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iPiOwcrs are produced in panicles at tliC end ol the 

 branches; thtrfe panicles are compoled of three or 

 four ihon chick Ipikes which branch ouc from the 

 luwcr parr of r!ie principal fpike, which is much long- 

 er and thicker than the other. The flowers have lix 

 thin purple petals of the fame length as the empaje- 

 nient, which are very fugacious, fo that they foon fall 

 oil'-, thefe fit upon the germen. After the flowers 

 are pafl:, the four germen become fo many oval cap- 

 fules which are rcflexed backward ; thefe open length- 

 ways on the upper fide, and have each one oblong 



feed inclofcd. 



I'his fiirub is very different from that which Dr, Pluk- 

 enet titles Fagus Americanus ulmi ampliiTunis foliis, 

 capfulis bigemellis. Amalth. 87. though Dr. Linnasus 

 has added this Synonime to it. 



This is propagated by feeds, which mud be procured 

 from the countries v/here the plant naturally grows, 

 which may probably be found in fome of the Britifli 

 iflands in rheWefl:-Indies, I have received it from the 

 ifland of Barmuda, where it was found by the late 

 Dr. Crefly, who fent me fpecimens and feeds. Thefe 

 feeds are frequently abortive, for, upon examining 



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are fupportcd, othcrwife they trail upon the ground ; 

 they are covered with a light gray bark, and divide 

 into a great number of trailing branches, which when 

 young are fucculent, of an herbaceous colour, and 

 covered with fmall pellucid drops, fomewhat like the 

 Diamond Ficoides, which refleft the light. As the 

 branches arc older, they become more ligneous, and 

 are garniflied with thick, fucculent, narrow leaves, 

 about half an inch long, and a tenth of an inch broad, 

 concave, and blunt-pointed; thefe are placed alter- 

 nate, and at their bafe come out a clufter of fmaller 

 leaves, which have the like pellucid drops as the ftalks. 

 The flowers are produced from the wino-s of the 

 flalks, at every joint toward the end of the branches ; 

 fometimes they come up fingly, at others there are 

 two, and fometimes three flowers at each joint ; thefe 

 have empalements of five leaves, which fpread open 

 and are a little reflexed ; they are green without, and 

 yellow within, each having about forty fl:amina, which 

 are terminated by oblong profl:rate fummits which 



fill up the middle of the flower. 



J 



and Augufl:, and are fucceeded by large four-corner- 

 ed capfules having four wings or borders, and four 

 them, there was fcarce more than a twentieth part | cells, each containing one oblong feed, which ripens 



which had any kernels, and others appeared fair but 

 were hollow. The feeds fliould be fown in pots filled 

 v/ith light earth, and plunged into a moderate hot- 

 bed of tanners bark, where they muft be treated in 

 the fame way as other exotic feeds from the fame 

 , countries ; and as the plants feldom come up the fame 

 year, the pots fliould be removed into the flove before 

 winter, and plunged into the tan-bed between the 

 other pots of plants, where they fhould remain till 

 fprin'g, when they fhould be taken out and plunged 

 'into a frefli hot-bed of tanners bark, which will brmg 

 up the plants if the feeds were good. When the plants 

 are fit to remove, they fhould be each planted in a 

 feparate fmall pot filled with light earth, and plunged 

 into a good bed of tan, fbading them from the fun 

 till they have taken new root ; after which their treat- 

 '^ ment mufl be the fame as for the Annona, and the 



: like tender exotic plants, which require to be kept al- 

 Ways in the tan-bed. v T-tf ;; : r^: .• 

 . T ETR AGONI A. Lin. Gen. Plant. 551. Tetra- 



t • 



gonocarpos. Boerh. Ind. alt. 262. 

 -:: The Characters are, ' ' 



*I^be fiowcr has a pertnanent coloured empalements com- 

 pofcdoffour cvaly plain, deflexedleavesfttting upon the 



germen. 



It has no petals, but about twenty h ah' -like ft a- 



t 



mina which are JJjorter than the empakment, terminated 



' by oblong proftrate fummits, and a roundip four-cornered 



. germen under the flower, fupporting four awl-fbaped ftyles 



which are recurved and as long as the ftamina, with hairy 



fiigmas the length of the ftyles, . The germen afterward be- 



: . comes a thick capfule with four cells, having four angles 



which have narrow wit^s or borders^ containing one hard 

 mg feed in each.\ .1. v., -;-;-; ^^v^ ^--i-^^:} .•;.: •-;^ 



This genus of plants is ranged in the fourth feftion 

 of Linnasus's twelfth clafs, which includes thole plants 

 whofe flowers have about twenty ftamina and five 

 flyles. 



cblon. 



