w 



fhaped, about a foot long, and an inch broiid, end-' 

 ing in points ; the two fides have (liarp edges, but 

 the middle is thicker, and has a prominent midrib; 

 they are of a dark green colour, and rife immediately I 

 from the root. The flalk comes out from the root 

 between the leaves, and rifes afoot and a half hiah 

 toward the upper part. The flowers are produced 

 from the fide, (landing alternately at about an inch 

 arid a half diftance from each other; they have each 

 a fpatha or fheath, compofed of two leaves which are 

 joined at their bafe, where they are broad, but gra- 

 dually leficn to their points. Before the flowers ap- 

 pear, they are of the fame green colour with the 

 italk, and are divided but a fmall part of their length, 

 inclofing the flov/er, but afterward they are fplit al- 

 mod to the bottom, and wither before the flowers 

 decay, becoming dry, and wrap round the feed-vefl^el. 

 The tube of the flower is an inch and a half long, 

 narrow at the bafe, and a little curved, fwelling much 

 larger the upper half. The rim is divided into fix 

 obtufe fegments which fpread open, and are nearly 

 equal ; the flower is of a copper red colour on the 

 outfide, but of a deeper red within-, it has three fl:a- 

 mina a little longer than the petal, which are incurv- 

 andare terminated by oblorjg fummitsof a dark 

 brown colour^ which are fafl:ened in' the middle to 

 the apex of the fliamina, lying proftrate. ' At the bot- 

 tom of the tube of the petal is fituated an oval three- 

 cornered gcrmen, fupporting a flender ftyle a little 

 longer than the fl:amina, crowned by three bifid reflex- 

 ed Itigmas. The flowers generally appear in April or 

 May, and the feeds ripen in July. 

 The feeds of this, and alfo fome of the Torts of Ixia, 

 'were fent me by my friend Dr. Job Bafl-er, F. R. S. 

 of Zirkzee, which fuccceded in the Chelfea Garden, 

 where many of them have fince produced their beau- 

 tiful Rov^crs'-iVrt rK-.'-i-^-'o -•*"-• :r^:'A''"v ' ' '^ \ 



The fecond fort is of a humbler o;rowth tlian the firfi: ; 



than fix inches 



-F 1 



ed. 





' r-tA 



the leaves of this are rarely more 

 long, but are full as broad as thofe of the other fort, 

 and of a lighter green colour; the flower-ftalk rifes 

 ' between the leaves, about nine inches high, fupport- 

 ing four or five flowers fitting clofc thereto. The 

 flowers are larger, but of the fame colour with thofe 

 . of the other fort, and is later in flowering. 

 Thefe plants are propagated by offsets from the root, 

 in the fame manner as the Crocus or Gladiolus, which 

 are produced In pfetty great plenty .5 the time for 

 tranfplanting of the roots is in Auguft, foon after the 

 ftalks decay ; the larger roots mufl: b'e cacTi put into 

 a feparate pot filled with light frefh earth, and may 

 be placed in the open air till toward the end of Sep- 

 tember, when the leaves will begin to appear above 

 ground, at which time it will be proper to remove 

 them into fhelter ; for as this plant is a native of a 

 warm country, it will require fome Ihelter from the 

 frofl:, at leafl: hitherto it has been fo managed; for 

 until the roots are become more common, it would 

 be imprudent' to venture them abroad in winter ; tho* 

 they may probably be hardy enough to refift the cold 

 of our ordinary winters, when planted in a warm 

 border and a dry foil, at leafl: with a little fhelter in 

 hard froflis ; for thofe plants which have been placed 

 in an open airy glafs-cafe, have fucceeded better than 

 thofe which have been in the ftove ; and the flowers 

 ' have been much ftronger, and of longer duration, 

 thoiigh thofe in the ftove have flowered a month ear- 

 lier; but thefe have Been fo much drawn, as no^ to 

 produce feeds ; whereas thofe which have been treat- 



"" , and had plenty of air, have feldom 



W E A 



-' ftalks, the pots fhould be removed to an airj' glaf^- 



■ cafe, where they may ftand to flower, and when the 

 flowers are decayed, they fhould be placed in the 



■ open air to perfeft their feeds. ■ 



The offsets and fmall roots may be planted three of 

 four in a pot, according to their fize, and fliould have 

 the fame treatment as the larger roots the firfl' year^ 

 and by that time twelvemonth they will be fl:rong 

 enough to flower, fo fhould have feparate pots. 



