S P R 



S T A 



Its usual height in its native situation is ten 

 or twelve feet, and the stem is as large as a 

 man's kg, sending out branches towards the 

 top covered with a gray bark ; these are desti- 

 tute of leaves tor some months ; and in the 

 spring, before the leaves appear, many purple 

 flowers come out from the side of the branches ; 

 these are succeeded by fruit like plums, having 

 a luscious thin pulp, covering a large fibrous 

 Stone : the leaves which come out afterwards 

 are unequally pinnate, with four or five 

 pairs of ieatlets, about an inch long and half 

 an inch broad. It is a native of South Ame- 

 rica. 



It is cultivated in its native state by many 

 for the sake of the fruit, which is pretty plea- 

 sant. 



There is a variety of this fruit called The 

 Leathercoat, from the appearance of its skin. 



Culture. — It is increased by sowing the stones 

 of the fruit in pots filled with light mould, plung- 

 ing them in the bark-bed of the stove; and by 

 planting, cutting, or putting down layers, and 

 managing them in the same way : the plants 

 may be taken off and removed into separate pots 

 when they have stricken good roots, being re- 

 plunged in the bark -bed. 



They require afterwards to be kept constantly 

 in the stove, and to have the same management 

 as other woodv exotics of the same nature. 



They afford variety in stove collections. 



SPOiNGE-TREfc:. See Mimosa. 



SPRUCE FIR. See PiNus. 



SPURGE. See Euphorbia. 



SPURGE LAUREL. SccDaphne. 



SPURGE OLIVE. See Daphne Mezereum. 



SQUASH GOURD See Cucukbita. 



SOUILL. See SciLLA. 



SQUIRTING CUCUMBER. See Momor- 



DICA. 



SPROUTS, the small yonng shoots or suck- 

 ers emitted from the sides of the stems and heads, 

 of vesietables, being in many instances a sort 

 of co'inpendium of the plant that produced 

 them ; and, when detached and planted, al- 

 though destitute of roots, often emit fibres, 

 shoot at top to mature growth, and exhibit 

 leaves, flowers, and seed, as the parent plant. 



In some herbaceous esculent plants, the young 

 sprouts are excellent eating ; as in the cabb.age 

 kinds, &c. affording a very profitable after-crop : 

 the sprouts produced from the forward cabbage- 

 stalks in summer and autumn are always larger 

 and finer than the winter and spring sprouts, and 

 sometimes the sprouts produced on the stalks of 

 the early-cut cabbages often also cabbage into 

 tolerable little firm heads towards autumn ; in 

 the Sugar-loaf Cabbage particularly, and other 



forward kinds ; producing abundance of fine 

 sprouts in summer, which, bemg gathered while 

 younganil screen, constitute some of the most ex- 

 cellent cuhnarygreensof the season ; likewise for- 

 ward Savoys being cut early in aurunm, the re- 

 mainingstalks produce fine large sprouts the same 

 year, fit for use in the e.irly part of winter; later 

 cropsofthesame plants produce also abundanceof 

 small sprouts in the spring; and the Borecole is 

 remarkable for its great production of sprouts 

 towards spriucf, emitted all along the small 

 stems from the very bottom to top ; also Purple 

 Brocoli never fails to produce a secondary crop 

 of excellent sprouts furnished with little tender 

 heads. 



In the culture of .all the varieties of the cab- 

 bage kind, it is proper, therefore, after gathering 

 the main-heads, to leave a quantity of the stalks 

 of the best and more forward crops, of the re- 

 spective sorts, to produce sprouts ; and if, to- 

 wards autumn or winter, &c., the ground should 

 be wanted for other crops, the stalks may be re- 

 moved and trenched in by the roots in another 

 place, not in any shady by corner, as often prac- 

 tised, nor placed too close, as the sprouts would 

 prove small and trifling, and be liable to be eaten 

 up by slugs ; but in an open situation, in rowi 

 afoot asunder, in which methorl the sprouts will 

 continue their growth in much greater perfection, 

 though probably not in so good as if the stalks 

 had remained undisturbed. 



As the stalks of Cauliflowers and Cauliflower- 

 brocoli rarely produce any sprouts, it is needless 

 to leave them standing on the ground. 



STANDARD TREES, such as stand singly 

 with an upright stem without being trained to 

 any wall or other support. The term is appli- 

 cable to all sorts of fruit- and forest- trees, as well' 

 as other tree and shrub kinds that have upright- 

 stems, and which stand detached erectly with- 

 out supjwrt; though it is more generally under- 

 stood of such trees as grow with tall erect stems,, 

 six or eight feet high or more, before they 

 branch out to form the Iread ; such as the com- 

 mon apple-, pear-, and other fruit-trees in or- 

 chards and gardens, and the common forest- 

 trees of the woods and fields. In gardening, 

 they are distinguished into three sorts ; as Full 

 Standards, Half Standards, and Dwarf Standards, 

 from their being occasionally trained in all these 

 wavs; but forest and tall ornamental trees rarely 

 in any other than Full Standards ; though, in 

 the shmb tribe, they are occasionally formed 

 both into Half and Dwarf Standards, according 

 to their natural growths. 



Full Standards — These are such trees as are 

 trained with tall, straight, clean stems, six or 

 seven feet high or more, then suffered to branch 



