M E N 
are very little indented on their edges, but have 
their borders fet with hairs. The whorls of flowers 
are fmaller, and the whole plant has the fcent of 
Bafil. 
The sixteenth fort grows naturally in ditches and on 
the fides of rivers, in many parts of England. This 
hath hairy four-cornered ftalks, which are a foot or 
more in height ; the leaves are oval, fawed, and very 
hairy. The flowers grow in large whorls toward the 
top of the (talks ; they are purple, and their (lamina 
are longer than the petals. This hath a pleafanter 
fcent than the common Water Mint, fo is called Sweet 
Water Mint by way of diftinflion : it (lands in the 
lift of fimples in mod difpenfaries, but is now feldom 
ufed in medicine. 
The feventeenth grows naturally by the fide of the 
river Medway, between Rochefter and Chatham. 
This rifes with (lender hairy ftalks near two feet high, 
garniihed with fpear-fhaped leaves, ending in acute 
points, which are fawed on their edges ; the ftalks are 
befet with whorls of flowers almoft their whole 
length, fo that they have frequently ten or twelve 
whorls on each. The flowers are purplifh, and their 
(lamina are equal with the petals 5 this hath a very 
pleafant aromatic fcent. 
All the forts of Mint are eafily propagated by part- 
ing the roots in the fpring, or by planting cuttings 
during any of the fummer months, but they (hould 
have a moift foil •, and after the cuttings are planted, 
if the feafon (hould prove dry, they muft be often wa- 
tered until they have taken root ; after which, they 
will require no farther care but to keep them clear 
from weeds : they (hould be planted in beds about 
four feet wide, allowing a path about two feet broad 
between the beds, to water, weed, and cut the plants. 
The diftance they (hould be fet is four or five 
inches, or more, becaufe they fpread very much at 
their roots ; for which reafon, the beds (hould not 
(land longer than three years before you plant frefh, 
for by that time the roots will be matted fo clofely, 
as to rot and decay each other, if permitted to (land 
longer. There are fome people who are very fond 
of Mint fallad in winter and fpring ; in order to ob- 
tain which, they take up the roots before Chriftmas, 
and plant them upon a moderate hot-bed pretty clofe, 
covering them with fine earth about an inch thick, 
and cover the bed either with mats or frames of glafs. 
In thefe beds the Mint will come up in a month’s 
time, and be foon fit to cut for that purpofe. 
When the herb is cut for medicinal ufe, it (hould be 
done in a very dry feafon, juft when it is in flower; 
for if it (land longer, it will not be near fo handfome, 
nor fo well tailed ; and if it be cut when it is wet, it 
will change black and be little worth ; this (hould be 
hung up to dry in a fhady place, where it may re- 
main until it be ufed. 
If the foil be good in which thefe plants are fet, they 
will afford three crops every year, but after July they 
feldom prove good ; therefore what (hoots are pro- 
duced after that time (hould be permitted to remain 
till Michaelmas, when they muft be cut down clofe ; 
and after having cleared the beds from weeds, you 
(hould fpread a little fine rich earth all over them, 
which will greatly encourage the roots againft the fuc- 
ceeding fpring. 
As the diddled water of all the forts of Mint is ef- 
teemed a very wholefome cordial dram, fo I lhould 
think it might be fubftituted inftead of thofe vile 
fpirits with which the common people intoxicate 
themfelves ; for the Pepper Mint water is as warm on 
the ftomach as any fort of dram, and more fo than 
any of thofe noxious fpirits ; and if this was mixed 
with fome other agreeable aromatic herbs, there 
might certainly be a diftilled liquor much more pa- 
latable and wholefome than what is now vended in 
common ; for as the generality of the lower clafs of 
people, are fo debauched, as not to be contented with- 
out drams, fo the lefs hurtful thofe are made, the 
better it will be for the public ; and by introducing 
MEN 
the diftiliing of herbs, there will be lefs occafion for 
ufing of Wheat. 
MENTHA C ATARI A. See Nepeta. 
