PAR 



PAR 



swelling ever the seeds, (whence it is nccklace- 

 foni),) acuminate : the seeds several, one to each 

 joint of the legume, oblong, subeylinthie, lih.iit. 



The species is /'. aculcutu, Prickly Parkin- 

 soni.i. 



It is a small tree, with a trunk ten or twelve 

 feet high, unarmed, even : the branches long, 

 subdivided, flexuose, prickly, strict : the prickles 

 two opposite at the sides of the petioles, one 

 between them three times as long as the others, 

 awl-shaped, upright : the leaves alternate, in 

 loins from the same bud, pinnate, very long, 

 linear: general petioles linear, thicker at the base, 

 flat, somewhat convex, spreading, very smooth : 

 leaflets extremely small, on very short petioles, 

 ovate, smooth : racemes terminating and axillary, 

 solitary, shorter than the leaves, erect, (eight to 

 ten,) many-flowered : flowers alternate, scatter- 

 ed, yellow, on long peduncles. In Jamaica it 

 is called Jerusalem Thorn. It was first intro- 

 duced there from the main, but now grows 

 wild in many parts, and in the other islands of 

 the West Indies, where it was originally culti- 

 vated for inclosures : it seldom rises above eight 

 feet in height, and is well supplied with strong 

 thorns on every part: the branches are flexile 

 and small, and the trunk seldom grows to any 

 considerable thickness. It flowers several times 

 in the year, and is said to bear long slender 

 bunches of yellow flowers, hanging down like 

 those of laburnum : they perfume the air to a 

 considerable distance ; for which reason the in- 

 habitants of the West Indies plant them about 

 their houses. 



Culture. — It is capable of being increased by 

 sowing the seeds in pots filled with light rich 

 mould, early in the spring season, plunging 

 them in a hot-bed. When the plants have at- 

 tained a few inches in growth, they should be 

 carefully removed into other small pots, sepa- 

 rately re-plunging them in the hot-bed, shading 

 them till fresh rooted, when fresh air should be 

 admitted according to the warmth of the season. 

 The only method by which these plants have been 

 kept with success through the winter, in this 

 climate, has been by hardening them in July and 

 August to bear the open air; and in September 

 placing them on shelves in the dry stove, at the 

 greatest distance from the fire, so that they may 

 be in a very temperate state of warmth. 



These plants afford ornament among other 

 potted plants of the stove kind. 



PARTKRRK, a spacious level plot of ground in 

 the pleasure garden, divided into many Tittle par- 

 titions of different figures and dimensions ; by 

 means of edgings or lines of dwarf-box, or by ver- 

 ges of grass turf, with fine gravel walks between, 

 ixc. This sort of works were formerly in great 



estimation, and were commonly situated directly 

 in the front of the house, generally the whole 

 width and sometimes more, extending propor- 

 tionally in length : and where the intermixture 

 of the figures is artfully disposed, they strike the 

 eve very agreeably, and aflord an ornamental 

 effect at all seasons. 



The general figure of a Parterre is an oblong or 

 long square, about as long again as broad : a level 

 open spot in some conspicuous part, as above, is 

 mostly chosen for the purpose: first formingalong 

 bed or border of earth, all round, for a boundary ; 

 the internal space within this border being then 

 traced out into various little partitions, or inclo- 

 sures, artfully disposed into different figures cor- 

 responding to one another, such as long squares, 

 triangles, circles, various scroll-works, flourishes 

 of embroidery, and various other dtvices ; all of 

 which are formed cither by lines of dwarf- box, 

 with intervening alleys and tracks of turf, sand, 

 fine gravel, small shells, Sec. as above, or formed 

 sometimes entirely of verges of fine turf, dis- 

 posed into wide or narrow compartments, as the 

 figure may require : and sometimes they consist 

 of box-edgings, and tracks of turf together ; the 

 partitions or beds of earth formed by the tracks 

 of box and turf, &c, being planted with some 

 choice flowers ; but no large plants to hide the 

 form, as the regularity of it, in the artful distri- 

 bution of the different figures, is intended as a 

 decoration to the whole place long after the 

 season of the flowers is over. Some prefer Par- 

 terres composed entirely of turf and beds of 

 earth, perfectly even, without any other figure 

 than the long square, forming a border of earth 

 all round, within which are spots of grass, and 

 beds or borders of earth of different sizes. 

 And sometimes Parterres, with box-edgings, 

 are formed into labyrinths or mazes ; and some 

 are made to represent coats of arms with the 

 proper supporters. All crowded designs, how- 

 ever, lose their effect. 



Works of this sort are now almost wholly in 

 disuse in this country : however, for the sake of 

 variety, they may still be admitted, though not 

 immediately in the front of the house. 



PARTING ROOTS, the practice of dividing 

 the roots of some sorts of plants in order to their 

 being set out ; which is an expeditious mode of 

 increasing a great number of fibrous-rooted per- 

 ennial plants. A great number of herbaceous-, 

 fibrous-, and tuberous-rooted perennial plants 

 often increase by the root into large clusters 

 or bunches, composed of numerous small slips 

 or off-sets, particularly many of the flowery 

 tribe, such as the campanula, perennial sun- 

 flower, golden-rod, perennial aster, polyanthus, 

 and daisy, balm, mint, bumct, ciyes, and penny- 



