' "Well •, but thefe moft be grafted by approach, for they 
abound with a great quantity of refin which is apt to 
evaporate from the graft, if ieparated from the tree 
before it is joined with the flock, whereby they are 
often, deicroyed ; as alfo the Laurel on the Cherry, or 
the Cherry on the Laurel. All the maft-bearing trees 
will alfo take upon each other, and thofe which have 
a tender foft wood will do well if grafted in the com- 
mon way • but thofe that are of a more firm contex- 
ture, and are flow growers, fliould be grafted by ap- 
proach. 
By Acridly obferving this rule, we fhall feldom mif- 
carry, provided the operation be rightly, performed, 
and at a proper feafon, unlefs the weather fhould prove 
• very bad, as it fometimes, happens, whereby whole 
quarters of fruit-trees mifcarry ; and it is by this rne- 
. thod that many kinds of exotic trees are not only 
propagated, but alfo rendered hardy enough to en- 
dure the cold of our climate in the open air ; for, 
being grafted upon flocks of the fame fort which are 
hardy, the grafts are rendered more capable to endure 
the cold, as hath been experienced by moft of our 
valuable fruits now in England, which were formerly 
tranfp|inted here from more foutherly climates, and 
were at firft too impatient of our cold to fucceed 
well abroad, but have been, by budding or grafting 
upon more hardy trees, rendered capable of refilling 
our fevered: cold. 
And thefe different graftings feem to have been greatly 
in uie among the ancients, though they were certainly 
miftaken in the feveral forts of fruits which they 
mention to have fucceeded upon each other ; as the 
Fig upon the Mulberry, the Plumb, upon the Cheft- 
nut, with many others of the like kind •, moft of which 
1 have already tried, and find they will not fucceed •, 
therefore what has been advanced on this head by the 
ancients, is not founded on experience •, or at leaft 
they did not mean the fame plants, which at prefent 
are called by thofe names ; though J cannot help 
thinking we are apt to pay too much deference to the 
writings of the ancients, in fuppofmg them feldom to 
be miftaken, or to affert a falfnood ; whereas, if their 
works are carefully examined, it will be found, that 
they have often copied from each other’s writings, 
without making experiments to prove the truth of 
their affertions : and it is well known, that the ranging 
of plants' before Cadalpinus’s time (which is about 
170 years fince) was, by their outward appearance, 
or from the fuppofed virtues of them, which me- 
thod is now juftly exploded; and it hath been ob- 
ferved, from many repeated trials, that however 
plants may refemble each other in the Ihape and make 
of their leaves, manner of {hooting, &c. unlefs they 
agree in their fruit, and their other diftindive cha- 
rade rs, they will not grow upon each other, though 
performed with ever fo much art. 
G R A M E N. Tourn. Inft. R. H. 516. tab. 297. Raii 
Meth. Plant. 171. Grafs-, in French, Chien-dent. 
To enumerate ail the fpecies of Grafs which are found 
growing naturally in England, would fwell this arti- 
cle greatly beyond the defign of the work therefore 
I , fhall only take notice of a few fpecies, which are ei- 
ther ufed in medicine, or cultivated for fodder for 
there is fcarce a pafture in this country, where at 
leaft twenty different fpecies are not to be found in- 
termixed, and in moft of them more than twice that 
number. Thefe were, by the former writers on bo- 
tany, all included under the common denomination of 
Gramen, but were divided into different fedions. 
Mr. Ray has ranged them in the following order, 
Gramen Trkicum, i. e. Wheat-grafs. Gramen Seca- 
linum, i. e. Rye-grafs. Gramen Loliaceum, i. e. Dar- 
neffgrafs. Gramen Paniceum, i. e. Panic-grafs. Gra- 
men Phalaroides, i, e. Canary-grafs. Grarnen Alope- 
curoides, 1. e. Fox-tail-grafs. Gramen Typhinum, 
i. e. Cat’s-tail-grafs. Gramen Echinatum, i. e. Hedge- 
hog-grafs. Gramen Criftatum, i. e. Crefted-grafs. 
Gramen Avenacium, i. e. Oat-grafs. Gmamen Dac- 
tylon, i. e. Cock’s-foot-grafs. Gramen Arundina- 
ceum, i. e, Reed-grafs. Gramen Milieacem, i. e. 
Millet-grafs.' And under each of thefe fe&ibns there 
are many fpecies. And there are many others, which, 
by older writers, were included under this general 
title, fome of which have no relation to this clafs % 
but there are others which are near nearly allied to it, 
as the Cyperus and Cyprels Grades, &c. Thefe Dr. 
