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di(T it into the borders in November, that the rain 

 may wa(h down the falts before the fpring comes on ; 

 ana where the ground is very loofe or fandy, it will 

 be the bed way to make ufe of neats dung, which is 

 ' cooler than that of horfcs, but for cold Itrong land the 

 "latter is to be preferred. 



If the ground is well trenched every year about the 



roots, it v;ill be of great fervlce to them-, and where 



' 'the foil is fubjedl to bind very clofe, if it is forked 



two or three times in a year to loofen the furface, it 



will greatly help the trees. The borders fliould not 



\ be crouded with any large growing plants, which will 



' draw away the nourifhment from the trees ; therefore 



' when any fort of kitchen herbs are planted on thefe 



' borders, they fhould be only fuch as are of fmall 



' . growth, and which may be taken off early in the 



Spring; and if this is carefully obferved, the culti- 



'- vatincr fmall things on thefe borders can do no harn), 



* b^caule the ground will be ftirred the oftener, on ac- 



* count of thefe fmall crops, than perhaps' it would 

 -r have been, when no ufe was to be made of the bor- 

 ^.ders. Thefe rules which are here laid down, if pro- 



< perly obferved^ will dire<5l any curious perfon how^ to 

 *^ have plenty of good fruit, as alfo to prcferve the trees 



* in vigour a great number of years. ^ .,. 

 EERVINCA. - SeeViNCA. ^ , 

 PETALS are the fine coloured leaves Which com- 

 V pofe the mofl: confpicuous parts 6f a flower • "tTiefe 

 ■f are called in Latin Petala, to diftinguifh them from 

 '^ the leaves of plants, which are called Folia. ,:^^ ' 



See TussiLAGO, z 





--•-> J'. 



E^TASITES. 



PETIVERIA; Plum. Nov/ Gen:^5o;^ tab^. 'l~<), 



"'Xin. Gen. Plant. 417. Guinea Henweed. ; ,.- 



"' The Characters are, ' ^ \ . 



^he flower bath a permanent empalement^ compofed of five 



narrow obtufe leaves which are equal It hath four fmall 



white petals^ placed in form of a crofs, which foon fall 



'' cff^ and fix awl-fhaped ereEl ftamina terminated by fingle 



' fummits, In the center is Jituated'an oblong comprejed 

 germeny with four awl-fhaped ftyles, crowned by obtufe 

 permanent ftigmas . The germen afterward becomes one 

 ohlo7tg feedy narrozv at the bottom and 'taper ^ hut broad 



^ ehcvcy where it is ccmpreffed and indented at the top^ re- 

 * f "JemUing an inverted fhield armed with the acute ftyle^ 



' ^which is reflexed. ' ^„ \ -^ •-.'*"■ v ' 



'-This genus of plant's is ranged "In the fourth feftion 



■ ^'of Linnseus's fixth'clafs, which includes thofe plants 



. whofc flowers have fix flamina and four ftyles. XTr -^ 



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The Species are,. / 

 i. Petiveria {AlUacea) flbribus Kexandris. Hort. Cliff. 

 -- 1 41". Petiveria with fix ftamina in the flower f,--:^ Ve^'^^- 



na aut fcorodoni^ affinis anomala, flore albido calyce 

 ■"' afpero, alii odore. Sloan, Hift. i. p. i7i. commonly 



called Guinea Henweed, -. ■■ 



2. 'P£TfvERiA'*(0^'?^»^^^) floribus oftandris. Lin. Sp. 



^'^ Plant. 486. Petiveria with eight flamina in the flowers, 



-. Petiveria folani foliis, loculis fpinofis. Plum. Nov. 



; Gen. 50. ■ ■ - :^. %^ ; 



^The title of this genus was given to it by Father 



f Plumier, whodifcovered it in America, in honour of 



, Mr. Tames Pctiver, an apothecary of London, "who 



' was a curiousbotanilt. . . : ; ^:"n 



,. The firft is a very common plant in Jamaica, Barba- 



- does, and mofl: of the other iflands in the Wefl:-In- 



;^ dies, where it grows in {hady woods, and all the fa- 



;' vannas, in fuch plenty, as to become a troublefome 



^>eed ; and as this plant will endure a great deal of 



./'drought, it remains green when other plants are 



burned up, which occafions the cattle to browze on 



':,;itrand having a niofl: unfavdufy fl:rong fcent, fome- 



.t-Avhat like wjjd Garlick, it gives the cows milk the 



.'Tame flavour, and the cattle which 'arc killed foon 



,i^zhtr feeding on this plant, have a mofl: intolerable 



vv'Tc'crit, an3'their fiefh is good for little."'; The foots 'are 



,;ftrong, 5.nd ftrikQ_. 4^,^P in the ground ; the ftalks 



"■ rife from two to three feet high ; they are jointed and 



., become ligneous attotcom, and are garnifhed with 



■ ; oblong*^ leaxt'5 t,hree inches Tohg, and ah inch "and a 



■ half broad, of a deep Rrcen', and veined; thefe are 



The flow- 



I 



crs arc produced in flender fpikes at the <*nd Of the 

 branches; they are very fmall, Yo make no figure. 

