L A 



L A 



toothing but the Stalks and Veins of 

 the Leaves being red. This is fre- 

 quently called Bloodwort. 



The Roots of the eighth Sort are 

 alfo ufed in Medicine : this is the 

 Plant which Muntingius, a curious 

 Botanift of Groningcn in Holland, 

 fuppofes to be the Herba Rritannica 

 of the Antients, which was found to 

 be a fovereign Remedy for the 

 Scurvy. This Sort grows frequent- 

 ly in [landing Waters, where it pro- 

 duces Leaves two and an half or 

 three Feet in Length. When this 

 Sort is planted on dry Land, or the 

 Water drained off the Ground, where 

 it naturally grows, it will not rife to 

 near the Size of thofe Plants which 

 grow in deep Waters. 



The eleventh Sort, whofe Roots 

 are ufed in Medicine, and is by fome 

 thought to be the true Monks Rhu- 

 barb, is not common in England, if 

 it is really different from our broad- 

 leav'd Dock ; fo that thofe who ufe 

 Roots of Englijb Growth, are fup- 

 plied with the Patience Dock, or the 

 round -leav'd Afme Dock; both 

 which Sorts are cultivated in the 

 Englijb Gardens. 



The twelfth and thirteenth Sorts 

 are Foreigners, which have been in- 

 troduced by the Curious in Botany, 

 for the lake of Variety ; but they 

 are not ufed in Medicine : and as 

 they are Plants of no great Beauty, 

 they do not merit a Place, unlefs in 

 Botanic Gardens, for Variety-fake. 

 The twelfth Sort will continue two 

 or three Years ; but the thirteenth 

 Sort is an annual Plant. 



The Seeds of the fourteenth Sort 

 I received for the true Rhubarb : 

 thefe were gathered by a Gentleman 

 who was on the Spot, where the 

 Roots are taken up, and fent to Pe- 

 ter sburgh in Mufco-vy, for the Sup- 

 ply of 'Europe i fo. that we may fup- 



pofe there is no great Reafon t« 

 doubt of its being the true Kind. 



But, however it happens, the 

 Roots which have grown in Eng- 

 land, are not comparable to the fo- 

 reign Rhubarb : whether this may 

 be occafion'd by the not taking up 

 of the Roots at a proper Seafon, or 

 from what other CauTe, we cannot 

 as yet determine; but we may hope 

 fome future Trial may inform us 

 better. Indeed there are fome Per- 

 fons who imagine, that there are fe- 

 veral Species of Rhubarb, which 

 grow in different Countries; and that 

 the Sort here mentioned is not the 

 beft : whether this is fo or not, I 

 cannot determine : but I have great 

 Reafon to fufpecl: thefe Plants are not 

 fpecifkally different, but vary from 

 Seeds : for from the Seeds of one 

 Plant of the firft Sort, which grew 

 by a Plant of this laft, I had almoft 

 an equal Number of Plants produced 

 intermixed, tho' none of the Seeds 

 of the laft came to Maturity : there- 

 fore it could not happen from any 

 Mixture of the Seeds, nor could it 

 fcarce arife from any Impregnation 

 of the Male Dull, becaufe the Flow- 

 ers of the laft were decayed before 

 thofe of the firft were open. 



All the Sorts of Dock are propa- 

 gated by Seeds, which mould be 

 Town in Autumn, foon after they are 

 ripe ; for when the Seeds are kept 

 out of the Ground until Spring, they 

 will remain a whole Year in the 

 Ground before the Plants appear; 

 whereas thofe fown in Autumn will 

 come up the following Spring. 

 Where the Seeds of the true Rhu- 

 barb (or any of the other Sorts, 

 whofe Roots are ufed in Medicine) 

 are fown to propagate the Plants, 

 they mould have a Soil rather moift 

 than dry, and of a pretty good 

 Depth, that the Roots may have 



room 



