^ 



^ 



Ik 



I: 



I 



I 



^ 



t 



t 



I' ' 



i'v.J 



X 



, » 



-1. -J 



[ 



'I 



' ' 



E> *; 



s 



s 



f 



The eight forts which are firfl mentioned, are hardy- 

 perennial plants, fo will tlirive in the open air in Eng- 

 land. The firft is rarely admitted into gardens, but 

 the other forts are frequently preferved in the gardens 

 of the curious. The fourth, fifth, and fixth forts, have 

 large knobbed roots ; thefe are propagated only by 

 feeds, which fcldom ripen in England, fo that the 

 Iceds muft be procured from abroad. Thefe iliould 

 be fown on an eaft-afpected border, where the morn- 

 ing fun only comes ; for if the feeds are expofed to 

 the mid-day fun, they feldom fuccced well. Thefe 

 feeds will often grow the firfl: fummer, if they are 

 ibwn early in the I'pring, but fometimes they will re- 

 main in the ground a year before the plants appear ; 

 fo that if they /hould not come up the firft feafon, the 

 ground fliould not be difturbcd, and mufl: be kept 

 . , clean from weeds till the following fpring, y/hcn, if 

 _ the feeds were good, tlje plants will come up \ when 

 thefe appear they muft be kept clean from weeds; 

 \ and if they are too clofe, fome of the plants fliould 

 ^. be carefully drawn out while they are young, and 

 . planted into another border of light loarny earth, four 

 _. inches afunder i in this place they may rCiTiain rill au- 

 tumn, when thefe, and alfo thofe in the feed-beds, 

 , Ihould be carefully removed to the places where they 

 are defigned to remain ; the following fummer thefe 

 . plants will flower, and the roots v/ill abide feveral 

 . years, if they are planted in a light loamy foil not 

 . over wet. 



_ 



. ' The other perennial forts may be propagated by part- 

 ing of the roots \ the beft time for doing this is in au- 



, tumn, when their ftalks begin to decay-' for when 

 they are removed in the fprinsr, if the feafon Qiould 

 prove dry, their roots will not be fufficiently efta- 



/ bliftied to flower well the fame year. /Thefe plants 



/ fliould not be removed or parted oftenerthan every 



^ third yeai*, if they are expected to grow ftrong; nor 

 fliould they be parted into fmall heads, for thofe will 



\, make no figure the firft year. As thefe plants grow 



tali, fo they fliould be planted in the middle of large 



. borders, or with other tall plants ; they may be planted 



. ' in fpaces between ftirubs, or on the borders of woods, 



. where they v/ill have a good effidl during their con- 

 ."tinuance in flower ; and as they require no other cul- 



. ture than to dig the ground between them every 



Mprin'g, and keep them clean from weeds, fo they are 



^ proper furniture for fuch places.. 



\ .Thefe forts are alfo propagated by feeds, when they 

 can be obtained good ; thefe may oe town in the fame 

 way as the bulbous-rooted kinds, and when thej)la!nts 

 come up, they muft be treated in the fame manner, 

 only that thefe fliould be allowed more room, for the 

 fibres of their roots fprcad out on every fide to a 



\ great diftance \ for which reafon thefe plants fhould 

 .jiot be planted in fmall garden's, where tney will over- 



• bear the neighbouring plants. .^■., . -/ '.'' •. . . • 

 S E S A S U M. Lin. Gen. Plant. 700. Digitalis. Tourn. 



, Inft. R. H. 156. Oily Grain. :..;•, . : . - 

 ', The Characters are, : ' - 



S E S . 



Hort. Cliff. 318. Sefam:im 'Sith chlong^ ovaU entire kcfVes. 

 Digitalis Orientalis, fefamum dicta. Tourn. Inft. 16 

 Eqflern Foxglove, called Sefamim. 

 2. SitSAMUM {Indictim) foliis inferioribus trifidis. Prod. 

 Leyd. 292. Sefamum with trifid lower leaves. Sefamum 

 alterum, foliis trifidis, Orientale femine obfcuro. Plulc. 



& 



Aim. 344. Another Eafieryi Sefmnum, 



feeds. 





nth trifid leaves 



3 



Sesamum {'Trifol 

 mum with all the leaves trifid. 



:s omnibus tnhclis. Sefa- 



Sefamum Orientale, tri- 

 fidum, flore nivco. Hort. Compt. 