MENTZELI A. Plum. Nov. Gen, Plant. 40., tab. 
6. Lin. Gen. Plant. 595. 
The name was given to this plant by Father Plunder, 
who difeovered it in the French fettlements in Ame- 
rica, in honour of Dr. Mentzelius, who was phyfician 
to the Eledor of Brandenburgh, and who published 
an Inaex of plants m Latin, Greek, and High Dutch. 
The Characters are, 
‘The flower hath a fpreading empalement cut into five parts , 
which fits upon a long cylindrical germen . It hath five 
petals which fipread open , and are a little longer than 
the empalement , and many erebl Iriftly fiamina , termi- 
nated by Jingle furnmits. From the long cylkdricalger- 
vien which is ftuated under the flower , arifes a brifily 
ftyle ttoe length of the petals , crowned by a Jingle ftighia. 
The germen afterward turns to a cylindrical long capfuls 
with one celf containing many fimall feeds. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the firft fedtion of 
Linnaeus’s thirteenth clafs, which includes thofe 
plants whofe flowers have many (lamina and one ftyle. 
We know but one Species of this genus, viz. 
Mentzelia {Afipera.) Hort. Cliff. 492. Plumier titles 
it Mentzelia foliis & frudibus afperis. Nov. Gen. 
Plant. 41. Mentzelia with prickly leaves and fruit. 
This plant grows plentifully at La Vera Cruz, from 
whence the feeds were fent to England by the late Dr. 
William Houftoun, which have fucceeded inthephy- 
fic garden at Chelfea. 
This plant is annual ; it rifes with a (lender fmooth 
ftalk, which is fluff, and becomes a little woody, 
riflng more than three feet high, branching out alter- 
nately at diftances ; the branches are diftorted, and 
run into one another ; thefe are garniihed with leaves 
(haped like the point of an halbert, Landing alter- 
nately on the branches, upon fnort foot-ftalks ; they 
are covered with fhort hooded prickles, which fallen 
themfelves into the clothes of thofe who rub againft 
them ; and thofe parts of the branches eafily feparate 
from the plants, and adhere to the clothes in like 
manner as the feeds of Clivers. The flowers come 
out flngly from the joints of the ftalk, refting upon a 
cylindrical germen, which is near an inch in length, 
narrow at the bafe, but widens upward to the top. 
Upon the top of it comes out the empalement, which 
is fpread open after the fame manner as thofe of the 
Onagra ; then the petals of the flower fpread open 
upon the empalement ; they are of a pale yellow cor 
lour, and longer than the empalement. In the mid- 
dle arifes a great number of (lamina which are eredt, 
and are terminated by Angle furnmits ; from the ger- 
men arifes a Angle ftyle, which is as long as the petals, 
crowned by a Angle ftigma. The germen afterward 
turns to a long cylindrical capfule, armed with the 
like prickles as the leaves, which alfo fallen them- 
felves to the clothes of thofe who rub againft them ; 
thefe have but one cell, which is filled with frnall feeds. 
As this is an annual plant, which perifhes foon after 
the feeds are ripe, therefore the feeds muft be fown on 
a hot-bed early in the fpring, that the plants may be 
brought forward early in the feafon, otherwife they 
will not produce ripe feed in this country. When the 
plants are come up about an inch high, they fnould 
be each tranfplanted into a feparate halfpenny pot 
filled with light rich earth, and plunged into a hot-bed 
of tanners bark, being careful to (hade them from the 
fun until they have taken new root ; after which time 
they muft be conftantly watered every other day in 
warm weather, and (hould have frefh air every day 
admitted to them, in proportion to the warmth of the 
feafon, and the heat of the bed in which they are 
plunged. In about fix weeks or two months after 
tranfplanting, if the plants have made a good pro- 
grefs, they will have filled the pots with their roots, 
when they fhould be fnifted into larger pots, which 
muft be filled with light rich earth, and then plunged 
into the bark- bed in the (love, that they may have 
room 
