€fid In obtufe points which are indented : between the 
leaves come out fome oval katkins, which drop off* 
fo that all the plants which I have feen have been 
male* therefore I can give no account of the fruit. 
Thefe retain their leaves all the year, but are too ten- 
der to live through the winter in the open air in Eng- 
land, fo muft be placed in the green-houfe in winter. 
As thefe do not produce feeds here, fo .they are pro- 
pagated by layers, but they do not take root very 
freely, fo that the plants are not very common in Eu- 
rope at prefent •, for I do not find that the cuttings of 
thefe plants will eafily take root, having made Seve- 
ral trials of them in all the different methods ; nor 
have the Dutch gardeners had better fuccefs, fo that 
the plants are as fcarce there as in England. 
When the layers are laid down, that part of the 
ffioot which is laid fhould be tongued at a joint, as is 
pradifed in laying of Carnations and the young 
(hoots only fhould be chofen for this purpofe, for 
the old branches will not put out roots. Thefe layers 
are often two years before they will have taken root 
enough to tranfplant, for they (houkl not be fepa- 
rated from the old plants till they have made good 
roots, becaufe they are very fubjed to mifcarry if they 
are not well rooted. 
When they are taken off from the old plants, they 
fhould be each put into a feparate fmall pot, filled 
with foft, rich, loamy earth ■, and if they are placed 
under a common frame, fhading them from the fun 
in the middle of the day, it will forward their taking 
new root * then they may be placed in a fheltered fi- 
iuation during the fummer, and in the autumn re- 
moved into the green-houfe, and treated in the fame 
way as other plants from the fame country. The belt 
fealon for laying down the branches, I have obferved 
to be in July, and by the fame time the following 
year they have been fit to remove. 
The feventh fort is a native of the Cape of Good 
Hope * this hath a weak fhrubby ftalk which rifes 
five or fix feet high, fending out many long {lender 
branches, which are ' clofely garnifhed their whole 
length with fmall heart-fhaped leaves, which fit clofe 
to the branches, and are {’lightly indented and waved 
on their edges. The flowers come out between the 
leaves in roundiffi bunches ; thefe are male in all the 
the plants I have yet feen * they have an uncertain 
number of ftamina, and a^e all included in one com- 
mon fcaly' involucrum or cover. Thefe flowers ap- 
pear in July, but make, no great appearance * the 
leaves of this fort continue all the year green. 
This is propagated in the fame way as the two for- 
mer forts, and is difficult to increafe, fo is not com- 
mon in the European gardens. It requires the fame 
treatment as the two former forts. 
MYRRXTIS. See CmERQPHYLLUM, Scandix, Sison. 
MYRTUS. Tourn. Inft. R, IT. 640. tab. 409. Lin. 
Gen. Plant. 543. Myrtle •, in French, Mirte. 
The Characters are. 
The empalement of the flower is of one leaf, cut into five 
acute points at the top , is permanent , and fits on the 
germen. The flower has five large oval petals which 
are infer ted in the empalement , and a great number of 
fmall ftamina which are alfo inferted in the empalement , 
terminated by fmall fummits. The germen is fitmied 
under the flower , fupporting a fender flyle , crowned by 
an obtufe ftigma. The germen afterward turns to an 
oval berry with three cells , crowned by the empalement , 
each cell containing one or two kidney-fhaped feeds. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the firft fedion of 
Linnaeus’s twelfth clafs, in which is contained thofe 
plants whofe flowers have about twenty ftamina and 
one ftyle. 
The Species are, 
1 . Myrtus ( Communis ) foliis ovatis, peduncuiis longi- 
oribus. Myrtle with oval leaves, and longer foot-ftalks to 
the flowers. Myrtus latifolia Rornana. C. B. P. 468. 
Broad-leaved Roman Myrtle , or common broad-leaved 
Myrtle. 
2. Myrtus ( Belgica ) foliis lanceolatis acuminatis. Myr- 
tle with fpear-Jhaped acute-pointed leaves. Myrtus la- 
tifolia Bel gica. C. B. P. 469. Broad-leaved Dutch 
Myrtle, 
3. Myrtus ( Acuta ) lanceolato-ovatis acutis. Myrtle 
with fpear-Jhaped , oval , acute-pointed leaves. Myrtus 
fylveftris, foliis acutiffimis. C. B. P. 469. Wild Myr- 
tle with very acute-pointed leaves. 
