LI G 



L I G 



sun ; though upon particular occasions, in the 

 heat of summer, shady places may be necessary 

 for some sorts of plants , though not where 

 shadeil aiul darkened by spreading: trees, &o. luit 

 a border open above to the full light, and only 

 shaded from the immediate rays of the sun. 

 For the general crops, a perfectly open, sunny, 

 lio-ht situation, free from the shade of spread- 

 ing trees, is always the most proper. 



Its utility is very evident, from plants growing 

 in garden-frames, green-houses, &c. in winter, 

 when, in time of severe weather, covers or 

 shutters have been continued long over the 

 glasses, so as to exclude the rays of light, be- 

 coming sickly, growing pale, and assuming an 

 unhealthy appearance for a long time; the leaves 

 often either decaying or droppuig ofl"; and fre- 

 quently when the covers are conlmued very long 

 without the admission of light, the whole plant 

 in many sorts gradually dwindles and perishes. 

 Great attention is of course requisite in this 

 case, when, from the severity of the weather, the 

 use of other covers besides the glasses is neces- 

 sary, to take every opportunity of a favourable 

 day, or even an hour or two of a day, to admit 

 the light as fully as possible. 



The same is also the case with plants in 

 early hot-beds, such as Cucumbers, Melons, &;c. 

 which, early in the year, require a covering of 

 mats over the glasses every night ; as when these 

 additional covers are applied too soon in ihe 

 afternoon, and continued late in the morning, 

 so as to keep the plants long in darkness, it is 

 highly disadvantageous to their growth, causing 

 them to grow weak, pale^ and sickly. 



As light is, therefore, so beneficial to plants 

 in general, it should be increased as much as 

 possible to those in frames, green-houses, stoves, 

 &c. In thesesituations it may be useful to paint 

 the inside of all such departments white, to re- 

 flect the rays of light as nuich as possible, 

 and particularly in the nights, and in day-time 

 when the severity of the season requires covers 

 or shutters to be placed over the glasses. 



LIGHTS, a term applied to the moveable 

 glazed sashes which cover garden-frames ; and 

 which, according to the number of lights, or 

 separate moveable glasses, are denominated one- 

 light, two-light, and three-light frames; these 

 being the general different sizes of garden- 

 frames. See Frame. 



LIGUSTICUJM, a genus containing plants 

 of the herbaceous, biennial, and perennial kinds. 



It belongs to the class and order Ptntaiidria 

 DJgi/nia, and ranks in the natural order of 

 Umbellatce or Umbellifeire. 



The characters are: that the calyx is an 

 universal mnbel, manifold : partial manifold : 



Vol. II. 



involucre universal mcnibranaceous, seven-leav- 

 ed, unequal : partial scarcely four-leaved, mem- 

 branaceous : perianthium proper five-toothed, 

 obscure : the corolla is universal uniform : flo- 

 rets all fertile : proper of five petals, which are 

 e(|ual, involute, flat, entire, inwardly keeled: 

 tlij stamina have five capillary filaments, shorter 

 than the corolla: anthers simple : the [listillum 

 is an inferiorgerm : styles two, approxmiated: stig- 

 mas simple: thereisnopericarpium : fruitobhnio-, 

 cornered, five-furrowed, bipartiteon each side : the 

 seeds two; oblong, smooth, marked on one 

 side with five elevated strice, flat on the other 

 side. 



The species cultivated are: l.L. levistkum. 

 Common Lovage ; a. L. Scoticum, Scotch Lov- 

 age ; 3. L. Austrlacnm, Austrian Lovage. 



The first has a strong, fleshy, perennial root, 

 striking deep into the ground, and composed of 

 many strong fleshy fibres covered with a brown 

 skin, and having a strong hot aromatic smell 

 and taste : the leaves are large, composed of 

 many leaflets shaped like those of Smallage, but 

 larger, and ofadeepergrecn : thestemssix o7- seven 

 feet high, large and channelled, dividing into 

 several branches, each terminated by a large um- 

 bel of yellow flowers. It is a native of the Alps 

 of Italy, &c. flowering in June and .Udy, and 

 the seeds ripening in autumn. 



The second species has a biennial root, (per- 

 ennial) of much less size than the precedmg: 

 the leaflets are broader and shorter ; each It^f 

 having two or three ternate leaflets, indented on 

 their edges : the stalk rises about a foot high, 

 and sustains a small umbel of yellow flowers, 

 shaped like those of the preceding. It is a 

 native of Scotland, North America, &c. 



The third has a root half a foot long or more, 

 the thickness of the human thumb, often branch- 

 ed, yellowish brown on the outside, pale within 

 and spongy : the stem upright, from two to 

 three feet in height, grooved, hollow without 

 any partitions at the joints, the whole leafy, as 

 thick as the thumb or finger, simply branched 

 at top only: the root-leaves very large; the stem- 

 leaves above the middle sessile : the leaflels of 

 the general involucre lanceolate, acute, pale 

 green with a whitish membranaceous edge, 

 about half the length of the umbel, rePiex, en- 

 tire, or variously gashed ; of the partial invo- 

 lucre about six, all commonly quite entire, the 

 outer equalling the umbellcts, and not bent 

 back : terminating umbel of about forty rays, 

 from four to seven inches in diameter : the rest 

 much smaller; all close: these, which are at 

 the tops of the branches, flower later, and gra- 

 dually exceed the primary umbel in height, sur- 

 rounding it when in fruit : the flowers are sirong- 

 I 



