plunging thorn 

 either into fome old dung, or tanners bark, which v/Hl 



■ ^prevent the earth from drying too fail ; but you muft 

 carefully fiiade them with mats in the I-ieat of the day, 

 and give them air in proportion to the warmth of the 



^ feafon, not forgetting to water tlieni eveiy two or three 

 days, as you fnali hnd die earth in che'^pots require it. 



' With this management, in about i\x weeks, the cut- 

 tings will be rooted, and begin to llioot, wtien you 

 mult inure them to the open air by efegrees, into v/hich 

 they fhould be removed towards the latter end of 

 Auguil, or the beginning of September, placinr them 

 in a fituation where they may be fiieltered from cold 

 winds, in which place they may rerhain till the mid- 

 dle or latter end of Oftober, when the pots fliould be 

 removed into the green-houfe, but ihould be placed 

 in" the coolcil part thereof, that they may have air 



- given to them. Whenever the weather is'rnild, for' they 

 require only to be protefted from fevere cold, except 

 the Orange-leaved, and the ftriped Nutmeg Myrtles, 

 which are fomev/hat tenderer than the'refl:, andfliould 

 have a warmer fituation. ■ :■ • /■-■ "^ ' 



During the winter feafon, they muft be frequently, 

 " Bufgently watered ; and, if any decayed leaves ap- 

 ■ pear, they fhould be conftantly picked off, as alfo 

 ■^ the"|)6ts kept clear from 'weeds, which, if permitted 

 ^'' to grow, \yill foon overfpread the young plants, and 

 --^. deftroy them.^* v^ V'- ■/• " . ■ *" 



Tf thefe pots are"^ placed^ under a commoo hot-bed 

 frame in wrftter, where" tTi'cy may be fcreencd from 

 froftj /and have the Tree"" air in mild weather, the 



^' really diflinft, fori have' raifed niofl' of tliem from 

 '*' feeds, and have 'n6t found the: 



' k 



ly 



change from one to 



i. 



young plants will fucceed better than in a green- 

 Ko^ire, provided they do 'not 'receive too much wet, 



another, thouerh there has be.en other fmall variations 

 ";^ among the plants.-; v/^.- -^-^ — * v 

 •"^ The eighth fort is" a native of the Irtaiid of Ceylon : 



and are not kept*cl6fely"' cov"efed, which will oc- 

 'cafion their growing mouldyv^ and dropping their 

 leaves, ■'' • ' ' ''"\ -*'* ^'^*^' ;*.-.- ■^—. ^^wv... t^.../ {ns* 



t>i 



-I I 



*^'this is much tenderer than cither of the formicr forts, f out of the pots' very carefully, pVefervirig' a ball of 



%fo Cannot be kept through the winter in England, 

 ^"^ without fome artificial heat. This hath a flrong up- 

 ^ right flalk, covered with a fmooth gray -Bark, di- 

 7 viding upward into many flender fliff branches,' gar- 



earth to the roots of each of them, 'and every^one 



fhould be placed into a feparate fmall pot filled 



with rich light earth, obferving to water them well 



_ ■" to fettle the earth to their roots, and place them un- 



liiflied.with oval leaves placed oppofite, which are j " der a frame until they have taken root-, after v;hich 



' i near two inches long, and an inch and a quarter broad, I t^ey fhould be inured to the open air, and in May 



