Semis 
ee 
] 
A COMPLEAT BODY 
upon the Form of the Style, or Female Part, but — 
on a more effential Character: the firft Section 
comprehends thofe Plants which have this Kind 
of Flower followed by naked Seeds; and the 
other, thofe whith have the Seeds in Capfules. 
We have obferved, that the Seeds of AcANTHUS 
are lodg’d in a Capfule: it is therefore one of the 
fecond Section of Linnus’s fourteenth Clafs, 
the ANGIOSPERMIA. 
The Culture of th AcCANTHUS, 
its Seeds ripen freely. It may be propagated by 
taking an Off-fet from an old Root, and planting. | 
‘it in March: but the beft Way is to raife it from 
the Seed; this fhould be gathered when full ripe, 
in Autumn, and kept till the fucceeding Spring. 
A great deal depends upon a proper Soil, and 
due Condition of the Ground; and to this it is 
owing, that though the AcanTuus is common in 
the Gardens of the Curious, we feldom fee it in 
its full Beauty. 
There are Books extant, which tell the ates 
in what kind of Soil Plants grow in their natu- 
~ ¢al Wildnefs: to thefe he fhould have referr’d for 
thofe who call themfelves his 
We bhall, in 
that Knowledge; 
Inftruétors, being ufually deficient. 
- this Work, fave him the Trouble of fuch Reference, 
not quite deftitute of Shade. 
intending it fhall ferve him as a kind of Library. 
In Italy the Acantuus flourifhes in a deep 
Soil, where there is Water near, and where it is 
This. let him imi- 
tate fo far as Circumftances permit. Let him 
-chufe for his Acantuus the dampeft Part of his 
Pl. IV. 
. Fig, 2, 
Garden: let him dig the Mould deep, and in the 
firft Week of March fow the Seeds; they are beft — 
dropp’d at Diftances into fhallow Drills, and co- — 
vered three quarters of an Inch with Mould 
This is very eafy. Its Root encreafes faft, and | under it. 
‘Leaf, the Triple-Laurel, 
Here they will fhoot up freely; and, when rifen, 
reft pull’d up, that thefe may ftand at a Yard 
Diftance. They will fpread out their beautiful 
Leaves into circular Clufters, and will flower late 
at Autumn. 
The Antients tell us how Cattimacuus faw, 
where a Bafket covered with a Tile had been fet 
upon a Root of this Plant, and the Leaves had fhot 
~ |. up, and Stalks with them; which rifing to the Tile, 
there became ftop’d, and turn’d themfelves fpirally 
What the Sculptor faw in Nature, he 
transfer’d to the Decoration of his Science. 
Thus far the Architects relate the Story; and they 
are right to ftop, for they muft blufh if they purfue 
it farther. — Who put inftead of the Acanthus- 
or the more divided 
Olive ? Certainly not CALLIMACHUS. 
Thefe broader Leaves of Laurel, or narrower 
ones of Olive, they ftick by Three’s or Five’s upon 
the Edges of the right Acanthus, and make the 
Leaf a Monfter. 
Who cut off the Corners i the Corinthian hae 
cus? Not CALLIMACHUS ; for he found Points 
| upon the original Tile, and he fhew’d the Beauty 
and the Spirit of their SharpnefS ! 
We, wonder when we fee Corinthian Capitals, 
and, among them, thofe wrought by the divine 
_ Pattapio’s Hand, at Vicenza, to fee a Leaf fo 
unlike what the Story tells, and what the true. 
Tafte of the Antients fo univerfally admir’d: but 
thefe are the wild Liberties of Fancy. Happily there- 
yet remains among the Ruins of one of Vesta’s 
Temples, a Capital of this Order, cut according to 
the original Invention ; its Corners entire, and the 
true Acanthus-Leaf for its Ornament : it remains 
to fhame the others. 
2. Rue Ds PLUMERIA. 
We gave laft a Plant that bears our natural 
Climate: and, with the common Advantages of 
weeding and watering, will thrive in it as in its” 
- Own. 
We here bring the Reader acquainted with 
one that will require more Care and Culture ; but 
whofe Beauty and F SATA. very amply repay 
the Labour. . 
Its Englifh Name is Rep “east PLukeE- 
wet has called it, Clematis arborea. Merian Fafmi- 
num Indicum: and our Stoane, the great Founder 
of the British Musaum, Nerium arboreum 
folio maximo obtufiore flore incarnato. There are 
fome Particularities in which it differs from all 
thefe Genera, and it has thence been diftinguifhed 
by a peculiar Name, Prumeria; {0 called from 
PLuMIERE, a Frenchman, to whom Botany has 
great Obligations. Linwus adds, by way of 
Diftinction, the Form of its Leaves, and Tourne- 
Fort the Fragrance and Colour of its Flower. 
The firft calls it, Plumeria foliis ovato-oblongis » 
Plumeria, with Leaves of an oblong oval Form: 
the other, Plumerio flore rofeo odoratifimo, 
3 
Let not 1b: Englifo ¥ Reader be offended to fee 
chia Native of our Colonies named after a French- 
man: Science knows no Diftinction of Country; 
and PhuMizre deferv’d the Honour. He will have 
Caufe to blufh, when he is oblig’d to call fome other 
new-known Genus by the Name of fome mean, per- - 
haps, or ignorant Perfon; but fo far has Partiality 
led thofe, whofe Genius and Knowledge rais’d them 
to the Rank of telling the World en they fhould 
call fome of the moft diftinguifh’d Beauties of Nature. 
_ Our Buildings, to which this elegant Species 
muft be confin’d, will not allow it more than the 
Condition of a Shrub; but in Yamaica it rifes to a 
Tree; yet it will, in the lower Condition, flower 
in ‘full Profufion. 
The Trunk’ is brown, the upper Branches 
» are green, and the Twigs often purplith. The 
Leaves are very large, and of the Shape of thofe 
of Laurel, oblong, broad, and pointed at the 
End. The Flowers are very large, and they 
- fpread out from the Tops of the Branches in 
numerous Clufters. 
Their Colour i is a-very beau~ 
tful 
Sept. 
the ftrongeft Plants fhould be mark’d, ‘and the — 
