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fcrt the fhorCed and plaineft method of making and 

 managing thefe hot-beds, as they are pradtiled by the 

 moft knowing perlbns, who have long made uie of 

 thefe hot-beds •, and firft, I fhall beain with the 

 choice of the Tan. 

 The tanners In fome parts of England do not grind 

 the Bark to reduce it into fmall pieces, as is commonly 

 praflifed by the tanners near London, where there is 

 'great difference in the fize of the bark, fome being 

 ground much fmallerthan the other, according to the 

 different purpofes for which it is intended ; but in 

 many places the Bark is only chopped into large 

 pieces, which renders it very different for the ufe of 

 hot-beds ; for if the Tan is very coarfe, it will require 

 a longer time to ferment than the fmall Tari ; but 

 vhen it begins to heat, it will acquire a milch greater 

 degree, and will retain the heat a much longer time 

 than the fmall ; therefore where there is choice, the 

 middling-lized Tan fhould be preferred, for it is very 

 difficult to manage a hot-bed when made of the 

 laro-eft Tan \ the heat of which is often fo great, as 

 to fcald the roots of plants, if the pots are fully 

 plunged into the bed ; and 1 have known this violent 

 heat continue upward of two months, fo that it has 

 been unfafe to plunge the pots more than half their 

 depth into the Tan, till near three months after the 

 beds have been made; therefore where the perfons, 

 who have the care of thefe beds, do not diligently ob- 

 ferve their working, they may in a ftiort time deftroy 

 the plants which are placed in the beds : on the other 

 hand, if the Tan is very fmall, it will not retajn the 

 heat above a month or fix weeks, and will be rotten 

 and unfit for a hot-bed in a fliort time ; fo that where 

 the middle-fized Tan can be procured, it ihould al- 

 v/ays be preferred to any other. .. / .^ '. ' 

 The Tan fhould be always fuch as been newly taken 

 out of the pits, for if it lies long in the tanners 

 yard before it is ufed, the beds feldom acquire a pro- 

 per degree of heat, nor do they continue their heat 

 long J fo that when it has been more than a fortnight 

 or three weeks out of the pit, it is not fo good for 

 ufe as that which is new. If the Tan is very wet, it 

 will be proper to fpread it abroad for two or three 

 daysy to drain out the moifture, efpecially if it is in 

 autumn or winter feafon, becaufe then, as there will 

 belittle fun to draw a warmth into the Tan, the 

 moifture will prevent tKe Tefmentation, and the beds 

 will remain cold ; buttri the fummer feafon, ther? is no 

 great dangerfr6m thejmoifture of the Tan. Theh^at 

 of the fun througK the glaffes will be then fo great, as 

 foon to caufe a fermentation in the Tarn ' 



1 '• 



Thefe Tan-beds fhould be always made in pits having 

 -brick-walls round them, and a brick pavement at the 

 bottom, to prevent the earth from mixing with the 

 Tan, which will prevent jhe Tan from heating. THefe 

 pits muft not be lefs tH'an three feet deep, and fix feet 

 in width, but feven is better ; the^length muft be. jn 

 proportion to the number of plants they are to contain, 

 ■but if they are not ten feet in' length, they will not 

 retain their heat long i for where there is not a good 

 body of Tan, the outfide of the bed will foon lofe 

 its heat, fo that the plants which are there plunged, 

 will have no benefit of the warmth, nor will the mid- 

 dle of thefe beds retain their heat long, fo that they 

 will not anfwer the purpofe for which they are in- 



"When the Tan is put into the bed, it muft 

 beaten or trodden down too clofe, for that will caufe 

 it to adhere, and form one folid lump, fo that it will 



not be 



hot acquire a proper heat j nor fhould it be trodden 

 down at, the time when the pots are plunged into the 

 beds, to avoid which there fhould be a board laid 

 crofs the bed, which ftiould be fupported at each ejid, 

 JO prevent its refting upon the Tan, upon which the 

 perfon fhould ftand who plunges the pots, fo that the 

 Tan will not be preffcd down too clofe. When the 

 Tan is quite frelh, and has not been out of the pits 

 long enough to acquire a heat, the beds will require a 

 fortnifrht, or fometimes three weeks, before they will 

 be of a proper temperature of warmth to receive the 



I 



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f 



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plants ; 



biit in order to judge of this, there fhouici 

 be three or four flicks thruft down into the Tan, 

 about eighteen inches deep, in different parts of the 

 bed, fo that by drawing out the flicks, and feelihg 

 them at different depths, it will be eafy to jud^^e of 

 the temper of the bed ; and it will be proper to let 

 a few of thefe flicks remain in the bed after the plants 

 are plunged, in order to know the warmth of the 

 Tan, which may be better judged of by feeling thefe 

 flicks, than by drawing out the pots, or plunging the 

 hand into the Tan. 