 They appear in June, and are fucceeded by fliort ieed- 

 veffels fliaped like an inverted fliield, containing one 

 oblong feed v/hich ripens in the autumn. 

 The fecond fort is very like the firft, from which it 

 differs in having a fhorter and narrower ftalk, and 

 the flowers having eight fl:amina; but unlefs thefe 

 marks are diilinguiflied by a nice obferver, they may 

 both pafs for one plant. 



In Europe, thefe plants are preferved in the gardens 

 of thofe perfons who are curious in botany -, but tl^ev 

 have little beauty, and having fo ftrong rank fcenc 

 upon being handled, renders them lefs valuable. 

 ■ l^hey are propagated by feeds, which muft be fown 

 on a hot-bed early in the fpring', and when the plants 

 are come up, they fliould be each tranfplanted into a 

 feparate pot, and plunged into a moderate hot-bed to 

 bring them forward. When the plants have obtain- 

 ed 'a good fliare of ftrength, they fhould be inured 

 to bear the open air by degrees, into which they may 

 be rernoved toward the latter end of June, placing, 

 'them in a warm fituation, where they may remain' 

 .■ 4:ill autumn, when they fhould be removed into the 

 1^ fl:ove, and in winter mufl: have a moderate degree of 

 !!. warmth, otherwife they will not live in this country. - 

 They will produce flowers and feeds every fummer, , 

 ''^andwill continue feveral years, remaining conftantly 

 green throughout the year, and may be propagated 

 by flips or cuttings. . /^A / ^ ; . . 

 P E T R E A. Houft. Gen. Nov. Lin. Gen. Plant. 682. 



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The Characters are, 



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'^^Jfhe flower hath a bell-fhapedjmpalement of one leaf^ cut 

 into five large obtufe fegments almofl to the bottom^ which 

 are coloured^ expanded and permanent, "The flower hath 



- one petal^ ,^^V^^£,^^fhort tube^ but is cut abovf into five 

 almofl equal ferment s^ which are expanded. It hath four 

 floori flamina fttuated in the tube ^ two of which are a lit- 

 tle longer than the other ^ terminated by Jingle fummits, and 

 four germen fupporting a flender flyle^ crowned by an obtufe 

 fligma. ^he germen afterward become four feeds wrapped 



. up in a fringed cover, \_ , • - ' -'.'•, 



This genu^ of plants is ranged in the fecond fedion o^ 



■ Linnasus's fourteenth clafs, which includes thofe 



/ plants' whofe flowers have two long and two ftiorter 



,. Itamlna, 'and the feeds areinclofed in a coven ■ ','.; 

 . The title of this s;enus wsis siven to this plant bv 

 the late Dr. Houftoun, ,who difcovered it growing 



" naturally at La Vera Cruz in New Spain, in honour 

 of Lord Petre, who was a great encourager of bofa- 



1 ny, and was poffeffed of a noble coUeftion of exotic 



plants. ^ , .. 



We have but one Species of this genus, viz. ,. V. 



Petrea {Volubilis) frutefcens foliis lanceolatis figidis, 

 flore racemofo pendulo.^ Shrubby Petrea ipith ftiff 



' fpear-fhaped leaves^ and flowers growing in long hanging 



. bunches, , . . 



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placed aUerndfely upon flaort foot-ilalks 



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This pknt was firfl: difcovfered by the late Dr. Houf-. 

 toun, growing natujrally at La Vera Cruz in New- 

 Spain, in 1731, fince which time it was fent me 

 from the' ifland Berbuda, where it alfo grows natu- . 

 rally. ^"K rifes with a woody fl:alk to the height bf . 

 fifteen or_ lixteen fctty which is covered with a light 

 gray bark, lending out feveral long branches ; thefe 

 have a whiter bark than the ftem, and are gafhiflied 

 with leaves at each joint, which on the lower part of 

 the branches are placed by threes round^ them, but ■ 

 higher up they fl:and by pairs ; they are about five, 

 inches long, and two incnes and a half broad in the 

 middle, drawing to a point at each end ; they arc 

 .^ fl:iff^, and their furface rough, of a light green, hav- 

 ; Ing a fl:rong dark midrib, with feveral tranfverfe veins 

 running from the midrib to the borders, which are 

 : .tentire. "The flowers are produced at the end of the , 

 ■ branches growing in loofe^bunches, which are nine or 

 ^ ten inches longj each flower flanding upon a flender 

 *' looV-ftalk about an inch longV tTie empalement of the 

 flowef'is compofed of five narrow obtufe leaves abouq 

 , an inch long,^ which are of a fine blue colour, fo arc ' 



much more coislpicuous than the petals, v/hich are 



.'.-,*.;rv -' _ . ,-.> * ■ ,:'■;. white. 



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