W E AT H E R is the fl:ate or difpofition of the at- 

 mofphere, with regard to moifture or drought, heat 



' or cold, wind or calm, rain, hail, frofl, fnow, fog, 



.■ &C; -'■:.-.* 



As it is in the atmofphere that all plants and animals 

 live and breathe ; and as that appears to b the great 

 principle of mofl animal and vegetable produflions, 

 alterations, &c. there does not feem any thing in all 

 philofophy of more immediate concernment to us, 

 than the flateofthe Weather. 

 In effeft, all living things are only afiTemblages or 



" bundles of veflels, whofe juices are kept in motion by 

 the prefTure of the atmofphere, and which, by that 

 motion, maintain life ; fo that any alterations in the 

 ftate of the rarity or denfity, the heat, purity, &-c."of 

 the atmofphere, mufl: necefl^arily be attended with 



. proporticnal" ones with thefe. Almofl every body 

 knows what vafl:, yet regular alterations, a'Jittle change 



- of Weather makes in a tube filled with mercury, or 

 fpiritof wine, by barometers, thermometers, hygro- 

 fcopcs, &c. and we fliould not fail to feel as great and 

 as reo-ular alterations in the tubes, chords, and fibres 



of our own bodies, were it not partly for our inatten- 

 tion, and partly for our unequal and intermediate 



: c'ourfe of living. - --'.-- - . 

 The knowledge of the Weather is of great fervice in 



. gardening and agriculture ; but the imaginary prog- 



; nofliications of almanack writers have been found to 



r'be a mere delufive cant or jargon. There is nothing 

 more wanting than a juft theory of the Weather on 

 mechanical principles. . 



> .Were regifl:ers carefully kept in divers parts of the 

 crlobe for a good feries of years, we might by them 

 be enabled to determine the diredtions, breadth, and 

 bounds of the winds, and of the Weather they bring 

 with them ; the correfpondence between the Weather 

 in divers places, and dependence between one fort and 

 another at the fame place, and thence we^ might in 



t:time learn to foretel divers great emergencies ; as ex- 

 traordtriary heats, rains, frofts, droughts, dearths, &c._ 



ff^Tlnr tn nrrier ro this, a comDlete hiftorv of the Weather 



td pretty hardil) 



failed, 'u . ■ - ■' 



The befl way of treating thefe roots, 

 pots into an old bed of tanners bark, 

 its heat fome time in Oftober ; this 



is to plunge the 

 which has lofl: 

 bed fhould be 



covered with a frame, the glafles of which fliould be 

 drawn ofl' every day in mild weather, that they may 

 enjoy as much free air as pofllble, to prevent their 

 drawing up weak ; but they muft be covered in bad 

 weather, and fcreened from frofl. The latter end of 

 March, when they begin to put out their flower- 



» • 



will be requiredi ■ 4 *; ' 



, Indeed there have been fome efl!ays made this way by 

 ^ the members of our Royal Society, the French Aca-^ 

 - demy of Sciences, and divers other perfons of note ; 

 :-■. but the drynefs of the fubjed has put a ftop to their 



progrefs in that matten ' • ■' ■ 



' As for infl:ance : Eraf. Bartholinus has obfcrvations 



" : of the Weather every day throughout the year 1 67 1 ; 



and Mr. Werle made the like at Oxford for feven 



■• years, from the year 1337, to 1343. Dr. Plot did 



—the fame at the fame place for the year 16S4. ^Mr. 



■;. Hiller at Cape Corfe, for the years 1686, and 1687, 



■1' and Mr. Hunt, &c. at Greftiam College, for the years 



1695, 1696. Dr. Dcrham at Upminfl:er in EflTex, 



• for the years 1691, 1IJ92, 1697, 169S, 1699, 1703, 



• 1704, 1705. Mr. Townly in Lancaflfire, for the 



years 1697, 1698. Mr. Cunningham at Emeh in 



:i China, for the years 1698, 1699, 1700, 1701. Mr. 



Locke at Oats' in EflTex, 1692. Dr. Scheuchzer 



' at Zurich, 1708 ; and Mr. Tilly at Pif^i, the fame 



year. .• : ■ ~ - 



: The mofl: certain figns and prognoflics of good and 

 bad Weathermay be colleded from thofe things that 

 are nearer to us than the orbs of the planets ; nor need 

 we go any farther than this our fublunary world, fof 

 the mofl: probable conjectures in relation to the Wea- 

 ther ; and may deduce our prognollications in^relation 

 thereto, from animals and vegetables, &c. "■ ' 



It is certain, that a great part of the brute creation 

 have a fenfibility and fagacity this way beyond man- 



14 R ' kind; 