4. Myrtus {Beetle a) foliis ovato-lanceolatis confertis. 
Myrtle with oval fpear-Jhaped leaves growing in clufters „ 
Myrtus latifolia Bostica 2 vel foliis laurinus, con- 
fertim nafeentibus. C. B. P. 469. Second broad-leaved 
Spanijh Myrtle , with Bay leaves growing in clufters , com- 
monly called Orange-leaved Myrtle. 
5. Myrtus {Italics) foliis ovato-lanceolatis acutis, ra- 
nks eredioribus. Myrtle with oval, acute-pointed, fpear- 
Jhaped leaves , and erett branches. Myrtus communis 
Italica. C. B. P. 468. Common Italian Myrtle, called up- 
right Myrtle. 
6. Myrtus {Tarentina) foliis ovatis, baccis rotundio- 
ribus. Myrtle with oval leaves and rounder berries. 
Myrtus minor vulgaris. C. B. P. 469. Common- fmaller 
Myrtle , called the Box-leaved Myrtle. 
7. Myrtus {Minima) foliis lineari-lanceolatis acumina- 
tis. Myrtle with linear , fpear-Jhaped , acute-pointed leaves. 
Myrtus foliis minimis & mucronatis. C. B, P. 469. 
Myrtle with the fmalleft Jharp-pointed leaves , commonly 
called Rofemary-leaved Myrtle. 
8. Myrtus ( Zeylanica ) peduncuiis multifloris, foliis 
ovatis fubpetiolatis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 472. Myrtle with 
many flowers on each foot-ftalk , and oval leaves having 
floort foot-ftalks. Myrtus Zeylanica odoratiffima, bac- 
cis niveis monococcis. IT. L. 434. Sweet flmelling Myr- 
tle of Ceylon , with J how white berries containing one feed. 
The firft fort is the common broad-leaved Myrtle, 
which Is one of the hardieft kinds we . have. The 
leaves of this are an inch and a half long, and one inch 
broad, of a lucid green, {landing upon (horn foot- 
ftalks. The flowers are larger than thofe of the other 
forts, and come out from the fide of the branches, on 
pretty long foot-ftalks * thefe are fucceeded by oval 
berries of a dark purple colour, inclofing three or four 
hard kidney-fhaped ieeds. It flowers in July and Au- 
guft, and the berries ripen in winter. This fort is by 
fome called the flowering Myrtle, becaufe it generally 
has a greater quantity of flowers, and thofe are larger 
than of any other fort. 
The fecond fort has leaves much lefs than thofe of the 
former, and are more pointed, Handing clofer toge- 
ther on the branches •, the midrib on the under fide 
of the leaves is of a purple colour, they are of a 
darker green, and fit clofer to the branches. The 
flowers are fmaller, and have ftiorter foot-ftalks than 
thofe of the firft fort ; this flowers a little later in the 
fummer, and feldom ripens its berries here. 
The double flowering Myrtle I take to be a variety of 
this, for the leaves and growth of the plant, the flze 
of the flowers, and the time of flowering, agree bet- 
ter with this than any of the other forts. 
The third fort grows naturally in the fouth of France 
and in Italy y the leaves of this are much fmaller 
than thofe of the fecond, being lefs than an inch long, 
and not more than half an inch broad, of an o val fpear- 
Ihape, ending in acute points, of a dull green, and fet 
pretty clofe on the branches. The flowers are fmaller 
than either of the former, and come out from the 
wings of the leaves toward the end of the branches ; 
the berries are fmall and oval. 
The fourth fort hath a ftronger ftalk and branches 
than either of the former forts, and rifes 10 a greater 
height •, the leaves are oval, fpear-ffiaped, and are 
placed in clufters round the branches •, theie are of a 
dark green. The flowers are of a middling flze, and 
come out fparingly from between the leaves ; the 
berrries are oval, and fmaller than thofe of the firft 
fort, but feldom ripens in England. The gardeners 
call this the Orange-leaved Myrtle, and by fome it is 
{tiled the Bay-leaved Myrtle. This fort is not fo 
hardy as the former. 
The fifth fort is the common Italian Myrtle ; this 
hath oval fpear-ffiaped leaves, ending in acute points ; 
the branches of this grow more ered? than thofe of ei- 
ther 
