RHUS. 



down is of a brownifti colour; the leaves are compofcd of weeds, be well watered in fummer, and have the protecting 



many more pairs of leaflets, and are fmooth on both fides : of mats the tirlt winter. When the plant-; have had the 



rs are difpofed in loofe panicles, and are of an her- growth of a year or two, they may be planted out in nur- 



is colour. The Canada fmooth red fiimach, which fery -rows till fit to be fet out in the places where they are to 



ha fni'ioth branches of a purple colour, covered with a remain. The potted plants mould have the protection of 



pounce; the leaves are compofed of feven or eight the frame the fecond winter, air being freely admitted in mild 



pair; of leaflets, which are four inches and a half long, and weather ; and in the fpring following they may be fhaken out 



one inch broad in the middle, terminating in acute points, of the pots without injuring the roots, and be fet out in nur- 



and a little fei rate, of a lucid green on their upper furface, fery-rows, three feet apart, and a foot diftant in thi 



but hoary on their under, and fmooth : panicle large, com- where they may remain two years, and then be planti I 



pofed eral fmaller, each on feparate footftalks, the where they are to remain. 



whole covered with a grey pounce ; the flowers are of a deep Such forts as have young branches fufficiently low, may 



red colour. have them laid down in the (lit method ; when the\ 



In the lixth fort the root is ufed for dyeing : the leaves moftly have ftricken root in the courfe of a year, and may 



and young branches dye black; and the bark is ufed for be taken off and planted out where they are to remain, or in 



tanning leather. the nurfery. 



In the eighth fpecies Martyri fays, that the milky juice And all thofe forts that fend up fuckers from the roots 



flains linen a dark brown. The whole fhrub is, in a high mould have them taken up during the winter, and planted 



degree, poifonous ; and the poifon is communicated by touch- out in nurfery rows, in the manner of the fcedlings, till of a 



ing or frnelling any part of it. proper growth to be planted out. 



The ninth fpecies having, in common with ivy, the qua- The feventh and ninth forts may likewife be increafed In 



lity of not rifing without the fupport of a wall, tree, or their trailing branches, which have ftricken root as thev 



hedge, it is called in fome parts of America creeping ivy. It reft on the ground, which Ihould be taken up with their 



will climb to the top of high trees in woods, the branches roots entire in the autumn, winter, or in early fpring, and 



every where throwing out fibres that penetrate the trunk, be planted out, either where they are to remain, or in nur- 



When the Item is cut, it emits a pale brown fap of a dif- fery rows, till of fufheient growth for the purpofe they are 



agreeable fcent, and fo (harp, that letters or marks made upon 

 linen with it cannot be got out again, but grow blacker the 

 more it is wafhed. Like rhus vernix it is poifonous to fome 

 perfons, but in a lefs degree. Kalm relates, that of two 

 lifters, one could manage the tree without being affefted by 

 its venom, whilft the other felt its exhalations as foon as flie 

 came within a yard of it, or even when (lie flood to leeward 

 of it, at a greater diftance ; that it had not the lcaft effedt 

 upon him, though he had made many experiments upon him- 

 felf, and once the juice fquirted into his eye ; but that on 

 another perfon's hand, which he had covered very thick with 



it, the fkin, a few hours after, became as hard as apiece of they have formed good roots, they may be potted off into 

 tanned leather, and peeled off" afterwards in fcales. feparate pots. And in the latter mode, any of the young 



There is a variety with a ftraight and ftout trunk, having wood may be laid down in the ufual manner, in the early 

 a brownifh afh-coloured bark : the leaves fmooth, veined, fpring, when by the autumn they will moftly have ftricken 

 bright green above, fomewhat paler underneath, pendulous, good root, and may be taken off, and be potted out the 

 and fomewhat bent back : in the male plant the leaves are 

 rather wider and longer, and are drawn more to a point ; in 

 the female they are fhorter and blunter, and the petioles are 

 rcddilh, whereas in the others they are green : the flowers 



intended. 



The firft and fourth forts, being the moil tender, require 

 the moft fheltered fituations. 



Moll of thefe plants afford a milky juice, which is ex- 

 tremely acrid and corrofive. 



The three lafl forts may be raifed by cuttings and layers 

 with great facility. In the firft method, the cuttings of 

 the young (hoots fhould be planted out in pots of light 

 frefh mould, in the fpring and early fummer months, plung- 

 ing them in a moderate hot-bed, where they readily ftrike 

 root, being occafionallly watered and (haded : and when 



fame way as the cuttings. 



All the firft nine forts have a fine effec/t in mixture with 

 other deciduous (hrubby plants, in the borders, clumps, and 

 other parts of pleafure grounds, and the three lad afford va- 

 axillary, in racemes ; the males larger, whitifll-yellow ; the riety among other potted greenhoufe plants of the lets ten- 

 females fmaller, herbaceous, on the germ inftead of the ftyle der kinds, 

 there are two, fometimes three black dots : fruits round, 

 the fize and form of coriand ! . ftreaked with five 



lines, remaining on the !• I n w flowers come out ; when 



the outer rind core's off, and a cretaceous fubftance comes 

 into view, in which an afh-coloured, hard, horny feed is in- 

 volved, (lightly divided on the upper part, and fomewhat 

 kidney-fhap 



RHUS Cobbe, in Botany. See Schmidelia. 



Rut's, in the Materia Medica. This genus comprehends 

 a variety of fpecies, which are known to be po ; but 

 the rhus coriaria, or elm-leaved fumach, is perfectly inno- 

 cent, and its leaves have been iifed occalionaUy for culinary 

 purpofes. Its medicinal qualities are owing to its ftypticity 

 or aftringency, which property renders it ufeful in dyeing, 

 Method of Culture. — The fir It nine forts of thefe plants and alfo in tanning of leather, to which purpofe it was ap- 

 are capable of being raifecMjy feeds and layers, and fome of plied in the time of Diofcorides. The leaves and berries 

 them alfo by fuckers, or their rooting branches. In the have been ufed in medicine; but ll .illriu- 



firft method inch of them as do not fend up fuckers fhould gent and tonic, and have been commonly employed in com- 

 havethe feed procured from abroad, and fown in pots of a plaints which indicate remedies of this clai . The berries, 

 large fize, or in beds of light mould, being covered in about which are of a red and comprelfed figure, contain a pulpy 

 !i ' If an inch in the autumn. Thofe in pots matter, in which is lodged a brown, hard, oval feed, mani- 



fhouldl ited from the frofts during the winter, and if felting a confiderable degree of aftringency. The pulp, 



plunged in a moderate hot-bed in the early fpring, they will even \rln--j dry, is grateful!) nd to 



be rendered more forward, letting the plants have a free air contain an eflential fait fimilar to that oi wood-forrel, or 

 when the) appear. Thole in the open ground often remain perhaps more nearly allied to cryftals of tartar. An infu- 

 long before they vegetate; they fhould be kept free from (ion of the drv fruit is not blackened by :i folution of iron, 



15 b i 



