RO S 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



ROT 



435 



ments of the calix entire ; prickles in pairs, recurved ; peti- 

 oles subaculeate ; leaflets from three to five, lanceolate-oval ; 

 stipules narrow, subulate-mucronate. Grows in the shady 

 woods of Georgia. This plant is an everlasting green, climb- 

 ing; to a great height. 



45. Rosa Suaveolens. Germina ovate ; peduncles and 

 petioles glandulous-hispid ; petioles subaculeate ; stem gla- 

 brous'; prickles scattered, straight, fine; folioles from five 

 to seven, ovate, serrate ; branchlets uniflorous ; segments of 

 the calix entire. An American species. 



Rose Bay. See Nerium Oleander. 



Rose Campion. See Agrostemma Coronaria. 



Rose, Guelder. See Viburnum Opulus. 



Rosemary. See Rosmannus. 



Rose of Jericho. See Anastatica. 



Rosmarinus ; a genus of the class Diandria, order Mono- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth one- 

 leafed, tubular, compressed above ; mouth upright, two-lip- 

 ped ; upper' lip entire, lower bifid. Corolla : unequal ; tube 

 longer than the calix; border ringent; upper lip two-parted, 

 upright, shorter, acute, with the edges bent back ; lower lip 

 bent back, tritid : the middle segments very large, concave, 

 narrow at the base; the lateral ones narrow, acute. Stamina: 

 filamenta two, awl-shaped, simple, with a tooth inclined 

 towards, and longer than the upper lip; antherse simple. 

 Pistil: germen four-cleft; style of the same figure, situation, 

 and length with the stamina; stigma simple, acute. Peri- 

 carp: none, except the permanent calix, containing four ovate 

 seeds at the bottom. Observe. This genus approaches very 

 near to that of Salvia t and is distinguished by not having the 

 stamina, at all forked. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Corolla ; 

 unequal, with the upper lip two-parted. Filamenta : long, 

 curved, simple, with a tooth. The species are, 



1. Rosmarinus Officinalis ; Officinal Rosemary. Leaves 

 sessile. An erect, evergreen shrub, about four feet high, very 

 much branched; branches obscurely quadrangular, downy, 

 leafy on all sides ; leaves opposite, smooth, dark green, and 

 shining above, downy and veined beneath ; flowers axillary, 

 terminal, on short stalks, erect, of a bright blue colour varie- 

 gated with purple and white, having, like the loaves, a strong 

 aromatic fragrance resembling camphor. Native of the south 

 of Europe: common in gardens, flowering in May. There 

 are several varieties. The leaves of the wild sort are broader 

 than those of the Garden Rosemary, and haveblun.ter paints; 

 the flowers also are much longer and of a deeper colour. 

 The variety with striped leaves, is called by the gardeners 

 Silver Rosemary; and the yellow-striped-leaved sort. Golden 

 Rosemary. The former is tender, though the latter is pretty 

 hardy, and will survive our common winters in the open air 

 upon a dry soil. Rosemary has a fragrant aromatic smell, 

 and a bitterish pungent taste. The leaves and tops are 

 strongest in their sensible qualities; the flowers ought not to 

 be separated from their calices, the active matter residing 

 principally, if not wholly, in the latter. This herb yields its 

 qualities completely to rectified spirit, but only partially to 

 water. The leaves and tops distilled with water, yield a 

 thin, light, pale, essential oil, of great fragrancy, though not 

 quite so agreeable as the Rosemary itself. From one hundred 

 pounds of the herb in flower, eight ounces of oil have been 

 obtained. The decoction thus divested of the aromatic part 

 of the plant, yields, on being inspissated, an unpleasant 

 bitterish extract. Rectified spirit, likewise, distilled from 

 Rosemary loaves, becomes considerably impregnated with 

 their fragrance; leaving, however, in the extract the greatest 

 share both of their flavour and pungency. The active mat- 

 ter of the flowers is somewhat more volatile than that of the 



leaves, the greatest part of it arising with spirit. Rosemary 

 is reckoned one of the most powerful of those plants which 

 stimulate and strengthen the nervous system : it has therefore 

 been recommended in various affections, supposed to pro- 

 ceed from debilities, or defective excitement of the brain and 

 nerves; as in certain kinds of headache, deafness, giddiness, 

 palsies, &e. and in some hysterical and dyspeptic symptoms. 

 It has the character of being an emmenagogue. It is a prin- 

 cipal ingredient in what is known by the name of Hungary 

 Water; and the herb is taken as Tea by many persons for 

 headaches, and what are truly called nervous disorders. 

 The officinal preparations are the Essential Oil and the Spirit 

 of Rosemary. The ancients were well acquainted with this 

 shrub, which has always been supposed to strengthen the 

 memory. Hence the frequent allusions to it in our poets; 

 as in Shakspeare, 



"There's Rosemary, that's for remembrance." 

 On this account it became the emblem of fidelity in lovers, 

 and was worn at weddings ; and probably for the same rea- 

 son at funerals, at which, in some parts of England, it is still 

 distributed among the company, who frequently throw the 

 sprigs into the grave along with the corpse. Culture. This 

 plant thrives prodigiously upon dry rocky soils near the sea, 

 in (he south of France, Spain, and Italy. It is hardy enough 

 to bear the cold of our ordinary winters in the open air, pro- 

 vided it be planted upon a poor dry gravelly soil, or near a 

 wall. It may be increased by layers, or by planting slips or 

 cuttings in the spring, just before the plants begin to snoot, 

 upon a bed of light fresh earth; when they are rooted, trans- 

 plant them where they are to remain, about the beginning of 

 September, that they may take new root before the setting in 

 of the frosty weather. If they are not transplanted thus early, 

 let them remain unremoved till March following ; observing 

 to transplant them in mild showery weather. They will then 

 require no further care, but to keep them clear from weeds. 

 When accidentally rooted in a wall, these plants will endure 

 the greatest cold of our winters, however exposed to cold 

 winds. The varieties with striped leaves are somewhat 

 tender, especially that with silver stripes. These therefore 

 should either be planted by a warm wall, or in pots filled 

 with light fresh earth, and sheltered in winter under a 

 frame. 



2. Rosmarinus Chilensis; Chili Rosemary. Leaves petioled. 

 Native of Chili, flowering in July. 



Rot, Dry. A disease in timber, the existence of which is 

 principally known by the appearance of fungi on the surface 

 of the wood, which are followed by an entire decomposition 

 and decay of all its component parts. Many of our ships of 

 war, after having been constructed at an immense expense, 

 have been rendered entirely useless by the appearance of 

 this fatal defect m the timber of which they were built. 

 Writers are not agreed as to the cause of the evil ; but we 

 shall here present our readers with the opinion and advice 

 of an ingenious gentleman, who seems thoroughly to have 

 studied this important subject. As I consider, says Mr. 

 Robert Dodd,all methods for curing timber already infected 

 futile, I shall endeavour to shew how timber may be procured 

 so as to be able to resist its attacks. I take the felling of 

 timber at an improper season, to be the predisposing cause; 

 the presence of water and of heat, the operating and stimulat- 

 ing causes of the process. At that time of the year when 

 timber is now felled, it is full of the sap and peculiar juices ; 

 it is in the full vigour of vegetation; turgid with the abun- 

 dance of its various juices, the vessels are distended to their 

 utmost capacity, and the tree is less solid than at any other 

 time of the year. It is cut down in this state ; a quantity of 



