M A N 
bular foft berry lying upon the leaves, which, when 
fully grown, is as large as a Nutmeg, of a yellowifh 
green colour when ripe, full of pulp, in which the 
kidney-fhaped feeds are lodged. It flowers in March, 
and the feeds are ripe in July. 
This plant is propagated by feeds, which fhould be 
fown upon a bed of light earth foon after they are 
ripe, for if they are kept until the fpring, they fel- 
dom fucceed well ; but thofe 'which are fown in au- 
tumn will come up in the fpring, when they fhould 
be carefully cleared from weeds ; and in very dry 
weather they muft be reireftied with water, which will 
greatly promote their growth. In this bed they 
fhould remain till the latter end of Auguft, (obferv- 
ing always to keep them clear from weeds) at which 
time they Ihould be taken up very carefully, and 
tranfplanted into the places where they are to remain ; 
the foil Ihould be light and deep, for their roots al- 
ways run very deep, fo that if the foil is wet, they 
are often rotted in winter ; and if it oe too near the 
gravel or chalk, they will make but little progrefs ; 
but if the foil be good and they are not difturbed, 
the plants will grow to a large fize in a few years, and 
will produce great quantities of flowers and fruit j 
the roots will abide a great many years. 
I have been informed by fome perfons of credit, that 
one of thefe roots will remain found above fifty years, 
and be as vigorous as a young plant. I have known 
fome plants myfelf near that age, v/hich are now in 
great vigour, and may continue fo many years longer, 
as there are no iigns of their decay j but they fhould 
never be removed after their roots have arrived to any 
con fide r able fize, which would break their lower fi- 
bres, and fo flint the plants, as that if they live they 
will not recover their former ftrength in two or three 
years. ' Thefe plants fhould have a warm fituation, 
otherwife in fevere winters they will be deftroyed. 
As to the feigned relemblance of a human form, 
which the roots of this plant are faid to carry, it is 
all impofture, owing to the cunning of quacks and 
mountebanks, who deceive the populace and the ig- 
norant with fiditious images, fhaped from the freih 
roots of Briony and other plants : and what is report- 
ed as to the manner of rooting of this plant, by ty- 
ing a dog thereto, to prevent the certain death of the 
perfon who fhould care to attempt it, and the groans 
it emits upon the force offered, &c. is all a ridicu- 
lous fable ; for I have taken up feveral large roots 
of this plant, fome of which have been tranfplanted 
into other places, but could never obferve any 
particular difference in this from any other deep 
rooting plant. 
MANGIFERA. Lin. Gen. Plant. 2 78. The Man- 
go-tree. 
The Characters are, 
Tlos empalement of the flower is cut into five fpear -fhaped 
fegments •, the flower hath five fpear -fhaped petals longer 
than the empalement , and five awl-Jhaped ftamina the 
length of the corolla , crowned with heart-fhaped fummits. 
It hath a roundijh germen , fupporting a fender ftyle the 
length of the empalement , terminated by a fingle ftigma ; 
the getmen afterward becomes an oblong kidney-fhaped 
Plumb fomjewhat comprejfied , inclofmg an oblong woolly 
.nut of the fame form. 
This genus of plants, is ranged in the firft fedlion of 
Linnaeus’s fifth clafs, intitled Pentandria Monogy- 
nia, thb flower having five ftamina and one ftyle. 
We have but one Species of this genus, viz. 
Mangifera ( Indica .) Lin. Sp. 290. The Mango-tree. 
Manga Indica frudtu magno reniforma. Raii Hill. 
3 55 0> ' ' . n . 
This tree grows naturally in molt parts of India, as 
alfo in the Brazils, and fome other parts of the world, 
where it becomes a large tree *, the wood is brittle, 
and the bark becomes rough by age ; the leaves are 
feven or eight inches long, and two or more broad, 
terminating in points, having feveral tranfverfe veins 
from the middle rib to the fides, which are oppofite. 