Linnaeus has divided into genera ; but by this method 
of claffing them, he iitiS Ieparated them to a great 
cliftance from each. other ; for all thole whofe. flowers 
have three (lamina, are ranged in his third clafs ; and 
others ^ which have male and female flowers, are re- 
moved to his twenty-firft clafs. However, it would 
have^been much better to have kept them together, as 
Dr. Van Royen has done in the Prodromus of the 
Leyden garden, under one general tide to the clafs 
of Graminea. 
As the feveral genera under which the different foe- 
cies of Grafs are ranged, have different characters by 
which they are diftinguifhed, fo it would be to little 
purpofe to give them all in this work ; and as there 
are no general charaderiftics by which the whole clafs 
can be known, lb I fhall not trouble the reader with 
any of them here, but proceed to enumerate a few of 
the fpecies. 
1. Gramen fpica triticea repens vulgare, can in urn 
d ilium. Raii Syn. 2. p. 247. Common creeping Grafs 
with a fpike like Wheat , called Dog-grafs. "'Trki- 
cum calycibus fublatis trifloris acuminatis. Lin. Sp. 
Plant. Wheat with an awl-fhaped pointed empalemenl 
including three flowers, commonly called Couch , Couch-grafs , 
or Quick-grafs. J 
2. Gramen loliaceum, anguftiore folio & fpica. C. 
B. P. Darnel-grafs , with a narrower leaf and flpike . . 
Lolium fpica mutica. Lin. Sp. Plant. 83. Darnel with 
a chaffy flpike , commonly called Ray , or Rye-grafs. 
3. Gramen pratenfe, paniculatum majus anguftiore 
folio. C. B. P. 2. Meadow-grafls with larger panicles and 
a narrower leaf. Poa panicula diffusa, fpiculis qua- 
drifioris pubefeentibus, culmo eredo tereti. Ffor. 
Suec. 77. Poa with a difflufled panicle, the flmaller flpikes 
having flour hairy flowers , and a taper erect fir aw'.. 
4. Gramen pratenfe, paniculatum majus, latiore folio. 
C. B. P. 2. Meadow-grafs with a larger panicle arid 
broader leaf. Poa panicula diffufa fpiculis trifloris pfla- 
bris, culmo eredo tereti. Flor. Suec. 76. Poa with a 
diflfufed panicle, frnall flpikes with three flowers, and an up- 
right ftraw. 
5. Gramen avenacium pratenfe elatius panicula flave- 
feente, locuftis parvis. Raii Syn. 407. Patter Mea- 
dow Oat-grafs, with ay ellowifh pdnicle and fmallhnfts. 
Avena panicula laxa, calycibus trifloris brevibss, 
flofeulis omnibus ariftatis. Prod. Leyd. 66. Oat-grafs 
with a loofe panicle, three flowers in each empalement, 
which is floort, and all the flowers having awns. . 
6. Gramen fecalinum. Ger. Emac. lib. 1. cap.' 22. n. 4. 
Pall Meadow Rye grafs. 
7. Gramen tremulum maximum. C. B. P. 2. Great eft 
Quaking-graft, or Ccwqnakes. Briza fpiculis cordatis, 
flofeulis feptendecim. Hort. Cliff. 23. Briza with 
heart-ftoaped little fpikes , and feventeen flowers in each. 
- The firft fort of Grafs is that which is direded to be 
ufed in medicine ; the roots of this are chiefly ufed, 
and are accounted aperitive and diuretic, opening ob- 
ftrudions of the reins and bladder,' provoking urine, 
and are of fervice againft the gravel and ftone. The 
juice of the leaves andftalks was greatly efteemed by 
Dr. Boerhaave, who generally preferibed this in all 
cafes where he fuppofed there were any obftrudions 
in the bile conduit. 
This hath a creeping root, which fpreads far in the 
ground, and is a very troublefome weed in gardens 
and arable land for every fmali piece of the root 
will grow and multiply exceedingly, fo it is very dif- 
ficult to extirpate where it once gets pofiefiion : in 
gardens, the common method of deftroying it is, to 
fork out the roots as often as the blades appear above 
ground where this is two or three times carefully 
repeated, it may be totally rooted out ; but when the 
furface of the ground is very full of the roots cf this 
Grafs, the fhorteft way cf deftroying it, is to trench 
the 
