Some authors are of opinion, that the nitrous felts 
feem to be affigned by nature chiefly for the growth 
of plants. 
Others differ from them in opinion, and fay, that 
-when Nitre is contiguous to plants, it rather deftroys 
than nourilhes them but yet they allow, that Nitre 
and other lalts do certainly loofen the earth, and fepa- 
rate the concreted parrs of it, and by that means, fit 
and difpofe them to be afiumed by water, and carried 
up into the feed or plant, for its formation and aug- 
ment. 
It is obfervable, how all halts are wrought upon by 
moifture, how eafily they liquidate and run with it j 
and when thefe are drawn off, and have deferred the 
lumps wherewith they were incorporated, thofe muff 
moulder immediately, and fall afunder of courfe. 
The hardeft ftone, if it has any fait mixed with the 
farid of which it confifts, upon being expofed to a hu- 
mid air, in a fhort time diffolves and crumbles all to 
pieces ; and much more will clodded earth and clay, 
which is not of near fo compabt and folid a conftitu- 
tion as ftone is. 
If the earth be never fo good and fit for the produc- 
tion of vegetables, little will come of it, unlefs the 
parts of it be feparated and loofe •, and for this reafon, 
is the ground digged, ploughed, and harrowed, and 
. the clods broken •, and it is this way that Nitre, fea- 
falt, and other falts, promote vegetation. 
certain gentleman has given a relation, That he 
dwelling in" the country near a petre-houfe, where 
fuch faltpetre as is brought from abroad, is boiled and 
refined, to make gunpowder, this being fo near as to 
communicate the fteam of the Nitre to the greateft 
part of the orchard and garden •, and, though fome 
were of opinion that it injured his trees and plants, 
yet he found, that it had a contrary influence upon 
his orchard, &c. in that it never failed to bring him 
a plentiful crop of fruit every year, although thofe 
about him had but very little, or fcarce any ; notwith- 
ftanding his orchard, &c. was not lefs expofed to 
blighting winds by its natural fituation, than the other 
orchards in the fame town. From whence he judged, 
that the nitrous vapour which mixes with the air that 
furrounds his orchard, prevents blights, and is noxious 
to the caterpillars. 
The Lord Bacon, in his Natural Hiftory, commends 
the ufe of Nitre, for the prefervation of health in hu- 
man bodies ; and many fkilful hufbandmen have 
given it no lefs a character for the prefervation of 
vegetables, if its quantity be rightly proportioned. 
That the atmofphere does abound with faline parti- 
cles, is moft certain •, for being filled continually with 
effluvia from earth and fea, it muft needs have from 
both a great quantity of faline corpufcles •, and the fait 
will be of different kinds, according to the variety 
of thofe falts from whence they are derived. 
NOL ANA. Royen. Lin. Gen. Plant. 193. 
The Characters are. 
The empalement of the flower is ofl one leaf \ turbinated at 
the bafe , divided into five acute heart-jhaped fiegments , 
and is permanent. ’The flower is bell-floaped , plaited , 
flpread open , and is twice as large as the empalement ; it 
hath five awl-Jhaped eredt ftamna , which are terminated 
by arrow-pointed fummits , and five roundiflo germen fur- 
rounding a cylindrical eredt ftyle , crowned by a headed 
fligma. The fuccuknt interior bafe of the receptacle be- 
comes flour cells , in which the feeds are inclo fled. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the firft feftion of 
Linnaeus’s fifth clafs, which includes the plants hav- 
ing five ftamina and one ftyle. 
We know but one Species of this genus at prefent 
viz. 
Nolan a ( Proflrata .) Lin. Sp. 202. Dec. 1. tab. 2. 
Trailing Nolana. Atropa foliis geminatis, calvcibus 
polycarpis, caule humifufa. Gouan. Monfp. 82. 'Deadly 
Nigh tfloade with two leaves at each joint, flower-cups with 
fever al feeds , and a trailing ftalk. 
