REE 



RES 



hot-house collections, both in their foliage and 

 flowers. 



REED HEDGE, that sort of hedge or fence 

 which is formed from reeds. They are a sort 

 of temporary internal fences made with these 

 dried materials which may be had cheap, and 

 be expeditiously formed into hedges by the as- 

 sistance of posts and railing, being of great uti- 

 lity for occasional use in gardens, to inclose 

 particular internal spaces of ground, so as to af- 

 ford shelter to certain seedling plants, both in 

 nurseries and large kitchen-gardens ; and in some 

 nurseries, to form places of shelter for many sorts 

 of seedling trees and shrubs, &c. which being 

 tender whilst young, require the shelter of a 

 fence in winter to break oft' severe or cutting 

 blasts two or three years, till they gradually ga- 

 ther strength and a greater degree of hardiness. 

 They are also useful in training several sorts of 

 wall-fruit-trees against, to form them for rows, 

 or what are called Trained Trees; admitting ©f 

 planting trees against each side of them, six, 

 eight, or ten feet asunder. See Nursery. 



In large open kitchen-gardens they are occa- 

 sionally made use of to inclose the melonary, or 

 place for raising early melons and cucumbers in, 

 and often as cross internal fences, under which 

 to form warm borders for the purpose of raising 

 various early crops of esculents. 



The proper sort of reeds for these fences are 

 flie dried stems of the common marsh reed, 

 which grows in great plenty by river sides, and 

 in lakes, and marshy places, furnishing a crop 

 of stems annually fit to cut in autumn, when 

 they should be bound in bundles, and stacked 

 up, or housed to remain for use. 



These fences are sometimes erected in fixed 

 ranges, and sometimes formed into moveable pan- 

 nels!. In the first mode, some stout posts should 

 be placed six or eight feet asunder, and five or 

 six high, and from post to post carry two or 

 three ranges of flat thin railing, one range near 

 the bottom, another near the top, and a third in 

 the middle; against this railing, the reeds must 

 be placed about two inches thick, having other 

 railing fixed directly opposite, so that the reeds 

 being all along between the double railing, the 

 bottoms resting either upon a plate of wood, or 

 let into the ground, but the former is preferable; 

 and as soon as one pannel is formed, the railing 

 should be nailed as close as possible, driving some 

 long spike-nails through each double railing, or 

 binding them with strong withy bands, or tar 

 rope-yarn, but nailing is the best, in order to 

 bring' them as close as may be, to secure the 

 reeds (irmly in the proper position ; the top 

 should be cut even afterwards. 



Iu the better method, a frame- work of railing 



should be prepared as above, each pannel six 01 

 eight feet long, and the reeds fixed therein as be- 

 fore directed ; then, where they are intended to 

 be placed, posts must be ranged six or eight feet 

 distant .to support the different pannels. Or 

 sometimes the pannels may be placed inclining 

 against the wall or other fence, in time of severe 

 weather, when the borders are narrow. These 

 sorts of fences are now in much less use in gar- 

 dening than formerly. 



RESEDA, a genus containing a plant of the 

 flowering sweet-scented kind, ft belongs to the 

 class and order Dodeeandria Trigijnia, and ranks 

 in the natural order of Miscellanece. 



The characters are : that the calyx is a one- 

 leafed perianth, parted : parts narrow, acute, erect, 

 permanent ; two of which gape more, for the 

 use of the melliferous petal. The corolla con- 

 sists of some petals (3-. 5. 6.), unequal, some of 

 them always half-three-cleft ; the uppermost 

 gibbous at the base, melliferous, the length of 

 the calyx. 



Nectary a flat upright gland, produced from 

 the receptacle, placed on the upper side between 

 the stamens and the uppermost petal, converg- 

 ing with the base of the petals. The stamina 

 have eleven or fifteen short filaments. Anthers 

 erect, obtuse, the length of the corolla. The 

 pistillum is a gibbous germ, ending in some 

 very short styles. Stigmas simple. The pericar- 

 pium is a gibbous capsule, angular, acuminate 

 by means of the styles, gaping between them, 

 one-celled : the seeds very many, kidney-form, 

 fastened to the angles of the capsule. 



The species cultivated is : jR. odorala, Sweet 

 Reseda, or Mignionette. 



It has the root composed of many strong 

 fibres, which run deep in the ground. The 

 stems are several, about a foot long, dividing 

 into many small branches. The leaves are ob- 

 long, about two inches in length, and three 

 quarters of an inch broad in the middle, of a 

 deep green colour. The flowers are produced 

 in loose spikes at the ends of the branches, on 

 pretty long stalks, and have large calices ; the 

 corollas are of an herbaceous white colour, and 

 a fine smell. It is supposed a native of Egypt, 

 flowering from June to winter. It is biennial. 



Mr. Curtis observes, that " the luxury of the 

 pleasure-garden is greatly heightened by the 

 delightful odour which this plant diffuses; and 

 as it grows more readily in pots, its fragrance 

 may be conveyed into the house: its perfume, 

 though not so refreshing perhaps as that of the 

 sweet-briar, is not apt to offend the most deli- 

 cate olfactories." 



Culture. — This is raised from seed, which 

 should be sownon a moderate hot- bed in March. 