When the Tan is good, one of thefe beds will ret^iri 

 a proper degree of heat for rlear three months ; and 

 when the heat declines, if the Tan is forked up and 

 turned over, and fome new Tan added to it, the heat 

 will renew again, and will continue two months longer; 

 fo that by turning over the Tan, and adding fome new 

 Tan every three months or thereabouts, as the bed i$ 

 found to decUne of its heatj they may be continued 

 one year, but every autumn it will be proper to take 

 out a good quantity of the old Tan, and to add as 

 much hew to' the bed, that the heat of thfe bed may 

 be kept up in winter; for if the heat is fuffercd to de- 

 cline too much during the cold feafon, the plants will 

 fuffer greatly ; to prevent this, there fhould always 

 be fome new Tan added to the bed in winter,' ^hen 

 the heat is found to decline ; but the Tan fhould be 

 laid in a dry place a week or ten days to dfy, before 

 it is put into the bed, otherwife the moiflure will chill 

 the old Tan in the bed, and prevent the fermentation ; 

 fo that unlefs the Tan is turned over again, there will 

 be little or no heat in the beds, which often proves 

 fatal to the plants which are plunged in them j there- 

 fore whoever has the management of thefe beds, 

 ihould be very careful toobferve conftantly the warpth' 

 of the Tari, fince, upon keeping the beds in a due 

 temperature of warmth, their whole fuccefs depends ; 

 and where this caution is not taken, it frequently hap-* 

 pens that the Ananas plants run into fruit very fmall, 

 or the plants are infefted by infefts, both which are 

 occafioned by the growth of the plants being flopped 

 by the decline of the heat of the Tan ; therefore great 

 regard muft be had to that, efpecially in winter. ' 

 The great advantages which thefe tan-beds havfe of 

 thofe which are made of horfe-dung, are the mode- 

 rate degree of heat which they acquire, for their heat 

 is never fo violent as that of horfe-dung, and they 

 continue this heat much longer; and when the heat 

 declines, it may be renewed, by turning the beds 

 over, and mixing fome new Tan with the old, which 

 i:annot be fo well done with horfe-dung ; and like- 

 wife the beds will not produce fo great fleams, which 

 are often injurious to tender plants, fo that thefe Taii- 

 beds are rnuch preferabte to thofe of horfe-dung for 

 moft purpofes. . ' ■ " ■■\- ' - - > ■ - 



Tan, when it is well rotted, is alfo an excellent ma- 

 nure for all cold and ftiff lands ; and if it is laid uporf 

 Grafs ground in autumn, that the rains in winter 

 may wafh it into the ground, it will greatly improve 

 the Grafs ; but when it is ufed new, or in the fpnng 

 of the year, when dry weather comes foon after, it 

 is apt to caufe the Grafs to burn, which has occa- 

 fioned the di(ufe of Tan in many places; but if pro- 

 perly ufed, it will be found an excellent drelling for 

 all fliff lands. *; 



. , ^ ' ■■»■ 





T A P I A- See Crateva. 



/ -J 



TARCHONANTHUS. Lin. 6eri. Plant. 846.- 



-The Characters are. 



--■i 







fewer compofed of feveral hermaphrodite fli 



Jloort^ permanent^ am 

 funnel-Jhstped^ and of 



it-jh, 



The floretf are uniform^ 



h five very Jh 

 hy cylindrical tubulous fun 



fupporting aftyh 



of theftamina^ crozvned by two awlfha]. 

 open lengthways. The germen afterwar. 

 oblong feedy crowned with down^ which 

 pakmenti .;'-■• 



> t 



\ 



\ 





L - 



12 B 



Thii 