This plant grows naturally in Egypt, from whence I 
received the feeds, which were lent by Mr. Forfchal, 
one of the perfons who were feht By the late "fogey |f 
Denmark, to make difeoveries in the Eaft. 
It is an annual plant, with trailing ftalks which lie prof- 
trateon the ground, and divide info feveral branches, 
which are garniihed; with oval, fpear-fhaped, fmootll 
leaves, having fhort foot-ftalks ; thefe come out An- 
gle at fome joints, by pairs at others, and frequently 
three or four at the upper joints : the flowers are pro- 
duced fingly from the forks of the brandies, upon 
pretty long foot-fta&s ; they are fliaped like thofe 
of the Winter Cherry, having fhort tubes, which 
fpread open above, and are of a fine blue colour ; 
thefe are fucceeded by four naked feeds, fitting in the 
empalement of the flower. This plant flowers in Ju- 
ly, and the feeds ripen in the beginning of September. 
The feeds of this plant muft be fown on a hot-bed in 
March, and when the plants come up and are fit to 
remove, they fliould be each tranfplanted into a final! 
pot filled with light earth, and plunged into a frefli 
hot-bed to bring the plants forv/ard, otherwffe they 
will not ripen their feeds in this country j but when 
their flowers open in July, they fiiould have a large 
fhare of air admitted to them when the weather 
is warm, to prevent' their flowers falling away without 
producing feeds : with this management the plants 
will continue flowering till the early froft deftroys 
them, and their flowers wall produce ripe feeds the 
beginning of September. 
NOLI ME TANGERE. See Impatiens. 
NONSUCH, or FLOWER of BRISTOL 
See Lychnis. 
NORTHERN ASPECT is the leaft favoura- 
ble of any in England, as having very little benefit 
from the fun, even in the height of ftimmer, there- 
fore can be of little ufe, whatever may have been ad- 
vanced to the contrary ; for although many forts of 
fruit-trees will thrive and produce fruit in fuch pofi- 
tions, yet fuch fruit can be of little worth, fince they 
are deprived of the kindly warmth of the fun to cor- 
ded their crude juices, and render them well tailed 
and wholfome • therefore it is to little purpofe to 
plant fruit-trees againft fuch walls, except it be thofe 
which are intended for baking, &c. where the fire 
will ripen, and render thofe juices wholfome, which, 
for want of fun, could not beperformed while growing. 
You may alfo plant Morello Cherries for preserving 3 } 
and white and red Currants, to come late, after thofe 
which are expofed to the fun are gone ; and if the 
foil be warm and dry, fome forts of fumtner Pears 
will do tolerably well on fuch an expofure, and will 
continue longer in eating, than if they were more ex j 
pofed to the iun. But you fhould by no means plant 
Winter Pears in fuch an afped, as hath been pradifed 
by many ignorant perfons, fince we find, that the beft 
iouth walls, in fome bad years, are barely warm 
enough to ripen thole fruits. 
Duke Cherries planted againft walls expofed to the 
North, will ripen much later in the feaion, and, if the 
foil is warm, they will be well flavoured, fo that here- 
by this fruit may be continued a month later than is 
uiual. 
NUCIFEROUS TREES, are fuch which pro- 
duce nuts. 
N UMMULARIA, See Lysimachxa. 
N U R S E R Y, or Nurfery-garden, is a piece of land 
let apart for the raffing and propagating all forts of 
trees and plants to fupply the garden, and other plan- 
tations. Of this fort there are a great number iri the 
different parts of this kingdom, but particularly in the 
neighbourhood of London, which are occupied by 
the gardeners, whofe bufinefs it is to raife trees, "plants, 
and flowers for fale ; and in many of thefe there is at 
prefent a much greater variety of trees and plants cul- 
tivated, than can be found in any other part of Europe. 
In France, their Nurferies, (which are but few, when 
compared with thofe in England) are chiefly confined 
to the propagation of fruit-trees, from whence they 
have the appellation of Pepinier. For there is fcarce 
any of thole gardens, where a perfon can be fupplied 
either 