The flowers are produced in loofe panicles toward the 
end of the branches, each confuting of 'five fpear- 
M A N 
fhaped petals which fpread open, having five awl- 
fhaped ftamina the length of the petals," which are* 
fituated between them ; the germen at the bottom of 
the flower afterward becomes a large obipng kid- 
ney-fhaped Plumb, inclofing a rough quit of the 
fame form. 
This fruit, when fully ripe,, is greatly efteemed by 
the inhabitants of thofe countries where they grow 
naturally, or have been tranfplanted ; but in Europe 
we have only the unripe fruit brought over in pickle, 
which is little better than feveral other fruit when 
pickled in the fame way ; however, from the account 
given of the ripe fruit, by moft people who have 
eaten it in the country j it has excited the curiofity of 
many perfons in Europe to endeavour to procure young 
plants in their gardens, for which purpofe great quan- 
tities of the nuts have been brought to feveral parts of 
Europe, but without effeft ; for I have not heard of 
one plant which has been produced in Europe front 
the nuts. All thofe which have fallen into my hands 
have been rotten when received, fo that I am apt to 
think the vegetative quality of them cannot be long 
preferved *, therefore the only method to obtain the 
plants in England, is to plant a good quantity of the 
nuts in a tub of earth in the country where they grow 
naturally ■, and when the plants are grown .a foot 
high, to fhip them for England, placing a covering 
over them to defend them from fait water and the 
fpray of the fea, being very careful not to let them 
have much wet in their paffage ; as alfo when the fhip 
arrives in a cold climate, to fcreen the plants from 
cold, efpecially if it is toward the approach of winter. 
By carefully obierving thefe rules, the plants may be 
brought very fafeiy over, as has been experienced by 
a plant of this fort, with feveral other forts of plants, 
which were brought over by Capt. Quick, and are 
now in good health in the Chelfea garden. 
There have been fome plants brought to England be- 
fore this, which were deftroyed by having too much 
heat, for this plant will not thrive in a hot-bed of 
tanners bark •, fo that the only way to have them fuc- 
ceed, is to plant them in pots filled with light kitch- 
en-garden earth, and place them in a dry ftove, where 
in warm weather they Ihould have freih air daily, and 
in the winter the air kept up to temperate, as is 
marked upon the thermometers. 
MANIHOT. See Jatrofha. 
MANURE. 
There are various kinds of Manure, which are now 
commonly ufed in different parts of England, for en- 
riching of the feveral foils. Some of thefe have been 
already mentioned under the article of Dung, fo I 
fhall not repeat them here, but proceed to take noth e 
of fome other kinds of Manure, which are at prefer t 
negle&ed by many people, though they might he 
ufed Vv’ith equal fuccefs, if not better on many lands, 
as moft of thofe now commonly in ufe. 
Oak bark, after the tanners have uled it for tanning 
of leather, when laid in a heap and rotted, is an ex- 
cellent Manure, efpecially for ftiff cold land; in 
which one load of this Manure will improve the 
ground more, and laft longer, than two loads of the 
richeft dungs ; and yet it is very common to fee large 
heaps of this remaining in the tanners yards for many 
years, in feveral parts of England, where Manure of 
other kinds is very fcarce, and often carried to a great 
diftance. Of late years this tan has been much ufed 
for hot-beds in feveral parts of England, and is found 
greatly to exceed horfe dung for that purpofe, the 
fermentation being moderate and of long continuance; 
fo that a bed of tan, when rightly made, will continue 
in a moderate temperature of heat for three or four 
months ; and when the heat begins to decay, if it be 
ftirred up with a dung fork, and fome frefin tan add- 
ed to it, the heat will renew again, and laft for fome 
months, fo that thefe beds are by far the moft kindly 
for exotic plants-, and whatever plants are plunged 
into thefe beds, if they are permitted to root through 
the bottom of the pots, they will thrive more in 
one month after, than they did in four months while 