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The Species are, 



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1. Tetragonia {Pruticofa) foliis linearlbus. Flor. Leyd. 

 Prod. 250. Tetragonia with linear leayes^'^^TctT^.gono- 



.. carpos Africana fruticans, foliis longis^& anguftis. H. 

 ■• Amft. 2. p. zo^r^ African fhrubby Tetragonocarpos^ with 

 long 7iarrozv leaves, "v " /' ■ : .^^r';::--:;''-. ■ '- = v''"i/^i" 



2. Tetragonia {Decttntbens) ioVCis ovatis Integernmls, 

 • caule fruticofo decumbente. Tetragonia with, oval en- 

 ., tire leaves", and afhrubby trailing ftalk. :- . - ^ •' i ^ ■ . ' 



3. Texragonia {Herbacea) foliis ovatis. Flor.' Leyd. 

 /P^pd. 250. Tetragonia with oval leaves. Tetragono- 



■■- carpos Africana, radicema2;na crafTa & carnofa. Hort. 

 Amft^ 2. p, 203. TetragonQcarpQs with a large flefhy 



and oval leaves. . ^ ■ .„ — . 



root, 



Thefe plants grow naturally at the Cape of Good 

 Hope, from whence they were firft brought to the 

 gardens iii' Holland;:. The firfl fort has (lender ligne- 

 ous ftalKs which rife three or four feet 



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The fecond fort has larger flalks than the former 

 which branch out in like manner j the branches trail 

 upon the ground where they are not fupported ; the 

 young branches are very fucculent, and almoft as 

 thick as a man's little finger ; the leaves are two 

 inch^ long, and one broad i their furfaceare covered 

 with very fmall pellucid drops, as are the flalks* 

 The flowers are larger, and fland upon pretty long 

 foot-ftalks, three or four arifingfrom the fame points; 

 the empalement, and alfo the fummits, are of a pale 



fulphur colpur. It fJowers at the fame time with the 

 firfl. 



Thefe may be propagated by cuttings, which fhould 



be cut off" from the plants a few days before they arc 



■ planted, that the part where they are cut may be heal- 



^^ed, otherwife they will rot, for the leaves and flalks 



of this plant are very full of moiflure. ' The beft 



time to plant thefe cuttings is in July, that they may 



;have time to make good roots before winter. Thefe 



cuttings may be planted on a bed of frefli earth, and 

 "If they are Ihad'ed from the fun in the heat of the day, 

 ™ It will be of fervice to them. They fhould be fre- 

 quently refreflied with water, but they mufl not have 

 it in too great plenty, for that will rot them. In 

 about fix weeks after planting, the cuttings will be 

 fufficiently rooted to tranfplant, therefore they fhould 

 be taken up, and planted into pots fijled with light 

 frefh undunged earth, andplacedina fliady fituation 

 until they have taken hew root, after which time 

 they may be placed with other hardy exotic plants ia 

 a fheltered fituation, where they may remain till the 

 middle or latter end of Oftober ; at which time they 

 fhould be removed into the green-houfe, and placed 

 where they may enjoy as much free air as pofTible in 

 mild weather; for they only require to be proteded 

 from the frofl, being pretty hardy with refpeft to 

 cold^ but they fhould not have too much moiflure 

 in winter. -^-Tf thefe plants are planted in the fJU 

 ground in the fummer feafon, they will grow prodi- 

 ' gioufly rank and large ; as they alfo will, if they are 

 permitted to root into the ground through the holes 

 at the bottom of the pots ; therefore the pots fhould 

 be frequently removed to prevent it, for when they 

 grow too freely, their leaves will be very full of 

 moiflure ; which, together with the weight of the 

 . fruit, which are always produced at the extremity of 

 the branches, will weigh the branches upon the 

 ground, and render the plants very unfightly. The 

 plants of this kind commonly grow very flraggling ; 

 therefore the more their roots are confined in the pots, 

 the more clofe and flinted will be the heads of the 

 plants ; which is what they fhould always be kept to, 

 in order to render them fightly. The flowers of this 



plant have no great beauty, but as the whole face of 



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