^r.Si/'::J.> 



ending in points ;'they are cf a lucid green, and have 

 '^- very fhort fobt-fcalks. The flowers confie cut at the 

 *'^' ends of the branches, feveral of them being fuflained 

 « ' upon one common foot-flalk, which branches out, 

 r'ajid each flower flands on a very flender diftirift foot- 

 '*; ftalk J they are very like the*" flowers' of Italian Myr- 

 ^^ tie, but always appear m December and Januarj^ and 

 * ■ are never fucceeded by berries here/ • 

 ; T fhall firft treat ofthe method of cultivating and p'ro- 

 ■^'pagating the common forts of Myrtle, as they all re- 

 •^1 quire nearly tlie fame management, and fhall after- 



Vv^ard take notice of that of the laft mentioned, which 



*^ require a different treatment ;' buf as tlie varieties of 



^\ the common forts of Myrtle are cultivated in the gar- 



■'■^ dens for fale, I fhall jufl mention the titles'by- which 



^-[ they. are known, that the "curious may^beVlnformed 

 now many there are, - - '*^'>^' ' x -.. , • ;- - \ •<*- * --■■■>- 



^ Two forts of Nutmeg Myrtles, one with" a^bfoader 



""leaf than the other: -'^r- ^. -^t '=9 '^-. f:^-^^^: 

 ^ T,he Bird's Neft Myrtle, the flrippd Nutmeg Myr- 

 ]^^ tle^ the flriped upright Myrtle, , the Tlriped Rgfe- 



r r 



they mufl: be placed abroad for the fummer, in a 

 fheltered fituati6ri,\vhere they may" be defended from 



flrong winds. 



'E '. 



i 



t 



- - ■ 



r 



» 



" During the fummer feafon they will require to be 

 "' pfentifully watered, efpecially being in fuch fmall pots, 

 ^ ; which m tha'tTeafoln foon dry ;"therefore you fhould 

 "^^^obferve to place them where' they fhould receive the 

 -■'• morning fun, for when they are too much exppfed to 

 r 'the fun in the heat ofthe day, the molflure contain- 

 ed in the earth of^ fticfe fmall pots will foon be ex- 



-w- 



f 4» 



l^ haled, arid the plants greatly retarded in their growth 





* V- .- r. ^-X-, 



In Augufl follov/ing you fhould examine your pots* 



■r** 



I 



• through the hole in th 



I 



-i 



I' 



ped Box-leaved My 

 My ?tTe: v^. ^- ^^;^^ 



N^ 



^'' Thefe plants may"^be all propagated froihcuttings7the 

 f>eft fQafon for which is in the beginning of JulyVwhen 

 ■you fhould make choice of fome of the llraitefl: and 

 moll vigorous youno- {hoots, which Ihould be about 

 fix or eight inches long, and the leaves on 'the lower 

 part mufl be flripped off about two or three inches 

 high, and the part twifled which is to be placed in 

 the ground i then having filled a parcel of pots (in 



fjroportion to the quantity of cuttings defigned) with 

 ight rich earth, you fhould plant the cuttings therein, 

 at about two inches diftance from each other, obferv- 

 ing to clofe the earth faft about them, and give them 

 fome water to fettle it to the cuttings j then place" the 



; bottom ofthe pots,' which 

 if you obferve, you mufl then ihift them into pots a 

 »'"'fize larger, filling them up with the like rich earth, 

 *''and obfei*ve to trim the roots which '^ere matted to 



■ L 



';the fide'bf the pots," as alfo to loofen the earth from 

 ^■•Ihg 6utfide of the ball with your hands,"' fome of 

 --which fhould be taken ^off, that thcjqots may the 

 '-^^eaficr find pafTage into 'the frefh eafthV then you 



— mufl water them well, and place the"^ pots in a fftu- 

 ' I'tion where'^they may bfe defended from flrong winds ; 

 "-and at this time you ^ may trim the plants, in order 

 -to reduce them to a regular figure •, arid if they are 

 ' inclinable to make crooked flems," you fhould thruft 

 ' down a flender ftrait ftick clofe by them, to which 



- their Hems fhould be faflened, fo as to bring them 

 vipright. : . ^ " . . 



If care be taken to train them thus while they are 

 young, the flems afterward, when they have acquired 

 flrength, will continue flrait without any fupport, 

 -arid their branches may be pruned, fo as to form cither 

 balls or pyramids, which for fuch plants as are pre- 

 fcrvcd in the gfcen-houfe, and require to be kept in 



' 9 G . •'/ fmall 



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.--v. 



