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Erica herbacea. Herbaceous Heath. 
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C/tf/jr and Order. 
OcTAMDRIA MoNOGYKIA. 
Generic Character. 
Calyx 4-phylIus. Corolla 4-fida. Filamenta receptaculo in- 
ferta. Antherse bifidae. Capfula 4-locularis. 
Specific Character and Synonyms. 
ERICA herbacea antheris muticis exfertis, corollis oblongis, 
ftylo exferto, foliis quaternis, floribus fecundis, Lin. 
Syfi . Vegetab. p. 306. carnea Sp. PL ed. 3. p. 504. 
ERICA carnea. Jacq. FI. Auftr. v. 1. tab. 32 
ERICA procumbens herbacea. Bauh. Pin. p. 48 6. 
Since the days of Mr. Miller, who, with all his imperfections, 
has contributed more to the advancement of practical garden- 
ing than any individual whatever, our gardens, but more efpe- 
cially our green-houles, have received fome of their higheft 
ornaments from the introduction of a great number of moll 
beautiful Heaths: the prefent plant, though a native of the Alps 
and mountainous parts of Germany, is of modern introduction 
here, what renders it particularly acceptable, is its hardinefs 
and early flowering ; its blolfoms are formed in the autumn, 
continue of a pale green colour during the winter, and expand 
in the fpring, flowering as early as March, efpecially if kept in 
a grcen-houfe, or in a common hot-bed frame, which is the 
more ufual practice. 
It may be propagated by feeds or cuttings, the latter is the 
moft ready way of increafing this and mod of the other fpecies 
of the genus: when the cuttings have ftruck root, they lhould 
be planted in a mixture of frefh loam and bog earth, either in 
the open border, under a wall, or in pots. 
The name of herbacea , which Linnaeus has given to this plant, 
is not very charaCteriftic, but it lhould be obferved, that Lin- 
naeus in this, as in many other inftances, has only adopted tho 
name of fome older botanift; and it lhould alfo be remembered, 
that in genera, where the fpecies are very numerous, it is noeafy 
matter togi ve names to all of them that lhall beperfeCllyexpreffive. 
This fpecies does not appear to us to be fpecifically different 
from the mediterranea. 