■- _ -,_: 



1 





-.J 



cut at the top into five very fijort equal fegments. ' It 



'has one ringerJ petal, with a rcundijh tube the length of 



the cmpalement ; the chaps are fwoUen, Icll-fcaped^ and 



fpreading ; the Irim is cut into five points, four of which 



. are fpreading and almofi equal ; the other is twice their 



.length, ovnl^ and ere5l. It has four Jlajnina rifing from 



[ the tube which are floorter than the petal, the two inner 



' leing fijorter than the other, terminated by ere6l pointed 



fummits, and an oval hairy germen^ fupporting a flmder 



ftyle longer than the fiamina, crowned by a fpear-fhaped 



' fiigma divided in two parts, The gernien afterward be- 



' comes an oblong, almojt fGur-cornered capfide, which is 



compreffed and acute-pcinled, having four cells, filled with 



^ oval compreffed feeds, 



\ This genus"6f plants Is ranged in the fecond feftion 

 ■ ofLinn^eus's fourteenth clafs, which includes thofe 

 plants whole flow"ers have two long and two fliorter 

 -■ ftamina, and their feeds are included in capfules." 

 The Species are, * " 



x\ Sesasum (Orientale) foliis ovato-oblonds integris. 

 4.. - . 





Eajtern Sefamum^ 

 wiib a trtjia leaf and fnozv white flower. 



. . The firft fort is cultivated in great plenty in the Le- 

 r vant, but is fuppofed to have been brought therefrom 

 . India. It is an annual plant, rifing with an herbaceous 

 .'four-cornered ftalk about two feet high, fending out 

 ,\ a fev.^ fliort fide-branches ; the leaves are oblong, oval, 

 '•;,. a little hairy, , and ftand oppofite. .The flowers are 

 produced in loofe fpikes at the top of the ftalks ; they 

 ■ are fmall, and of a dirty white colour, fliaped fome- 

 _,what like thofe of the Foxglove. Thefe appear in 

 July, and after the flowers are paft, the germen turns 

 to an oval acute-pomced capfule with four cells, filled 

 with oval comprefled feeds which ripen in autumn."' 

 The fecond fort grows naturally in India j this is alfo 

 , an annual plant ; the ftalk rifes taller than that of the 

 ^former; the lower leaves are cut into three parts, 

 which are the only differences between them. 

 The third fort grov;s naturally in Africa; this is alfo 

 .;;an annual plant, with a taller hnd njore branched ftalk 

 .than either of the former, and all the leaves are cut 

 into three parts, in which it differs from both the other. 

 I have raifed two other fpccies of this genus from 

 _ feecls which were brought from Africa, but thefe be- 

 ing fown lat^e in the Ipring, did but juft fliew their 

 . flowers before winter, fo there could be no p;ood feeds 

 obtained from them. Thefe grew near four feet 

 high, the leaves of one fort were much longer than 

 ; any of the other, and thofe toward the top of the ftalk 

 were divided into three, and fome into four parts j 

 the feeds of this were black, the other had broader 

 leaves, which were fawed on their edges. The flowers 

 were large and of a pale blue colour, and the feeds 

 wxre of a pale yellov/ colour. 



The firft fort is frequently cultivated in all the eaftern 

 countries, and alfo in Africa, as a pulfe ; and of Lite the 

 feeds of this have been introduced in Carolina by 

 the African negroes, where they have fucceeded ex- 

 jtremely well. -r^Tlie inhabitants oif that country make 

 ^J.1.9AL(rorn..th^^^ "which ^ill keep many years. 



and not take any rancid fmell or tafte, but in two 

 years becomes quite mild ; fo that when the warm 

 tafte of the feed,^ which is in t!ie oil when firft drawn, 

 is worn off; they ufe it as fallad oil, and for all the 

 _ piirpofes of fweet oil. ]^^.- 1* . 



-■ *! ' I ■■« * 



--.The feeds of this plant are alfo ufed by the negroes 

 .for food, which feeds they parch over the fire, and then 

 i-^ mix them with water, and ftew other ingredients with 

 them, which makes an hearty "food. Sometimes a 

 fort of puddin^ is made of thefe feeds, in the fame 

 >.. manner as with Millet or Rice, and is by fome per- 

 forms efteemed, but is never ufed for thefe purpofes in 

 Europe. This is called Benny, or Bonny, in Carolina. 

 In England, thefe plants are preferved in botanic gar- 

 , dens as curiofities. - Their feeds muft be fown in the 

 fpring upon a hot-bed, and when the plants are come 

 up, they muft be tranfplanted into a frefli hot-bed to 

 f bring'them forward. ■ After they have acquired a to- 

 . lerable degree of ftrength, they fliould be planted into 

 ■pots fifled with a rich, light, fandy foil,- and plunged 

 into another hot-bed, managing them as hath been 

 direcfted for Amaranthufes, to which I fliall refer the 

 reader, to avoid repetition : for if thefe plants are not 

 ;thus' brought forward in the former part of the fum- 

 rner, they will not produce good/eeds in this coun- 

 try ', though after they have flowered, if the feafon is 

 favourable, they may be expofed in a warm fituation 

 v^ith other annual plants. When thefe plants have 

 pcrfefted their feeds they decay, and never continue 

 longer than one feafon, 



. ■ _ 



12 1 



The 



*. 



■^ 



